Amazon is to discontinue support for old Kindles, including the first and second generations and the Kindle DX. They're not going to be bricked, but they will be cut loose: "you will not be able to purchase, borrow or download addtional books" after May 20. And if you reset them or deregister them, they will be bricked. Users are displeased; the BBC estimates up to two million devices will be affected.
"I have a Kindle Touch that I've had since 2013, it works great, I bought a book on it a few months ago, and suddenly it's obsolete," one X user wrote in a post tagging Amazon.
Another frustrated user described the Kindle as "probably one of the most low-tech devices ever made" and queried why Amazon was discontinuing its support for it.
"A Kindle is a text device! There is no need for updates."
A sad example of modern technology living at the commercial convenience of the manufacturer. Thankfully, these old Kindles are well-owned; ZDNet's David Gewirtz explains how it's done.
The process of doing this is kind of like finding pieces of a treasure map. You start with one clue and follow it for a while, then branch off following a different clue. In our case, the clues are message board posts. The bits of treasure are the files linked to on those boards.
And, yes, this is a bit of a risky process. You will be downloading unverified files from random forums on the internet. Anything could be attached as a payload. The only saving grace is that these are very well-populated and regularly updated pinned posts, so hopefully, the jailbreak community would find and expose any unsavory payloads.
Previously:
• I removed the DRM from my Amazon Kindle ebooks
• I jailbroke my Kindle so you don't have to
