*Amazon Kindle Fire Easy Follow Root Guide*

[massahwahl]

I want to make this as easy as possible for everyone to follow. Rooting is not as scary or difficult as you may think even if you have a only a novice understanding of the process. Follow the guide to the 'T' and you will be fine. That being said, I must make the obligatory 'Im not responsible if you mess something up and turn your fire into a coaster' its EXTREMELY unlikely that you will mess something up, but in case you do Im not responsible.

This guide will only cover the process on a windows machine it is possible to complete on Mac/Linux but you are on your own. This method is based on that found on the PCWorld website. I made some changes for easier understandability.

Lets begin:

~*Tools*~
Download all of these to a new folder on your desktop:
Java Developers Kit Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select the version appropriate for your system, either 32-bit or 64-bit. If you dont know which you have, right click on your 'Computer' shortcut in the start menu or on your desktop and go to 'Properties'. it will tell you which version you are running. You can only install the appropriate one so if you accidentally snag the wrong one, it will tell you. Once downloaded, install this FIRST.

Android SDK Please select the .exe version. Once downloaded, install this SECOND. Make sure that you select the installation path of C:\Program Files\Android. Once the Android SDK is finished installing, the SDK Manager app will automatically open with a list of software packages you can download. Go ahead and install all the prechecked packages, but make sure that the Google USB Driver package (listed under Extras) is checked. You'll need this file to let your PC communicate with the Kindle Fire. Wait for SDK Manager to download install and all the packages, and don't panic if it asks you for permission to kill a server or process. Just click OK until it's all done with the install process.

Windows .NET Framework 32-bit or Windows .NET Framework 64-bit. Download and install THIRD

Super One-Click Download and dont open until we are ready for it.

~*Lets Begin*~
Step 1: Turn on your Kindle Fire and tap the top bar, near the battery and Wi-Fi icons; press More... from the drop-down menu, then Device, and tap Allow Installation of Applications to On.

Step 2: Open up your User Account folder in Windows (C:\Users\(Your Account Name), find the new ".android" directory, and find a file called adb_usb.ini. Open it up in Notepad, add a new line at the bottom of the document, and copy and paste the following

0x1949

.

Make sure that string is on its own line in the document, save it, and close it. It is better to copy-paste this onto the last line to ensure you have the correct characters.


Step 3: Next, go to wherever you installed the Android SDK itself (probably C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk), and navigate to the \extra\google\usb_driver\ directory. Find the file called android_winusb.inf and open it in Notepad. There, you'll want to copy and paste:

;Kindle Fire
%SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_1949&PID_0006
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_1949&PID_0006&MI_01

immediately underneath the [Google.NTx86] and [GoogleNTamd64] headings in the document. Use the search function to ensure you find both headers. All this does is make sure that your computer will recognize the kindle fire on your machine when we plug it in. Make sure you paste it under BOTH headers. Save the document and close it.

Step 4: Plug your Kindle into your PC. You'll need a micro-USB cable to do this, which the Fire doesn't ship with, so you'll have to buy that cable if you don't already have one that you use with your phone or camera. Windows will probably automatically attempt to install a driver for it, fail, and then mount it as a normal storage device. That's fine, though we may have to change something there later.

Step 5: Go to Control Panel in Windows, open Device Manager, and scroll down the list of devices until you find your Kindle listed. Right-click the listing and select Update, then click Browse my computer for driver software, Browse, and navigate to the directory that holds the file you edited earlier called android_winusb.inf--probably C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\extras\google\usb_driver. Click Next; Windows should now switch over to the Android SDK USB driver for your Kindle.

Step 6: Next open the command prompt (Start Menu, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt)

Step 7: Type

cd C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\

. Once you're there, type

adb kill-server

, press Enter, type

adb devices

, and then press Enter again. You should see the Command Prompt return with "List of devices attached" and a string of numbers followed by "device"--that means the Android SDK recognizes the Kindle is attached, and you're ready to proceed to the next step. Leave the Command Prompt window open.

Step 8: Now open Super One Click that we downloaded earlier. This program will perform the actual ROOT process. When the program opens it will recognize your device, click 'start' and let it run. When its finished switch back to the Command Prompt window and type

adb kill-server

. After that safely remove your kindle from the PC and you have a rooted device!

Ill also be posting some other guides in the days to come for setting up Android Market and as Roms start trickling out, Ill be sure to keep you updated on what looks good!

[SteveIl]

Looks like the .NET Framework is 32 bit. Does that matter if my OS is 64 bit?
Thanks

[Hawaiian Princess]

I'm moving this thread to the Root/hack section

[JohnDroid]

Thanks massahwahl for putting this together!

[massahwahl]

Steve, I will need to investigate your question. As far as I know, there is only one version but let me double check.

[Gamertherapy]

Please tell me, what does rooting a device do to it?

[massahwahl]

Steve, I edited the original post to link to the 64-bit version of .NET framework.

Gamertherapy,
Rooting a device essentially gives you access to all 'behind the scenes' working of the device. It gives developers a chance to create custom ROMs and add additional features to the device that it did not originally have or that the distributor did not intend for it to be able to do. Some examples include installing the actual google applications, android marketplace, third party apps that are currently not supported, etc... For the time being there is not a lot going on dev-wise but it will only be a matter of days before the really exciting stuff starts happening. Im going to be making a separate pros/cons thread too in the next few hours.

[massahwahl]

An unrooting guide has officially come out via XDA, look for a guide soon...

[EdF]

Looks like the .NET Framework is 32 bit. Does that matter if my OS is 64 bit?
Thanks

At the bottom of the download page are a couple of "related downloads" - X64 is the one you want, but you'll likely find it installed already.

- Ed

[massahwahl]

At the bottom of the download page are a couple of "related downloads" - X64 is the one you want, but you'll likely find it installed already.

- Ed

Thanks for pointing this out, I made a link in the OP to the x64 version. Just in case someone would not already have .NET installed.