Oh, sorry if I wasnāt clear. Disabling the lock screen.
Fully kiosk on stock fireOS (without root) and @gavincampbellās driver could still turn the screen on/off based on motion or other triggers from hubitat.
But without root the screen would turn on and youād still need to swipe to get past the lock screen to see your dashboard.
Yeah I think thatās a common workaround, add a screensaver thatās just a black screen and you prob wouldnāt even notice a difference most of the time.
Rooting it makes it that much more of a better experience. Especially the locking as every time it applies an update you end up at the lock screen which always seems to be at the most inconvenient time. This was the biggest driver for me, but I did run it for a while without rooting just fine as well.
One of the things I do instead of turning off the screen though is have it display a slideshow of pictures from out drop box. Me and the wife just have to drop our favorite pics into a dropbox folder if itās added to the slideshow.
To use the fully kiosk browser you will need the plus license. But itās worth it. I added a bunch of new features in the latest update but the feature donāt work with sites that use https like sharptools but Iām working on a work around to at least get some of them working. It works perfectly fine with built in dashboards.
The one thing to consider. If you buy now then when a root method is released you will have one. Thatās what I thought when I bought mine a few years back.
The bonus with these tablets too is the number of 3rd party mounts that you can get to make installation look nice.
Just wondering for the other one you recommended, it's pretty much the same price as the Fire Tablet (I can get a refurb for the same price), so what's the benefit of a no-name brand over Amazon? My fear with the one you recommended is now that I won't be able to easily find a mount and from what folks are saying here I do want to root it.
The whole reason you have to root the android tablet is because it comes from amazon with a custom interface that cant be turned off. Buying the walmart tablet comes with basically stock android, allowing you to bypass all that hassle. You could also buy any samsung tablet, etc.
I would definitely shy away from a Fire tablet, their custom firmware is such a hassle (I have 3). As for a wall mount, if you look at my thread, you can very easily make your own wall mount with a bit of wood work and a frame.
Let me correct an incorrect piece of info I provided above. The current Fire 10 new on Amazon is still the 2019 version, which can have Google Play side-loaded. The Fire 8 is the new 2020 model, which may not have a Google Play side-load option yet.
There is also a Fire 8 Plus model, which has Qi wireless charging that might be useful for feeding power from behind in a wall-mount scenario once the Google Play side-load is confirmed.
Price-wise, I'm shocked that Amazon isn't running a Fire sale (pun intended) for Memorial Day weekend. Normal Fire 10 price is $149, down to $99 on Prime Day and Black Friday, and occasionally down to $109 for Hallmark holidays. I'm on another forum where "stock up and save" posts pop up whenever they are below $149.....
I guess I don't understand why that matters. This is what I really keep struggling with. I agree, the Amazon stuff isn't my favorite. But the device will be running Fully Kiosk 24/7/365, so who cares what the Amazon stuff looks like? What hassle is there to bypass? Amazon can leave all their stuff on there because it's not in use.
While I do agree a wooden frame can end up looking very nice, I really want something off the shelf for this. I'm not interested in putting the time in to build out a mount, it's bad enough I have to go and wire up a recessed USB outlet. Sometimes I like to tinker, some times I just like things to "just work." This one falls in that latter camp so I'm looking for something where I can buy a case and go so I'd want something common enough to have wall mounts available. That's why it seems like everyone is recommending the Fire tablets. I'm leaning in the direction unless you can help me understand what hassle I'm in for with all the Amazon garbage they put on there.
I read that for a while they were avoiding reinstating any of the discounts on amazon devices that sometimes pop up, in an effort to decrease impulse buys of non-essential items while they caught up on the huge mess that covid caused in their supply chain.
Iām not sure if theyāre still doing that though.
Did you say that you already have a Fire 10 in your kitchen and using it as a regular tablet? If so, install Fully and see how it works on that for a few days before you commit to buying another Fire 10. They have a Fire OS .apk package on their web site to side-load, so going through the hoops to install Google Play may not be needed.
I've had a Fire 7 running 24/7 on the wall for 4 years now, with the brightness set low. My first Fire 10 (2017 version?) has been on the wall 24/7 for 2 years now, running Fully as a weather station console. Other than the hassle of having to swipe to unlock every few months when Amazon pushes an update and notification icons on the top bar every week ago when they're trying to sell something, it just sits there and runs 24/7...Alexa disabled, camera lens covered with a dot of electrical tape...running Fully with the screen always on.....
I know this comment is about 7-8 months old, but i was hoping you could answer this quick question. I'm a new Wink refugee, just got my HE today. I believe i've read this entire thread and I was going to pick up the onn tablet from Walmart because i dont want to deal with the Fire rooting issue.
I guess my question is...if I get the onn tablet, is there no need to root it? (is it already rooted or is rooting just not necessary?). Perhaps it's a dumb question, im not an android guy so i'm just learning the terminology. Really all i want to do is to run Fully Kiosk and install gavincampbell's driver and not have the screen ever lock. I'm assuming that's easy to do out of the box?
I don't like Fire tablets because of the restrictions. YMMV. I just buy cheap Chinese tablets from AliExpress, parricularly the Teclast range which is really excellent value for money. Make sure to avoid the really cheap AndroidāGo devices because they don't run Fully fully. See what I did there?
I have a 7th gen HD and its been dog slow since the beginning. Was pointless. Then recently got my hands on one of the newer tablets. Out of the box I loaded fully and again, dog slow. It was useless. So then I hooked it up to the computer and using the XDA tools stripped all amazon apps off and changed the launcher to something different and its night and day difference. Everything ran so much faster.
I agree though. I really can't recommend them. I'm looking for a new tablet and will take a look a the teclast brand and see what's there. Its just hard to know how well it will perform without actually trying it.
What do you use for a mount? The problem with these lesser-known tablets is that there aren't any decent mounts, at least not that I've been able to find. I can't even find a mount for my 1st gen iPad mini, which is collecting dust and would probably make a good dashboard. Seems the only mounts out there are for newer ipads and fire tablets. I'm talking about a real mount with hidden power cord and bezel.
My finger is about to order the 7" fire tablet and mount and hope it still can be rooted. I really don't want to mess with rooting either, but I don't see any other practical choice if I want something that looks decent on the wall.
Yes understood. If you want an off-the-shelf solution then you have to use common tablet types (like Fire or ipad). I'm mounting mine behind brushed metal panels and intend to put a couple of 10.1" tablets behind a smart mirror touch surface (that's a project which will take me a while to sort out). So I'm going the custom route.