Amazon Kindle Fire HD (amazon-tate)

From postmarketOS Wiki
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" (2nd Gen)
Kindle Fire HD running XFCE desktop
Kindle Fire HD running XFCE desktop
Manufacturer Amazon
Name Kindle Fire HD 7" (2nd Gen)
Codename amazon-tate
Released 2012
Type tablet
Hardware
Chipset TI OMAP 4460 HS
CPU Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9
GPU PowerVR SGX540
Display 800 x 1280 IPS LCD
Storage 16/32 GB
Memory 1 GB
Architecture armv7
Software
Original software Android
Original version 4.0
postmarketOS
Category testing
Pre-built images no
Features
Flashing
Works
USB Networking
Works
Internal storage
SD card
Battery
Works
Screen
Works
Touchscreen
Works
Multimedia
3D Acceleration
Broken
Audio
Broken
Camera
Camera Flash
Connectivity
WiFi
Broken
Bluetooth
GPS
NFC
Modem
Calls
SMS
Mobile data
Miscellaneous
FDE
USB OTG
HDMI/DP
Sensors
Accelerometer
Magnetometer
Ambient Light
Proximity
Hall Effect
Haptics
Barometer


Contributors

  • Foldmorepaper
  • Stormwoodpecker

Users owning this device

Change Mine to Bricked. -retrocountry

Custom Recovery: TWRP

This custom recovery can only be installed from fastboot, as the bootloader has no exploit. To enter fastboot mode, a fastboot cable (A.K.A. "Fire factory cable", "Motorola factory cable") is needed.

Moto-amazon-fastboot.png

Powering up the device with this cable connected will show an orange 'fastboot' logo shortly after the normal 'Kindle Fire' logo.

TODO:

  • walkthrough of directions from the CyanogenMod guide [1]

Cyanogen will install a second, unlocked copy of u-boot to enable custom recovery and unsigned boot images. postmarketOS also relies on the second stage bootloader being present to boot currently.

Installation

Currently, only a console installation of pmOS can be installed. This is due to the bootloader being unable to install images exceeding ~900MB, with sparse images also being unreliable to install. A desktop environment can be installed by installing the console image first, and installing a DE on the installed image.

Initial install

  • Run pmbootstrap init, selecting the following parameters (all unspecified parameters may be left as default):
    • Channel: edge
    • Vendor: amazon
    • Device: tate
    • User interface: console
  • Run pmbootstrap install.
  • Ensure the device is powered off, then connect the fastboot cable.
    • The device will power up and display an orange fastboot logo.
  • Run pmbootstrap flasher flash_kernel.
  • Run pmbootstrap flasher flash_rootfs.
  • Detach the fastboot cable, then power off the device by holding the power button until the screen blanks.
  • Power on the device. After the orange/blue 'Kindle Fire' splash screens, the postmarketOS load screen should appear.
    • The initial startup will likely take a while, this is normal.
  • Wait for the load animation to stop, then connect a regular micro-USB cable to the device.
  • A new network device should appear on the host PC. Connect to the device with SSH (ssh <username>@172.16.42.1).
    • If a remote shell opens, pmOS has been successfully installed on the device.

Installing XFCE

XFCE is recommended due to the current lack of graphics acceleration on tate.

  • Install a reverse proxy to the Alpine/postmarketOS repo on the host PC following this guide.
    • Make sure to also configure the repositories on the device!
  • Run apk update followed by apk add postmarketos-ui-xfce4 xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin postmarketos-artwork-wallpapers postmarketos-artwork-icons xfce4-terminal matchbox-keyboard to install the required XFCE packages and an on screen keyboard.
  • Fix LightDM starting on framebuffer only devices by setting logind-check-graphical=false under the [LightDM] category of /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf.
  • Finally, launch LightDM with sudo rc-service lightdm restart.
    • After a few moments, the XFCE desktop should appear. It will now also launch automatically on boot.

Additional Info

Partition Layout

Output of parted /dev/block/mmcblk0 print while in TWRP recovery: 

Error: Can't have overlapping partitions.
Model: MMC MAG2GA (sd/mmc)
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 15.6GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 131kB 262kB 131kB xloader
2 262kB 524kB 262kB bootloader
3 524kB 590kB 65.5kB idme
4 590kB 606kB 16.4kB crypto
5 606kB 608kB 2048B misc
6 1049kB 11.5MB 10.5MB dkernel
7 11.5MB 213MB 201MB ext4 dfs
8 213MB 230MB 16.8MB ext4 efs
9 230MB 238MB 8389kB recovery
10 238MB 246MB 8389kB boot
11 246MB 1175MB 929MB ext4 system
12 1175MB 1857MB 682MB ext4 cache
13 1857MB 15.6GB 13.8GB ext4 userdata

See also

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