How to Take Screenshots on the Kindle Fire

When I first got this task, I figured I would try and find the easiest way to capture a screen shot on my old Kindle Fire. Guess what, there isn’t an easy way to do this. I researched dozens of apps, and tried them all. They all told me the same thing, “root access required”. Oh how I hated seeing that. I thought for sure that there had to be an easy way to do this without the use of a PC or Mac computer. Well, I am afraid that as of the time I have posted this, I have not found any other way to do this. What’s more, for some reason with my Asus 64 bit windows 8 computer, the Kindle Fire drivers are not compatible. I can transfer files well enough, but beyond that nothing seams to work the way it should.

This is not to say I will be giving up on this effort. I will figure out some way to do what they say can’t be done. Having said that, in the mean time, I can only offer to you the reader, the party line as to the way this can be done. I cannot take credit for the originality of this information as it appears in so many other places on the internet, but I will try to present it in as easy to understand means as possible.

On the Kindle Fire HD, the step is easy:

1. Hold down the volume down button and the power button at the exact same time.

That’s it, it couldn’t be simpler. I will say this though, instead of just pressing the buttons down, and holding them down until you hear a sound, and see a smaller copy of the image on the screen. The image you just took will show up inside the same folder as all of your other pictures. Below is a sample image from my wife’s Kindle fire HD.

Now for the fun stuff, on the old Kindle Fire, last year’s model, you practically have to sell your soul to accomplish the task. Unfortunately this task cannot be done without a computer, unless you root your tablet. So until I discover another way to do this, here are the steps you must take in order to accomplish the task.

Take Screenshots on Original Kindle Fire

1. Know that, the older gen Kindle Fire already has ABD enabled, so if you have been reading these steps on other sites, the steps requiring you to enable this feature is not available, and is already set for you.

2. You need to install the Android SDK software. * (If you have problems with the following steps, look to the bottom of this tutorial. I found some extra steps which helped me, as the steps from this point on did not work on my computer.)

3. Now, open your Android SDK directory and navigate as follows… estrasamazonkindle_fire_usb_driver, run KindleDrivers.exe

4. Now connect your Kindle Fire using the usb connection.

5. Now, open your device manager. The easiest way is from the start menu to control panel and then Device Manager. However, if you have Windows 8, which does not come with a start menu, then you can “right” click on your Computer icon, choose properties and then from there, choose Device Manager. Either way will take you to the same place.

6. Now look for Kindle Fire in the list, and verify that the device appears as Android Composite ABD Interface.

7. The next steps are done through a command prompt. If you are using Windows 8, press the Win key and the “X” key at the same time. This will bring up a list on the lower left side of your screen. Look for the line that says Command Prompt, and select it.

8. This is where you need to have an understanding of basic Dos commands. You need to change directories to your Android ADK platform-tools directory.

9. run the following commands and insure that your Kindle Fire serial number shows up in the list of devices.

a. abd kill-server

b. abd start-server

c. abd devices

10. If the serial number does not appear after you ran abd devices you have a few more things to do.

a. Change directories to Android SDK tools directory.

b. Now run the following command:

android update abd

c. Go back to Android SDK platform-tools directory and run through the steps in 9. a. b. c.

Ok, now would be a good time to take a break and have a snack, a bathroom break, some oxygen, whatever will help revive you from all the exhausting things you just had to do. Why you may ask? You’re not done yet. There is more to come.

1. Get out of the command prompt and go back to where you installed the Android ADK software. Navigate to androidandroid-sdk-windowstools. From here, look for the file “ddms” and double click on it. A window should have opened and you should be looking at the Dalvik Debug Monitor.

2. Your device should be listed, and if it is, click on it.

3. Now click on Device and Screen Capture on the top of the Dalvik menu. If everything has gone as planed, you will now see a window with your kindle fire screen in it.

4. Clicks “save” and it is done. If you desire to take another screen shot click “refresh” and go again.

At this point, one of three things will have happened. You will have forgotten what you were doing and you are now wandering around with a glazed look on your face, you have your screenshot and are so excited your neighbors are worried because of all of the screaming you are doing, or you are stuck on step 5 above. If so, put down the pencil as it led will not stick on the screen very well. (If you didn’t get the joke, try writing the word right on your screen and see what happens. Oh never mind. )

At this point I hope you have achieved your desired goals and are not to old to make use of it. If I become aware of an easier way to accomplish this task, I will share it with you. Until them, have a great day.

*I have to tell you that none of the above worked for me at all until I installed the proper drivers for the Kindle Fire on my tablet. drivers Look down the page near the bottom to download the correct drivers. Once you have them, unzip the file and go to the Amazon folder, and then Kindle_fire_usb_drivers, and execute KindleDrivers.exe

Once you have done this, you can follow the rest of the steps just fine. I did not need to run any other steps after that. I was able to go right to the second part and open ddms.bat and here you go…

Just as a side note, for me, nothing installed like the steps above showed. That may vary depending upon your system, and the source you choose for the SDK software. For me, everything installed in the folder where I downloaded the program and ran it from. So if you’re having any troubles, or it doesn’t work right for you, don’t panic. Just take a deep breath and try again. The key is the drivers, and once they are correct, the rest is easy.