Got an Old Kindle? It Might Not Work Anymore

internet2000

> If you own one of the affected Kindles, you’ll still be able to access all of the books that are already downloaded to your device. However, you’ll no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download books to your device from the Kindle Store. > And while you can sideload DRM-free (digital rights management–free) titles to the Kindle via USB [...], it’s not the best option from a security standpoint. What a terrible article.

micromacrofoot

you can still transfer over usb, which should be the bare minimum for eol hardware support... this isn't as bad as it seems on the surface

overflowy

Best thing I ever did with my Kindle was jailbreak it and install KOReader. Crazy that somebody needs to do that in order to truly own their device.

disillusioned

It seems absurd to me that Amazon is making the product decision to EOL functional hardware that is _actively used to purchase books from them, legally_... all to... what? potentially sell another $100 or so reader? At the expense of... what? Some minimal amount of engineering effort to keep updates flowing for the extremely limited surface area that is the old Kindle OS? Why upset your customers over this when they were otherwise using this device to give you money?

beej71

I just jailbroke my old Kindle 4 for fun. Found out of it ever connects to WiFi it unjailbrakes itself. :) The email Amazon sent out said that if you factory reset your device after May 20 it becomes inoperable. I wonder if that means bricked, or if it just means you can't access your DRM kindle library.

II2II

They said that it affected less than 3% of Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets. I wonder how that number would change if they only considered Kindle e-readers? I suspect that the disposability of tablets distorts that number significantly.

Cider9986

As much as I am a fan of annas-archive, Zlibrary Koreader Plugin[1] makes a bargain I can't refuse. [1] https://github.com/ZlibraryKO/zlibrary.koplugin

0x38B

I transfer books by running `python -m http.server` on my phone or computer, then opening my Kindle’s browser to my IP and downloading my .mobi book. It doesn’t take long, and I can do it all over Wi-Fi. I can mount it via SSHFS for anything more than copying a single book. I stopped buying anything from Amazon on principal a couple years ago, books included; and anyway, most books I read these days are in the public domain – Project Gutenberg is a treasure trove!

ChrisArchitect

Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678320 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47690049 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47747330

LandenLove

Unrelated to the article, but the sticky AI prompt at the top of this page is infuriating. I've added the element to my ublock filter.

shell0x

I’m thinking to get a device for reading technical books. Do you think an iPad mini would be the better option? I had a kindle before but it was slow to change pages and I heard even new versions are still not great for PDFs, but would like to get some opinions. I have a friend at Apple so wouldn’t pay the full price for an iPad.

crims0n

> Earlier this week, Amazon notified its customers via email that, starting May 20, it will end support for Kindle and Kindle Fire devices released in 2012 or earlier. 14 years of support really isn't bad at all.

nokeya

Just use Calibre to transfer books to the reader

neilv

> The company is offering a 20% discount that you can apply toward one of its new Kindle models, Federal is complicated right now, but can state AGs step in, and make Amazon either continue to support the old devices, or provide comparable free replacement devices?

ashton314

I have a Kindle with KOReader on it and it’s awesome. I recently bought a book directly from the author ( Isles of the Emberdark , Brandon Sanderson) and the author, being excellent, provided it without DRM so I had no trouble reading it. But for less-excellent authors, where’s a good place besides Amazon to get ebooks?

testing22321

I bought a used kindle paper white in 2015 for I think $70. It’s been through 75 countries on 5 continents. I must have read 500 books on it. Plenty of nights at -40C, years at +40C. Battery still lasts 5 books. Never turned on wifi, works great with calibre. Best electronic purchase of my life.

coro_1

This quote near the end of the article: > “Kindle devices have a relatively small attack surface, and successful exploitation through ebook files is rare, though not impossible,” said Bogdan Botezatu, a senior director of threat research and reporting for cybersecurity software company Bitdefender. Should sell more new Kindles.