Misc/Turning an Amazon FireStick into a Portable Computer

I turned my Firestick into a portable PC. I use it as a thin client to connect to my remote RDP and SSH servers.

These are the parts used:

I used this YouTube link to enable installing third party APKs on the Android Version of the Firestick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GR2dOZcMKM&pp=ygUUZG93bmxvYWRlciBmaXJlc3RpY2s%3D

Then I installed Tailscale from F-DROID and RDP from APKPure to connect remotely. There is a bug where the on-screen keyboard will appear and stay covering the screen while the USB keyboard is attached. This can sometimes softlock your Firestick and require a reboot to get rid of.

Fortunately RDP apps aren't effected by this bug. My firestick is now a real cruddy emergency PC. It works great as a media player still : )

This link can be followed to replace the stock Amazon keyboard with another using ADB.

https://www.techdoctoruk.com/leankey-keyboard-for-firestick/

Remapping keys can potentially be done with these links:

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/54160/android-keyboard-and-remapping-the-ctrl-key

https://github.com/ris58h/custom-keyboard-layout

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