Flash Kindle 2 Int

Nool · 02-26-2014, 02:01 AM

Is there anyway to flash the Kindle 2? I think mine has a corruption that's making it behave weird.
Thanks

HarryT · 02-26-2014, 04:39 AM

Moved to the dev forum.

knc1 · 02-26-2014, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nool

Is there anyway to flash the Kindle 2? I think mine has a corruption that's making it behave weird.
Thanks

A difficult (and dangerous) task.

Please give more details on "behaves weird".
There may be other known solutions.

Nool · 02-28-2014, 04:26 PM

Hi knc1. More details below!

I've recently ordered a new battery for my Kindle 2 international. However, my Kindle wont charge it. I have to charge the battery externally and then put it into the Kindle. After I've done that the Kindle seems to work fine except that it just refuses to charge.

I've performed a whole bunch of soft resets and hard resets and factory resets to no avail. When I do plug the Kindle in to charge (from a wall socket) sometimes the amber light comes on, sometimes it doesn't, but it never charges. I just end up at the 'critical battery' screen. When I connect it to the computer the computer recognises it but the Kindle says that it is 'currently not charging'. I have managed to update the firmware to 2.5.8.

There's a couple of other quirks like certain keyboard shortcuts not working (although I'm not sure if they work on my Kindle anyway) like shift+alt+r wont do anything but I can play Minesweep. Also when I try and charge from the wall the the battery indicator says it's charging but when I disconnect from the wall the indicator stills says it's charging.

One last thing I've noticed... If I take the battery out and then plug the Kindle in to charge the amber light comes on (usually). If it then test the voltage across the +ve and -ve terminals of where the battery connects to the Kindle i get only 1.7 volts. I would have assumed that this voltage needs to be around 4.5-5V to charge the battery.

Thank you for your help. I do appreciate it.

knc1 · 02-28-2014, 07:00 PM

I agree with what you assume should be the battery charge level.
(Since full charge would be about 4.2 volts.)

The charger hardware is firmware controlled.
But you have updated that to no avail.
And its "normal operation" when the battery is full would seem to confirm the firmware is functioning as it should.

The only thing I can think of, is a hardware failure.
It might be something as simple as a displaced cable in a connector.
But I am assuming you have given the device a good eyeball inspection while changing the battery.

So it may be a for-real, hardware, hardware failure.

The K2I is getting a bit old, but I have a couple (for the KUAL project) that are still working as they should.
But hey, somebody's has to go first.

Nool · 02-28-2014, 09:00 PM

Could I ask a favour knc1? Of the couple of K2Is that you have, could you have a look at the voltage across the +ve and -ve terminals without the battery and the Kindle plugged in to charge? If yours does say 4+ volts then I'll be convinced that it's a hardware issue and very likely out of my league to repair. I would be very grateful.

Of course, only do this if you believe it wont cause damage to your device.

knc1 · 03-01-2014, 12:38 AM

The ones in my possession where donated to the KUAL project and none of them have ever been opened.
So I am more than a bit reluctant to open those.

I do have other Kindle models that have been opened, in various stages of "broke".
I suppose I could check a few of those.

The usual failure of SMT hardware is one (or more) of the solder joints forms a (microscopic) crack.
Extremely hard to find when there is little information about the board layout, since you don't really know where to look and press.

Nool · 03-01-2014, 10:22 PM

I understand. If there is a crack in a solder joint, I can't see it and I wouldn't really know where to begin to find it.

Don't worry about testing the other Kindle models if you haven't yet already. There's no need. I guess I'll keep tinkering a bit but I'll likely give up soon enough.

Thanks very much for your help.

Nool · 03-08-2014, 01:43 AM

Turns out it was the battery. The replacement battery I got from eBay is not compatible with the K2i, even though the eBay seller said it was. Lies! I am now going to write an angry email...

It looks my Kindle is back up and running again, though. Hooray!

02-26-2014, 02:01 AM	#1
Nool Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Flash Kindle 2 Int Is there anyway to flash the Kindle 2? I think mine has a corruption that's making it behave weird. Thanks

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02-26-2014, 04:39 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Moved to the dev forum.

02-28-2014, 04:26 PM	#4
Nool Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Hi knc1. More details below! I've recently ordered a new battery for my Kindle 2 international. However, my Kindle wont charge it. I have to charge the battery externally and then put it into the Kindle. After I've done that the Kindle seems to work fine except that it just refuses to charge. I've performed a whole bunch of soft resets and hard resets and factory resets to no avail. When I do plug the Kindle in to charge (from a wall socket) sometimes the amber light comes on, sometimes it doesn't, but it never charges. I just end up at the 'critical battery' screen. When I connect it to the computer the computer recognises it but the Kindle says that it is 'currently not charging'. I have managed to update the firmware to 2.5.8. There's a couple of other quirks like certain keyboard shortcuts not working (although I'm not sure if they work on my Kindle anyway) like shift+alt+r wont do anything but I can play Minesweep. Also when I try and charge from the wall the the battery indicator says it's charging but when I disconnect from the wall the indicator stills says it's charging. One last thing I've noticed... If I take the battery out and then plug the Kindle in to charge the amber light comes on (usually). If it then test the voltage across the +ve and -ve terminals of where the battery connects to the Kindle i get only 1.7 volts. I would have assumed that this voltage needs to be around 4.5-5V to charge the battery. Thank you for your help. I do appreciate it.

02-28-2014, 07:00 PM	#5
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	I agree with what you assume should be the battery charge level. (Since full charge would be about 4.2 volts.) The charger hardware is firmware controlled. But you have updated that to no avail. And its "normal operation" when the battery is full would seem to confirm the firmware is functioning as it should. The only thing I can think of, is a hardware failure. It might be something as simple as a displaced cable in a connector. But I am assuming you have given the device a good eyeball inspection while changing the battery. So it may be a for-real, hardware, hardware failure. The K2I is getting a bit old, but I have a couple (for the KUAL project) that are still working as they should. But hey, somebody's has to go first.

02-28-2014, 09:00 PM	#6
Nool Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Could I ask a favour knc1? Of the couple of K2Is that you have, could you have a look at the voltage across the +ve and -ve terminals without the battery and the Kindle plugged in to charge? If yours does say 4+ volts then I'll be convinced that it's a hardware issue and very likely out of my league to repair. I would be very grateful. Of course, only do this if you believe it wont cause damage to your device.

03-01-2014, 12:38 AM	#7
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	The ones in my possession where donated to the KUAL project and none of them have ever been opened. So I am more than a bit reluctant to open those. I do have other Kindle models that have been opened, in various stages of "broke". I suppose I could check a few of those. The usual failure of SMT hardware is one (or more) of the solder joints forms a (microscopic) crack. Extremely hard to find when there is little information about the board layout, since you don't really know where to look and press.

03-01-2014, 10:22 PM	#8
Nool Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	I understand. If there is a crack in a solder joint, I can't see it and I wouldn't really know where to begin to find it. Don't worry about testing the other Kindle models if you haven't yet already. There's no need. I guess I'll keep tinkering a bit but I'll likely give up soon enough. Thanks very much for your help.

03-08-2014, 01:43 AM	#9
Nool Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Turns out it was the battery. The replacement battery I got from eBay is not compatible with the K2i, even though the eBay seller said it was. Lies! I am now going to write an angry email... It looks my Kindle is back up and running again, though. Hooray!

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