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Hi all,
I have jumped on the Amazon Fire Phone. I'm already a prime member, using an old LG P930 with Cyanogenmod, but as you can imagine the hardware is a bit old. For $100.00 (since I'm already a prime member the extra year of Prime would have been purchased anyways) this phone was a no brainier for me. My question is, what launcher are you guys running? The Nova launcher works well, but gives an error when installing widgets. Trebuchet fails to launch unfortunately. So far my favorite launcher is Cheetah Launcher by CC Launcher. Everything works, it's clean, and allows the use of my widgets. (Pandora and 1 weather is a must for me). Swiping up to go back works just fine. The only thing I don't like is you don't get notifications of emails or messages in the dock. Also, the default AOS status bar seems a bit weak. It notifies you and the notification goes away. I have been seeing something, wanting to grab it later, and then forget. :|
Anyone else got any launcher or good apps that go well with them to make it more user friendly? I'm very impressed what a simple launcher and side loading apps will give you with this device with out downgrading it or rooting it.
- Jeremy
I've tried nova launcher and Doodol launcher. They both seem to work with the exception of wallpapers
Anyone have any idea of what needs done to get wallpapers working?
On 3.5.0 wallpapers only work with root (xposed tweak)
Yahoo Aviate works well with sll of their built in wallpapers (no widgets work, and you can't select a picture from your gallery though)
Buzz Launcher works with wallpaper support (including your own images). No widgets work though.
I tried a bunch of launchers today and those two are the best so far
So annoying that widgets didn't work on Nova, which has always been our preference, so I set up GEL on wife's new phone. So far she's ok with it, except for being confused how to get out of the Google Now panel (she thought it was an app and was trying to swipe up to get "back" not realizing it was just the left most panel of the launcher).
One thing I did try to set up also that isn't working is Pie Control. It worked for a little bit when first loaded, but subsequent attempts to activate it haven't been successful. I suspect the swipe-in capabilities are hi-jacked by the Fire OS.
Another annoyance is the inability to make direct-dial shortcuts.
I installed, or attempted to install the GNL and wasn't successful. I'll give it a go again. I think I remember the install took, but it wouldn't open the launcher. Still, if looking around, check out that Cheetah Launcher. It just doesn't give notifications in the dock.
Speaking of notifications, does anyone know of a good notification bar? The stock bar on this phone doesn't show an icon that there is a pending kik message, voicemail, text, etc.
rEVOLVE said:
So annoying that widgets didn't work on Nova, which has always been our preference, so I set up GEL on wife's new phone. So far she's ok with it, except for being confused how to get out of the Google Now panel (she thought it was an app and was trying to swipe up to get "back" not realizing it was just the left most panel of the launcher).
One thing I did try to set up also that isn't working is Pie Control. It worked for a little bit when first loaded, but subsequent attempts to activate it haven't been successful. I suspect the swipe-in capabilities are hi-jacked by the Fire OS.
Another annoyance is the inability to make direct-dial shortcuts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I installed the Google Now Launcher .apk again. It then stated I needed google search. Downloaded that .apk. It told me to clear my launcher defaults, I did, but Google Now Launcher isn't an option in the launcher selection. Any idea?
Never mind. I restarted the phone and is good to go. I seem to like the Cheetah Launcher much better so far!
I use Vire Launcher. Its built in wallpapers work perfectly and all widgets work and can be resized. It also has some cool effects.
tried vire launcher and dodol launcher. neither launcher seems to update my missed call count or text messages count properly. ie always showing missed calls.
anybody having this issue as well, or know of a fix?
alrgeez said:
tried vire launcher and dodol launcher. neither launcher seems to update my missed call count or text messages count properly. ie always showing missed calls.
anybody having this issue as well, or know of a fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed a few launchers, okay - a lot of launchers. Below are the ones that I found that give the count of SMS, missed calls, etc.
- Nine Launcher (not a huge fan)
- C Launcher Lite (not bad - not very customizable)
- Solo Launcher (pretty slick - but outside widget support doesn't work)
I'm currently on the hunt for a good status bar or notifier.
