Kindle firmware 5.18.1 released for all 10th gen and newer Kindles

[BionicGecko]

Originally Posted by Jose

Does the Kindle Paperwhite 12 use an accelerometer for the double tap to work? Does this mean that it doesn't have an automatic screen rotation option simply because Amazon doesn't want it to or because it needs another component for screen rotation to work?

We don’t really know yet how Amazon implemented the double tap feature. An accelerometer is a likely candidate but Amazon never advertised the PW or CS as being equipped with one, and indeed the fact that the devices supporting double tap don’t support automatic rotation seem to point to something else being used. Furthermore the double tap is only available on the PW Signature Edition model and the Colorsoft, both of which have extra hardware over the regular PW (wireless charger and light sensor).

Then again it is possible that Amazon just doesn’t want to bring automatic rotation to the Paperwhite/Colorsoft range as they deem the form factor unfit for it. It’s a bit like the Scribe, which does have an accelerometer, but will only allow 180 degree rotations; this is clearly a deliberate software limitation, as the Scribe does support landscape mode, but it can only be activated via the menu.

[Drybonz]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Try downloading the latest hotfix.bin file and copying it to the root of your Kindle and see if it shows up as an installable update (this assumes that you have left the OTA binaries in their working state when installing 5.18.1). Once it has installed, try using the Hotfix booklet to run it. Then go ahead with the KUAL/MRPI installs.

Thanks for the reply... I appreciate it. Yes, you were right. I had to repeat the whole process from replacing the hotfix on, but then everything appears to have worked. I was able to rename with KUAL. Thanks again.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Drybonz

Thanks for the reply... I appreciate it. Yes, you were right. I had to repeat the whole process from replacing the hotfix on, but then everything appears to have worked. I was able to rename with KUAL. Thanks again.

Good to hear that your Kindle is a happily jailbroken camper again.

[pumpkinwhite]

Originally Posted by BionicGecko

Your Kindle absolutely has to be registered in order to use WinterBreak; I wouldn't trust your sources who say otherwise



Now this is a bit of a conundrum, as in all likelihood the latest FW (5.18.1) will be automatically downloaded during the registration, and most reports so far indicate that WinterBreak can't be installed on 12th gen Kindles already updated to 5.18.1, as access via USB to some required folders has been blocked. There is one report of someone who managed to run WinterBreak by copying the files using Linux, but not much is known about the circumstances yet, and this shouldn't be considered foolproof at this point.

Perhaps one way to go about this would be as follows: after powering on your Kindle, but before connecting it to Wifi, connect it to your computer via USB and fill the storage with random files, leaving only a few megabytes of free space (i.e. not enough space for the firmware update to be stored), and then connect the Kindle to Wifi and register. This should allow you to run the original software your Kindle shipped with, which should be vulnerable to WinterBreak. Then after installing the jailbreak, you can update to 5.18.1, or avoid updates with renameOTAbins, etc. and finally delete the random files from your device.

For what it's worth, I tried to copy the files via Linux onto a Colorsoft with 5.18.1 installed. Just tried a simple drag and drop (not capable of much more), and the .active_content_sandbox folder does not get copied over. Tried it Mac/PC/Linux just to be sure. So, the jailbreak does not work for 5.18.1.

[Terry Mint]

Thanks for the answer!

Not sure if I have the courage to do that tbh! Was about to jailbreak this device like a week ago but procrastinated and now this new firmware is out... FML

How likely do you think the trick you proposed (which sounds quite clever!) is to work? Maybe I should just wait this out, not registering the device and converting epubs with Calibre to sideload them until a coder comes in with some magic!

[Terry Mint]

Originally Posted by BionicGecko

Your Kindle absolutely has to be registered in order to use WinterBreak; I wouldn't trust your sources who say otherwise



Now this is a bit of a conundrum, as in all likelihood the latest FW (5.18.1) will be automatically downloaded during the registration, and most reports so far indicate that WinterBreak can't be installed on 12th gen Kindles already updated to 5.18.1, as access via USB to some required folders has been blocked. There is one report of someone who managed to run WinterBreak by copying the files using Linux, but not much is known about the circumstances yet, and this shouldn't be considered foolproof at this point.

Perhaps one way to go about this would be as follows: after powering on your Kindle, but before connecting it to Wifi, connect it to your computer via USB and fill the storage with random files, leaving only a few megabytes of free space (i.e. not enough space for the firmware update to be stored), and then connect the Kindle to Wifi and register. This should allow you to run the original software your Kindle shipped with, which should be vulnerable to WinterBreak. Then after installing the jailbreak, you can update to 5.18.1, or avoid updates with renameOTAbins, etc. and finally delete the random files from your device.

The post above was meant as a reply to you, misclicked! Thanks again!

[Defenderland]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I added a couple of freebies and downloaded them. calibre was able to copy the book from the Kindle to it's library. Usual low res B&W cover.

??
Here the Calibre-transferred "liberated" books are showing covers in color, also when switched off (I used Calibre's AZW-conversion during send).

[DNSB]

Those books were copied from a Kindle PW4 in KFX format. One sample cover was relatively low resolution at 837x1256px and in 16 glorious shades of grey. The same book downloaded via K4PC also in KFX format shows a 2401x3639px image in 24 bit colour. I do have calibre's maximum_cover_size tweak set to:

# The maximum width and height for covers saved in the calibre library

maximum_cover_size = [2600, 3900]

These books were not converted by calibre, this is the imported and non-metadata edited flavour. I am wondering how you are seeing a colour cover image since other than the Colorsoft, Amazon's Kindle e-Ink readers don't do colour.

[BionicGecko]

Originally Posted by Terry Mint

How likely do you think the trick you proposed (which sounds quite clever!) is to work? Maybe I should just wait this out, not registering the device and converting epubs with Calibre to sideload them until a coder comes in with some magic!

