Downgrading from 5.7.2.1 (jailbroken Kindle via diags)

[knc1]

That link is broken, edit your post with a working link please.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by mjkarma

do you mean this link https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...postcount=1597
i did so is there a chance ??installed the hotfix after jailbreak . and then factory reset my device and updated to 5.7.2 is there a chance???

If you factory reset and then applied a firmware update, it doesn't matter what state your device was in, it is no longer jailbroken.

The factory reset wiped the jailbreak and required manual intervention to repair, and the firmware update deleted the last failsafe that would have allowed you to repair the jailbreak.

...

I don't know why this is so hard for people to intuit (maybe they are too used to Android or something? Either way, why not ask before doing mysterious things???).

DO NOT FACTORY RESET! EVER!
Not unless your Kindle is seriously messed up to begin with and someone here advises you to do a factory reset as part of a debricking procedure.

[mjkarma]

Originally Posted by n1kk00

So I was not completely satisfied with v5.7.2.1 and decided to downgrade and go back to version 5.4.5 (mine's a jailbroken 9017 4GB PW2 and, according to the wiki, needs this version to run KUAL). After reading a bunch of threads, posts and readmes I came up with a list of steps and decided to go ahead and do it (after verifying my list with @knc1). All went well and now I'm successfully back to v5.4.5. Here's what I did (like I said mine's a 9017 4GB PW2 device but I assume it would be applicable for other devices as well).

Important Notice: After completing this tutorial you will lose all your collections, bookmarks, book progress etc. Please consider this before continuing. Also, you do this at your own risk.

Prerequisites:

i) a jailbroken device with the latest jb version (this won't work on non-jailbroken devices as you should be able to boot into diags and ssh into the Kindle)

ii) rescue pack and coward's rescue pack installed - you can find them in NiLuJe's snapshots thread

iii) it would be a good idea to also install the USBNetwork hack (also available in NiLuJe's snapshots thread), setup ssh access (the process is described in the wiki) and try to connect to the Kindle; I used PuTTY on a Windows PC.

Steps:

1. Download the previos firmware update_... .bin you want to downgrade to. Make sure it is not older than the original firmware your device was shipped with! For my device I went with v5.4.5 linked in the wiki

2. Extract the contents of the .bin file using kindletool - you can download it from NiLuJe's snapshots thread. Run the follwing command:

kindletool.exe extract path/to/.bin path/to/output/folder

E.g. on my Windows PC i ran it like that:

kindletool.exe extract C:\kindletool\update_kindle_5.4.5.1.bin C:\kindletool\output

After extracting the firmware .bin you should be able to locate two files inside the output directory: rootfs.img.gz (the root file system) and uImage (the kernel). On my PC the uImage file was under a imx60_wario directory in the output folder.

3. Connect your Kindle to your PC and put the uImage and rootfs.img.gz files on the root of the usb storage.

4. Eject the Kindle and select Restart from the Kindle settings menu. Do not unplug the USB cable - if you installed the coward's rescue pack the Kindle will automagically enter into diags during the reboot

5. Once into diags, enable USB networking - touch on the following nemu items: N -> U -> Z -> X (as described in ixtab's readme)

6. Once USB networking is enabled you should be able to ssh into the Kindle - in PuTTY connect to 192.168.15.244 ip address, leaving the port to default (22); enter root as the username and mario as the password - you should see the root prompt

7. Clear the database to avoid potential DB schema issues (this will erase all your collections, bookmarks, book progress etc.):

rm -f /var/local/cc.db

rm -f /var/local/dcm.db

8. Install the kernel and rootfs (double check those dd commands):

dd if=/mnt/us/uImage of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=4096 seek=65

This will copy the contents of uImage into mmcblk0 using 4 Kbyte chuncks with (4096*65=) 260 Kbytes offset

zcat /mnt/us/rootfs.img.gz | dd of=/dev/mmcblk0p1 bs=4096

This will unzip and copy the contents of rootfs.img.gz into mmcblk0p1 using 4 Kbyte chuncks (rootfs.img.gz is a larger file so it will take some time)

9. Reboot you Kindle:

idme -d --bootmode main

reboot

Unplug the USB cable from the Kindle once PuTTY reports it has lost the connection.

10. If you had the latest jb version installed the jailbreak should bridge itself during the reboot. Re-apply any .bin hacks after the device boots. You will also have to redo all your collections, bookmarks, book progress etc.