The Google Now Launcher seems to work very well without any lag. Its very light weight although not very customizable. So far it seems to be a good place to start until other launchers become more compatible. I added the dashclock widget to the homescreen, with better weather addon, plus the other alerts I need and this seems a complete setup right now that matches my Nexus 4 setup.
Xyth said:
The Google Now Launcher seems to work very well without any lag. Its very light weight although not very customizable. So far it seems to be a good place to start until other launchers become more compatible. I added the dashclock widget to the homescreen, with better weather addon, plus the other alerts I need and this seems a complete setup right now that matches my Nexus 4 setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anybody know, how can i create folders in goole now launcher. I tried holding 1 app icon and pasting it over another, but straight away it takes to the main screen.
Thanks
ankitaroramba said:
Does anybody know, how can i create folders in goole now launcher. I tried holding 1 app icon and pasting it over another, but straight away it takes to the main screen.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Drag one icon and drop onto another icon. This creates a folder that you can then name.
GoLauncher Ex
GoLauncher Ex seems to work well, all widgets worked for me
Xyth said:
Drag one icon and drop onto another icon. This creates a folder that you can then name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but this is only working at the home screen, not in the apps menu.
Is it working for you in Apps menu as well? Let me know i have tried 100 times, and soon as i try to drag 1 icon it takes me to the home screen,.
ankitaroramba said:
Thanks, but this is only working at the home screen, not in the apps menu.
Is it working for you in Apps menu as well? Let me know i have tried 100 times, and soon as i try to drag 1 icon it takes me to the home screen,.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can make folders on the apps menu. I don't seem to be able to on my Nexus 4 with its stock launcher, so its no surprise you cant do it in the Google launcher we are loading.
Thanks for this question though. I thought the launcher was limited to 3 pages but I found that you can create more empty pages by long pressing the home screen and moving the existing side pages to one side of the home page, then dragging icons to the side that now has no page to create a new page. I tried simply dragging icons earlier but it would not form a new page until I moved the old page first. Strange process but it works.
Fire Phone Lauchers - Wallpaper and Widgets
Hi All -
I've gone through just about every launcher I can find to find one that both wallpaper and Widgets work on... With no luck.
Buzz Launcher has wallpaper working, a number of launchers have widgets working, but none with both...
Has anyone else had any luck with both? Do we know what makes one or the other not work? Would rolling back to older versions of some of these launchers (pre-lollipop and kitkat) work?
Thoughts? Help? Suggestions?
Thanks!!!
Has anyone tried Action Launcher Pro? I wonder if it gets along with Fire Phone (no root).
I've tried at least 20 different launchers today. The only one that has wallpaper and widgets working is still Vire Launcher.
I originally posted this in reply to the HD Widgets post but thought it should have its own thread under Nova Launcher:
I can confirm Nova Prime and HD Widgets work on my rooted AFTV with Rbox's mods. Was using Fired TV until I read the posts about HD Widgets. No comparison. Now have an App Drawer, a Dock if I want it, and the ability to Drag icons around to reorder. Can't change wallpaper. Icons are resizable, can be dragged mid-grid and number Rows and Columns is adjustable. Icons and Labels can be edited. Haven't got around to trying Gestures and other features like Folders.
I installed Nova through Google Play. Don't know if can be installed from the Amazon Appstore.
schneid said:
I originally posted this in reply to the HD Widgets post but thought it should have its own thread under Nova Launcher:
I can confirm Nova Prime and HD Widgets work on my rooted AFTV with Rbox's mods. Was using Fired TV until I read the posts about HD Widgets. No comparison. Now have an App Drawer, a Dock if I want it, and the ability to Drag icons around to reorder. Can't change wallpaper. Icons are resizable, can be dragged mid-grid and number Rows and Columns is adjustable. Icons and Labels can be edited. Haven't got around to trying Gestures and other features like Folders.
