Bricked Scribe in endless boot loop

kaspar · 12-27-2024, 08:26 AM

Long read. Main point in bold.

So yesterday I was haphazardly attempting to install arm64 Debian .deb packages with Kterm. I was trying to get apt and its dependencies to work. Dpkg was being difficult, so I decided to try upgrading busybox. I wanted to tinker with running things natively instead of through Alpine chroot. I wanted to get bluez or something working so I could pair a keyboard.

Well, I did dpkg -i busybox_1.35.0-4+b3_arm64.deb --force-depends. It appeared to be successful except it said something like "dpkg: can't create backup status file." When I entered "exit" in Kterm, the command didn't work the first time. I did it again, and it brought me to the home screen. Then I went to launch Kual, and the screen went white. I held down the power button and have been stuck in an endless boot loop ever since. I had mntroot rw enabled.

The screen with the Kindle logo and the tree appears, the front light flashes on and off, and the screen goes blank, the back again. It's been going on for about 16 hours now. The battery level was about 50% when this began. It never shows the booting loading bar that I'm used to seeing.

Obviously I know I have made a mistake in tinkering, but is there a way out of this boot loop? I'm used to breaking things while I learn, but some devices are more forgiving than others.

Will letting the battery completely die result in anything different? Or should I have the device charging? Holding the power button for 60s or more does not have any effect (light goes green, light flashes yellow, light goes back to green, and no different screen appears).

I had actually been on a pretty good roll with the Scribe. I was running Alpine chroot with a VNC client and had it working as a second screen for my 2011 Macbook Air for writing outdoors. The latency was completely fine.

Marek · 12-27-2024, 09:57 AM

Unless it appears as a device when plugged into a computer you have ssh access you are SOL, you can try contacting Amazon but that's it.

kaspar · 12-29-2024, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marek

Unless it appears as a device when plugged into a computer you have ssh access you are SOL, you can try contacting Amazon but that's it.

I have tried letting the battery completely die, then charging it full. I have tried plugging the Scribe into a Linux PC, Windows PC, and Mac, checking for life on the USB port, and there's no sign of life.

Makes me wonder: how are these devices flashed at the factory? Is the NAND chip written before being soldered to the board? It seems like there must be a way to flash the NAND without de-soldering it. I'm kind of shocked that there isn't some fail proof recovery mode before busybox loads. Is there a secret gesture? Anything?

fjf · 12-30-2024, 10:48 AM

Some people have revived kindles by opening them and disconnecting the battery from the main board. You can try that.

cvkemp · 12-30-2024, 11:39 AM

main reason I don't do jailbreak, or betas.

kaspar · 12-31-2024, 01:52 PM

https://i.imgur.com/G5Ny4p1.png

I saw that other thread with someone who has a stolen Scribe. Wanted to post proof that my situation isn't like that. Obviously I took this picture before I bricked it.

By the way, I opened my Scribe and disconnected the battery. No luck. It's extremely easy to open with a few guitar picks, and it goes back together nicely. No glue.

kaspar · 02-22-2025, 12:21 PM

Update: I bought a first gen Scribe with a broken screen for $50 on eBay, and carefully switched out the logic board. If anyone does this, make sure you release the clasps on each ribbon before removing/inserting. Also, getting the longer antenna cable back into its original position wasn't going to happen (maybe due to my lack of patience with the 5 or so metal fixtures along the logic board), so I taped it down in the recessed part of the battery along the board. Everything is working. I used guitar picks to open the Scribes. The process only took about twenty minutes. A standard Phillips eyeglass repair kit sized screwdriver was the only actual tool needed.

kbarni · 02-24-2025, 03:25 AM

Oh great. I managed to brick my device the same way...

juegos · 03-17-2025, 03:02 PM

what alpine linux were you using if I may ask on the Kindle Scribe? This one:

https://github.com/schuhumi/alpine_kindle

but I read this:

alpine linux extension and many others probably don't work properly after fw >=5.13.6 as new fw versions need hf binaries . Try removing extension files and reinstalling KUAL .

Thank you!

mergen3107 · 03-17-2025, 04:00 PM

Definitely do not ask in unrelated threads too

juegos · 03-17-2025, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mergen3107

Definitely do not ask in unrelated threads too

yeah sorry about that, can't seem to delete my posts.

