Hacking the Kindle Fire , Rooting your Kindle Fire, getting the Google Marketplace working on the Kindle Fire.

On Christmas my mother in law bought my 13 year old son the Amazon Kindle Fire. After he went to sleep, the only time I could get to use it, I decided to play around. I have not had any experience with the Kindle product line or the Android operating system.

At first glance the Kindle Fire is a pretty sharp looking device, but I wasn't all that impressed with the Amazon layout so I decided to look around to see if I could blast it away. It turns out, you can, you can even install the Google marketplace, replace the loader and the web browser, and here is what you need to do:

Hardware needed:

• a Kindle Fire
• a USB cord
• A Windows7 Based PC( for MAC support, go away or go get a real PC...) You can use any current Windows version, I am using Windows 7 for this tutorial.

Software needed (At this time, do not install anything, just put all this in a folder):

• Java SE Development Kit  - http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk-7u2-download-1377129.html 
• Andriod SDK -  http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
• BurritoRoot3 - http://download.cunninglogic.com/BurritoRoot3.apk
• Donate to jcase who wrote BurritoRoot3 here:  http://forum.xda-developers.com/dona....php?u=2376614
• Donate to  pokey900 who wrote the FireFireFire Bootloader here:
  http://forum.xda-developers.com/donatetome.php?u=466725
• Root Explorer -  Rename to "RootExplorer.apk"
• Google Apps - 
• Google latest vending app(Needed to access the Google Marketplace) - 

Instructions:

To Root Your Kindle Fire

1. Install the Java SE Development Kit.
2. Install the Andriod SDK.

Now once the Andriod SDK is installed, Plug in your Kindle fire and open up the SDK manager. 

Check the following:

• Andriod SDK Tools.
• Andriod SDK Platform-Tools.
• Then at the bottom, check Google USB Driver Package.
• Click install.

Now it should install the USB driver for the ADB which will allow you to communicate using the Andriod Debug Bridge.

UPDATE 2/6/2012 - In Regards to The Kindle Fire 6.2.2 Update and some not being able to use ADB over USB

Some are complaining that since the Kindle Fire 6.2.2 update they are not able to use ADB over USB after the update. here is a newer driver for the Kindle Fire's USB and instructions if you are having issues using the default UBS driver:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1483177

http://www.jayceooi.com/2011/12/13/how-to-install-kindle-fire-adb-usb-driver/

Once the USB drivers are installed, unplug your Kindle from the PC and click start and type this: %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Users\%USERNAME%\.android

Open the file by right clicking and click on EDIT.

Add the following to the document: 0x1949.

Save the file.

      3. Now take BurritoRoot3, Root Explorer, Google Apps(Extracted), and the Google Vending app and copy them to the following folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools. If you changed the default install location, goto wherever you installed it.

      4. While holding the SHIFT key, right click and choose "Open Command Window Here".

      5. On the Kindle, go into Device Settings and turn on Allow Installation of Applications.

      6. Plug in your kindle to the PC and type in the following commands:

adb shell chmod 777 /data/local/tmp

adb install BurritoRoot3.apk 

Open BurritoRoot on the Kindle and then on the PC type:

adb shell /data/local/tmp/BurritoRoot3.bin --root
adb shell /data/local/tmp/BurritoRoot3.bin --install

Restart you Kindle Fire.

You are now rooted.

     7. Now let's install RootExplorer, type the following:

adb install RootExplorer.apk

     8. Take the Google files and copy them using Windows Explorer to the folder Documents on your Kindle Fire. Now unplug your Kindle Fire.

     9. On the Kindle Fire open up Root Explorer. Navigate to the Documents folder(in the SDCard folder under root). Now click on the GoogleServicesFramework.apk and select install.

   10. Now go back to the Documents folder and install Vendor.apk. Setup your Google account. Then find the app called Go Launcher EX and install it. You have to install this as the Kindle launcher ignores the Google Marketplace.

  11. BACKUP - Now reboot your Kindle Fire. When starting it, keep tapping the power button until recovery comes up. Select backup and restore, then backup, then yes. Once it is complete, connect the Kindle Fire back to the PC and restart. Once rebooted, from the PC go into the folder of the Kindle fire called clockworkmod, under SD card, which is the root when connecting the Kindle Fire. Copy this folder to your PC, so you have a good backup.

You now have a rooted Kindle Fire with the Google Marketplace.

TIPS:

Search the marketplace for the app called OTA Rootkeeper. This will allow you to protect root from updates and turn root off if you want to use Amazon video.

Now that you have the marketplace, install Firefox, it is a much better web browser than silk.

If you want to re-partition the internal storage, you can use https://github.com/eldarerathis/FireParted/downloads, but be careful.

Here are some useful links:

If you brick:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1414832
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1356257

Kindle Fire XDA forums:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1306

BurritoRoot3:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410223

Running Ice Cream Sandwich (Andriod 4.X) on your Kindle Fire:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1411895

CM7 on your Kindle Fire:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1390773

 

Buy Me a Beer

Please Donate To Bitcoin Address: [[address]]

Donation of [[value]] BTC Received. Thank You.

[[error]]