Amazon Fire Tablets restrict you to the Amazon Appstore, but runs on Fire OS, a custom version of Android. That means, that you can install the Play Store and gain access to millions of Android apps and games, including Google apps like Gmail, Chrome, Google Maps, and more.
The best part of installing the Play Store on your Fire Tablet is that it doesn’t require any in-depth “hacking” like rooting or running scripts from a PC. It’s just a matter of downloading and installing a few APK files from the tablet itself, and you’ll be up and running with the Play Store! Let’s get started.
Warning: Remove the microSD card if you have one inserted in the tablet. If you don’t do this, it’s possible you could lose data during the Play Store install process. You can put it back once we’re done.
RELATED: How to Make the $50 Amazon Fire Tablet More Like Stock Android (Without Rooting)
Download the Play Store Files
Before we begin, make sure your Fire Tablet is from 2014 or later. This process may not work with old Kindle Fire tablets as you need to enable “Apps From Unknown Sources.”
First, open the “Settings” app from the “Home” tab on the home screen.
Now go to “Security & Privacy.”
Select “Apps From Unknown Sources.”
Find “Silk Browser” and then toggle on “Allow From This Source.” This is what will allow us to install an app from outside of the Amazon app store.
With that out of the way, we can start downloading the Play Store files. There are four APK files we will need to get the Play Store up and running, and they’re specific to your Fire Tablet.
To find out which Amazon Fire Tablet model you have, go to Settings > Device Options > About Fire Tablet. You’ll see your “Device Model” name here. To see your Fire OS version, go to Settings > Device Options > System Updates.
With the device model in mind, we can download the appropriate files below. Simply copy and paste the links from the tables below into the Silk Browser on your Amazon Fire tablet. We’re just downloading the files at this point, don’t open them yet.
Google Account Manager
Note: Ignore the message about a newer version being available.
| Fire HD 10 (7th Gen and older) | Google Account Manager v5.1 |
| Fire HD 8 (7th Gen and older) | |
| Fire 7 (7th Gen and older) | |
| Fire HD 6 | |
| Fire HDX 8.9 |
Google Services Framework
Google Play Services
Note: On the page for your model, select the most recent version of the APK that is not a “beta.”
Google Play Store
Note: On the page for your model, select the most recent version of the APK that is not a “beta.”
Install the Play Store
With all the downloaded APK files to your Amazon Fire Tablet, we can begin installing them one by one. Open the “Files” app from the home screen.
Select “Downloads” from the side menu and switch to the list view for the files. You should see the four files we just downloaded.
It’s important to install these APKs in a specific order. For each APK, follow this process: Tap the file > select “Continue” > tap the “Install” button. After it installs, tap “Done.” Don’t open the Play Store yet.
Install the files in this order (the file names on your device will be longer):
- com.google.android.gsf.login
- com.google.android.gsf
- com.google.android.gms
- com.android.vending
With all the APKs installed, it’s time to reboot the tablet. Hold down the power button and select “Restart.”
After the tablet restarts, you’ll see the Play Store on the home screen. Open it and sign in with your Google account.
Once you’re signed in, you’ll have a functional Google Play Store, just like on any other Android device. Go forth and download YouTube, Gmail, and any other app you can’t find in the Amazon Appstore.
You may experience some problems when trying to use the Play Store right away. The Play Store and Google Play Services will automatically update themselves in the background, so just give it some time. This may take as much as ten minutes.
