Fire OS 7 is based on Android 9 Pie. You can ensure your app's compatibility with Fire OS 7 by following these guidelines.
Fire OS 7 is based on Android 9 Pie (API level 28). Fire OS 7 was initially released for some Fire tablet devices in 2019.
Most of the Fire tablet devices run Fire OS 5 (Android 5.1, level 22). The Fire 7 (2019) Tablet device runs Fire OS 6, which is based on Android Nougat (Android 7.1.2, level 25). Some older Fire tablet devices remain on Fire OS 4 or earlier releases.
For a detailed list of Fire tablet devices and versions, seeTablet Device Specs.
The upgrade from Fire OS 6 to Fire OS 7 requires a transition from Nougat (Android 7.1.2) through Oreo (Android 8.0) to Pie (Android 9).
Changes introduced in Android 8.0 and Android 9 require you to make code changes in your app before the app will work correctly on Fire OS 7 devices.
Major changes in Android 8.0 include the following:
Notification Channels: All notifications (which includesrecommendations andpartner-managed recommendations) must be associated with a channel. For information about channels, seeAndroid training for Notification Channels. For sample code and additional details, see theNotifications in Fire OS 7 section below.
Background Services: Android 8.0 limits the use of background services. As a result, any apps using background services to refresh their recommendations will fail to refresh the recommendations on Fire OS 7. Android recommends using JobSchedulers as a workaround for the limitation with background services. SeeBackground Services.
Native Libraries: Native libraries no longer load if they contain any load segment that is both writable and executable.
Permissions: Apps need to explicitly request each permission, even within the same permission group.
MediaSession events: Your app needs to use MediaSession correctly to handle audio. See the Android 8.0 documentation onFinding a media session. When Android handles events, if the foreground activity doesn't have an active media session to handle the event, Android will look for other media sessions. See alsoRequirements for Multimedia Apps on Fire TV.
You can read about most of these changes inAndroid 8.0 Behavior Changes.
Major changes in Android 9 include only the following:
You can read about these changes inBehavior changes: all apps (Pie).
All features implemented in Fire OS 7 are at feature parity with Android 9. This doesn't necessarily mean that everything in Android 9 is available in Fire OS 7, but for those Android 9 features implemented in Fire OS 7, they have parity. Some Android 9 features, such as split-Screen, notification dots, and adaptive icons, aren't supported in Fire OS 7.
Also, remember that although Fire OS 7 has parity with Android 9, you can't use Google services on Amazon Fire devices. Instead, you must use theApps & Games Services SDKs for the services you need (such as in-app purchasing).
Users might run your app on a Fire OS 5, Fire OS 6, or Fire OS 7 device.To maximize your app compatibility with the Fire OS version on the device, we recommend that you target the device based on the SDK level.
In your code, you can check whether theBuild.VERSION.SDK_INT is greater than or equal to28 (The Android 9 API level) to target Fire OS 7 devices.
Also seeSupporting Different Platform Versions in the Android documentation.
Currently, you can test your app's compatibility with Fire OS 7 by connecting to an actual device.
Set yourminSdkVersion to the minimum API level for the applicable Fire OS version.
| Fire OS Version | minSdkVersion |
|---|---|
| Fire OS 7 | 28 |
| Fire OS 6 | 25 |
| Fire OS 5 | 22 |
Set thetargetSdkVersion to the highest API level that you've tested your app against.
SeeDevice Filtering and Compatibility for more information on minimum API level requirements.
In your app manifest (orbuild.gradle file), theminSdkVersion attribute sets the minimum SDK level that your app needs in order to function properly. (Devices that don't support that API level won't allow the app to be installed on that device — this is howdevice filtering and compatibility works with the Appstore.)
Fire OS 5 devices are based on API level 22 (Lollipop 5.1). Fire OS 7 devices are based on API level 28 (Android 9). By setting theminSdkVersion to 22, you're saying that your app requires the device to have at least API level 22 for it to function properly.
By setting theminSdkVersion to 22, your app will also install on any devices that have a higher API level (such as 28), because Android levels are backwards-compatible. API level 28 usually includes all the APIs for levels 1 through 28 (each release adds to the previous).
