Kindle 4NT black demo unit

[Solaris81]

I purchased 2 demo kindle units from a closing down sale. One black and one silver. I've used the guides on these forums to restore both of them to the official amazon software version 4.0.

Both restored fine however the BLACK model doesn't want to register with my amazon account no matter what i try. It also doesn't recognize update files that i put on the root of the drive, and it also won't connect to the kindle store from the settings menu.

Each time i get a message saying cannot connect at this time. There IS a working internet connection however, as i can get online successfully using the experimental browser.

I've contacted amazon and they've assured me that the serial number has not been black listed or registered by anyone else.

The only thing i can think of is that maybe the black versions will not connect to amazon directly if they are running anything less than 4.1.0 since while they are technically supposed to be the same as the silver versions they have only just come out. Another thing making me think this is that the update file on the amazon site only has B00E in it which is the serial for the silver versions not the black which is B023.

Does anyone know what i could do in this situation? Is there anywhere that i can download the kernel and main partitions for 4.1.0 to flash to my kindle? I've searched for ages without any luck finding them.

Or is there a way i could extract these images from my silver kindle which is currently running 4.1.0?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[geekmaster]

Some silver K4 demos also cannot access the kindle store or get registered. Perhaps their serial and mac address are not linked in the Amazon registration database.

FYI, K3 and K5 demo units do not seem to have that problem, and they have working 3G after registered.

[Solaris81]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Some silver K4 demos also cannot access the kindle store or get registered. Perhaps their serial and mac address are not linked in the Amazon registration database.

FYI, K3 and K5 demo units do not seem to have that problem, and they have working 3G after registered.

So do you not think this could be related to the software version being lower than they would ship with then? I need 4.1.0 kernel and image files to check this.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Solaris81

So do you not think this could be related to the software version being lower than they would ship with then? I need 4.1.0 kernel and image files to check this.

You can upgrade to 4.1.0 after installing 4.0.0 firmware. Download the firmware update from amazon, and install it. Then try registering. In my experience, some K4 demos can be registered and some cannot.

[Solaris81]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

You can upgrade to 4.1.0 after installing 4.0.0 firmware. Download the firmware update from amazon, and install it. Then try registering. In my experience, some K4 demos can be registered and some cannot.

The problem with that is that the kindle doesn't recognize the update file. It remains greyed out in the settings. I was confused by this for a while but noticed that all the update files are called "Update_kindle_4.1.0_B00E". Which end in the serial code for the silver kindles only, despite the link on the amazon site suggesting the black and silver kindles would use the same file.

The black kindles serial starts with B023 and as far as I'm aware would have shipped with the 4.1.0 system software already installed. This is why i think it might need to be at this software version for amazon to connect it. While they claim it's identical other than colour the fact it has some separate options in the settings menu combined with not recognizing any of the B00E update files makes me think there are some differences.

What i really need is 4.1.0 image files so i can flash them to the kindle using the debricking method to check. If anyone could point me to where i can download them, or tell me how i could extract them from my silver 4.1.0 kindle please.

Even better if someone can extract the files from an updated working black kindle I'd be very grateful.

[geekmaster]

After flashing the 4.0.0 image, you need to rename the 800x600 screensavers folder, to ungray the UYK menu. This has been documented mutiple times in various debricking threads. Somebody should upload a "repaired" 4.0.0 image, and PM me the link so it can be added to the debricking pastebin.

[Solaris81]

What is the UYK menu?

When i originally flashed the silver kindle to 4.0 i had to rename the screensaver folder to get the update to work, but it wasn't greyed out before i did this. The update would just fail. On the black kindle the option to update is simply greyed out.

Another thing is I've now upgraded the black kindle to 4.0.1 using debricking method and a 4.0.1 image, which doesn't have the screensaver hack, still the update is greyed out.

I think the only way i can get this black kindle connecting is to have it running the firmware i believe it ships with which is 4.1.0.

[aditya3098]

I remember this happening to me on my kt. It was not a demo, and was on factory firmware, no hacks. A debricking fixed it, and then I deregistered

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Solaris81

What is the UYK menu?
...
I think the only way i can get this black kindle connecting is to have it running the firmware i believe it ships with which is 4.1.0.

UYK is a common acronym used here at MR, for "Update Your Kindle".

It makes sense that firmware updates older than 4.1.0 may not support the new K4B serial number prefix. In fact, I think that the hack update packages needed to be modified to support the new serial number prefixes as I recall). The older firmware updates may not support the new serial number, which would explain the grayed-out UYK menu.

So, we may need a newer firmware image to properly debrick a K4B.

[dsmid]

I was thinking about buying a K4B demo as well, this case scares me though.

Hasn't anyone uploaded 4.1 images somewhere yet ? It think the hypothesis about K4B needing at least 4.1 *could* be true, but it has to confirmed with an experiment.

Solaris81, you should be able to make the 4.1 backup the same way you flashed the demo unit, just use dd in the opposite direction - if=/dev/mmcblk0p1of=/mnt/us/mmcblk0p1.img, I'm not sure about the kernel offset though.

I've also found this post, it might help you: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...14#post2305214

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by Solaris81

The problem with that is that the kindle doesn't recognize the update file. It remains greyed out in the settings. I was confused by this for a while but noticed that all the update files are called "Update_kindle_4.1.0_B00E". Which end in the serial code for the silver kindles only, despite the link on the amazon site suggesting the black and silver kindles would use the same file.

The black kindles serial starts with B023 and as far as I'm aware would have shipped with the 4.1.0 system software already installed. This is why i think it might need to be at this software version for amazon to connect it. While they claim it's identical other than colour the fact it has some separate options in the settings menu combined with not recognizing any of the B00E update files makes me think there are some differences.

What i really need is 4.1.0 image files so i can flash them to the kindle using the debricking method to check. If anyone could point me to where i can download them, or tell me how i could extract them from my silver 4.1.0 kindle please.

Even better if someone can extract the files from an updated working black kindle I'd be very grateful.

Sounds logical. The update button would remain grayed out because the kindle hardware is (seemingly) not supported. If your device is jailbroken, I guess the easiest way is to take the 4.1.0 update file, unpack it using kindletool, and repack it with the correct device id added.

[Solaris81]

Originally Posted by dsmid

Solaris81, you should be able to make the 4.1 backup the same way you flashed the demo unit, just use dd in the opposite direction - if=/dev/mmcblk0p1of=/mnt/us/mmcblk0p1.img, I'm not sure about the kernel offset though.

I've used this method to extract the 4.1.0 from my silver kindle, and then flashed it to the black kindle without the kernel. And.....

SUCCESS!!

Fully working registered black kindle 4. Thanks for the advice and thanks anyone who posted in this topic. Now we all know the black kindles need to be at 4.1.0 to connect.

Happy New Year.

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by Solaris81

Happy New Year.

[dsmid]

Originally Posted by Solaris81

Now we all know the black kindles need to be at 4.1.0 to connect.

I'm happy it worked ! Do you think you can share the image ?
Or anybody else ?

[aditya3098]

I'll host the image, if anyone could provide it.