Muo Amazon fire User manual

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Your Unofﬁcial

Amazon Fire

Tablet Manual

Written by Christian Cawley

Published August 2017.

Read the original article here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/your-unofficial-kindle-fire-

manual/

This ebook is the intellectual property of MakeUseOf. It must only be published in its original

form. Using parts or republishing altered parts of this ebook is prohibited without permission

from MakeUseOf.com.!

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Table of contents

1. Introduction: What is the Amazon Fire? 5

1.1 Combining Amazon’s Media Service with a Tablet 6

1.2 Differences Between the Amazon Fire and Kindle 7

2. Setting Up the Amazon Fire 8

2.1 Managing Your Account 8

3. The Amazon Fire User Interface 9

3.1 Menus, Icons and Gestures 10

3.2 Using Search 11

3.3!Using the Keyboard 11

3.4 Copy and Paste Tools 12

4. Installing and Launching Apps 13

4.1 Installing New Apps from the Amazon App Store 14

4.2 Other Resources for Installing Apps 14

4.3 Launching & Uninstalling Apps 15

4.4 Suggested Apps for the Amazon Fire 16

5. Music, Video and Books on Amazon Prime 17

5.1 Sync Media to the Amazon Fire 17

5.2 What Is Amazon Prime? 18

5.3 Buying Movies, TV Shows, Music, and Books with the Amazon Fire 19

5.4 Buy and Watch Videos 19

5.5 Video Sync and Settings 20

5.6 Finding Music for Your Amazon Fire 22

5.7 Playing and Managing Audible Audiobooks 23

5.8 A Focus on Reading 25

5.9 Finding Free Titles to Read 26

6. Accessing the Web on Your Amazon Fire 27

6.1 The Silk Browser 27

6.1.1 The Sub-Menu 28

6.2 Conﬁguring the Silk Browser 29

7. Parental Controls on the Amazon Fire 29

8. Amazon Fire Settings & Connectivity 30

8.1 The Amazon Fire Menu Bar 31

8.2 Battery Management 32

8.3 Conﬁguring Wireless Networking on the Amazon Fire 33

8.3.1 Advanced Networking Options 33

8.4 Display Settings 34

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9. Amazon Fire Security 35

9.1 The Lock Screen Password 35

9.2 Credential Storage 36

9.3 Changing the Device Owner and Resetting Your Amazon Fire 36

9.3.1 Resetting for Security 37

9.5 Updating the Amazon Fire Operating System 37

9.6 Is Your Amazon Fire Lost or Stolen? 38

10. Troubleshooting the Amazon Fire 38

10.1 Restart the Device! 38

10.2 Tracing and Dealing with Problem Apps and Games 39

10.3 Dealing with Synchronization Issues 40

10.4 I’ve Lost My Password! 40

Get Reading! 41

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Own an Amazon Fire tablet, but not sure what it can and can’t do? This manual outlines how to

do just about anything with Amazon’s combination tablet and e-reader.

The Amazon Fire is a great alternative to standard tablets and offers a gateway to the vast

Amazon marketplace of eBooks, videos, music, comics, audiobooks, and physical items. Its

small size and flexibility makes it the top choice in a market where competitor devices such as

the iPad Mini and various Android 7 inch tablets are also available.

1. Introduction: What is the Amazon Fire?

The Amazon Fire is Amazon’s centerpiece consumer hardware. It’s a range of quality tablets

that can be used to read books, enjoy videos and, browse the web. Over the years, 6-inch and 10-

inch varieties have been released. At the time of writing, the current devices are the Amazon

Fire 7, and Fire HD 8. The Fire HD 6 and HD 10 tablets can still be purchased in some regions.

While the specific features of each differ, these tablets have specifications that make them

ideal for everything from reading (and some light work) to media consumption and gaming.

With at least 8 GB of storage (as much as 16 GB on the Fire 7, with a choice of 16 GB or 32 GB on

the HD 8), your Amazon Fire can store music, podcasts, video clips and other data. A minimum 1

GB of RAM (1.5 GB on the HD 8) enables the tablet to run perfectly with the quad-core, 1.3 GHz

processor.

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A 1280×800 multi-touch Gorilla Glass display displays 189 ppi (pixels per inch) and a choice of

16 million colors. Graphics are provided by a PowerVR G6200 chip (Fire 7) or a Mali T720 MP2/3

(HD 8).