12-27-2024, 08:26 AM	#1
kaspar Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2024 Device: Kindle Scribe	Bricked Scribe in endless boot loop Long read. Main point in bold. So yesterday I was haphazardly attempting to install arm64 Debian .deb packages with Kterm. I was trying to get apt and its dependencies to work. Dpkg was being difficult, so I decided to try upgrading busybox. I wanted to tinker with running things natively instead of through Alpine chroot. I wanted to get bluez or something working so I could pair a keyboard. Well, I did dpkg -i busybox_1.35.0-4+b3_arm64.deb --force-depends. It appeared to be successful except it said something like "dpkg: can't create backup status file." When I entered "exit" in Kterm, the command didn't work the first time. I did it again, and it brought me to the home screen. Then I went to launch Kual, and the screen went white. I held down the power button and have been stuck in an endless boot loop ever since. I had mntroot rw enabled. The screen with the Kindle logo and the tree appears, the front light flashes on and off, and the screen goes blank, the back again. It's been going on for about 16 hours now. The battery level was about 50% when this began. It never shows the booting loading bar that I'm used to seeing. Obviously I know I have made a mistake in tinkering, but is there a way out of this boot loop? I'm used to breaking things while I learn, but some devices are more forgiving than others. Will letting the battery completely die result in anything different? Or should I have the device charging? Holding the power button for 60s or more does not have any effect (light goes green, light flashes yellow, light goes back to green, and no different screen appears). I had actually been on a pretty good roll with the Scribe. I was running Alpine chroot with a VNC client and had it working as a second screen for my 2011 Macbook Air for writing outdoors. The latency was completely fine.

12-31-2024, 01:52 PM	#6
kaspar Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2024 Device: Kindle Scribe	https://i.imgur.com/G5Ny4p1.png I saw that other thread with someone who has a stolen Scribe. Wanted to post proof that my situation isn't like that. Obviously I took this picture before I bricked it. By the way, I opened my Scribe and disconnected the battery. No luck. It's extremely easy to open with a few guitar picks, and it goes back together nicely. No glue. Last edited by kaspar; 12-31-2024 at 01:55 PM.

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12-27-2024, 09:57 AM	#2
Marek Groupie Posts: 194 Karma: 1512344 Join Date: Jul 2023 Device: PW3, PW4 :(, KT5, PW5, KLC	Unless it appears as a device when plugged into a computer you have ssh access you are SOL, you can try contacting Amazon but that's it.

12-30-2024, 10:48 AM	#4
fjf Connoisseur Posts: 57 Karma: 470712 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Kindle Scribe, TCL Nxtpaper 14	Some people have revived kindles by opening them and disconnecting the battery from the main board. You can try that.

12-30-2024, 11:39 AM	#5
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,430 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 6 SE, Fire HD8	main reason I don't do jailbreak, or betas.

02-22-2025, 12:21 PM	#7
kaspar Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2024 Device: Kindle Scribe	Update: I bought a first gen Scribe with a broken screen for $50 on eBay, and carefully switched out the logic board. If anyone does this, make sure you release the clasps on each ribbon before removing/inserting. Also, getting the longer antenna cable back into its original position wasn't going to happen (maybe due to my lack of patience with the 5 or so metal fixtures along the logic board), so I taped it down in the recessed part of the battery along the board. Everything is working. I used guitar picks to open the Scribes. The process only took about twenty minutes. A standard Phillips eyeglass repair kit sized screwdriver was the only actual tool needed.

02-24-2025, 03:25 AM	#8
kbarni Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 400 Join Date: Feb 2025 Device: Kindle PW5	Oh great. I managed to brick my device the same way...

03-17-2025, 03:02 PM	#9
juegos Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 1000 Join Date: May 2017 Device: none	what alpine linux were you using if I may ask on the Kindle Scribe? This one: https://github.com/schuhumi/alpine_kindle but I read this: alpine linux extension and many others probably don't work properly after fw >=5.13.6 as new fw versions need hf binaries . Try removing extension files and reinstalling KUAL . Thank you!

03-17-2025, 04:00 PM	#10
mergen3107 Wizard Posts: 1,506 Karma: 5000046 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Cape Canaveral Device: Kindle Scribe	Definitely do not ask in unrelated threads too

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