This isn’t a guide on how to jailbreak your Kindle. The methods of jailbreaking change fairly regularly, so there’s no guarantee that anything I write down here will stay correct. Instead, it’s heavily recommended that you head over to websites like the Kindle Modding Wiki, which keeps up-to-date guides for all your jailbreaking needs.
Instead, this is a manifesto aimed at those whose Kindles are still functioning, but might be at an age where the events of the past few months leave you a bit nervous.
You should jailbreak your Kindle, right now. Because now we know it has limited time.
Amazon has killed off a number of its oldest Kindles
The oldest Kindles in Amazon’s roster, including the very first Kindle, were shut off this week. May 20, to be exact. So if you’re using one of those Kindles, you probably knew this was the end for it, or have recently woken up to a very unwelcome reality.
To be fair, this action doesn’t mean the affected Kindles are unable to be used. Far from it. You’ll still be able to read any downloaded books and files, and you can still sideload books using a USB cable, but you won’t be able to buy or download from the Kindle Store, and won’t get any updates either. Crucially for big readers, this is also goodbye to Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading.
The affected devices are, in full, as follows:
- Kindle 1st Generation (2007)
- Kindle 2nd Generation (2009)
- Kindle DX and DX Graphite (2009/2010)
- Kindle Keyboard / 3rd Generation (2010)
- Kindle 4 (2011)
- Kindle Touch (2011)
- Kindle 5 (2012)
- Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation (2012)
Your device might be brand new, or it might have missed the guillotine by only a matter of years. If that’s the case, then you might have started to sweat a little bit.
The end comes to all devices eventually
No device is supported forever. Eventually, ongoing software updates have to end, and access can even be limited for the oldest devices.
It sucks. It really does. It especially sucks when it’s a device that can last for an extremely long time, like an e-reader. A lot of these devices were still in use, and having that use stopped by the manufacturer, rather than your device’s limitations, feels bad.
At the same time, I can see this from Amazon’s point of view. These devices have had a lot of support, far longer than any smart device can expect to get. It can’t support every device forever, and sunsetting does happen eventually.
But that doesn’t help you to feel better when your Kindle is one of the devices hit by Amazon’s purge.
It feels especially unfair that access to the Kindle Store is being cut off. There may be some worries about security on retired devices, like it’s leaving an unguarded door open — but cynically, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a way to force people into upgrading.
But while Amazon will never officially recognize it, there is another way for your Kindle, whether defunct or close to the edge of being.
Jump before you’re pushed
The big choice you need to make now is whether you sit and wait for Amazon to pull the curtains closed, or you take matters into your own hands.
We don’t know how often Amazon is going to start pulling support from Kindle models, but we now know it’s a “when” not an “if”.
Staying ahead of this is likely to be as easy as upgrading your Kindle every five years or so, but I don’t blame you if you don’t feel like you should have to. Whether it’s a case of not wanting to create e-waste, or just not feeling like you should have to, those feelings are valid.
That’s where jailbreaking comes in.
By jailbreaking your device, you’re making a decision. You’re deciding that Amazon won’t get the final vote in how your device is managed.
It might feel drastic, but it isn’t. All you usually need to jailbreak your Kindle is a few free hours, a good guide, a computer, your Kindle, and a USB cable.
Lucas Gouveia/Android Police | Amazon
There’s a risk of breaking your device completely, and you should not discount that fact. It can also add new bugs to your device that weren’t there before. These are both good reasons not to do it. But if you’re happy taking the risk (especially true with the now-defunct Kindles), then jailbreaking can open your device up to new apps, games, and customization options you didn’t have before.
Interested? The Kindle Modding Wiki has a handy guide for which jailbreaking version is best for each model of Kindle — however, keep in mind that any Kindles running software version 5.19 and newer don’t currently have any jailbreaking methods. But the modding community is good at finding loopholes, so you can be sure jailbreaking methods will arrive eventually.
Jailbreaking does have its risks, and its downsides, but if you, like me, have swapped to a different (and better) e-reader, then that unused Kindle is ripe for tinkering with.
8/10
- Brand
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Kobo
- Screen
-
Kaleido 3
- Resolution
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1072 x 1448
- Storage
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16GB