Repurposing an Old Amazon Fire Tablet

Published February 18, 2023

I needed to repurpose my old Amazon seventh-generation HD 10 Fire tablet so I turned it into an office clock. Imagine that? There are several things you can do with an old, slow, and tired seventh-generation Amazon tablet but the only one that made sense to me was turning it into a clock.

Let’s face it. I bought the tablet back in 2018 (I've since bought a new one). As of this writing, that makes the tablet 5 years old! The same age as my granddaughter who is the only person using it when she pays a visit. The sad thing about that is, the slowness of the tablet frustrates her too.

Old Amazon Tablet - Toss or Repurpose

I thought of just tossing it out, but the tree hugger in me wouldn’t allow it to go into the trash. Next, I thought of recycling it using Amazon’s recycling program [LINK]. Then I thought, Why give it back to Amazon? There’s got to be something I can do with it.

I was right. There is something useful I can do with it. I can repurpose it by making it my office clock. With the clock function, I could set alarms, and timers or use the stopwatch function. Even though the device is old and slow, it keeps accurate time (kinda like me).

Fire Tablet Clock - Prevent Sleep Mode

The biggest challenge in repurposing the tablet was keeping it from going into sleep mode. I was able to delay sleep mode, but that only bought me 30 minutes. In other words, if I didn’t finagle or fuss with the tablet within 30 minutes, it would stop displaying the time and go into sleep mode. No bueno!

Thanks to Dr. Internet, I found the way to prevent the Amazon tablet from going to sleep. The task is simple. Here’s what you do if you want to turn your old Amazon Fire tablet into a clock and prevent it from falling asleep:

1. Go into Settings


2. Tap Device Options


3. Scroll down until you find the Serial Number and tap on the serial number seven times. Doing so will unlock the Developer Options menu


4. Tap Developer Options


5. Look for Stay awake, toggle it on and you’re done.

Go back to the home screen and tap on the clock. In clock settings, you can change the display from digital to analog and a couple of other settings.

Repurposed Amazon Tablet: A Few Things to Note

• The clock display will stay on as long as the device is plugged in and charging. Once you unplug the device, it will return to the default sleep mode setting and it will go to sleep after the preset time has elapsed.


• If you want the sexier, more attractive clock display, you’ll have to enable Alexa and then put the device in Show Mode. In Show Mode, you get the time, date, weather, and an attractive background. Without Alexa and Show Mode, you’re stuck with the basic clock that displays time and date. For the record, I prefer the basic clock. Not only because of its no-frills minimal look but because I don’t fancy Alexa’s ears always listening.

Last Modified: 18 February 2023