Updated to include Fire HD 10 and Fire 8/8+ (10th Gen) tablets
Amazon Fire tablets are some of the best budget options on the market today that are worth recommending, thanks to Amazon's excellent support and excellent performance. While none of Amazon's tablets are perfect, they represent fantastic value for your hard-earned cash.
The The biggest limitation of Amazon's tablets is the lack of app support for Google.. Although Fire tablets run Android as their operating system, it's actually a fork version of Android, custom-built by Amazon for their Fire tablets and streaming devices. For most consumers, Fire OS functions similarly to Android, but Google's central core of apps, including the entire line of Play apps, has been replaced by Amazon's own app store.
Apps such as YouTube, YouTube Kids, Among Us and many more are not available in the Amazon App Store. Don't worry about this problem because you can easily sideload apps on Fire tablets.
Without YouTube Kids available on the Amazon Appstore, you might feel like you're out of luck. Despite the Fire tablets' membership in Amazon's app ecosystem, it's possible to get the Play Store on your tablet, as well as the standard suite of Google apps, including YouTube and YouTube Kids.
Here's how to get YouTube Kids working on your Fire tablet or Fire HD.
1. Install YouTube Kids on Fire Tablet: What You Need
Earlier Fire tablet models required the Play Store to be pushed to your device from a Windows computer using ADB, which no longer has to be done. Instead, all you'll need now is a rudimentary knowledge of how Android installs apps outside of the standard App Store, and a bit of patience while your tablet downloads and installs. the four packages required to properly run the Google Play Store.
To install YouTube Kids and Google Play, you need the following:
- You need four separate Google AP K files from APKMirror (linked below).
- To choose a google account to use for play store.
- Use an updated Fire tablet while running Fire OS 5 or superior (for devices running 5.6.0.0, see Troubleshooting and tips).
- Take a app store file manager (may be optionalâsee Troubleshooting and tips).
It's also good to know which Fire tablet you have before jumping into this guide.
Depending on the age of your tablet, you may need to download different apps than a device running older software.
Go to the settings menu and select âDevice Options,â then search "Device model" at the bottom of this guide.
This article uses the launch years of each tablet to guide you to the correct APK, so if you need help identifying your tablet's release year, use Amazon's tablet specs page here. Knowing which generation your device belongs to will help you a lot throughout this guide.
2. Enable Apps from Unknown Sources on Fire/Fire HD Tablet
Okay, this is where the real guide begins. The first thing we need to do on your Amazon Fire tablet is dive into the settings menu.
Despite Amazon tweaking Android to make Fire OS, the operating system is actually incredibly similar to Google's, and that includes how third-party apps are installed outside of Amazon's app store. .
Enabling "Apps from Unknown Sources" on Fire/Fire HD Tablets
- Go to the Fire OS 7 app drawer by swiping up, then select " Settings. »
- To choose âSecurity and Privacyâ.
- Switch "Applications from unknown sources" to the " At " position.
- Verify that your install source is listed and set to "Allowed".
3. Download and Install Google Play Store on Fire Tablet
Then that's the big part. On a standard Android tablet, installing apps outside of the Play Store would be as easy as installing the standard APK. Unfortunately, it's not that easy on an Amazon Fire tablet. Since Google Play is not installed on your device, all apps sold through the Play Store will not work without Google Play Services installed, as some apps like Gmail and Google Maps verify authentication through this app.
This means that you need to install the entire suite of Google Play Store services on your device, which is four different apps: three utilities and the Play Store.
The Google app versions you need for Utilities and Play Store depend on the Android fork version used in Fire OS.
Identify your Fire OS version and Android fork version of your Fire/Fire HD tablet
As Fire OS versions have been upgraded, so have the Android versions used to develop them.
Here are some of the most common Amazon Fire tablets.
| Fire Tablet Version | Fire operating system | Android version forked |
| Fire HD 10 | Make OS 7 | Android 9 (API level 28) |
| Fire HD 8/8+ (10th Gen.) | Make OS 7 | Android 9 (API level 28) |
| Fire HD 8 (8e gén.) | Make OS 6 | Android 7.1.2 |
Downloading Google APK Files
When installing the necessary Google "apk" files, make sure to install them in the order shown below.
The four files include:
- Google Account Manager
- Google Framework Services
- Google Play Services
- Google Play Store
Again, it's best to download and install all four 'apk' files in the exact order, and all can be downloaded using the built-in Amazon Silk browser. You should already have set the "Unknown Sources" from the above steps to " Authorized " for the Silk browser.