I installed Nova through Google Play. Don't know if can be installed from the Amazon Appstore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some screenshots would be good once you have it setup close to an ideal setup... Maybe you can use the Amazon FireTV Utility App to take them. Also I am guessing you have the Google Store & all the dependencies installed for it to work correctly...
Some one told me of another Launcher that works & should be very good for the FireTV but have only installed it on a FireTV Stick but haven't had time to set it up. I have just made sure it boots.
Y314K said:
Some screenshots would be good once you have it setup close to an ideal setup... Maybe you can use the Amazon FireTV Utility App to take them. Also I am guessing you have the Google Store & all the dependencies installed for it to work correctly...
Some one told me of another Launcher that works & should be very good for the FireTV but have only installed it on a FireTV Stick but haven't had time to set it up. I have just made sure it boots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to take some screenshots. Thanks for the AFTV UA tip to take them. I went with Nova as I own it and am used to it. it is overkill so maybe something simpler would be better.
Yes, all four Google Play apps installed.
Nova Prime Launcher ScreenShots
ScreenShots of Nova Launcher Prime running on AFTV.
I have it working well too. I've tried everything I can think of to get wallpaper working. It's a no-go. It seems Amazon must've completely removed that functionality from the FTV. No launcher has it working.
xm41907 said:
I have it working well too. I've tried everything I can think of to get wallpaper working. It's a no-go. It seems Amazon must've completely removed that functionality from the FTV. No launcher has it working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is supposed to work in FiredTV but not for me.
schneid said:
It is supposed to work in FiredTV but not for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The entire wallpaper settings has been removed. I installed the settings.apk found elsewhere in this forum to get bluetooth keyboards working and if you try to go under display - wallpapers, its dead. Setting a wallpaper through quickpic or other such app does nothing either. I'm content with a black background though, considering all the advantages.
Do Amazon Prime videos still work doing this?
schneid said:
ScreenShots of Nova Launcher Prime running on AFTV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man.. That looks good with the black background... Not bad at all.
1. Is there a shortlink to go back into the FTV Original UI ?
2. Have you setup LLama or some other prog like it to auto boot into Nova Launcher at bootup ?
3. Do you expand the storage. You seem to have ton of apps installed. Wonder how your storage space doing ?
4. Do you have the Settings.apk installed ? Wonder what APK might need to be installed to get the wallpapers working..
xm41907 said:
I have it working well too. I've tried everything I can think of to get wallpaper working. It's a no-go. It seems Amazon must've completely removed that functionality from the FTV. No launcher has it working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RIght.. But there might be something we can install to get that back... I'm hoping..
krawhitham said:
Do Amazon Prime videos still work doing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you freeze the stock FTV launcher, then no. I've stumbled upon a way to keep it in place and still use NOVA as the launcher. I'm going to be pulling together a post with video about my system setup soon.
schneid said:
It is supposed to work in FiredTV but not for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not a FireTV wide UI WallPaper but it's done from within the FiredTV App...
xm41907 said:
The entire wallpaper settings has been removed. I installed the settings.apk found elsewhere in this forum to get bluetooth keyboards working and if you try to go under display - wallpapers, its dead. Setting a wallpaper through quickpic or other such app does nothing either. I'm content with a black background though, considering all the advantages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that sucks.. Wonder if some other launcher might handle wallpapers from within itself like FiredTV... But the black background should keep the speed up. And it doesn't look bad at all...
krawhitham said:
Do Amazon Prime videos still work doing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good ?... I am guessing you can change back to the FireTV UI to get it work.
1. Is there a shortlink to go back into the FTV Original UI ?
Yes. See screen shots. Top left icon. Called "Home" in apps. "Home" key does it too.
2. Have you setup LLama or some other prog like it to auto boot into Nova Launcher at bootup ?
No. Rbox Mods do this. I boot into
3. Do you expand the storage. You seem to have ton of apps installed. Wonder how your storage space doing ?
Everything works so not worried so far.
4. Do you have the Settings.apk installed ?
Yes.
