Hello everyone,
I'm trying to downgrade my Kindle PaperWhite 2024 from firmware version 5.18.1 to 5.17.1.0.4.
I initially followed a guide which suggested modifying the /etc/version.txt file on the device. However, after doing that, the update process still failed with "Update Error: 12".
I checked the logs in /var/local/system/update_logs and found the specific reason for the failure. Here are the key lines from the log:
Code:
<12>[ 24.186821] INFO:u-boot: 2 -> 1
<12>[ 24.186827] INFO:u-boot version downgrade
<12>[ 24.186834] ERROR:unbundle_file: aborting install process because of check_metadata failure.
<12>[ 24.187004] ERROR:Could not unbundle /mnt-us/update_kindle_all_new_paperwhite_12th_5.17.1.0.4.bin,error_code=12
To confirm this, I used KindleTool to extract both firmware packages and compared their metadata.txt files. I can see the bootloader versions are indeed different, which explains the log.
Current Firmware (5.18.1) metadata:
Code:
bootloader_version.kernel=1
bootloader_version.quickboot=1
bootloader_version.lk=2
bootloader_version.tee=2
bootloader_version.u-boot=2
Target Firmware (5.17.1.0.4) metadata:
Code:
bootloader_version.lk=1
bootloader_version.tee=1
bootloader_version.u-boot=1
It seems clear that a bootloader anti-downgrade check is stopping the process.
My question is: What is the recommended way to proceed with the downgrade from here? I've read that a possible solution is to unpack the target firmware (5.17.1.0.4.bin), modify its internal metadata.txt to match the current bootloader versions (e.g., set u-boot to 2), and then repack it. Is this a safe and viable approach for my situation?
Any guidance or confirmation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
P.S. As I am not a native English speaker, this post was composed with the assistance of an AI tool to ensure clarity. Please excuse any potential awkward phrasing.