The Amazon Fire offers a 3.5 mm headphone socket, although a built-in speaker is also

available. You’ll also find a micro-USB 2.0 type-B connector, along with wireless connectivity

(802.11b/g/n). Note that there are no mobile internet variants. Bluetooth 4.0+ LE is available,

which is good, as Bluetooth is becoming increasingly important. The Fire also includes some

sensors: light (HD 8 only), accelerometer, and gyroscope. There’s also front (0.3 megapixel) and

back (2 MP) cameras.

1.1 Combining Amazon’s Media Service with a Tablet

For all intents and purposes, the Amazon Fire is an Android tablet. The difference comes from

the marketplace ecosystem. On Android, you’re mostly tied to Google Play. On the Amazon Fire,

it’s the digital services of Amazon. As such, the Amazon Fire requires an Amazon account,

rather than a Google account.

Using Android as a starting point for the Amazon Fire tablets means that various Android apps

and games can be downloaded from the Amazon App Store, along with video and audio

media. Amazon Prime members get the benefit of movies, TV shows and music as part of their

subscription, which can all be enjoyed with the Fire tablet. This versatility makes the tablet a

good choice of TV catchup device, just as it is a good choice for an eBook reader.

Of course, this is nothing new. Many of us have the Kindle mobile app that does essentially the

same thing. But with the Amazon Fire, you have your library of books and other media

presented to you front and center.

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1.2 Dierences Between the Amazon Fire and Kindle

The Amazon Fire tablets are not Kindle e-readers. So how does the Amazon Fire really differ from

a standard Kindle device?

Well, the standard Kindle eBook readers lack the high specification of the Amazon Fire. They’re

not optimized for playing music and video, they don’t have as much storage space or a fast

processor and they don’t have all the color displays.

On the other hand, standard Kindle readers are small, light and can easily slip into a pocket.

With millions of fans, the Kindle is a popular eBook reader, recognizable by its striking graphite

frame.

What really sets the traditional Kindle and Amazon Fire tablets apart, however, is the

differences between the displays.

A traditional Kindle e-reader uses E-Ink, a proprietary electronic ink solution that looks like

paper. It can display books on a screen without the use of a backlight. If you’re familiar with LCD

display, you might have noticed that these can produce negative effects such as headaches.

With no backlight, E-Ink devices don’t have this issue, allowing the user to enjoy hours of

comfortable reading.

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2. Setting Up the Amazon Fire

When you first receive your Amazon Fire from Amazon, your details are already present,

courtesy of the online retailer. They really want you to use the device to access their services,

after all!

If, however, you have bought the device as a gift you can easily remove the already-present

details. Drag down the notification area to access the Quick Settings menu. Here, tap Settings >

My Account and then the Deregister button. This removes the credentials of the person that

purchased the tablet. New details can now be inputted using your existing Amazon account. If

you’re new to Amazon, you can sign up via the tablet.

When creating an account, you will need to provide various pieces of personal information and

an email address. Make sure you create a strong password, too. Note also that Amazon will

require you to associate a credit or debit card with the account. This is so you can purchase

books, video and music to enjoy on the Amazon Fire.

Of course, to get this far, you should have already connected to a local wireless network. We’ll

look at the various options for this later in the guide (7.4 Configuring Wireless Networking on the

Amazon Fire). Getting online is straightforward, activated via Settings > Wireless > Wi-Fi and

switching Wi-Fi to On.

2.1 Managing Your Account

It’s easy to set up, add, or register an account for use with an Amazon Fire tablet. However, more

detailed account management isn’t possible without logging into your local Amazon website.

You can do this via the tablet browser, or on your desktop.

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Here, click Your Account, then find Manage Your Content and Devices from the drop-down

menu. From here, you will be taken to a page listing all eBooks associated with your account.

You’ll see three tabs: Your Content, Your Devices, and Settings. Use this last option to add and

remove payment cards to and from your Amazon account.

Meanwhile, use Your Content to manage what is in your library, and Your Devices to discard old

hardware. (This might include devices attached to a Kindle e-reader app on Android.)

3. The Amazon Fire User Interface

The default user interface on the Amazon Fire is very different than most Android systems.

