Kindle Fire (1st Generation) Quick Start Guide For

DeZavala Elementary

Kindle Fire Basics for DeZavala Elementary – A Quick Start Guide This guide is divided into two major parts. Part one focuses on the general layout of the Kindle Fire.

Part two explains the different sections of the Kindle Fire and what they contain. Included at the end of

this document is a brief troubleshooting section.

Kindle Fire Basics, Part One – General Layout

Physical Parts

Power button:

The Kindle Fire only has one button, located at the bottom of the device – the power button. When

plugged in, the power button will glow orange until it is fully charged, at which point it will glow

green. To turn on the device or to turn off the screen, press the power button once. To turn off the

device, hold down the power button until the tablet asks if you want to shut it down.

Charging port and headphone jack:

Use the charging port to charge the device by plugging the cord included into a wall. If you would

prefer not to use the device's speakers (which are on the opposite end of the device), plug in a pair of

headphones using the headphone jack.

Software Parts

When the Kindle is powered on, after it starts up it will display the home screen. This screen has

several important parts. They can be accessed in all parts of the device. If they are not readily visible,

they can be accessed either by tapping in the middle of the screen (when reading a book or document)

or by tapping the thin gray bar at the bottom of the screen when an app is open.

1. Notifications

◦ Tap once in the upper left of the screen, where the name of the Kindle Fire is visible

(“______'s Kindle) for the Notifications screen.

◦ This screen displays alerts and notices. The Kindle will notify you, for example, that

you have Parental Controls on or that there are Wi-Fi networks available to connect to.

▪ Note: Some apps will push advertising to the notifications center. Once you find

which app is pushing ads, you will have to delete it from the device in order to keep

the ads from coming back.

2. Settings

◦ Tap once in the upper right of the screen, where the gear and battery symbols are visible

for the Settings menu.

◦ There are six areas in the basic menu:

▪ Locked or Unlocked (screen orientation): If this is set to “Locked”, the screen will

not rotate when you move it sideways. For classroom purposes, this should usually

be set to “Unlocked”.

▪ Volume

▪ Brightness (Screen Brightness)

▪ Wi-Fi: This setting should be turned on, and the device should be connected to the

appropriate wireless network.

▪ Sync: If something is purchased on the account, hitting the “sync” option will sync

the Kindle to the account and allow it to be downloaded to the device.

▪ More: This opens the rest of the settings available for the Kindle.

◦ Note: Students are not allowed to use the Settings menu. If they need the volume or

screen brightness adjusted, they will need to ask for help.

3. Home Screen

◦ The Home screen has a carousel of the apps, books, and documents most recently used on

the Kindle. Beneath the carousel are your “favorites”. If you tap and hold an app, tap “Add

to Favorites” in the menu and it will appear here.

◦ To get back to the Home screen from any other section in the Kindle, look for the gray bar

at the bottom of the screen. There will be a button with a symbol that looks like a house –

tap on the house to go to the home screen. While an app is open, the gray bar is minimized

– tap the white arrow on the thin gray bar at the bottom of the screen to reveal the home

button.

4. Search

◦ Use the search bar to look for a specific app or document in your library. Press cancel to

exit the search screen.

Kindle Fire Basics, Part Two – Sections of the Kindle

There are seven sections of the Kindle visible from the Home screen.

1. Newsstand

◦ Magazines purchased on the account will appear here.

◦ If no magazines are purchased, this section will remain empty.

2. Books

◦ Kindle books purchased on Amazon.com will appear here.

◦ Books that have been purchased but not downloaded yet will have a white downward arrow

on a gray circle in the corner of their icon – tap to start the download.

◦ Tap on a book to open it.

◦ Tap or swipe to turn the page. Tap in the middle of the page to bring up the menu.

3. Music and Video

◦ These sections are for music and video purchased.

◦ Students are not allowed in these sections because there are no parental controls to filter

what they see.

4. Docs

◦ PDFs and other documents are stored here.

◦ Documents can be downloaded from the internet, uploaded to Amazon Cloud, or emailed as

attachments directly to the device.

◦ Tap or swipe to turn the page.

5. Apps

◦ Apps purchased on the account are shown in this section.

◦ Apps that have been purchased but not downloaded yet will have a white downward arrow

on a gray circle in the corner of their icon – tap to start the download.

▪ Note: There is a limited amount of space on the Kindles. If the memory is too full, you

will need to remove some apps from the device before you install new ones. To remove

an app, tap and hold the app icon and select “Remove from Device”. Apps can always

be reinstalled later.

◦ Store

▪ Apps cannot be purchased directly from device.

▪ Students are not allowed to browse the app store.

6. Web

◦ The web browser is blocked on these devices, so this section of the Kindle is grayed out.

◦ Use the Maxthon Mobile browser in the Apps section to access the internet.

Troubleshooting

1. The Kindle won't turn on.

◦ Make sure it is charged. Plug it in and let it charge for about five minutes before checking

to see if it will turn on again.

2. I can't download apps or books, or get on the internet.

◦ Make sure the Wi-Fi is on. Tap on the Settings menu and tap on Wi-Fi. The wireless

networking should be on (highlighted orange).

◦ Make sure you are connected to the appropriate wireless network. In the same menu,

connect to the network that is designated for student devices.

3. I can't download apps or books because I've run out of space.

◦ Remove some apps from the device. Tap and hold the apps you want to remove and select

“Remove from Device”.

▪ Some apps cannot be removed because they come pre-installed, such as email and

contacts.

4. The Kindle will not play sound, the screen is too dark to read, or the screen will not rotate.

◦ The volume has been turned off. Tap the Settings menu, tap on volume and adjust it.

◦ The Screen Brightness is dimmed. Tap the Settings menu, tap on Brightness and adjust it.

◦ The screen orientation has been locked. Tap the Settings menu and tap on Locked to unlock

it.

▪ Some apps do not allow the screen to rotate while they are open.