Database Users

TV Launcher Works with HOME BUTTON

This version is little old but you can signup for BETA/ALPHA releases I am currently waiting for google to update it.. so this thing will get even better!
FiredTV Alternative with " TV LAUNCHER FOR ANDROID"​
Hey guys by accident I think I found a way to use different launcher then FiredTV Launcher which often crashed for me..
I sideloaded TV Launcher then bought full version. After installing this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786618 , XPOSED module after reeboting and removing all previous launchers now TV Launcher turn on itself always by pressing home button!!
the only way to go back to amazon screen is by holding "Home" and then clicking on settings and then going back to Amazon menu.
I can make a short video to show it I am impressed!! TV Launcher is pretty cool just gotta find HD ICONS for my apps
TV Launcher pro is like few bucks you can then add unlimited icons to your launcher.
Steps I Took to get it working
#1 Install Xposed (if you are already did skip it) if you didn't install framework of course also.
#2 Install Fire TV Mods (all credits to rBox) link to 1.3 Ver apk:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/onvu1xbjjkho1yb/RboxFireTvMods_1.3.apk
#3 Remove any previous launcher ( I had few like Nova,FiredTV Launcher etc..) leave only TV Launcher
#4 reeboot via xPosed app (your fire tv box)
#5 after clicking HOME you should be able to go to TV Launcher menu everytime
VIDEO -- UPLOADING
Play Store Link to TV-Launcher:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.awe.dev.pro.tv&hl=en
How to buy Paid version fire TV?
you gotta have Play Store installed I bought pro version via Fire TV to make things easier.
How to extract easily TV Launcher?
download APK Extractor on your tablet/phone,extract it and use your favorite app/way to install the TV Launcher APK.​

The home button works with any launcher available if using xposed, but like it's been said before its non selectable.. So whatever it launches is your default launcher. Tested apex and Nova and TV launcher back in the day.. TV launcher iirc didn't work right with the remote back then. Did they fix it?

nhumber said:
The home button works with any launcher available if using xposed, but like it's been said before its non selectable.. So whatever it launches is your default launcher. Tested apex and Nova and TV launcher back in the day.. TV launcher iirc didn't work right with the remote back then. Did they fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I joined the dev on google plus comnunity and signed up for beta however his latest launcher works horrible on Fire TV so I hope he will catch up with it quick it's the perfect launcher but the 2.08 version in playstore works ok but could be better.

Leanback launcher on different box?

Hey guys, I have 2 nexus players and I'm thinking of getting another android box that's more powerful. What I want to know is can i install the leanback launcher on a box other than the nexus/adt-1?
Any help is greatly appreciated .

Try these
I found few apps which can serve the purpose
HALauncher
Unwind Launcher for TV BETA
You can test these apps on your phone or tablet too

I found an older version APK that worked, except suggestions, on my Leelbox (amlogic) Q2. Every other version did not work though.

OnBootKodi (No Root)

OnBootKodi
OnBootKodi starts Kodi when you start up your device! Also, has the option to start Kodi after a screen timeout period [user set] (If you turn on/off the timeout service, one reboot is required for changes to take effect)
Requirements
-Kodi installed
Changelog
Added timeout support
Source:
Bitbucket
Donations
Donations are not required, but if you like my work they certainly are appreciated!
Donate!
Download
GDrive
XDA:DevDB Information
OnBootKodi, Device Specific App for the Amazon Fire TV
Contributors
Xtraordinair, Xtraordinair
Source Code: https://bitbucket.org/Xtraordinair/onbootkodi/overview
Version Information
Status: Beta
Created 2017-05-18
Last Updated 2017-05-18

Thanks. Haven't tried this yet. What happens if I press the Home button on the Fire remote? Do I go back to the Amazon or Kodi screen?

fido14dido said:
Thanks. Haven't tried this yet. What happens if I press the Home button on the Fire remote? Do I go back to the Amazon or Kodi screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Goes to the Amazon home screen, so far only supports loading Kodi on boot and after screen timeout.

I have tested your App. Not working on my 5.2.4.1 Fire TV. But keep up the goodwork though.