Fire OS 5 is based on Android. But instead of the familiar styling of the Android user interface,

you’ll find an environment that can be scrolled and swiped. Here, books and apps are listed,

along with games, movies, and even audiobooks. In short, if you can buy and enjoy via

Amazon’s digital delivery service, you’ll find it here.

You’ll also find a more traditional app drawer-style interface via the Library button (contextual,

and dependent on the main view’s current display) while new content can be purchased via

the Storebutton (represented by a shopping cart).

Meanwhile, everything is also available — in traditional icon form — via the Home screen.

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3.1 Menus, Icons and Gestures

Fire OS has enough similarities with standard Android that make it easy to get started with an

Amazon Fire.

For instance, a Home button is almost ubiquitous (along with the Back and Overview buttons),

across the bottom of the screen, as per the most recent versions of Android. Similarly,

the Settings menu can be opened via the Quick Settings drop down menu. Opening this will

enable you to toggle the rotation lock, adjust volume, brightness and connect to Wi-Fi, as well

as syncing books with Amazon and providing access to a whole host of additional advanced

settings.

Using the Amazon Fire on a day-to-day basis, however, you will find the Home button and the

Back button are the most regularly used.

Like any touch-sensitive device, a number of gestures enable you to interact with your Amazon

Fire. First and foremost is the basic tap, the tablet version of a left-mouse click on a computer.

Following this is the tap-and-hold which offers a context menu of additional options in some

scenarios. The swipe will enable you to browse your device contents while the pinch-to-zoom

gesture uses the forefinger and thumb and is used to zoom in and out of images and web

pages.

Across the top of the device is a narrow bar, displaying your name, the time and information

such as wireless connectivity and battery life. Dragging this bar down reveals the Notification

Area, where you will find information about apps, new emails, etc. Often these notifications can

be tapped to take you to the appropriate app. When you’re done checking the notifications, tap

the Clear All button.

Wake your Amazon Fire from sleep mode with the power button on the lower edge of the device.

You can also use this button to restart the tablet.

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3.2 Using Search

The Search tool on the Amazon Fire can be used in a variety of ways. Search is capable of

finding books by file format, title and topic. This is done by tapping into the Search box, which

will open the Search page. Results will be displayed here when the search term is entered.

In addition, the tool can be used to search the web, by tapping the Web button in the top right

corner and entering a search term. Tapping the Library button will turn the search focus back to

your device, where apps and games can also be searched for in addition to books and

documents.

Another search tool can be found on the Amazon Fire. While reading a book, you might want to

jump to a particular chapter or find a certain word. This can be done in book view by tapping

the magnifying glass Search button and inputting your search term. Note that successful

results might take a while to return; the longer and more accurate the search phrase, the

better!

Note that othersearch engines can be selected in the Settings screen (see Chapter 8).

3.3Using the Keyboard

After getting to grips with the gestures and other basics of your Amazon Fire, it’s time to spend

some time on that other important user interface tool – the keyboard!

The Amazon Fire comes with a software keyboard that appears on the device display when

required, usually to enter information. This might happen automatically when you are required

to complete a form for setting up email or connecting to Wi-Fi, or it might happen when you tap

into a text field. A good example is the Search box.

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Offering a region-based standard QWERTY keyboard, numbers can be entered by long-pressing

the key or tapping the 123!? button to the left of the Space bar, where a separate keyboard for

numbers and punctuation is displayed. From here, a third keyboard of options displaying math

symbols is available in the position of the left shift key, while the main alphanumeric keyboard

can be reinstated via the ABC key.

Entering information is easy – just type with your fingers – and any mistakes can be dealt with

using the backspace key on the right-hand side. If you need to make any changes to the text

you have entered tap your finger in the text entry field and add or delete more text. You can drag

the cursor into position, if necessary.

3.4 Copy and Paste Tools

Copy and paste is also available. To select text on a web page or book or in a field you have

completed, double tap to select the word and then tap it once again to display the Edit text

menu, where the options Cut and Copy are available. To paste cut or copied text, long tap the

text field once again, and select the Paste option.

