Hearth Hacking

Turn a Hearth Display into a fully usable Android tablet.

The Hearth Display runs Android 11 on a Rockchip rk3568 SoC but is locked down as a kiosk device. This project provides the tools and instructions to break out of the kiosk, install a launcher, browser, and gesture navigation, giving you a general-purpose tablet experience.

Discord Community

I have no ownership over the discord but hwad over to the discord here for orher types of hacks being discussed Hearth Hackers

What Gets Installed

App	Purpose
Nova Launcher	Replaces the Hearth kiosk with a customizable home screen
Firefox	Full browser with extension support
Fluid Navigation Gestures	Adds swipe-based back/home/recents (the device has no nav buttons)
PullTab Fullscreen	Firefox extension that hides the address bar for more screen space

All APKs and extensions are included as a multi-part RAR archive (apps.part1.rar through apps.part7.rar). Extract with unrar x apps.part1.rar to recreate the apps/ folder.

How It Works

1. Connect via ADB over the network to the Hearth Display
2. Gain root access (adb root) to override the system-level kiosk watchdog
3. Disable the Hearth kiosk packages (com.hearth.hmf and com.nativeapp) so they stop reclaiming the foreground
4. Install apps via adb install and set Nova Launcher as the default home
5. All changes persist across reboots — no need to re-apply after power cycling

The kiosk can be fully restored at any time by re-enabling the Hearth packages.

Prerequisites

• ADB installed on your computer
• Hearth Display on the same network
• The device's IP address and ADB port

Getting Started

See HEARTH_HACKING.md for the full step-by-step guide covering installation, configuration, diagnostics, and how to restore the original kiosk.

Enabling Remote Debugging (ADB over Wi-Fi)

Before you can connect via ADB, you need to enable Developer Options and Wireless Debugging on the Hearth Display itself. Here's a quick video walkthrough of the process.

Enable Developer Options

1. Open Settings → About phone (on some devices: Settings → System → About phone).
2. Find Build number (may be under "Software information").
3. Tap Build number 7 times. You'll see "You are now a developer!"
4. Enter your PIN/password if prompted.

Enable Wireless Debugging

1. Go to Settings → System → Developer options (on some devices it's directly in Settings, or under Settings → Additional settings).
2. Toggle Developer options on (if not already).
3. Scroll to USB debugging and enable it (needed as a prerequisite on many devices).
4. Find and enable Wireless debugging.
5. Tap Wireless debugging to open it — here you'll see the device's IP address/port and options to Pair device with pairing code or Pair device with QR code.
6. Make sure your computer and the Hearth Display are on the same Wi-Fi network, then pair.

Alternative Family Dashboard

I also maintain Aurora Deck it's a family dashboard so once you have Firefox up and running on your Hearth display Aurora Deck can be a full replacement for your family needs. Aurora Deck has the ability to self-host for free Self Hosting Aurora Deck or is provided as a service. Please check it out and happy hacking!