Filling a Kindle Scribe does not prevent full updates from downloading?

Greyriver · 01-04-2026, 05:55 PM

Others have claimed this and been told it was impossible, but it seems to be what's happening.

Kindle Scribe (1st Generation) 2022 Firmware 5.18.1

The kindle reports 40mb free and a windows computer connected via USB agrees

If I allow it to connect it will download a full update which when copied off matches byte for byte the 5.18.6 firmware previously downloaded from amazon. A 365 MB file (383,110,562 bytes)

Settings in the kindle even show it as an available update.

At that point the Kindle and PC report 0 bytes free

When the file is deleted it now shows 40mb free again and you couldn't copy the same file back again if you wanted to as there is not enough space.

The only explanation I can come up with is that the scribe now has a ram disk or some other storage which is handled separately.

tomsem · 01-04-2026, 11:51 PM

I think it can probably nuke the index database to free up space for the download. It always reindexes content after an update. The more content you have on device the larger that will be.

The test for this would be to see if you can search content with the update downloaded and in the zero bytes free state. If it doesn't work then there is no index.

And it seems to me from what I have read about it that filling storage was never 100% effective at preventing updates, though I have no experience with it myself.

DNSB · 01-05-2026, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

I think it can probably nuke the index database to free up space for the download. It always reindexes content after an update. The more content you have on device the larger that will be.

Possibly the update download code can store all or part of the update in the non-user accessible portion of the Kindle's storage.

Greyriver · 01-05-2026, 05:46 PM

Thank you, yes the 'index database' sounds plausible.

And yes I think this may involve a non-user accessible area, but I'm starting to think they made it behave like this because they have been reading the forums.

One good thing I have finally realised is that it won't auto install the downloaded update when the kindle is in use. I was imagining it would complete and just reboot before I could stop it.

It seems that the kindle must be asleep/locked for it to install. So as long as before you let it sleep you enable airplane mode and delete any downloaded update via USB you should be ok.

tomsem · 01-05-2026, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greyriver

Thank you, yes the 'index database' sounds plausible.

And yes I think this may involve a non-user accessible area, but I'm starting to think they made it behave like this because they have been reading the forums.

One good thing I have finally realised is that it won't auto install the downloaded update when the kindle is in use. I was imagining it would complete and just reboot before I could stop it.

It seems that the kindle must be asleep/locked for it to install. So as long as before you let it sleep you enable airplane mode and delete any downloaded update via USB you should be ok.

I have had updates download and fire off while I was using a Kindle.

j.p.s · 01-06-2026, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greyriver

The only explanation I can come up with is that the scribe now has a ram disk or some other storage which is handled separately.

Kindles have had "a ram disk" since day 1 (/dev/shm) but even a 2022 Scribe doesn't have enough ram to hold a firmware update file after updates started flashing the entire OS (many years now). They also have always had partitions that are not visible from the GUI. It is the user visible storage that is "handled separately" in that it used to be exported as a partition from the FAT family. Now with the most recent firmwares on newer models it is only accesible via MTP. On kindles with 4GB or less EMMC none of those partitions are large enough to hold a firmware update file.

I don't know what 8 GB and 16 GB models have, but a 32 GB Oasis 2 from around 2017 running 5.9.2 has a 975 MB /var/local with 897 MB free. A 2022 Scribe is very close to the same. 900 MB might be fine for some and maybe mmost updates and tight for others. I haven't done a survey of update file sizes. Now I know why EMMC size - available space to user is such a large number.

It would be interesting to see how large /var/local is on recent firmwares.I hope that someone looks and reports.

Greyriver · 01-06-2026, 02:32 PM

tomsem, now I feel I got off lightly. I could have looked away and found myself on 5.18.6 which can't be jailbroken yet.

j.p.s, although I managed to do my jailbreak in the end I'd be interested still how it worked out. The update it was trying to install is 5.18.6 which is 365 MB and it was able to complete the download when visible space free was 40mb

I could imagine a file downloading to another space entirely, but when it had completed it had also used up the 40mb of visible space and deleting it freed up that 40mb.

Even when it was a partial download it still used up the 40mb first.

As you say this is MTP which doesn't have to show what a typical file manager shows.

01-04-2026, 05:55 PM	#1
Greyriver Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2025 Device: Kindle Scribe 1st Generation	Filling a Kindle Scribe does not prevent full updates from downloading? Others have claimed this and been told it was impossible, but it seems to be what's happening. Kindle Scribe (1st Generation) 2022 Firmware 5.18.1 The kindle reports 40mb free and a windows computer connected via USB agrees If I allow it to connect it will download a full update which when copied off matches byte for byte the 5.18.6 firmware previously downloaded from amazon. A 365 MB file (383,110,562 bytes) Settings in the kindle even show it as an available update. At that point the Kindle and PC report 0 bytes free When the file is deleted it now shows 40mb free again and you couldn't copy the same file back again if you wanted to as there is not enough space. The only explanation I can come up with is that the scribe now has a ram disk or some other storage which is handled separately.

01-04-2026, 11:51 PM	#2
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,096 Karma: 28000001 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I think it can probably nuke the index database to free up space for the download. It always reindexes content after an update. The more content you have on device the larger that will be. The test for this would be to see if you can search content with the update downloaded and in the zero bytes free state. If it doesn't work then there is no index. And it seems to me from what I have read about it that filling storage was never 100% effective at preventing updates, though I have no experience with it myself. Last edited by tomsem; 01-04-2026 at 11:58 PM.

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01-05-2026, 05:46 PM	#4
Greyriver Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2025 Device: Kindle Scribe 1st Generation	Thank you, yes the 'index database' sounds plausible. And yes I think this may involve a non-user accessible area, but I'm starting to think they made it behave like this because they have been reading the forums. One good thing I have finally realised is that it won't auto install the downloaded update when the kindle is in use. I was imagining it would complete and just reboot before I could stop it. It seems that the kindle must be asleep/locked for it to install. So as long as before you let it sleep you enable airplane mode and delete any downloaded update via USB you should be ok.

01-06-2026, 02:32 PM	#7
Greyriver Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2025 Device: Kindle Scribe 1st Generation	tomsem, now I feel I got off lightly. I could have looked away and found myself on 5.18.6 which can't be jailbroken yet. j.p.s, although I managed to do my jailbreak in the end I'd be interested still how it worked out. The update it was trying to install is 5.18.6 which is 365 MB and it was able to complete the download when visible space free was 40mb I could imagine a file downloading to another space entirely, but when it had completed it had also used up the 40mb of visible space and deleting it freed up that 40mb. Even when it was a partial download it still used up the 40mb first. As you say this is MTP which doesn't have to show what a typical file manager shows.