However, suppose you want to take advantage of APIs in Android 9 (API level 28). If you set yourminSdkVersion to 22, your app will install on Fire OS 5 devices that don't have level 28 APIs. Therefore, you must code in a defensive way to check the device level and fall back to alternatives if the device doesn't support that API level. Your code might look something like this:
targetSdkVersion
if(Build.VERSION.SDK_INT>=28){Log.v(TAG,"Yes, this is an API level 28 or higher device");}else{Log.v(TAG,"No, this is not an API level 28 or higher device");}This code checks whether the device's API level is greater than or equal to 28, and if so, runs the code. If not, it falls back onelse logic.
By default, if thetargetSdkVersion is not specified, it uses the same value as theminSdkVersion. ThetargetSdkVersion lets you set the latest API level that you have tested your app against. Based on this value, Android will ensure proper behavior on devices at this level.
For example, if you set yourtargetSdkVersion to 23 or higher (Marshmallow's release), Android will apply theruntime permission checking features included in Marshmallow. But iftargetSdkVersion is lower than 23 (prior to the runtime permission checking release in Marshmallow), Android will not apply this behavior to your app.
Although not recommended, if you need to prevent older apps from appearing on Fire OS 7 devices, you may setmaxSdkVersion to Fire OS 5 (22).
For more information, see the following:
<uses-sdk>Beginning May 31, 2023, Amazon Fire tablet will enable Auto Backup for users who opt-in to a backup and restore on their tablets. Your app will automatically participate, if it targets API 23 or higher, and has notexplicitly disabled Auto Backup in the manifest. Although the default value for Auto Backup istrue, we recommend explicitly setting the attribute in manifest.
targetSdkVersion) API 23 or higher.For more information, seeAndroid Auto Backup Feature Documentation.
With Auto Backup, your app targeting API 23 or higher and running on Fire OS 7 or higher is automatically backed up. You do not need to implementBackupAgent. Default value for Auto Backup (android:allowBackup) istrue, however we recommend that you explicitly set the boolean value in the manifest as shown below:
<manifest...>...<applicationandroid:allowBackup="true"...>...</application></manifest>By default, all files within the application’s data directory, except the cache files, are backed up.
Android allows app developers to customize the files they want backed up bymodifying the XML file schema. You can select files to be included or excluded by using patterns in this file. Make sure data backed up does not include sensitive data of any end user including, for example, “protected health information” as defined under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), or “PHR identifiable health information” as defined by the Federal Trade Commission’s Health Breach Notification Rule. You should also exclude password tokens or credentials in the backup for security reasons. If there are any encrypted data files,such as shared preferences, they may not work when transferred to a new device. It is best to exclude these as well.
If your app needs finer control over what data is backed up, or you have a need to listen to backup events likeonRestoreFinished() oronQuotaExceeded(), consider implementingBackup Agent.
If you choose to disable Auto Backup, you can do so by settingandroid:allowBackup tofalse in your app's manifest file. SeeEnable and disable backup for more information.
If you have previously implemented the Key/Value backup by subclassingBackupAgent and setting it in your Manifest (android:backupAgent), add theandroid:fullBackupOnly="true" attribute on<application/>.
You may want to rework the existingBackupAgent or remove it completely when switching over to Auto Backup. Keep in mind that switching backup options could break backwards compatibility for your app, so plan to handle such situations proactively.
This is a high level set of steps for how to test the Auto Backup feature on Fire tablets. For more information about AOSP’s documentation for Auto Backup testing, seeAndroid’s backup testing guide.
Make sure your transport is set properly.
adb shell bmgr list transportsThe result in your log should look like the following:
* com.amazon.device.backup/.transport.BackupTransportService com.android.localtransport/.LocalTransportIf it is not set to Amazon’s backup transport, it be can be set through the command line.
adb shell bmgr transport com.amazon.device.backup/.transport.BackupTransportServiceSet the global settingforce_auto_backup.
To support Auto Backup on your device, set theforce_auto_backup flag.
adb shell settings put global force_auto_backup 1As a pre-requsite to running Auto Backup, run a key-value backup. This must be done first.
adb shell bmgr backup @pm@&& adb shell bmgr runBackup the package.
adb shell bmgr backupnow <PACKAGE>Example:
adb shell bmgr backupnow com.example.appYou should see a log like the following when the full backup runs.
I PFTBT : Full data backup pass finished.Query the restore token.
The restore token is a unique ID identifying a backup run.
For example:
adb shell dumpsys backup |grep"Current:"Output:
Current: 3In this example 3 is the “restore token.”