The site we will use to download these APKs is called APKMirror. It is a reliable source for free APKs from developers and Google Play and acts as a utility for any Android user looking to manually download or install apps. Every app owned on APKMirror is free from the developer with no mods or changes before being uploaded.
File 1 of 4: Download and install Google Account Manager
The first app you need to download is Google Account Manager. It's more complex than before because Amazon has updated the version of Android used on its new tablets.
Here are the two options, one of which is for your specific Fire/Fire HD tablet:
- If you are using a Fire HD 10 tablet purchased on or after November 2022, Fire HD 8 purchased after October 2022, or a Fire 7 purchased after June 2022, your tablet is running Android 6.0 or higher (see examples in the table below ). As such, you'll want to use Google Account Manager 7.1.2 (Android 6.0+) for your tablet. 7.12 is the latest version of the application available on APKMirror, and has been since 2022; if a newer version becomes available, be sure to download that version instead.
- If you are using a tablet purchased before October 2022, your tablet is still running Android 5.0, which means you will need version 5.1-1743759, the latest since April 2016. You can find this link here.
- Find the correct version of Google Account Manager based on the Android OS your Fire HD tablet/Fire OS uses, which is one of the two options above. Click on the link to the apk download page.
- Review the details to confirm Android version compatibility, then click green "down arrow" (Download the APK).
- A download prompt will appear at the bottom of your screen and you can accept the prompt to start downloading.
- Once the download is complete, you'll see a notification in your status bar when you swipe down from the top of your screen.
- Click on the "apk" file you just downloaded to install it, whether you click on the notification or the file in a file browser.
- Tap 'Next' at the bottom of the screen or scroll down to click 'Install'.
- If something goes wrong during the installation, you will be alerted to the failure. Otherwise, you are done installing File 1 of 4! If unsuccessful, proceed to âStep 8â.
- If the installation fails, make sure you have downloaded the correct Android version of Account Manager (based on the Android fork version of your Fire/Fire HD), and the file should install. Newer versions will not install on the device.
File 2 of 4: Download and install the Google Services Framework
The next application is Google Services Framework. Just like with Account Manager, the version you need depends on the device you're using. However, due to how Google's app framework targets different Android versions, it's best to choose one that works on all Android versions.
- It is recommended to download version 5.1-1743759 of Google Services Framework. This version is designed to work on ALL devices with Android 5.0 or higher, which means any Fire OS tablet can run it.
- Tap the notification to start the installation process.
- Select "Next" to confirm that you want to install Google Services Framework.
- If you are prompted to update the app after installation, follow the instructions on your screen to get the correct, newer version.
File 3 of 4: Download and install Google Play Services
If you own a Fire 7 tablet purchased before June 2022 (in other words, an 8th generation or older device) you should download this version here. It is the APK for 32-bit processors, which your tablet is running. Amazon replaced Fire 7 processors with 64-bit processors with the ninth generation model, but older devices will still need to download the correct APK version.
If you are not sure which version of the application you are downloading, 32-bit versions are marked with a "020300" in the file name while 64-bit versions are marked with a "020400". These two iterations of Google Play Services are identical in every way except the type of processor they are created for. If you download the wrong one, don't stress too much. We'll see what to do in a moment below.
- Tap the notification to start the installation process.
- Select " Next " to confirm that you want to install Google Play Services.
File 4 of 4: Download and Install Google Play Store
The last of the four apps is the Google Play Store itself. This is the easiest download of the four, as all file versions work on Android 4.1 and later, and there are no separate types for different bit processors. Download the latest version here.
For Google Play Services and the Google Play Store, you should try to use the latest version of the app available. APKMirror will alert you when a new version of the app is available, which will be listed on the webpage under information. For Google Play Services, you should avoid betas of the app by looking for the most recent stable version on the list (betas are marked as such). For the Play Store itself, just download the latest version. If you don't feel comfortable determining which version listed on APKMirror is the correct version for your tablet, simply download the linked versions and Google Play will update the apps for you after a complete installation.
Installing APK files
Alright, once you've downloaded the four files listed above to your Fire tablet using the Silk Browser, swipe down to open your notifications. You should see a full list of APKs you downloaded in the last step, each with its own notification, sorted by time. If you followed the steps above and downloaded each in the correct order, the fourth download should be at the top of the list and the first at the bottom, for the order to appear as such:
- Google Play Store
- Google Play Services
- Google Framework Services
- Google Account Manager
How you install these apps is very important, so start by tapping "Google Account Manager" at the bottom of this list. The installation process will begin; press "Next" at the bottom of the...