Working with issue
Xtraordinair said:
Goes to the Amazon home screen, so far only supports loading Kodi on boot and after screen timeout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you working on my first gen ftv stick with new menu update. However could not interact with it via either the remote or the amazon iOS remote app. Had to uninstall and reboot to stop it booting kodi. Thanx BB

justjones said:
Thank you working on my first gen ftv stick with new menu update. However could not interact with it via either the remote or the amazon iOS remote app. Had to uninstall and reboot to stop it booting kodi. Thanx BB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fire os 5.2.4.1 Home ver. 5.7.3-17

Worked for me on both a Fire TV 1 and Fire TV 2. Both on latest 5.2.4.1 version. But I could not get the timeout option to work. Not sure about the units used, so I tried 1, 1000, and 1000000 but it always just launched immediately after boot each time.

Looks like the Time out function is to start kodi after the fire tv has gone to sleep for X amount of time.
AFTVnews.com said:
Worked for me on both a Fire TV 1 and Fire TV 2. Both on latest 5.2.4.1 version. But I could not get the timeout option to work. Not sure about the units used, so I tried 1, 1000, and 1000000 but it always just launched immediately after boot each time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Doesn't work for SPMC

OnBootKodi has been blacklisted by Amazon. This means you can only use it if your device is rooted and you've disabled the blacklist.

You can modify Kodi to run as a launcher. Then use Launcher Hijack v3 to make it act as the default launcher. It works WITHOUT root.

nyln said:
You can modify Kodi to run as a launcher. Then use Launcher Hijack v3 to make it act as the default launcher. It works WITHOUT root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you turn Kodi into a launcher? And once you have, would pressing the home button on the FireTV remote open Kodi or will it continue to load the Amazon dashboard?

Patrick_445 said:
How do you turn Kodi into a launcher? And once you have, would pressing the home button on the FireTV remote open Kodi or will it continue to load the Amazon dashboard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not 100% sure, but I think you can edit the manifest.xml file and add a launcher behavior. Not my specialty. If not you could edit Launcher Hijacks open source code to work with kodi, In the meantime just press home when it turns on and it will load your launcher of choice .

Patrick_445 said:
How do you turn Kodi into a launcher? And once you have, would pressing the home button on the FireTV remote open Kodi or will it continue to load the Amazon dashboard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nyln said:
I am not 100% sure, but I think you can edit the manifest.xml file and add a launcher behavior. Not my specialty. If not you could edit Launcher Hijacks open source code to work with kodi, In the meantime just press home when it turns on and it will load your launcher of choice .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would recommend SPMC with Launcher build in. Might be best option:
https://github.com/koying/SPMC/releases/tag/16.7.1-spmc
Haven't had time to test this option. Post your experience.

Unfortunately OnBootKodi is being blacklisted via Amazon.
I tried to hide Amazon blacklist Service, but it didnt help
pm hide com.amazon.tv.settings/com.amazon.tv.settings.tv.AppDisableService
OnBootKodi is being shown as disabled package after a FireTV reboot which cant be re-enabled due to non-root privileges.
edit1: also deinstalling tv settgins wont help
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.amazon.tv.settings

TV33 said:
Unfortunately OnBootKodi is being blacklisted via Amazon.
I tried to hide Amazon blacklist Service, but it didnt help
pm hide com.amazon.tv.settings/com.amazon.tv.settings.tv.AppDisableService
OnBootKodi is being shown as disabled package after a FireTV reboot which cant be re-enabled due to non-root privileges.
edit1: also deinstalling tv settgins wont help
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.amazon.tv.settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mentioned this in another thread some time ago but it never gained any traction. It appears Amazon is currently blocking these apps by package name alone. Why don't any of these developers just change the package name to something already in use on the app store that way Amazon can't block it without also blocking the real app?