Test the restore token.
adb shell bmgr restore <token> <PACKAGE>Example:
adb shell bmgr restore 3 com.example.appThe following log should be printed if the restore completes successfully.
I BackupManagerService: Restore complete.You can also test deleting the data to check whether restore works. Uninstall the app and reinstalling it. Then check if the backed up data is restored.
If you’ve executed all of the steps properly, you should be able to make any changes to your app, and see the changes restored with the data you’ve previously backed up. If you run into any issues, refer to thetroubleshooting steps below.
You can test data locally using AOSP’s local transport. This won’t backup any data to a server, but you can use it to test what data will be backed up and restored to your application. Android’sbackup testing guide includes information for using the local transport. At a high level, the steps are the same as above. The only difference is you don’t set your transport to Amazon’s transport, but AOSP’s local transport.
adb shell bmgr transport com.android.localtransport/.LocalTransportA backup transport handles the logic of uploading and downloading device backup data from a server. For Amazon, the transport handles the logic to backup data to AWS S3.
You can get a list of all transports with the following:
adb shell bmgr list transportsIf you see the following in the log:
Backup finished with result: Backup is not allowedUnable to run backupThis means backups are not enabled on your device. To fix this go to Settings > Device Options > Backup & Restore. Then toggle the Backup & Restore toON. Next attempt to re-run backups.
First, make sure your Fire tablet is on the latest version.Then, if you see the following in the log:
Package <PACKAGE NAME> with result: Transport rejected package because it wasn't able to process it at the timeThis can have more than one cause, but it is most often due to throttling. Packages are only allowed to backup once per day. To set a lower throttling limit, run the following command
adb shell settings put secure overridden_backup_throttle_delay_ms <delayinmilliseconds>Example:
adb shell settings put secure overridden_backup_throttle_delay_ms 1000If you’ve already set the tablet to a lower throttling limit, this error may mean you don’t have data to backup. Check to see if your app has set any data to backup. To get some arbitrary backup data, run the following command:
adb shellcd /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/<your package name>/filesNext, create a test file:
touch test.txtecho"some test data">> test.txtIf you see the following in the log:
Package <PACKAGE NAME> with result: Package not foundCheck to see if your package is installed on the device.
As of Android Level 8.0 (API level 26), notifications that your app sends must be assigned to a channel. (Recommendations are a kind of notification.) If your app sends notifications or recommendations, you must create a channel and associate the channel with the notification.A notification without a channel ID will be dropped.
At a high-level, to add a channel to a notification, you do the following:
The following sections provide more detail and code samples.
The following is fromCreate a notification channel in the Android documentation:
Create a notification channel
To create a notification channel, follow these steps:
- Construct a
NotificationChannelobject with a unique channel ID, a user-visible name, and an importance level.- Optionally, specify the description that the user sees in the system settings with
setDescription.Register the notification channel by passing it to
createNotificationChannel.privatevoidcreateNotificationChannel(){// Create the NotificationChannel, but only on API 26+ because// the NotificationChannel class is new and not in the support libraryif(Build.VERSION.SDK_INT>=Build.VERSION_CODES.O){CharSequencename=getString(R.string.channel_name);Stringdescription=getString(R.string.channel_description);intimportance=NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_DEFAULT;NotificationChannelchannel=newNotificationChannel(CHANNEL_ID,name,importance);channel.setDescription(description);// Register the channel with the system; you can't change the importance// or other notification behaviors after thisNotificationManagernotificationManager=getSystemService(NotificationManager.class);notificationManager.createNotificationChannel(channel);}}
You have two options for setting the channel ID for the notification. You can either useContentRecommendation and use reflection to set the channel ID, or you can useNotification.Builder.
