Thread: PW4 FW 5.10.2-5.13.3 Software Jailbreak for PW4
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Old 12-12-2020, 11:10 PM   #1
ilovejedd
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Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9
FW 5.10.2-5.13.3 Software Jailbreak for PW4
to coplate, knc1, NiLuJe, Branch Delay, SenorClean, hius07, et. al. without whom this wouldn't be possible.

This jailbreak method only works for PW4/Paperwhite 4/Paperwhite (2018)/Paperwhite (10th generation) Waterproof running firmware 5.13.3 or older.

This does NOT work on firmware 5.13.4 or newer. Make sure to skip wi-fi setup or go on airplane mode to prevent automatic updates.

This does NOT work on any Kindle aside from the PW4.

Note, for extracting the packages on Windows, I recommend 7-Zip.

This method has been tested working on new PW4 running stock firmware 5.12.4 or older and OTA updated PW4 running firmware 5.13.3 or older.

There is always a chance that you could brick your device. Use at your own risk.


Instructions

Steps:
  1. Recommended: Do a factory reset on the PW4 if it's not fresh out of the box. This is more best practice and doesn't appear to be strictly necessary.
  2. The latest FW 5.13.4 blocks this method. Make sure to skip wi-fi setup or go on airplane mode to prevent automatic updates.
  3. Download the following diags update, connect the PW4 to PC via USB and copy the file to Kindle root, e.g. F:

    FW 5.10.1.3 Diags (this allows downgrading)
    https://mega.nz/file/fjYCAbxC#qGYDDn...lppriic_CB6oio

    md5: 5c777039919a95ff1c80c33a1e2c936b
    sha1: c1c612794851d103029bca4de65c3d7292a43ad8
    sha256: a24389861760522dd5803b641d561524ab051977c6c78c6e7e f4f013c4af204d
  4. Install diags using Update your Kindle.
    Home -> Menu -> Settings -> Menu -> Update Your Kindle
  5. After the PW4 reboots in diags mode, connect the PW4 to USB and copy the following factory firmware update to Kindle root.

    FW 5.10.1.3 Factory
    https://mega.nz/#!C2x3BATJ!qrjmx6KI1...N3JHaaw-da0VXQ

    md5: 538d939c2cb4f05c7952d33d5348f010
    sha1: 1cbe605b99d85b92031a9ce6fdd3a6f080489cbe
    sha256: 52e0a9067bf58ba835a4200f29560652b0ada9778a538ea433 d2e44a2a26755c

    *Note: USB mount fails on some Macs when running diags firmware. If this happens, please switch to a Windows or Linux PC for this step.
  6. Safely disconnect the PW4 from USB and install the factory firmware by rebooting (long press power button until it reboots).
    *Note: This may take a long while. Just make sure battery has plenty of charge or plug it into USB power (DON'T use a PC; use a power brick instead).
  7. After factory firmware is installed, you can now install the actual jailbreak. I attached a copy of the file to this post but to be safe, use the latest version of K5 Factory JailBreak (Factory FW) from NiLuJe's Snapshots thread.

    On Windows, you'll probably first need to extract kindle-jb-factory-*.tar.xz to get the tar file and then extract the resulting kindle-jb-factory-*.tar to get the main-htmlviewer.tar.gz file.
    Note: You'll probably need to do this double extraction for all packages from NiLuJe's Snapshots referenced later in this post.
    1. Copy the main-htmlviewer.tar.gz file as-is (i.e., don't unpack it) to the top level of the visible USB storage, and then eject & unplug your Kindle.
    2. In the search bar, type ;installHtml and press return.
    3. The device should then reboot automatically.
    4. A You are Jailbroken document will appear if the process was successful.
    5. If everything went according to plan, you can now safely delete both that document and the main-htmlviewer.tar.gz file
  8. Download and install the current 'hotfix' (K5 JailBreak Hotfix from NiLuJe's Snapshots)
    1. Unarchive the release archive package.
    2. Connect Kindle to PC with the USB cable.
    3. Place the Update_jailbreak_hotfix_*_install.bin in the topmost, visible level of USB storage (alongside of /documents).
    4. Safely disconnect the PW4 from USB
    5. Home -> Menu -> Settings -> Menu -> Update Your Kindle
    6. Confirm
    7. Wait
  9. You can now install "customer" firmware and the jailbreak will survive (up to 5.13.3 at least).
    *Note: You can use the KUAL Helper+ add-on to create update blockers that will work up to FW 5.11.x. Sadly, FW 5.12 and newer require more drastic methods so unless there's a feature on FW 5.12/13 you absolutely must have, I'd advise sticking to FW 5.11.x or lower.

    Here are links to some older firmwares.Note: No need to install all of the above, just choose one.
  10. Install MRPI and KUAL.
    1. Download the latest MR Package Installer from NiLuJe's Snapshots thread and (double) extract.
    2. Copy the extensions and mrpackages folders to the Kindle root (alongside the documents folder).
    3. Download the latest KUAL (coplate) from NiLuJe's Snapshots thread and (double) extract.
    4. Copy Update_KUALBooklet_44a61b6_install.bin (or whatever the latest version is) to the mrpackages folder on the Kindle.
    5. (Optional) You can also copy the various update*.bin KUAL Add-On packages to the mrpackages folder for installation at this point (e.g. python, linkss/screensaver, etc).
    6. Eject and unplug the Kindle.
    7. Enter ;log mrpi in the Homescreen's searchbar (in a similar fashion as what you had to do during the Jailbreak), and wait for MRPI to do its thing.
Attached Files
File Type: gz main-htmlviewer.tar.gz (602 Bytes, 1084 views)
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