Images display wrong on kindle 3 keyboard wifi

[ebina1]

Plain text in books and menus still appears fine, but the screen saver images, any figures or symbols inside books all show up with the gray levels all wrong. Seems like it should be a software problem, but I upgraded OS to 3.3 and reset to factory defaults and still have the problem. Could some image font be corrupt that doesn't get rewritten with an OS update? Is there a way to replace ALL the software on it to ensure any corrupt files are fixed?

[HarryT]

You haven't replaced the screen, have you?

[ebina1]

Nope. Never took it apart. I left it hooked up to my computer to transfer books, and I guess it doesn't charge via usb in that mode, and doesn't sleep either, and the battery completely died. After I charged it, it had this problem. And Firmware update and reset to factory defaults didn't fix it.

[HarryT]

It's a problem with the screen waveform data. If it's not right, "black" and "white" will be OK, but you won't have any greyscales. The problem generally arises when you put in a new screen; it's somewhat puzzling that a flat battery could cause it.

[ebina1]

So is this fixable? Is screen waveform data in some rewritable location, or is something corrupted on a hardware chip I can't replace?

[HarryT]

You'll get more information asking in the dev forum - I'll move this thread there.

[knc1]

Was this device purchased 'used' or 'refurbished'?
It sounds very much like the screen was replaced.

The waveform data is stored in an eeeprom on the display cable and it is matched to the display.
Replacement screens do not have this chip loaded with data.

Some methods of replacing the screen will result in only a temporary copy of the correct waveform data to be used - but not to write the update to the eeeprom.
This method is lost in a "reset to factory defaults", a dead battery, and/or a cold re-boot.

If not purchased 'used' or 'refurbished' - then suspect some failure that would prevent the eeeprom from being read (I.E: cracked or loose display cable).

[ebina1]

Device was purchased new. This was my first kindle. This failure happened after I let the battery totally die, but I never replaced the screen or opened up this kindle at all. It is a "well used" device and has certainly been dropped more than once, so I guess something might have come loose.

I have my new paperwhite now and am happy with that, but thought it would be nice to fix this old one if I could.

Is there a self-test I can run to see if it can read the eeeprom? Is there some way to manually write waveform data to the eeeprom?

[knc1]

Originally Posted by ebina1

Device was purchased new. This was my first kindle. This failure happened after I let the battery totally die, but I never replaced the screen or opened up this kindle at all. It is a "well used" device and has certainly been dropped more than once, so I guess something might have come loose.

I have my new paperwhite now and am happy with that, but thought it would be nice to fix this old one if I could.

Is there a self-test I can run to see if it can read the eeeprom? Is there some way to manually write waveform data to the eeeprom?

Yes - try to display something in grayscale (you just did - it does not work).

No yet found. Plus: The K3 shipped with at least 3 different screens.

K3 devices are easy to open, see our master prefix index to find teardown directions.
Open it up and eyeball inspect the display cable - look for cracks (your s.o.l.) or of having come loose from the connector (happens).

[ebina1]

hmmm. I checked my purchase history, bought it straight from amazon Oct 2010, condition new.
Yet when I took it apart just now the screw just above where the ribbon cable connects was missing.

Anyways nothing visibly wrong with the cable. I pulled the battery, unplugged and replugged the display cable, and then put the battery back in. It booted up, and still won't display grayscale properly.

You said this problem could be caused by a screen replacement. If I replace this screen with a new one, is it likely to fix the problem?

Basically since you seem to recognize the problem, do you know of anyone who fixed it, and if so how?

[knc1]

There is a thread or two around here on the subject.

[ramk13]

I hate to revive an old thread, but I'm basically having the same problem and can't find a matching solution which was mentioned.

Just got my wife a Paperwhite, so I planned to reset her stock Kindle 3 (keyboard, wifi) and give it to a friend or sell it. It worked fine up until I did the factory reset. Now I have a few black lines across the display - about 6 across the bottom and 1 near the top - that are stuck that way. You can still read through them, so that's not a major problem.

The bigger problem is that it seems like the gray levels have disappeared as described in this thread. B/W text looks fine, but most images look horrible. I could be imagining it, but it seems like the image looks ok for a fraction of a second before all the grays disappear.

We bought the kindle new and haven't modified it. I heard a little noise in the kindle when shaking and based on the mentions of screen waveform data, I opened the kindle to investigate the rattling and take a look at the screen connector cable. Turns out the rattling noise was a loose screw which I promptly screwed in place. It was near where the screen cable connects, if that makes any difference. I then disconnected/reseated the screen cable and tried to factory reset the kindle again. Unfortunately I got the same results.

Any suggestions on what to do to get the gray levels back? I haven't swapped screens so I don't have any other screen to pull waveform data from. For reference I've also held the power switch for 20 seconds to see if that made any difference. Should I try using Kubrick? I can post pictures or provide any other info if needed.