An interesting thing happened after I downgraded. I turned airplane mode off to sync my cloud collections as I had trouble recreating/viewing them on my device. The popup to register my Kindle appeared (?!) so I re-registered it. During the sync a notice file appeared on my Kindle (Test Kindle Installation Result.azw) saying After that I was unable to launch KUAL (?!). Starting to sweat a little, I re-apllied the latest jailbreak - all was fine after the reboot; I also re-applied my .bin hacks just to make sure. Haven't had issues after that although I usually keep my Kindle in airplane mode.

Special thanks to @knc1, @NiLuJe, @ixtab, @dsmid and all the other guys here for providing invaluable knowedge and tools.

bravo you have a done a great job . if you could find a way to downgrade without jailbreak and serial method . it would have saved thousand desperate reader waiting for a solution to install koreader

[mjkarma]

shoud we upgrade to 5.7.3.1 or wait for a release of the downgrade ???
or no downgrade gonna be released !!!!!!

[Arnie97]

You've made my day.

My PW3 updated to 5.7.3.1 by accident last night, and I've managed to roll back to 5.6.5 following your steps.

Details:
1. I couldn't find "N" in my diags menu, but later I found sshd was already started, so I skipped step 5.
2. I kept all the databases in /var/local *untouched*, and fortunately it just works.
3. After the recovery, the jb bridged itself during the reboot, and my KUAL still works.

Also many thanks to @knc1, @NiLuJe, @ixtab, and those who help liberate
us from the darkness of the Amazon.

[knc1]

Visible root of your USB storage:
FOLDER: "update.bin.tmp.partial"
case matters.

[nghia4007]

My kindle is updated to 5.7 too, thanks for your instruction. I was able to downgrade it to 5.4.5.1

[Askhat]

Hi. Please help me. I have PW2 4GB v5.7.4 with Jailbreak (Jailbroken on 5.6.5).
It is automatically updated when I connect to wifi.
I want downgrade to 5.6.2.1 or 5.6.5.

rescue pack and coward's rescue pack installed.

I put the uImage and rootfs.img.gz files on the root of the usb storage, eject the Kindle and select Restart from the Kindle settings menu, not unplug, but the Kindle will NOT automatically enter into diags during the reboot.
Why?

[knc1]

Because Amazon fixed that "downgrade" update bug.

[Askhat]

and I can't downgrade?

[NiLuJe]

@Askhat: If you indeed did *NOT* unplug your device, then you do NOT have the Rescue Pack+Coward's Rescue Pack installed.

Check my snapshots thread for up-to-date packages for those.

[susmoka]

How do I do this on a Mac (and not PC)?

Thanks!!

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by susmoka

How do I do this on a Mac (and not PC)?

Thanks!!

Same way... Boot to diags SSH shell from kubrick bootable media and flash your downgrade firmware image from there.

This would be easier if kubrick had a menu option to drop into such a diags command shell. Perhaps we should upgrade kubrick to easily do that?

Or instead of kubrick (and even easier) just use any decent bootable USB linux you can get, like this. If you make it a bootable USB flash device, you can also copy your kindle firmware downgrade image files to it as well.

Or perhaps even easier (because we do not need to mess with fastboot), use a linux VM in an emulator that supports "USB passthrough". I use VirtualBox on windows and linux PCs -- I have no Mac so not sure what you should use (perhaps NiLuJe could give you some Mac advice on that).

[susmoka]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Same way... Boot to diags SSH shell from kubrick bootable media and flash your downgrade firmware image from there.

This would be easier if kubrick had a menu option to drop into such a diags command shell. Perhaps we should upgrade kubrick to easily do that?

Or instead of kubrick (and even easier) just use any decent bootable USB linux you can get, like this. If you make it a bootable USB flash device, you can also copy your kindle firmware downgrade image files to it as well.

Or perhaps even easier (because we do not need to mess with fastboot), use a linux VM in an emulator that supports "USB passthrough". I use VirtualBox on windows and linux PCs -- I have no Mac so not sure what you should use (perhaps NiLuJe could give you some Mac advice on that).

ok sorry, I think I am a complete noob, so I would need some help about what ''booting'', ''ssh shell / ssh'' and ''diags'' mean, and what you mean by ''flash my downgrade image from there''.

I managed to carry out the jailbreak without any computing jargon understanding, but I am afraid this is too much for me without a bit of explanation / more info on how to do these steps that are in the main post (and I'm on a Mac and not a PC - most tutorials I found are for PC's I assume )

Many thanks in advance for any help guys!

[eschwartz]

@geekmaster, if you mean use Kubrick to activate diags mode via USB Downloader connection, that won't work post-KT.
The Rescue Pack and Cowards Rescue Pack is much more reliable.

@susmoka, tell us which steps you are having trouble with.
Most of this is done on the Kindle itself, the main PC/Mac difference will be that Mac should have ssh built in so no need to download PuTTY.