It will work, but I would suggest to avoid restarting your Kindle between the moment you fill up the storage and when you install the hotfix; it did happen to me in the past that such “filler” files got deleted after a restart.

Of course you can always wait for a new jailbreak, and it’s also possible HackerDude will find another way to run this exploit which doesn’t involve the now-blocked folder, but there’s no guarantee that there will ever be another jailbreak. Personally I would try the trick above, but of course it’s up to you!

Edit: it turns out this trick in fact does not work, as mentioned by user pumpkinwhite here.

[Defenderland]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Those books were copied from a Kindle PW4 in KFX format. One sample cover was relatively low resolution at 837x1256px and in 16 glorious shades of grey. The same book downloaded via K4PC also in KFX format shows a 2401x3639px image in 24 bit colour. I do have calibre's maximum_cover_size tweak set to:



These books were not converted by calibre, this is the imported and non-metadata edited flavour. I am wondering how you are seeing a colour cover image since other than the Colorsoft, Amazon's Kindle e-Ink readers don't do colour.

I have a Colorsoft. I thought your whining about "usual low res B&W cover" was about the problem Colorsoft not showing covers in color.

[pumpkinwhite]

Originally Posted by BionicGecko

It will work, but I would suggest to avoid restarting your Kindle between the moment you fill up the storage and when you install the hotfix; it did happen to me in the past that such “filler” files got deleted after a restart.

Of course you can always wait for a new jailbreak, and it’s also possible HackerDude will find another way to run this exploit which doesn’t involve the now-blocked folder, but there’s no guarantee that there will ever be another jailbreak. Personally I would try the trick above, but of course it’s up to you!

I bought a new color soft yesterday and tried this trick. Unfortunately, it does not work. In the sense that Kindle forces an update after registration. It does not allow you to proceed at all. If you full up the drive, it’ll pop up an unknown error screen (or something to that effect). And then it’ll ask you to rety and refuses to get out of that loop. If you block the device via WiFi, it’ll keep trying and then ask you to choose another WiFi network. If you then make enough space to allow a download, the download will start. If you don’t allow it to finish and install it’ll go back to the previous loop. Basically, whatever you try, it will refuse to let you proceed to the main screen without downloading and installing an update. I kept trying for along time. There is just no way around it. LUCKILY, the update it installed was 5.18.0.1. And so I was able to jailbreak and then install 5.18.1 (and ran the hotfix again etc.). The point is that the trick to fill up space before registration does not work now. Right now it’s installing only 5.18.0.1 update after registration, so a jailbreak is possible. But I imagine very soon they’ll start enforcing 5.18.1 post registration.

[BionicGecko]

Originally Posted by pumpkinwhite

I bought a new color soft yesterday and tried this trick. Unfortunately, it does not work. In the sense that Kindle forces an update after registration. It does not allow you to proceed at all. If you full up the drive, it’ll pop up an unknown error screen (or something to that effect). And then it’ll ask you to rety and refuses to get out of that loop. If you block the device via WiFi, it’ll keep trying and then ask you to choose another WiFi network. If you then make enough space to allow a download, the download will start. If you don’t allow it to finish and install it’ll go back to the previous loop. Basically, whatever you try, it will refuse to let you proceed to the main screen without downloading and installing an update. I kept trying for along time. There is just no way around it. LUCKILY, the update it installed was 5.18.0.1. And so I was able to jailbreak and then install 5.18.1 (and ran the hotfix again etc.). The point is that the trick to fill up space before registration does not work now. Right now it’s installing only 5.18.0.1 update after registration, so a jailbreak is possible. But I imagine very soon they’ll start enforcing 5.18.1 post registration.

Many thanks for the feedback, filling up the storage is one of the normal ways to avoid updates on an already registered Kindle so I incorrectly assumed it would just work; I didn’t realize that the forced update process upon registration was so aggressive

[Terry Mint]

Originally Posted by BionicGecko

It will work, but I would suggest to avoid restarting your Kindle between the moment you fill up the storage and when you install the hotfix; it did happen to me in the past that such “filler” files got deleted after a restart.

Of course you can always wait for a new jailbreak, and it’s also possible HackerDude will find another way to run this exploit which doesn’t involve the now-blocked folder, but there’s no guarantee that there will ever be another jailbreak. Personally I would try the trick above, but of course it’s up to you!

Edit: it turns out this trick in fact does not work, as mentioned by user pumpkinwhite here.

Well, I created the dummy files and was able to register the kindle and turned on Airplane Mode straight away. This avoided the automatic install of the latest firmware, Kindle is still in 5.17.0.

Upon reconnecting the kindle to my pc to drop the WB files, I noticed a new update file that I deleted, and one of my dummy file was missing, leaving about 1.5gb of empty storage space instead of the 20MB I originally left.

Now, every time I add this file back and disconnect the Kindle (without even rebooting it) it seems to disappear again, going back to the 1.5gb of empty space.

Is this Amazon’s new trick to prevent the jailbreak? 😒 So I went ahead anyway, dropped the WB files, restarted the kindle, launched the store, turned off airplane mode, the store loads but the jailbreak doesn't launch. Granted I didn't wait too long before turning airplane mode back on, maybe 10s or so.

Tried to reconnect the device to the PC and I see the update.bin.tmp.partial again. Delete it, drop the WB files again (all looking good) and started the process over maybe 2 or 3 times but the jailbreak never launches.

Not sure where things go wrong. Maybe it's relevant to note that the device is shown as MTP although fw is still 5.17.0.

Any help appreciated!

[joblack]

Ghosting in pictures

[jackm8]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

It's not just me, then. The Scribe doesn't have the pop up window that I was expecting and no What's new?

Mine looks the same.