Option 1: UsecreateContentRecommendation and use reflection to set the channel ID
Notificationnotification=createContentRecommendation(largeIcon,notificationId);if(Build.VERSION.SDK_INT>=Build.VERSION_CODES.O){Log.d(TAG,"SDK version is >= Android O");try{Fieldchannel=notification.getClass().getDeclaredField("mChannelId");channel.setAccessible(true);channel.set(notification,StringTerms.CHANNEL_ID);}catch(Exceptione){Log.d(TAG,"Can't set ChannelId",e);}}Option 2: UseNotification.Builder with channel ID
The following code is adapted from theAndroid Open Source Project on Google Git.
publicNotificationgetNotificationObject(Contextcontext){Notification.Builderbuilder=newNotification.Builder(context,"channelId");RecommendationExtenderrecExtender=newRecommendationExtender();// Encode all the content recommendation data in a Notification objectbuilder.setCategory(Notification.CATEGORY_RECOMMENDATION);builder.setContentTitle(mTitle);builder.setContentText(mText);builder.setContentInfo(mSourceName);builder.setLargeIcon(mContentImage);builder.setSmallIcon(mBadgeIconId);if(mBackgroundImageUri!=null){builder.getExtras().putString(Notification.EXTRA_BACKGROUND_IMAGE_URI,mBackgroundImageUri);}builder.setColor(mColor);builder.setGroup(mGroup);builder.setSortKey(mSortKey);builder.setProgress(mProgressMax,mProgressAmount,false);builder.setAutoCancel(mAutoDismiss);if(mContentIntentData!=null){PendingIntentcontentPending;if(mContentIntentData.mType==INTENT_TYPE_ACTIVITY){contentPending=PendingIntent.getActivity(context,mContentIntentData.mRequestCode,mContentIntentData.mIntent,PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT,mContentIntentData.mOptions);}elseif(mContentIntentData.mType==INTENT_TYPE_SERVICE){contentPending=PendingIntent.getService(context,mContentIntentData.mRequestCode,mContentIntentData.mIntent,PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);}else{// Default:INTENT_TYPE_BROADCAST{contentPending=PendingIntent.getBroadcast(context,mContentIntentData.mRequestCode,mContentIntentData.mIntent,PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);}builder.setContentIntent(contentPending);}if(mDismissIntentData!=null){PendingIntentdismissPending;if(mDismissIntentData.mType==INTENT_TYPE_ACTIVITY){dismissPending=PendingIntent.getActivity(context,mDismissIntentData.mRequestCode,mDismissIntentData.mIntent,PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT,mDismissIntentData.mOptions);}elseif(mDismissIntentData.mType==INTENT_TYPE_SERVICE){dismissPending=PendingIntent.getService(context,mDismissIntentData.mRequestCode,mDismissIntentData.mIntent,PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);}else{// Default:INTENT_TYPE_BROADCAST{dismissPending=PendingIntent.getBroadcast(context,mDismissIntentData.mRequestCode,mDismissIntentData.mIntent,PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);}builder.setDeleteIntent(dismissPending);}recExtender.setContentTypes(mContentTypes);recExtender.setGenres(mContentGenres);recExtender.setPricingInformation(mPriceType,mPriceValue);recExtender.setStatus(mStatus);recExtender.setMaturityRating(mMaturityRating);recExtender.setRunningTime(mRunningTime);builder.extend(recExtender);Notificationnotif=builder.build();returnnotif;}For more details, consult the Android documentation onCreate and Manage Notification Channels.
If your app usesAmazon Device Messaging, you need to update the SDK to avoid crashes on Fire OS 7. In previous releases, ADM usedIntentService to send messages to client applications running in the background. In Fire OS 7,IntentService is subject to all the background execution limits imposed with Android 8.0 (API level 26). For example, according toBackground Service Limitations in the Android documentation:
IntentServiceis a service, and is therefore subject to the new restrictions on background services. As a result, many apps that rely onIntentServicedo not work properly when targeting Android 8.0 or higher. For this reason,Android Support Library 26.0.0 introduces a newJobIntentServiceclass, which provides the same functionality asIntentServicebut uses jobs instead of services when running on Android 8.0 or higher.
In order for apps to receive ADM messages while running in the background, they must use aJobIntentService. This newer class uses jobs instead of services when running on Android 8.0 or higher.
ADMMessageHandlerJobBase is a new class that will useJobIntentService to deliver messages in the background. You should use this class in place of the oldADMMessageHandlerBase. When creating an app which interacts with ADM, you should extendADMMessageHandlerJobBase in your handler. To follow along with an example, seeImplement Handling for Registration and Messages. Additionally, see alsoSet Up Amazon Device Messaging andUpdate your App Manifest, which were also updated as part of the release.
You can download theupdated ADM SDK here.
If you notice any issues with your app on Fire OS 7, note the issue in theFire tablets forums.
Last updated: Sep 10, 2025
Supported devices