Fire HD 10 7th Generation - Nova Launcher

I have a Fire HD 10 7th generation. My Fire OS says the build date is 11-12-18 running OS 5.3.6.4 (626533320), it also shows it checked for an update on 12-5-18. That seems odd to me because most everyone else including the tutorial video shows the OS as 5.6 and that was posted 1-2018. That doesn't make sense, an older system having a newer version of the OS even though mine checked for an update.
What I want to do is be able to run Nova Launcher as my default launcher. I have Google Play Store, ES Explorer & Nova Launcher installed. If I open Nova Launcher and go to the settings at the top it says it is not the default launcher, 'click here' to make it default. When I do that It takes me to the Fire Settings main menu. I can't anywhere within settings that allow me to do that. The only thing I have found the even mentions Nova Launcher is at the bottom of the Accessibility menu under Services it is listed and turned off, I turned it on.
It would be nice if I could disable Amazon for forcing updates as well but one step at a time.
Has what I wanted been done successfully with the same OS version? If so is there a tutorial? Is the LauncherHijackV3.apk & Launcher Hijack V4 outdated or is there a better way?

ryevick said:
I have a Fire HD 10 7th generation. My Fire OS says the build date is 11-12-18 running OS 5.3.6.4 (626533320), it also shows it checked for an update on 12-5-18. That seems odd to me because most everyone else including the tutorial video shows the OS as 5.6 and that was posted 1-2018. That doesn't make sense, an older system having a newer version of the OS even though mine checked for an update.
What I want to do is be able to run Nova Launcher as my default launcher. I have Google Play Store, ES Explorer & Nova Launcher installed. If I open Nova Launcher and go to the settings at the top it says it is not the default launcher, 'click here' to make it default. When I do that It takes me to the Fire Settings main menu. I can't anywhere within settings that allow me to do that. The only thing I have found the even mentions Nova Launcher is at the bottom of the Accessibility menu under Services it is listed and turned off, I turned it on.
It would be nice if I could disable Amazon for forcing updates as well but one step at a time.
Has what I wanted been done successfully with the same OS version? If so is there a tutorial? Is the LauncherHijackV3.apk & Launcher Hijack V4 outdated or is there a better way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, as of now there is no way to disable OTA updates. Now the part about Nova. It seems that Amazon has locked down the tablets when it comes to changing launchers. For me the easiest way is indeed LauncherHijacker. Although its not the fastest method it definitely is very effective. Also, the accessiblity service for Nova doesn't have anything to do with the launcher being default, it just allows for gestures and taking the user to the recent apps screen, etc. Those were just my answers on the questions you had. I'm sorry if I couldn't answer your question to your satisfactory.

Datastream33 said:
Unfortunately, as of now there is no way to disable OTA updates. Now the part about Nova. It seems that Amazon has locked down the tablets when it comes to changing launchers. For me the easiest way is indeed LauncherHijacker. Although its not the fastest method it definitely is very effective. Also, the accessiblity service for Nova doesn't have anything to do with the launcher being default, it just allows for gestures and taking the user to the recent apps screen, etc. Those were just my answers on the questions you had. I'm sorry if I couldn't answer your question to your satisfactory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the latest LauncherHijacker or the one that works with my OS? Where do I find it?

ryevick said:
What is the latest LauncherHijacker or the one that works with my OS? Where do I find it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find the latest versions for Launcher Hijack here. I believe the latest version is 4.0.2.

Datastream33 said:
Unfortunately, as of now there is no way to disable OTA updates. Now the part about Nova. It seems that Amazon has locked down the tablets when it comes to changing launchers. For me the easiest way is indeed LauncherHijacker. Although its not the fastest method it definitely is very effective. Also, the accessiblity service for Nova doesn't have anything to do with the launcher being default, it just allows for gestures and taking the user to the recent apps screen, etc. Those were just my answers on the questions you had. I'm sorry if I couldn't answer your question to your satisfactory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Datastream33 said:
You can find the latest versions for Launcher Hijack here. I believe the latest version is 4.0.2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where can I find the best tutorial on how to install this? Preferably a video but either is appreciated.

ryevick said:
Where can I find the best tutorial on how to install this? Preferably a video but either is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can create a quick video for you if you want.

