Kindle 2 US-->International

silt · 05-27-2010, 07:17 PM

Hi,

I've just bought a used Kindle 2. I am pretty satisfied with it, however, there's one thing that bothers me. It has actually turned out to be a US version, not the international. I chatted with some guy from Amazon customer support but he actually told me there's nothing I can do with it. I thought there might be some non-official ways to overcome this problem and change my US version to the International one ? Would hardware (modem) replacement do the trick?

The previous owner did not erase device info.Hence, there's his name on the screen etc. That's pretty annoying

However, kindle won't let me change it unless I am connected to the internet. Is there anyway to deregister it without accessing the internet?

D.

Dr. Drib · 05-27-2010, 07:38 PM

You're accessing the internet already. While you're still accessing it, go to Amazon and register it in your name.

Of course, they'll check to see if it was legitimately purchased - which I have no doubt it was.

Don

silt · 05-27-2010, 07:47 PM

I am form Eastern Europe and I cannot access the wireless internet. I have registered at Amazon webpage and entered the serial number. That is all I can do right now. However, it won't erase the pervious owner's name on my kindle, will it ?

Sheikspeare · 05-28-2010, 01:26 AM

The short answer is you can't change registration info. But you can get rid of the previous owner's name by de-registering the device or resetting to factory defaults.

silt · 05-28-2010, 04:04 AM

Quote:

But you can get rid of the previous owner's name by de-registering the device

Again, how am I supposed to deregister it without establishing wirelesss connection ? Is there any way to connect it to the internet via USB (software ver 2.3)? I have already registered it at amazon webpage but it simply won't transfer that data without connceting to the Amazon database. Hope I made myself clear now

How about my second question? Is there any way to make a hardware replacement, that is putting an international/european wireless modem to get the internet to work ?

Sheikspeare · 05-28-2010, 05:19 AM

silt, I'm not a 100% sure about this, but I don't think you need a connection to deregister. Have you tried? And also have you tried 'Reset to Factory Defaults' option?

On the hardware question, I too have been looking for an answer to that, and from what I've gathered I don't think there is any provision for that. Furthermore, it seems to me that all Kindles are NOW assembled for the international market. Also, apparently Amazon is not prepared to give you a replacement. So I'm afraid we're kinda' stuck with US models that are strictly restricted to US coverage areas.

Mike L · 05-28-2010, 09:58 AM

Sheikspeare, I hope you don't think I'm picking on you. We've discussed (and disagreed on) this point before.

Silt should be able to register the Kindle on the Amazon website, provided the previous owner de-registers it first. He doesn't need Whispernet. But doing a factory reset won't make any difference to the registration status.

The device won't show that it has to been registered to Silt, but that doesn't prevent him from using it.

Silt, can you see your device registered to your account on the Manage Your Kindle page? If so, that's all you need to do. You should be able to buy books from Amazon and have them downloaded to your computer, from where you can transfer them via USB - although you might still be caught by the geographical restrictions on some of the books you want to buy.

And don't forget that there are other places where you can get books to read on the Kindle. Any book in Mobi format will work. At the very least, you can dowload books right here in MobileRead and transfer them to your Kindle via USB. You can do that regardless of who the Kindle is registered to.

silt · 05-28-2010, 10:16 AM

I registered my Kindle at the amazon website. It went smooth and didnt require outstanding computer knowledge. It allows me to buy the books, subscribe to magazines etc... However, the thing that I am having problems with is the information stored ON the device itself. There's a personal data like email and his name and since it's MY kindle now, I wanted to get rid of it.

According to Sheikspeare's advice, I reset the system to the factory status. It deleted all the info about the previous owner

mate.

Now I want to register it, so that my OWN name will be visible in the personal information. After 3 hours of tough struggle, I managed to get the internet to work via USB. Amazon store works like a charm, however it still does not allow me to register. What I care about now is ONLY the name that is on the kindle, not the one on the website.

Thanks for all the additional info

Sheikspeare · 05-28-2010, 10:27 AM

Hi Mike L,

There's no way that Silt can register his (her?) Kindle (i.e. on the device itself) unless s/he gets a Whispernet connection. That much, I think we agree.

But what s/he might be able to do is remove the registration info of the previous owner, in which case his/her Kindle will display as 'non-registered'. As I said, I'm not a 100% sure about this.

As for buying books and transferring them onto your Kindle (registered, non-registered or mis-registered) that's not a problem at all.

Sheikspeare · 05-28-2010, 10:31 AM

Silt .... just seen your post. I was going to advise against de-registering your advice, but I guess it's academic now! :-)

Mike L · 05-30-2010, 09:30 AM

Silt,

You won't be able to change the registration name that appears on the device itself (on the screen that you see when you go to Home / Menu / Settings). But that doesn't change the fact that the device is still registered to you as far as Amazon is concerned.