Wonder what APK might need to be installed to get the wallpapers working..
i don't have a clue but don't care that much.
krawhitham said:
Do Amazon Prime videos still work doing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do for me. just have to use "Home" app which loads the original AFTV launcher. "Home" key goes back to Nova.
I use nova on my phone and really like it. My only concern is the fact it's made for touch. Does the aftv stock remote control everything here? (Minus customizations of course) Aftv remote is all I have. Wukong app works pretty well but would rather be able to just use the regular remote.
KLit75 said:
I use nova on my phone and really like it. My only concern is the fact it's made for touch. Does the aftv stock remote control everything here? (Minus customizations of course) Aftv remote is all I have. Wukong app works pretty well but would rather be able to just use the regular remote.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once setup you can move around with the Arrow keys and use the Select, Exit, and Home buttons. To configure it, you really need a "mouse" That can be a USB mouse, a trackpad, or a phone app. My go to device is a Logitech K400 keyboard:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Built-In-Multi-Touch/dp/B005DKZTMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420720596&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+k400
I ave also used DroidMote on my phone. You need the client and server:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videomap.droidmoteclient
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videomap.droidmoteserver
For day-to-day use I use my Logitech Harmony ONE remote along with Flirc that feeds IR commands via USB to the AFTV.
If you have money to blow, get a Harmony Ultimate Home:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-915-000237-Ultimate-Entertainment-Automation/dp/B00N3RFCBE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420721028&sr=8-2&keywords=B00N3RFC4G|B00N3RFC4Q|B00N3RFCBE
I thought about it but in my opinion, Harmony setup is hard, and I did not want to go through the pain when my ONE works fine provided you use a Flirc which is also a pain..
schneid said:
Once setup you can move around with the Arrow keys and use the Select, Exit, and Home buttons. To configure it, you really need a "mouse" That can be a USB mouse, a trackpad, or a phone app. My go to device is a Logitech K400 keyboard:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Built-In-Multi-Touch/dp/B005DKZTMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420720596&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+k400
I ave also used DroidMote on my phone. You need the client and server:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videomap.droidmoteclient
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videomap.droidmoteserver
For day-to-day use I use my Logitech Harmony ONE remote along with Flirc that feeds IR commands via USB to the AFTV.
If you have money to blow, get a Harmony Ultimate Home:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-915-000237-Ultimate-Entertainment-Automation/dp/B00N3RFCBE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420721028&sr=8-2&keywords=B00N3RFC4G|B00N3RFC4Q|B00N3RFCBE
I thought about it but in my opinion, Harmony setup is hard, and I did not want to go through the pain when my ONE works fine provided you use a Flirc which is also a pain..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'm gonna try to set it up tomorrow. I have a mouse and keyboard but only use it for certain apps once in a great while and cwm. By all accounts the harmony is awesome but I'd rather put money elsewhere for now. I might pickup a melee f10 pro.
Some people think aftv has a smooth simple GUI, but I think its a mess! Especially the way prime movies and TV are thrown in everywhere. Llama's not a must but there are WAY too many clicks occurring to get to xbmc. That dev deserves great praise. But nova might be a much better option overall. Thanks again!
xm41907 said:
I have it working well too. I've tried everything I can think of to get wallpaper working. It's a no-go. It seems Amazon must've completely removed that
functionality from the FTV. No launcher has it working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are wrong about the wallpapers not working. I tried over 100 launchers and some of them do have wallpapers that work by default. Nobody probably took time to try any launchers besides the popular launchers so they assumed if the wallpaper did not work on them that they would not work on any launcher, but they do on more than 10 launchers that I know of. I am not gonna do all the work for anyone, but I will share three launchers that the wallpaper works on, squarehd launcher, chameleon launcher and honeycomb launcher. all the lanchers that the wallpaper work on seem to be old launchers, and as I said over 10 launchers I have found work, but most all of them were made by the same developer and are the same just have a different name, so basically there are really around six launchers that the wallpapers work on. if we can find someone that can figure out what the three launchers above share in common then we can probably find out why the other launchers wallpapers do not work. I have not ried, but I am also thinking that old versions of some of the more popular launchers may work as well, but I do not have any old apk files to try.
