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I've been a lurker on these forums for a few years but have finally run into an issue where I need some intelligent help.

I received a paperwhite2 as a gift but mostly left it on airplane mode and simply copied over books I've reformatted using calibre (so unfortunately I don't know what software version is currently installed or installing). The other night I turned on wifi to let it update, but noticed the next night that the kindle had run out of battery and shutdown. When powered back up the 'software update' screen immediately displayed and the status bar proceeded to climb to about 15%, then stopped.

I left it plugged in all night but awoke to the same screen, same place. On reboot the exact same situation occurred, boot directly into software update and get to 15%, then nothing. I then attempted all known versions of resetting/charging/fixing that I could find, but in the end the boot cycle process always remained the same. To make matters worse, I also could not get the device recognized in either windows or linux.

Today I tried to fix it through Amazon cs but ultimately they were beyond worthless--they actually tried to have me buy a new device (still a bit angry that they have the balls to break a device by pushing an update, then ask for money).

Since Amazon was no help I dismantled the device and pulled the battery. I have read quite a few unbricking threads for the paperwhite using a serial cable, but I wanted to ask here if there are other first steps before I take on a new tech project.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate any/all ideas or directions.