Let me put it this way. It's Amazon that keep track of who the device is registered to. That's why you were able to register it via the Amazon web site. But the device has no way of communicating with Amazon, so it can't know that it's registered.

But, as you've discovered, that doesn't matter. You can download books, subscribe to newspapers, etc. The only issue is that you don't see your own name on the device's Settings screen.

Mike L · 05-30-2010, 09:36 AM

Sheikspeare,

Yes I think we do agree (I'm delighted to say). The key point is that Silt can't register the Kindle on the device itself, but that doesn't prevent him from getting full use of it.

And I can confirm that, if the device has never had Whispernet connection, the Settings screen will always show "Registered user: No registered". But, again, that doesn't stop you using it, including buying books from Amazon. (That's the situation I've been since I first bought my Kindle.)

cheerio6414 · 05-30-2010, 09:02 PM

Do you still have contact with the previous owner?

silt · 05-31-2010, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike L

Sheikspeare,

Yes I think we do agree (I'm delighted to say). The key point is that Silt can't register the Kindle on the device itself, but that doesn't prevent him from getting full use of it.

And I can confirm that, if the device has never had Whispernet connection, the Settings screen will always show "Registered user: No registered". But, again, that doesn't stop you using it, including buying books from Amazon. (That's the situation I've been since I first bought my Kindle.)

Yes, you are absolutely right. That's my point

both (Sheikspeare an Mike L. (order is random

) for your involvement

Quote:

Do you still have contact with the previous owner?

Nope, I don't

------------------------------------------------

From now on, what am doing is just for my own satisfaction. That is, changing the name on the device (I realize that from the practical point of view it is a complete waste of time).

We've spent some time lately together with Kindle. I managed to connect my Kindle to the Internet via USB. Amazon store works like a charm. I though it would also allow me to change the name, but things just cannot go smooth. Even though I can connect to the Amazon Store with my Kindle(via USB) I still cannot register (still error with network). This is kind of annoying...

But(!), here's what I found:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70739

It seems as I am very close to reach my aim. It's just these linux commands that I do not fully understand (never really used linux). Now here's my question to the more experienced unix users:

I created the file file reginfo. I type vi /var/local/java/prefs/reginfo and some ~~ appear one under another, now when I put some text into it, it confirms successful changes but it does not seem to save them. How am I supposed to do it in a right way?

Best wishes

Danariel · 06-02-2010, 01:14 AM

Silt, there is a way to change the Personal Info on the Settings Screen, as well as change the Device Name. It still won't show Registered User info, but at least you can name it what you want and have your name and phone number entered there in case you misplace it.

From your Home Page, hit Menu, then go to Settings. On the Settings screen there's a place for Device Name (this is the name that shows up in the upper left hand corner on the Home Screen. Out to the right, you have the option to edit name. You can put Silt's Kindle, or give it a more fanciful name (Mine's Gay Deceiver for any Heinlein fans out there, and my iPod Touch is the Dora.)

Then down at the bottom of the page is Personal Info. Out beside it there's the option to edit personal info,

Hope this helps, and at least gives you SOME feeling that the device belongs to you.

Tiffany

05-27-2010, 07:17 PM	#1
silt Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kindle 2	Kindle 2 US-->International Hi, I've just bought a used Kindle 2. I am pretty satisfied with it, however, there's one thing that bothers me. It has actually turned out to be a US version, not the international. I chatted with some guy from Amazon customer support but he actually told me there's nothing I can do with it. I thought there might be some non-official ways to overcome this problem and change my US version to the International one ? Would hardware (modem) replacement do the trick? The previous owner did not erase device info.Hence, there's his name on the screen etc. That's pretty annoying However, kindle won't let me change it unless I am connected to the internet. Is there anyway to deregister it without accessing the internet? D.

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05-27-2010, 07:38 PM	#2
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,743 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	You're accessing the internet already. While you're still accessing it, go to Amazon and register it in your name. Of course, they'll check to see if it was legitimately purchased - which I have no doubt it was. Don

05-27-2010, 07:47 PM	#3
silt Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kindle 2	I am form Eastern Europe and I cannot access the wireless internet. I have registered at Amazon webpage and entered the serial number. That is all I can do right now. However, it won't erase the pervious owner's name on my kindle, will it ?

05-28-2010, 01:26 AM	#4
Sheikspeare Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 290 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: PR-505 / Kindle DX	The short answer is you can't change registration info. But you can get rid of the previous owner's name by de-registering the device or resetting to factory defaults.