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Using the keyboard can prove difficult at times due to the size of the Amazon Fire display. In

both portrait and landscape modes, using it results in almost half of the screen being

dedicated to the keyboard. To get around any problems reading the information you’re entering

you can use your finger to scroll the web page or field, or simply use the close keyboard using

the back button.

When you’re done use the submit key (which changes its label depending on purpose).

4. Installing and Launching Apps

With your high-speed, full-color, media-consuming tablet all set up, you can spend all of your

free time enjoying books, magazines and browsing the web at your leisure.

Additionally, you can also install and launch apps courtesy of the Amazon App Store, an online

marketplace providing apps for your Amazon Fire.

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4.1 Installing New Apps from the Amazon App Store

To find and add new apps to your Amazon Fire, tap Apps > Store and browse the available

selection.

When you see an app with an interesting title, tap to open the description page. Here you will

find details about the product, screenshots and reviews from other users and

recommendations for other similar (and perhaps better) apps.

To install an app, you must first have a credit card associated with your account, just as with

purchasing books. This is the case whether the app or game is free or paid. You will see a price

listed on the app or game description page, so tap this, then Get App.

In the background, the transaction will complete; in the foreground, you will be informed of the

app’s imminent download, complete with a progress bar indicating the current status.

4.2 Other Resources for Installing Apps

Want an app or game that isn’t available in the Amazon App Store? Don’t worry – there are other

services that you can call upon to enable you to install apps and games.

Before doing this, however, you will need to ensure that your Amazon Fire is setup for installing

apps from third party locations. Open Settings > Security and switch Apps from Unknown

Sources from the default setting OFF to ON. Your Amazon Fire will let you know that this isn’t

necessarily safe – the choice is yours, but the following resources can be trusted (there are

many more that cannot be).

To install Google Play on the Amazon Fire, follow our instructions. Doing this will open up the

entire Android app selection to your tablet, but note: not everything will work as intended.

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Beyond this, consider:

•AppBrain

•SlideME

•AppToide

It would be wise (for device safety) not to install any apps from any location that cannot be

already found in the Amazon App Store or the official Google Play Store for Android devices.

Meanwhile, if you’re particularly keen on the Android look and feel, this can be added to your

Amazon Fire.

4.3 Launching & Uninstalling Apps

There are several places on your Amazon Fire where you will find your installed apps. The first is

the Home screen, where native and newly installed apps can be found. These can be listed By

Title or by the most recently used, and the Search tool is provided to find any that you can’t

track down.

The second place is the Apps screen. Note that if you’re looking for Games, they can be found in

the appropriate screen. Finally, the Recents screen provides links to all recently-used apps,

games, and media.

From time to time, you will probably decide that you no longer wish to keep an app on your

Amazon Fire. If this is the case, you can uninstall it easily by opening the Apps screen, long-

tapping the app icon and selecting Uninstall.

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If you prefer to simply tidy up the Recents screen, however, rather than delete apps, tap and

hold the items you’re unhappy with and select Remove from Home, thereby hiding said book,

movie, TV show, audio, or app. Or you can use Remove from Device to uninstall.

4.4 Suggested Apps for the Amazon Fire

In most cases you should be able to manage with the apps provided free as part of the

operating system. However, if you wish to take advantage of the various free apps in the

Amazon App Store, there are several that you shouldn’t miss.

•Skype — use your existing Skype details to login and chat with voice and video with your

friends and family.

•The Weather Channel — keep abreast of the weather with this, don’t let your day be ruined by

rain!

•Evernote — the popular note-taking app is available for the Amazon Fire.

•Pocket — if you’ve ever come across an article on the web that you would like to read but

don’t have time for right now, this app will help you out.

•Netflix — enjoy TV shows and movies from the Netflix streaming service. A monthly

subscription is required.

In addition to these, the usual Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn social networking apps are

available, along with alternative browsers, email clients, and even eBook reading software and

media players! Explore and you’ll find something you like.

Note, however, that some apps are complete trash. Additionally, if an Android user installed the

Amazon App Store, they would be opening their device up to some security risks. As such, please

stick to the most trustworthy apps with the best star ratings and reviews.

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5. Music, Video and Books on Amazon Prime

With your Amazon Fire in your hand, you can read books, browse the web, access your

email, and enjoy apps and games from the comfort of your living room, office, or on the train.

But did you know that this device is also a portable multimedia device?