LauncherHijack BLOCKED
I know this is an old post, but I'm hoping someone will help me with this:
For me, the LauncherHijack had worked great at first! I was actually able to use Nova as the default launcher. Then I put the tablet aside and when I came back to it, a message popped up with something to the effect of "launcherhijack blocked." And now, I have reinstalled the LH twice and nothing. When I go to "Accessibility," at the bottom, it no longer lists that "home screen" option. It only shows "Nova Launcher: On" and I can use the Nova Launcher app, but it's still not my default launcher.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Download: mediafire.com/file/kqa89yndk468itf/Launcher.Hijack.v.4.0.3.b.43.Clone.apk
This comes from post #395 under the thread "Amazon Fire > Fire General>Any Launcher, No Root (Launcher Hijack V4)" by Baronkiko
I used it to activate the Nova Launcher after I accidentally updated my OS to 5.6.4.0 when I had to refresh my Fire HD10 (2017).

Thanks for workarround

new verson worked first try
thanks for launcher help.
yavapai

JackDN06 said:
Download: mediafire.com/file/kqa89yndk468itf/Launcher.Hijack.v.4.0.3.b.43.Clone.apk
This comes from post #395 under the thread "Amazon Fire > Fire General>Any Launcher, No Root (Launcher Hijack V4)" by Baronkiko
I used it to activate the Nova Launcher after I accidentally updated my OS to 5.6.4.0 when I had to refresh my Fire HD10 (2017).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked perfectly on OS 5.6.4.0. Very easy to setup.

Do I *really* need to unlock bootloader and root?

I bought a Fire HD 8 (2018) for my mother, she basically uses her phone/tablet for YouTube, Gmail, browsing, pictures. What is she really going to miss out on if I give her the tablet with stock firmware? Is sideloading not an option at all on stock? I'm looking at the steps for modding the device, seems like too much trouble for how she would use it. Any insight is appreciated.

Rooting for her use sounds like it'd create more problems than it'd fix.
I'd recommend sideloading the playstore, and disabling any of the Amazon features she won't use that use system resources. You can see what's using memory in settings. I'd also recommend disabling the lockscreen ads. The windows fire toolbox can help get this all done quickly.
You could also use launcher hijack to use Nova Launcher instead of fire launcher to give a more familiar homescreen.

Sideloading works fine in the stock Fire OS. It just helps to have a file manager installed, but that can be done later.
I agree with just adding the Play Store to give her the apps not available in the Amazon App Store - like the YouTube app. Just follow the instructions for downloading through the Silk Browser and install from the notification pulldown.
In fact, I wouldn't bother doing anything else to the tablet related to the Amazon stuff. Just leave it as is. The interface, while not typical for android in general, is not difficult to navigate. It's really easy. In fact, I'm pretty sure you can add her Gmail account to the stock Amazon Email app.
My wife's HD8 (7th Gen) is stock Fire OS with just the Play Store added. Works fine.
Now, for my HD8 (8th Gen), I did add use LauncherHijack to use the Nova Launcher, but that's just me. I haven't disabled anything else Amazon related. I did add the BlackBerry Hub+ suite to use for my email, calendar, contacts and notes.

Thanks for the input. We have the Canadian model of the tablet which I believe is ad-free already. Installing Nova Launcher would be good since that's what she's used to on her phone.

fattest said:
Thanks for the input. We have the Canadian model of the tablet which I believe is ad-free already. Installing Nova Launcher would be good since that's what she's used to on her phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on what you wrote, it seems the best solution is:
(1). Install Nova Launcher
(2). Disable Fire Launcher after obtaining a temporary root. After Fire Launcher is disabled, the newly install Nova Launcher will be the default launcher.
Here is the guide to obtain a temporary root:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd...xperimental-software-root-hd-8-hd-10-t3904595

All you really need is to install LauncherHijack and then set it for Nova Launcher. No need for any root... temporary or otherwise.
The thread on it is the following...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/amazon-fire/general/launcher-root-launcher-hijack-v2-t3561026
Although, Amazon apparently sent updates to their tablets to block that app early last month, but it didn't go out all at once. It finally disabled mine just last weekend.
But, one user was able to rename the package to get it working again. Check post #395 in that thread to get the modified package app if the latest original doesn't work.

Thanks everyone, will try this today.