05-28-2010, 05:19 AM	#6
Sheikspeare Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 290 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: PR-505 / Kindle DX	silt, I'm not a 100% sure about this, but I don't think you need a connection to deregister. Have you tried? And also have you tried 'Reset to Factory Defaults' option? On the hardware question, I too have been looking for an answer to that, and from what I've gathered I don't think there is any provision for that. Furthermore, it seems to me that all Kindles are NOW assembled for the international market. Also, apparently Amazon is not prepared to give you a replacement. So I'm afraid we're kinda' stuck with US models that are strictly restricted to US coverage areas.

05-28-2010, 09:58 AM	#7
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Sheikspeare, I hope you don't think I'm picking on you. We've discussed (and disagreed on) this point before. Silt should be able to register the Kindle on the Amazon website, provided the previous owner de-registers it first. He doesn't need Whispernet. But doing a factory reset won't make any difference to the registration status. The device won't show that it has to been registered to Silt, but that doesn't prevent him from using it. Silt, can you see your device registered to your account on the Manage Your Kindle page? If so, that's all you need to do. You should be able to buy books from Amazon and have them downloaded to your computer, from where you can transfer them via USB - although you might still be caught by the geographical restrictions on some of the books you want to buy. And don't forget that there are other places where you can get books to read on the Kindle. Any book in Mobi format will work. At the very least, you can dowload books right here in MobileRead and transfer them to your Kindle via USB. You can do that regardless of who the Kindle is registered to.

05-28-2010, 10:16 AM	#8
silt Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kindle 2	I registered my Kindle at the amazon website. It went smooth and didnt require outstanding computer knowledge. It allows me to buy the books, subscribe to magazines etc... However, the thing that I am having problems with is the information stored ON the device itself. There's a personal data like email and his name and since it's MY kindle now, I wanted to get rid of it. According to Sheikspeare's advice, I reset the system to the factory status. It deleted all the info about the previous owner mate. Now I want to register it, so that my OWN name will be visible in the personal information. After 3 hours of tough struggle, I managed to get the internet to work via USB. Amazon store works like a charm, however it still does not allow me to register. What I care about now is ONLY the name that is on the kindle, not the one on the website. Thanks for all the additional info

05-28-2010, 10:27 AM	#9
Sheikspeare Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 290 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: PR-505 / Kindle DX	Hi Mike L, There's no way that Silt can register his (her?) Kindle (i.e. on the device itself) unless s/he gets a Whispernet connection. That much, I think we agree. But what s/he might be able to do is remove the registration info of the previous owner, in which case his/her Kindle will display as 'non-registered'. As I said, I'm not a 100% sure about this. As for buying books and transferring them onto your Kindle (registered, non-registered or mis-registered) that's not a problem at all.

05-28-2010, 10:31 AM	#10
Sheikspeare Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 290 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: PR-505 / Kindle DX	Silt .... just seen your post. I was going to advise against de-registering your advice, but I guess it's academic now! :-)

05-30-2010, 09:30 AM	#11
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Silt, You won't be able to change the registration name that appears on the device itself (on the screen that you see when you go to Home / Menu / Settings). But that doesn't change the fact that the device is still registered to you as far as Amazon is concerned. Let me put it this way. It's Amazon that keep track of who the device is registered to. That's why you were able to register it via the Amazon web site. But the device has no way of communicating with Amazon, so it can't know that it's registered. But, as you've discovered, that doesn't matter. You can download books, subscribe to newspapers, etc. The only issue is that you don't see your own name on the device's Settings screen.

05-30-2010, 09:36 AM	#12
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Sheikspeare, Yes I think we do agree (I'm delighted to say). The key point is that Silt can't register the Kindle on the device itself, but that doesn't prevent him from getting full use of it. And I can confirm that, if the device has never had Whispernet connection, the Settings screen will always show "Registered user: No registered". But, again, that doesn't stop you using it, including buying books from Amazon. (That's the situation I've been since I first bought my Kindle.)

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05-30-2010, 09:02 PM	#13
cheerio6414 Addict Posts: 210 Karma: 36 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kindle 2	Do you still have contact with the previous owner?

06-02-2010, 01:14 AM	#15
Danariel Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 64 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Silt, there is a way to change the Personal Info on the Settings Screen, as well as change the Device Name. It still won't show Registered User info, but at least you can name it what you want and have your name and phone number entered there in case you misplace it. From your Home Page, hit Menu, then go to Settings. On the Settings screen there's a place for Device Name (this is the name that shows up in the upper left hand corner on the Home Screen. Out to the right, you have the option to edit name. You can put Silt's Kindle, or give it a more fanciful name (Mine's Gay Deceiver for any Heinlein fans out there, and my iPod Touch is the Dora.) Then down at the bottom of the page is Personal Info. Out beside it there's the option to edit personal info, Hope this helps, and at least gives you SOME feeling that the device belongs to you. Tiffany