Kindle 3 frozen, and get started hacking

[Lacrymology]

Hello. My name is Tomás, I'm from Argentina, I'm a programmer, and my kindle just broke

My Kindle 3 screen got frozen today, when I was trying to get it off stand by mode. I'd actually decided not to hack about with this hardware, because I'd got it to read, and read's what I'd do with it (well, I jailbroke it and copied some wallpapers over, but that's it), but then it went all frozen on me, but since I'm in Argentina, and Amazon doesn't have an office here, well.. you know.

So I figured, it must be easy-ish to go and hard-reset this, I mean, I run linux, and most hardware can work.. but google proved almost rewardless, and plugging it in the USB port didn't even show the device.

After a lot of googling on both sides (the "official" way of hard-resetting it, and the hacker-side unbricking), I got to the "hold power for over a minute and wait" solution, which got the computer to recognize the device, but not the screen to work.

And on the hacker side, what I got is that the entry-point seems very high. I appear to need a very specific serial cable, with a home-made plug for it, no less, and that's just something that I *figured* I needed, because I have seen no "getting started" thread, and I don't even know if the hardware you use to hack around still holds the standard functionality

So, my questions here are:

1) is there any way I can figure out if my screen is actually out of it or if this is some kind of software issue?
1b) is there anywhere I can get a copy of the original system files, for a kindle 3, keyboard, 3g and a way I can restore them to the kindle, and reset it, blindly?
2) is there some thread that'll lay down the basic concepts of kindle hacking for me? Everything I've seen asumes a lot of previous knowledge

PS: Amazon themselves have agreed to send me a replacement, so this is more of a curiosity-driven request than a dire need to get my hardware working again. I'd like to tinkle a bit when I get the machine working. Also, it'll take the parcel over 3 weeks to get here, and I might need to pay a prohibitive amount for importing.

[hawhill]

Hm, I'm not really sure about this, but I think the boot loader is in charge for doing at least a minimal bit of screen setup, and since the serial connection would require a working boot loader, you *might* be screwed (or rather, the screen).

What USB device do you see when it is connected? A mass storage device? Can you get the USB ID? What I would like is to verify if it functions "normally" (just without a screen).

As for hacking the Kindle 3 in a nutshell: Jailbreaks exist for all firmware versions. They allow to put your own software on the device. USB network is something you want in order to access all the file system (plus execute commands on the Kindle, but there are other means like terminals - myts - or launchers like launchpad and even graphical ones). With a serial connection you can set up the boot loader to export the full eMMC of the Kindle, allowing to re-flash the root partition and kernel (actually, I'm not sure if you can recover from a malfunctioning kernel this way, maybe the rescue system is an initramfs for a running Linux kernel).

[geekmaster]

If the screen is damaged, you can temporarily connect the screen from your new kindle to it by taking off the back cover. You need to be careful to not damage the display cable when opening the back because it is right at the edge -- do not use a sharp knife to open it. Sharp plastic (such as a guitar pick or a credit card with a sharpened corner is much better).

With the cables at the edge, you can fit the kindles together such that you can borrow the other display without removing it. This is how I activated the voice guide on one of mine, so it was usable without a display. Both kindles had different menu items enabled, so I could not navigate the menus blind by comparing them.

Even without a working screen, it is useful for development using SSH. You can test the screen by plugging it into the good kindle. That should determine whether the problem is with the screen or the kindle hardware (or firmware/configuration).

[Lacrymology]

I got sidetracked...

The kindle seems to function normally, besides the screen. I pried it open, and looked around the board and the screen cables, everything physical seems to be OK (at first glance, I know this is hardly a proper technical check, but I work with what I have), so I think there's something bad with the screen hardware itself. I'll try installing the USB network hack later on the week and play with it, I guess

[geekmaster]

If you have access to another identical kindle, you could try swapping screens to see if that is the problem (when the owner is not looking).

[amin_s]

My Kindle 3 just have the same problem with you, Lacrymology. I live in Indonesia, and no Amazon Rep here. May be this is the same problem.

Following some suggestions "hard reset" for 20,30,40, etc" seconds didn't help.
I noticed that the green light is gone, no wonder it can't be hard reseted.
So, I opened the case, measure the battery. Well the battery is fine. I recharged, as usual yellow light is on. Recharging worked very well. Again, after the battery is full, no green light, no yellow light, in fact no light at all, it just dead.

any ideas ? (I just know that this device is still ok, it just got frozen, somewhere...)

[hawhill]

Did you completely disconnect the battery at least once? (Sorry, I don't have personal experience with this, and maybe this is so obvious that you did that already. However, a call center job some years ago told me that you can save a lot of time by always ask such questions :-P)

Aside from that, the option left is probably to connect a serial console and look if something's going on. However, there might not be a single spark of action. The battery is first connected to a charging/power controller chip, I think. Basic charging won't tell us if the SoC is still alive and kicking....

[kornout]

It looks like I have the same problem like amin_s.
I believe that my kindle is not mechanically damaged - screen is ok, it charges up to full 4.2V, but since it's frozen the green led never appeared.
None of the resets work for me.
I've tried nearly everything with it - even removing the battery from the device for full three days.
According to our local (I'm from Czech Republic) unofficial repair services, it must be sent back to amazon.
Is there any other way to repair / unbrick it?

Thanks in advance!

[geekmaster]

If you have access to another (working) kindle 3, you could swap parts to isolate the problem. It could be the screen, or the keyboard, or the motherboard. You could also try swapping batteries.

Keep track of which parts belong to which kindle so you can put them back.

It would help to connect to the serial port to see if it boots up far enough to display status messages at the serial port. See the seaniko7 (kindle 3 unbrick) youtube video.

[amin_s]

Kornout,
this guy (Pakelika), message #7, https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=177521 also had the same problem.

I believe the cause is this:
the battery runs out completely when the device is booting. It freeze everything - maybe short circuit some thing (I doubt it) - some people still have the green light, some people dont have the green light.
Just like Papelika above, I did jailbreak the kindle.
Just like others, my kindle crashed when reading a "broken" book which cause the kindle crash in some point - then I have to reset it several times.

My conclusion:
reseting with a very low battery will lock up the kindle in the middle of booting process (it happen when the battery runs out completely).

[Lacrymology]

@amin_s
It's not the same issue. I'm convinced my kindle has a purely display problem. The device seems to be working perfectly, green light and all.

I highly recommend you to talk to Amazon helpdesk, if the kindle is warranty. They'll just ship you another one, no problem, and are extremely helpful.

[indigo_]

@Lacrymology I seem to have a similar issue - my Kindle is recognised by the computer but display is completely frozen. It's out of warranty so no replacement!
Wonder if you had any luck with repairing your display

[Lacrymology]

no, sorry. I was in warranty and got a replacement