How does OTA work nowadays?

Ruskie_it · 03-28-2023, 12:37 PM

Hello all,

As the title says. I have a non-jb PW5, and I need to go online just for a few seconds to download dictionaries and maybe complete initial registration, but I don't want the fw to update.

Does the OTA process work as it used to do? That is, it downloads a .bin on the kindle root that I can delete before it gets launched?
Or is it nowadays download to a different (hidden) location?

dhdurgee · 03-28-2023, 01:24 PM

I'm not 100% sure if there have been any changes to the download process itself, but I believe they might have changed things to prioritize updating before anything else at all. If this is indeed the case, then your only defense on a Kindle without JB and renamed OTA update binaries would be to connect to a router you control with the sources of the update blocked by your router's firewall.

There is an extension somewhere here that used the Kindle's own firewall for this, but I believe it is quite old and might be out of date as to the sources that must be blocked. Hopefully someone else can help with further information on this.

Beyond that you will need to keep your Kindle offline to avoid an unwanted firmware update.

Dave

Ruskie_it · 03-28-2023, 01:48 PM

Thanks. I took the risk and went online very quickly and disconnecting often just to "intercept" it.
It looks like it hasn't changed and it does not prioritize fw update over sync.

I had 9 dictionaries to download, and it downloaded them all.
It also activated special offers (out of the box, I tried to sideload some book of mines and it displayed their cover).
But, when I disconnected I found in the root the infamous update.bin.tmp.partial (or whatever the name is). I deleted it and... so far no fw update (I also restarted the kindle)

Badcatalex · 03-28-2023, 08:10 PM

There is a more modern tool that renames the binaries responsible for managing OTA updates and the "Update Your Kindle" button.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...3&postcount=25

Ruskie_it · 03-29-2023, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badcatalex

There is a more modern tool that renames the binaries responsible for managing OTA updates and the "Update Your Kindle" button.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...3&postcount=25

I know, but that unfortunately requires KUAL, hence JB, which I have not (hopefully: yet)

hius07 · 03-30-2023, 02:03 AM

Another way is to fill up the storage to less than 200MB free space.

Ruskie_it · 03-30-2023, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hius07

Another way is to fill up the storage to less than 200MB free space.

Good I didn't think about it. Cumbersome to do everytime you go online if you do often, but in my case would work

03-28-2023, 12:37 PM	#1
Ruskie_it Fanatic Posts: 538 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Rome, Italy Device: Kindle PW5, Kindle PW4, Kindle 4 NT	How does OTA work nowadays? Hello all, As the title says. I have a non-jb PW5, and I need to go online just for a few seconds to download dictionaries and maybe complete initial registration, but I don't want the fw to update. Does the OTA process work as it used to do? That is, it downloads a .bin on the kindle root that I can delete before it gets launched? Or is it nowadays download to a different (hidden) location?

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03-28-2023, 01:24 PM	#2
dhdurgee Guru Posts: 875 Karma: 2525050 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: K3W, PW4	I'm not 100% sure if there have been any changes to the download process itself, but I believe they might have changed things to prioritize updating before anything else at all. If this is indeed the case, then your only defense on a Kindle without JB and renamed OTA update binaries would be to connect to a router you control with the sources of the update blocked by your router's firewall. There is an extension somewhere here that used the Kindle's own firewall for this, but I believe it is quite old and might be out of date as to the sources that must be blocked. Hopefully someone else can help with further information on this. Beyond that you will need to keep your Kindle offline to avoid an unwanted firmware update. Dave

03-28-2023, 01:48 PM	#3
Ruskie_it Fanatic Posts: 538 Karma: 1000000 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Rome, Italy Device: Kindle PW5, Kindle PW4, Kindle 4 NT	Thanks. I took the risk and went online very quickly and disconnecting often just to "intercept" it. It looks like it hasn't changed and it does not prioritize fw update over sync. I had 9 dictionaries to download, and it downloaded them all. It also activated special offers (out of the box, I tried to sideload some book of mines and it displayed their cover). But, when I disconnected I found in the root the infamous update.bin.tmp.partial (or whatever the name is). I deleted it and... so far no fw update (I also restarted the kindle)

03-28-2023, 08:10 PM	#4
Badcatalex I draw. Posts: 131 Karma: 4278578 Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Midwestern US Device: K1, K4B, KPW3, KOA3, KF7 (2019)	There is a more modern tool that renames the binaries responsible for managing OTA updates and the "Update Your Kindle" button. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...3&postcount=25

03-30-2023, 02:03 AM	#6
hius07 Wizard Posts: 1,155 Karma: 3592855 Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Ukraine Device: Kindle PW2, PW3, PW4, Voyage	Another way is to fill up the storage to less than 200MB free space.