PW Users....

[dordale]

I really don't think the lights on the Kindle PW going out is not something to worry about. I've read several posts here and elsewhere and frankly can't remember a single post about non-functioning lights.

[HarryT]

Katie,

I honestly cannot recall one single case of anyone having a lighting LED fail on a PW. Don't worry about it.

[howyoudoin]

There doesn't seem to be a way to damage the lights without the accident also damaging the screen itself. So if you do blow out an LED and the screen is fine, it would suggest a non-user failure of the light, which should qualify you for a device replacement per Amazon's generous replacement policies. So, I wouldn't be worried unless I were outside the USA.

But take this advice with a generous sprinkling of skepticism since there isn't established precedent for such a situation as far as I am aware. This is just what I think would be the case.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by howyoudoin

So, I wouldn't be worried unless I were outside the USA.

Why the qualification? The US has far less generous consumer legislation than many other parts of the world do! Warranty in the EU, for example, has to last a lot longer than it does in the US.

It doesn't really matter, though. Amazon's customer service is, as many of us know from practical experience, excellent.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why the qualification? The US has far less generous consumer legislation than many other parts of the world do! Warranty in the EU, for example, has to last a lot longer than it does in the US.

It doesn't really matter, though. Amazon's customer service is, as many of us know from practical experience, excellent.

It's just that customers in some other countries might end up having to pay for shipping the unit back to Amazon in the USA.

That was what happened in my case with my old Kindle 3. My device was purchased in the UK and I stay in India. They were willing to replace my unit, but insisted on me dealing with Amazon US even though Amazon India exists.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by howyoudoin

It's just that customers in some other countries might end up having to pay for shipping the unit back to Amazon in the USA.

That was what happened in my case with my old Kindle 3. My device was purchased in the UK and I stay in India. They were willing to replace my unit, but insisted on me dealing with Amazon US even though Amazon India exists.

Thanks - that's certainly a valid point.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Katie1

2 Have anyone had those lights/bulbs go out? How was it fixed? I don't want to buy it if the bulbs blow after a few years & cant be fixed!

I haven't heard of any PaperWhites having an LED fail.

Most LED failures aren't a failure of the actual LED, but of the power supply to the LED. In fact, LEDs are so reliable that their lifetimes aren't defined using the 'time to 50% failure' that's used for incandescent lights, but 'time to 70% of original output', which is usually 50,000 hours or more - or more than 10 years at 12 hours a day. [EDIT: at 20 hours per day it's over six years.]

I think failure of the LEDs should be the least of your worries with a Paperwhite. Far more likely failures are:

* Battery
* Screen backplane
* Screen lightguide
* Motherboard other than LEDs

[cvkemp]

I have devices with LEDs that have lasted 10 years or more.

[Barbara1955]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

I have devices with LEDs that have lasted 10 years or more.

That's good to hear! Every time I buy something with LEDs they burn out! Could be I am a jinks


Everyone!

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by Katie1

That's good to hear! Every time I buy something with LEDs they burn out! Could be I am a jinks

It's not you. Most of us, including you and I, couldn't tell whether an unlit LED was a blown LED. So we're going by expected lifetimes to deduce that your constant failures are, as AnemicOak said, "something [...] wrong with your unit's electronics." Likely a bad design by M-EDGE. We can guess from that bendable stem that it's perhaps causing a loose wire or bad connection in certain use cases.

[Barbara1955]

Originally Posted by jj2me

It's not you. Most of us, including you and I, couldn't tell whether an unlit LED was a blown LED. So we're going by expected lifetimes to deduce that your constant failures are, as AnemicOak said, "something [...] wrong with your unit's electronics." Likely a bad design by M-EDGE. We can guess from that bendable stem that it's perhaps causing a loose wire or bad connection in certain use cases.

They blow alright make a popping noise! Turn black! Not just the M-Edge lights I mentioned. I had Several Camp lamps Only use during times when the electric goes out should last Decades NOT hardly a year! My son has one of those tiny flashlights... burned out so many bulbs I lost count!

May wait till the new PW goes on sale put the money into a 2 yr warranty. Tho not sure how that works... Amazon gives 1 yr... so does adding 2 yr warranty mean 3 yrs?

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by Katie1

They blow alright make a popping noise! Turn black! Not just the M-Edge lights I mentioned. I had Several Camp lamps Only use during times when the electric goes out should last Decades NOT hardly a year! My son has one of those tiny flashlights... burned out so many bulbs I lost count!

I didn't know that happens on just an AAA-battery powered (i.e., no extreme overload) LED, thanks for the info/correction.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Tho not sure how that works... Amazon gives 1 yr... so does adding 2 yr warranty mean 3 yrs?

I haven't read that warranty in particular, but most I've dealt with run concurrent with any mfg warranty meaning it would be 2 years.

[Barbara1955]

Sounds like I should buy extra warranty towards the end of Amazons warranty ... Would that work?

[AnemicOak]

You'd have to check. Most of the extended warranties I've seen cover more stuff than the factory one, but must be purchased fairly closely to the device purchase (ex. with 14 or 30 days).