Quote:
Originally Posted by negativeone
Hi. I'm new here. Just did JB yesterday and also deciding how far to update. I've read a lot of these threads, but something here is confusing me...
My understanding was that the issue with the later firmwares is that they try to lock you out of doing a downgrade to a special factory image (ie, the one that is used for JB).
Are you guys saying that if you're already Jailbroken, with the rescue pack (JailBreak-1.14.N-FW-5.x-hotfix) installed, you can downgrade to any image? If so, is it using the standard update process? (Drop bin on USB mount root and trigger update from menu?)
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You are a bit confused.
Rescue Pack (RP) is not equal to HotFix, it is another add-in.
The 'HotFix' package is required, it contains the code that makes the jailbreak viral. That is, it will auto-reinstall the jailbreak after an update image is installed.
The 'Rescue Pack' is a user's choice add-in, use it if you want to.
It also has an add-on to the add-in, also optional once RP is installed: Coward's Rescue Pack (CRP).
Background:
The Kindles, since the K4 model, are 'dual-boot' devices. Two different operating systems are installed: 'main' and 'diags'.
Once upon a time, 'diags' had an ssh server installed.
Once upon a time, the user could switch to the 'diags' system at the next boot by placing a specially named file in the top of visible USB storage.
RP restores both of those features.
You can set the device to boot into the 'diags' system at the next boot with a specially named file, and once it is running 'diags' you can ssh into the system.
CRP adds to the ability to control that selection with the USB cable instead of (in addition to) the special named file.
= = = =
The procedure to follow is indeed rather 'standard' (it hasn't changed for years).
But it is how you de-brick the 'main' system while running the 'diags' system.
That is: consider a device with a firmware version installed that can not be jailbroken as 'bricked" and proceed in restoring it.
With the device running the alternate operating system, and having command line access as the administrator ('root') via ssh, you can do whatever you want to the 'main' system. For good or bad.
If you just want to jailbreak the device, then just install the jailbreak and hotfix using command line commands.
NOTE:
The device had to be jailbroken to install RP (and, optionally, CRP) but it need not be jailbroken when they are used.
If you want to install a different 'main' system version (and its matching kernel) you do that using command line commands also.
The system image and kernel files you get from Amazon, except for the K4 and very early K5 (KT) firmware versions. For those, you have to use one of the 'rescue images' - so just use Kubrick instead.
Download the desired "update" image for your device, use KindleTool to convert it to a compressed archive, from which you can take the files you need.
You will also need KindleTool to give you the password to the administrative ('root') account for the 'diags' system, based on the device's serial number.
Note that the spoiler in Step #7 has a list of links to Amazon firmware packages, all of those listed there can be jailbroken with the current jailbreak procedure. With those, once one of them is installed, you do not have to install the jailbreak 'by hand'.