Removing ads from Jailbroken K4.1.0

[Xsophos]

Hi there everyone,
I was just given a new Kindle as a gift - I'm pretty sure it was the cheapset version, as it has ads, but I'm not complaining ^_^

I just jailbroke it (fwiw, it was running 4.1.0 from startup) and installed some new wallpapers on it after following the "Universal" method described here: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle4NTHacking
and it was successful - I saw the new 'you are jailbroken' book in my library, so that's all fine.

I then subsequently added the screen saver hack here:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kind...26_4.x_Kindles

I double checked, and I definitely installed the correct bin file - "update_ss_0.33.N_k4_install.bin" as it's for the K4.

I then added a bunch of screensaver images from http://kindlewallpapers.tumblr.com/ as a test, and updated the kindle as per the instructions.

Unfortunately though, when it goes to sleep it still comes up with ads - at the moment it's some AT&T wireless ad (I'm in Australia, we don't have AT&T here - ha!).

Are there any hacks available from the mobileread community that get rid of the ads? I've tried googling other alternatives but realised that solutions from other websites might interfere with the jailbreak or the screensaver hack, so I thought it'd be best to ask here first.

Bit of a newbie to tweaking my devices, so please treat me gently :P

[baldrick45]

This topic is a bit of a no-no on mobileread. If you ain't paid Amazon for the privilege of being add-free then 'Tough Luck'.....

That said - I'm in the same boat with a Paperwhite SO and a Kindle Fire SO coming for my kids for Christmas from relatives in the US.

From what I understand. If you are living in a country where SOs are not supported, you can just register the device and then ask Amazon to turn off the adds and they should do so free-gratis.

If you have a national SO programme, they'll swap you onto that one unless you pay them their ad-removal fee (currently £10 in the UK I believe).

Your choice - if the ads annoy you that much - pay them the money or look elsewhere on the Web for a hack but know that Amazon's next update may well re-instate the ads.

Me - I'll be asking Amazon to turn-off ads on the paperwhite and paying them to turn off the ads on the Fire. After that - the jailbreaking goodness should be all mine.

Read the forums here a bit more and you'll see that this is a very touchy subject at mobileread. As one noob to another lets not end up on the receiving end of a flamewar!

[Xsophos]

UPDATE: Problem solved!
For those who come from the google after my post and are hoping to solve my same problem...

It was simple enough to do a factory reset as I hadn't downloaded any books, so I had nothing to lose from doing so. Amazon has instructions on how to remove ads (known as Special Offers/SOs) which I'll include in this link here.

For some strange reason (the fact it was a gift/I'm trying all this from Australia? Maybe?) There was no option available to me to edit the special offers column as per the instructions and then unsubscribe from the SO system.

However, I got in touch over the chat system to an Amazon Support Representative who was more than happy to deactivate it for me. (I'd insert a link to the chat screen, but it was behind an Amazon login screen - so you need to be an amazon member to start the chat in the first place.)

What's more, for some reason they didn't charge me anything for it! Maybe because of my extra issue in the first place.

Anyway, with that issue resolved, it'll be easy enough to jailbreak the kindle again and readd the screensaver hack and wallpapers!

TL;DR: If you want a customised screensaver, but have ads on your kindle, get them removed first (the easiest way is by talking to Amazon, not by hacking your kindle), and THEN jailbreak it.

Lesson learnt!

[knc1]

Originally Posted by baldrick45

Read the forums here a bit more and you'll see that this is a very touchy subject at mobileread. As one noob to another lets not end up on the receiving end of a flamewar!

That is a correct summary - except about the flamewar.

There has always been supporters here of both positions (to help remove SO and not to help remove SO).
The consensus now is forming around the "don't help to remove" position.

As you posted,
In countries without a SO program in place, Amazon customer service will remove them just for the asking;
In countries with a SO program in place, Amazon will remove them for a small fee (to replace their lost ad revenue).
That seems more than reasonable.

The shift in the general consensus was triggered by Amazon's release of firmware version 5.3.0 for the Kpw.

Which encompasses another controversy here -

Amazon's (apparent) position:
The device is yours, the behavior of the device is still Amazon's.

The position of some here:
The device is yours and its behavior is yours also.

Many of the people here are supporters of Open Source Software.
The most recent GPL license (GPL-v3) supports the position that even when embedded in a device, that OSS is still "yours".

Amazon can not continue in their position, which requires them to use only GPL-v2 licensed OSS, and remain competitive in the market place.
The GPL-v2 licensed code will eventually become too old to compete with more recently written (or re-licensed) GPL-v3 code.

I.E: We can win by waiting.
And in the meantime, we want to avoid picking away at their revenue stream(s). That would only delay their changing their position on this matter.

(cc: lab126)

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by knc1

That is a correct summary - except about the flamewar.

There has always been supporters here of both positions (to help remove SO and not to help remove SO).
The consensus now is forming around the "don't help to remove" position.

Yep, I think that this is a pretty accurate description.

I'm still personally a strong proponent of the "the device is mine, so I can do whatever I want with it" position (and if you live just about anywhere in the world except the U.S., it should be roughly similar, i.e., your personal freedom should be valued higher than the corporations' right to make money).

But whatever - the consensus is now to allow such discussions ("Special Offers - WTF?!") on an abstract level, but to discourage or even moderate them when it gets to concrete instructions ("How to remove the ads...").

[twobob]

hehehe

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by ixtab

... But whatever - the consensus is now to allow such discussions ("Special Offers - WTF?!") on an abstract level, but to discourage or even moderate them when it gets to concrete instructions ("How to remove the ads...").

In conclusion, we wish to NOT upset amazon enough to give them more reasons to lock down future firmware updates even more securely (or less insecurely) than they did with 5.3.x firmware. In other words, we are trying to avoid being perceived as a threat to amazon's potential revenue streams (including Special Offers revenue from advertisers).

[twilightsenpai]

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...16&postcount=5

You're welcome.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by twilightsenpai

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...16&postcount=5

You're welcome.

In your linked post, there really was no need to "chmod +x" the script on the /mnt/us FAT partition, which does not support an executable attribute. All files are treated as "executable" on a FAT partition.

[ixtab]

Moderator Notice
Please note that discussions about modifying Kindle devices to remove Special Offers without Amazon's consent are discouraged in this forum. It is a "live and let live" thing - Amazon wants to sell their devices, and we want to be able to modify them. But we do not encourage modifications which actively sabotage (part of) Amazon's business model. In the long run, it's better if we all get along nicely.