Since this topic has come up again I thought I'd repost this message, for any
users who are new to this list.
As my wife recently bought an Amazon HD 10, I have now acquired her
sixth-generation HD 8. These are nice tablets, but Amazon does not, by default,
have the Google Play store installed, instead preferring users to download apps
directly from their own app store. This would be fine, except that Amazon's app
store doesn't offer all of the apps available from the Google Play store, which
I find annoying. There are a few methods for installing the Google Play store
on a Fire tablet but I've found a rather simple method for doing this, which
just involves a tiny bit of preparation beforehand on the tablet. What follows
is a message I posted to the Visually Impaired Kindle discussion list about how
to do this.
There are a few methods for installing the Google Play Store on a Fire tablet.
The way that I've done this in the past was to run a file which, essentially,
installs all 4 files at once, without the user needing to download and install
each file one at a time. This tool has worked for me in the past but it did not
work reliably on my HD 8 with Fire OS 5.6.0.0. However, after doing some
searching I found a similar tool from the same source, which worked.
First, here's the instructions for how to do this.
https://fire.gadgethacks.com/how-to/install-google-play-store-your-kindle-fire-without-rooting-0177098/
Although the article advises that you extract the zip file into a specific
folder, this is not necessary for just installing the Play Store.
The only preparation you need to do for your tablet is to enable a few settings
in Developer Options within Settings/Device Options. However, if you go into
Device Options you'll see that Developer Options is not shown, as it's hidden,
by default.
To unhide Developer Options, go into Settings/Device Options.
Look for the serial number.
You're supposed to tap it 7 times, which means that VoiceView users need to
double-tap it seven times.
Once you do this, you should see a new tenth option called Developer Options.
If this still isn't showing and if you only see nine options in Device Options,
try double-tapping Serial Number 7 or more times again. Eventually, you'll see
Developer Options.
Double-tap Developer Options and look for the option USB Computer Connection.
Double-tap this and set this for Camera, ptp.
Go back to the previous screen.
Next, look for Enable ADB, which will be off, by default. Double-tap to turn it
on.
Next, run the tool. Here's a direct link to it.
http://www.rootjunkysdl.com/files/SuperTool/AmazonFire5thGenSuperTool.zip
Extract the zip file to a place where you can easily find it. If you need help
doing this, just ask and I'll be happy to assist, as time allows.
Open the folder containing the files and you will see two folders.
The first folder is for the Mac, which you can ignore if you're using Windows.
The second folder is the Supertool folder, which is what you want to open. Even
though it has the phrase "fifth gen" in the title, I can tell you this worked
on my sixth generation tablet.
Within this folder, look for the file called 1-Amazon-Fire-5th-gen.bat, which
is what you want to run. Make sure the tablet is connected, ideally before you
run this file.
Choose option 2 by pressing the number 2, followed by enter, which should, if
all goes well, install the Google Play Store.
During the installation process, you may hear VoiceView say "Google Play
Services error" several times but just ignore this.
Once the files are installed, it is recommended that you completely power off
your tablet.
Once it's powered back on, Google Play Store should appear in what is called
the app grid (the list of apps) on your home screen.
At some point while downloading your first app, you will likely be prompted to
update your Google Play Services, which you can safely do.
At this point, I would go back to Settings/Device Options/Developer Options and
turn off ADB Debugging.
I hope this method will be of some use. If anybody has further questions, I
don't mind receiving them but I ask that you send them to the list and not to
me privately. This is because I don't have a lot of time during the week to
answer emails and sending them to the list gives more people a chance to
respond, and those responses could benefit others who are interested in this
topic.
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist
WWW.David-Goldfield.Com<http://WWW.David-Goldfield.Com>