Kindle Fire Tricks and Tips

How to Connect Your Kindle Fire to Your TV NEW!

Did you know you could connect your Kindle Fire to your HDTV and it would display your tablet's screen on your BIG HD screen? If yes, have you tried it out yet?

The picture and sound quality are really great (better than these photos show)!

My family and I watch movies and TV shows from our Kindle Fire right to our TV all the time, but there are other cool things we do with it too.

There are several advantages to hooking up your tablet to your TV, many of which are shared in this Kindle Fire tip. So check it out and try it yourself- it's really easy to do, just follow this step-by-step tutorial!

Kindle Fire Tip: Password Protection

If you want to protect your tablet then one of the first things you should do is setup two specific Kindle Fire passwords.

One will lock your screen so only those who know your pin can access your tablet.

The other will protect you from accidental purchases. When you want to make a purchase (even for free content) you just have to enter your password and you're good to go.

These passwords are great for both malevolent thieves and innocent children in case they end up with your Kindle Fire in their red hot hands!

Make Your Kindle Fire an Android Tablet with Customized Wallpaper

Although the Kindle Fire is an Android device, it doesn't look or act like one, since Amazon customized it into the carousel and bookshelves.

Now you can make your Kindle Fire Android actually look and act like one AND you can add your own customized background wallpaper!

Just use this Kindle Fire tip to side load some awesome apps that will let you take back control of your tablet. :) So here it is:

Make Your Kindle Fire an Android Tablet with Customized Wallpaper.

Kindle Fire Tip: Side Loading Apps

I've completely revamped my tutorial for side loading apps on your Kindle Fire!

The page has been updated with a ton of new pictures and new instructions for downloading and installing the 1Mobile Market app which lets you access thousands of apps not available in the Amazon App Store.

Do you want to side load apps onto your Kindle Fire? (That means being able to add apps to your tablet that are not available in the Amazon App Store.) Now you can, just follow this Kindle tip!

There are 1000's of apps out there and only a percentage of them are specifically available as Kindle Fire apps. If you really want an app that's not yet offered from Amazon's App Store, take a look at this tutorial.

With tons of pictures and simple, yet detailed instructions it's easy to do!

Kindle Fire Tip: Remove Ads & Special Offers

Not interested in seeing Amazon ads and special offers when you turn on your Kindle Fire? Learn how to Remove Ads & Special Offers in this step by step Kindle Fire tip.

You'll also be shown how to remove under the carousel (in portrait view) the icons of items that "Customers Also Bought".

If you choose to remove the ads, you will then see the nifty Kindle Fire HD Backgrounds that come pre-installed on your tablet.

This tutorial is for the second generation and Kindle Fire HD tablets, since the original Kindle Fire doesn't have either of these "features".

Kindle Fire Tip: Watch Flash Videos on YouTube

One of the biggest complaints with the Kindle Fire HD is the lack of the Flash plugin (which is Adobe's, not Amazon's fault).

If you're trying to watch videos on YouTube but get an error requiring the Flash plugin what do you do? You follow my Kindle Fire tip, Kindle Fire Flash Support, that's what!

With this step-by-step tutorial you'll learn how to watch videos on YouTube, even without the Flash plugin. It comes with detailed instructions, pictures, and help with the error: "Unable to Play Video".

This tip is also great for those who have the original Kindle Fire, so be sure to check it out, no matter which device you have.

Kindle Fire Tip: How to Install Flash Player

If you play lots of videos and games on the Internet (who doesn't?) and have the new Kindle Fire HD tablet, then you'll probably want to Install the Flash Player.

It's not that hard to do, but it does take quite a few steps since you also need to use a different browser since you can't install Flash on Silk (the Kindle Fire's default Internet browser).

Fortunately, I make it super simple and easy to do in this step-by-step tutorial which is full of pictures for you to follow. Ain't I the best!? :)

Kindle Fire Tip: How to Take Pictures and Videos

The new Kindle Fire HD tablets come with a built-in front-facing webcam, but what if you want to use the camera to take pictures or videos with your Kindle Fire?

Well, Amazon has NOT made this user friendly, you can't even access the camera without installing an app, so this tutorial on How to Take Pictures and Videos is super helpful!

Not only will you learn how to take photos and videos, but you'll also learn where to find them and what free apps you can use to edit them right on your Kindle Fire.

Kindle Fire Tip: How to Take a Screenshot

Here's a really cool tip for taking Kindle Fire screenshots right from (and of) your device. I use this one all the time for this website, of course, but now you can too!

Although it's difficult to setup on the original Kindle Fire it's not impossible, but if you have the new Kindle Fire HD tablet then it is SUPER easy.

See this tutorial (with lots of examples) on how to take a snapshot form your Kindle Fire. Be sure to read all my extra notes for important details and other cool tricks and tips.

Then share your snapshots on my Facebook page!

Kindle Fire Tip: Customizing the Wallpaper

One of the first things people often ask after having played with their Kindle Fire for a few days is, "How do I change the background wallpaper to use my own pictures?" (It was one of my first questions.)

Well now you can! There are four steps to this process:

1. Side Load the 1Mobile Market App
   
2. Side Load the Rotating Wallpaper App
3. Resize Photos to Fit Your Kindle Fire (optional)
   
4. Add Photos and Change Your Kindle Fire Wallpaper

After following the above Kindle Fire tips and tricks, you'll have your very own customized background picture!

Please note that this tutorial currently only works on the original Kindle Fire NOT the second generation or Kindle Fire HD. :( However, I'm working on a new tutorial for an app that lets you make your tablet look like an android phone and thus allows you to use your own background pictures. So sign up for my Kindle Fire Alerts to be notified when it's ready!

Kindle Tip: How to Follow Blogs on Your Tablet

This nifty Kindle trick and tip teaches you how to use RSS to follow your favorite websites, blogs, Facebook pages, YouTube channels, and more. This has been a HUGE time saver for me!

Just add your favorite places to one location which will automatically update anytime a site has something new. This Kindle trick, Following Sites with RSS, is well worth the small amount of time you invest to get started.

Follow this tutorial to set everything up and then use this cool feature on your Kindle Fire, it will save you so much wasted time hopping from site to site to see if anything new has been posted.

The Fastest Way to Stop Your Kindle Fire From Randomly Rebooting

If your Kindle Fire has an annoying habit of restarting itself at the oddest moments than this is the Kindle trick for you!

All you have to do is follow my simple instructions in this step-by-step tutorial: How to Stop Your Kindle Fire From Rebooting. It also comes with lots of pictures to show you what to do.

This sweet little tip has worked for my tablet and a few others I know that have suffered from this glitch. So take a few moments to try this out to see if it clears up your Kindle Fire's hiccups. :)

Kindle Fire Tip: Change Your Screen Timeout

One really annoying problem is when you don't touch your Kindle Fire screen after a certain amount of time it goes into sleep mode.

Of course, this feature is to prevent your battery from being used up when you're not using your tablet, but if you are doing something that doesn't require you to touch your screen and the screen timeout feature is active, it can become a real problem.

Fortunately, that's where this little Kindle Fire Tip on How to Change Your Screen Timeout comes into play.