Forgot to mention in my last post that Buzz Launcher also works. Wallpapers are displayed by default. Also, the latest update works and it is updated frequently. You might have a problem getting past the first screen, cause you have to activate the launcher with a two finger swipe, but you do not really need to swipe, just take your mouse cursor to the top of the screen and click once and its the same as a two finger swipe.
porkenhimer said:
you are wrong about the wallpapers not working. I tried over 100 launchers and some of them do have wallpapers that work by default. Nobody probably took time to try any launchers besides the popular launchers so they assumed if the wallpaper did not work on them that they would not work on any launcher, but they do on more than 10 launchers that I know of. I am not gonna do all the work for anyone, but I will share three launchers that the wallpaper works on, squarehd launcher, chameleon launcher and honeycomb launcher. all the lanchers that the wallpaper work on seem to be old launchers, and as I said over 10 launchers I have found work, but most all of them were made by the same developer and are the same just have a different name, so basically there are really around six launchers that the wallpapers work on. if we can find someone that can figure out what the three launchers above share in common then we can probably find out why the other launchers wallpapers do not work. I have not ried, but I am also thinking that old versions of some of the more popular launchers may work as well, but I do not have any old apk files to try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to the use of the native android wallpaper function, not that no launcher has the ability to project a wallpaper on the FTV. Yes, there are quite a few launchers that have built-in wallpaper functionality, such as Firedtv, the only FTV specific launcher available. Of the ones you mentioned, I'm only familiar with Chameleon and from what I recall, it used it's own wallpaper system.
porkenhimer said:
Forgot to mention in my last post that Buzz Launcher also works. Wallpapers are displayed by default. Also, the latest update works and it is updated frequently. You might have a problem getting past the first screen, cause you have to activate the launcher with a two finger swipe, but you do not really need to swipe, just take your mouse cursor to the top of the screen and click once and its the same as a two finger swipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I played a little around with the Buzz Launcher and it looks like a very decent launcher with a lot options and themes. I like it so far, however I can't make any of the widgets to work. Any advice on how to make them work? I tried "HD Widgets" and Play Store Widgets. Also, any suggestion on how to get rid of the annoying "Two-finger Swipe Down" Notification? It keeps coming back after closing an app or when the launcher starts.
Is there any way to tweak the phone so that the home screen can be displayed in landscape like a tablet? This would be useful for when using at my desk, especially with the USB cable connected.
Edit: I have found play store apps to do this, but they don't work well with Zen launcher's dock and app tray.
OK, have got this sorted by myself - just needed to use Nova launcher together with an app that forces landscape.
Apologies for talking to myself, but this is what I ended up with, just in case anyone else fancies doing similar. The app is called "Set Orientation".
kanagawaben said:
OK, have got this sorted by myself - just needed to use Nova launcher together with an app that forces landscape.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May i ask what app did you use to force landscape? Ty
"Set Orientation" - it's small, simple and free.
I am a very stupid Android noob. The Nova launcher allows you to force landscape (screen orientation is under "look & feel" in the Nova settings menu. No need for an app.
I'm on a galaxy tab s3, and I'm using nova prime, but I can't scroll horizontally, and I can't figure out what setting I need to change to enable this.
I can swipe to the next page, yes, but my mouse isn't working (works fine on the default launcher by the way).
It doesn't work on the homescreens, nor on the app drawer.
Landscape mode btw. Am I missing somethinghere?
Anyone? D:
bump
I suggest to you, try to uninstall the previous version of Nova Launcher. Then install Updated version. I hope it will be work. Thanks
I cannot change or customize the widget unless I rotate the screen. I have tried using all the different sizes but it still won't work.
I rotated it, and chose a random widget to check it out. The size of widget is alright in landscape but when I switch back to portrait, the widget size becomes really small. I tried restarting my phone, and nova launcher but still with no luck. Oh! And I also tried nova backups but they aren't working.