While 8 GB might not seem like a lot of space (the typical size of a Blu-ray Disc is 25 GB!), you

don’t need to worry too much. First, the device is expandable, up to 256 GB. All you need to do is

buy a microSD card and insert it into the slot.

But even without this, Amazon Prime is designed to provide your Amazon Fire with a

marketplace and digital distribution over Wi-Fi, streaming content directly to your device for

your enjoyment.

To enjoy this, the Amazon Fire is equipped with a media player capable of playing back music

and video stored on your device and streamed to it from the web. And as an Amazon produced

device, reading eBooks, magazines and comics is simple.

5.1 Sync Media to the Amazon Fire

You’ll probably want to copy media files to and from your tablet from time to time. It’s as easy

as syncing data to a smartphone.

On your computer, open your file manager (for instance, Windows Explorer), and find the tablet

listed as a new drive. Typically, it will appear as “Fire”.

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With the drive open, you will see several folders. Key among these are the Books, Documents,

Music, Pictures, and Video directories – these are the locations where you will copy the

appropriate media. The best way of doing this is to open another Explorer window, find the

folder where the data you wish to sync to your Amazon Fire is stored, right-click, and

select Copy. Switch back to the original window, open the corresponding folder, right-click in

the empty space, then select Paste.

Or you could just drag-and-drop.

To enjoy your media, return to the Amazon Fire and tap the Disconnect button. You can then

remove the USB cable and start enjoying the synced content!

5.2 What Is Amazon Prime?

As a product that comes straight from Amazon, the Amazon Fire is designed as a media

consumption device — a receiver for digital distribution. This means that several Amazon

services are integrated, such as Amazon Prime.

Initially launched as a subscription-based two-day free shipping service (also offering a one-

day shipping discount), Amazon Prime has been expanded by Amazon to include Amazon Instant

Video, enabling instant streaming of movies and TV shows to your computer — or your Amazon

Fire!

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In addition, Amazon Prime membership affords access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library,

enabling popular books to be “borrowed”for free, like a brick-and-mortar lending library. There

is no due date on these titles, although lending is limited to one book per month.

If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime membership, you can set one up by logging into the

Amazon website, opening My Account, and following the instructions via the appropriate link.

5.3 Buying Movies, TV Shows, Music, and Books with the Amazon Fire

Even if you have an Amazon Prime membership, you’ll find that there are still items that you

cannot enjoy for free. In this scenario, you’ll need to buy or rent content. The same goes for

reading.

So just how do you get started buying or renting content? By this point, you should have three

things:

1. A wireless network connection.

2. An Amazon account.

3. A credit or debit card associated with that account.

With these ready, you’re all set! It only takes a few taps to find and download the music, movies

or magazines you want to read. However, the process for buying the different types of media on

the Amazon Fire differs slightly.

5.4 Buy and Watch Videos

Using Amazon Prime, you can stream movies and TV shows with the Prime Instant Video

service, choosing from thousands of videos.

Unlimited streaming is offered, while choices can be made based on what people nearby are

watching. The typical Amazon recommendations are also provided. Note that in addition to the

instant video option there are movies and videos — typically new and popular titles — that you

will need to pay for.

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To start watching, open Video > Store, choose the title you’re interested in (checking the

reviews and ratings if necessary) and tap either the Rent Movie or the Buy Movie option. Note

that when you see the More Purchase Options link, this usually means that high definition

versions are available. However, on a small Amazon Fire HD 7, this might not be wise if you

haven’t expanded the storage with a new microSD card.

Note that the rental period is always stated in the individual video listing. Meanwhile, if you find

a title you want to watch but don’t have time or money to buy or rent it now, use Add to

Watchlist to come back to it another time,

Once the transaction is complete, you can begin enjoying the film or TV show of your choice!

5.5 Video Sync and Settings

If you foresee being offline for any length of time, it’s a good idea to sync videos from your PC,

rather than downloading via Amazon. To do this, connect your Amazon Fire to your computer

with the USB cable, and sync as explained above.

When syncing, be wary of the comparatively small 8 GB of storage on your Amazon Fire — don’t

copy too many videos! The Amazon Fire will play MP4 and MKV format videos, along with 3GP,

M4V, and WEBM. Videos in the AVI format will not work.

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