Amazon discontinuing support for older Kindles in May

[Josieb1]

This is why I decided not to leave anything on the kindle. I have left it registered but will lock access to the store & cloud with a PIN code and remove the WiFi. If I find those two kindles have actually been removed from my Devices I can remove the PIN codes. Any books I load on it I will sideload through calibre. I’ve already lent one device out to friend with some books on it for her to read.

[pepperminttree]

It’s in no way surprising given how old those devices are, it’s a miracle they had the run they did. It’s a shame, though. Those early non touch/IR touch enabled devices unironically had much nicer, book like screens than any modern e-reader. The modern Paperwhite’s look like iPads.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pepperminttree

It’s in no way surprising given how old those devices are, it’s a miracle they had the run they did. It’s a shame, though. Those early non touch/IR touch enabled devices unironically had much nicer, book like screens than any modern e-reader. The modern Paperwhite’s look like iPads.

For most solid-state electronics, once they make it past the infant mortality phase, the lifespan is very long.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pepperminttree

It’s in no way surprising given how old those devices are, it’s a miracle they had the run they did. It’s a shame, though. Those early non touch/IR touch enabled devices unironically had much nicer, book like screens than any modern e-reader. The modern Paperwhite’s look like iPads.

But as we know, this is not how how long the older Kindles will last.

[pepperminttree]

Originally Posted by DNSB

For most solid-state electronics, once they make it past the infant mortality phase, the lifespan is very long.

Definitely from just a hardware point of view, especially in older devices with better serviceable parts/batteries etc. Things get more complicated when we are talking about hardware compatibility with the shifts in security & software standards over their lifetime. Support becomes infeasible when it ultimately leads to insecure devices and/or software because of inherent or outdated hardware constraints. Those old Kindles do not support modern TLS standards, and Amazon has deemed that unsafe for access to modern store/cloud services. A Kindle might not seem like as high risk a device as a phone or laptop but any vulnerable device on your network can be a liability.

All things considered, ~10-15 years is exceptional in terms of software support for any consumer electronics.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But as we know, this is not how how long the older Kindles will last.

You should stick to speaking for yourself, rather than others.

[Brianrh]

Should my Kindle 7th gen still get updates after the deadline? It doesn't seem to be on the lists I've found online but when I go to the Update Your Kindle section on my Kindle , it is greyed out

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Brianrh

Should my Kindle 7th gen still get updates after the deadline? It doesn't seem to be on the lists I've found online but when I go to the Update Your Kindle section on my Kindle , it is greyed out

That's not one of those which will be disconnected from Amazon after the 20th. The last firmware update for 7th gen basic Kindle's was 5.12.2.2 (Jan 2022). That firmware recently got the exploit which changed kfx drm.

[frostymug]

Well, here it is. The death date May 20. I tried downloading a purchased ebook from Amazon on my really old Kindle Touch and it did download it. The day isn't over yet. It is about 3 p.m. here. I am going to assume that the inability to download will take place later today. Maybe even at midnight. I will try again tomorrow. I am almost certain I will be out of luck tomorrow but I am kinda curious if they will transmit a message about the new situation to my old Kindle. Maybe, or maybe the connect wheel will just spin and spin and spin forever. Who knows.

As a side question: What percentage of ebooks released on the market can only be obtained through Amazon Kindle?

[dublincheri]

My Touch was good until late afternoon, around half three I got the “device no longer supported” and a greyed out line. It was fine this morning when I tested it but I bought the last bits I wanted yesterday and used the last of my Kindle points.

[Brianrh]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

That's not one of those which will be disconnected from Amazon after the 20th. The last firmware update for 7th gen basic Kindle's was 5.12.2.2 (Jan 2022). That firmware recently got the exploit which changed kfx drm.

So I can still (for now) download and read books from my Amazon account but I will no longer be able to remove the DRM and convert with Calibre ebooks from this device. Is there no way now of being able to read these books on a non Kindle device?

Thanks.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Brianrh

So I can still (for now) download and read books from my Amazon account but I will no longer be able to remove the DRM and convert with Calibre ebooks from this device. Is there no way now of being able to read these books on a non Kindle device?

Thanks.

You might be able to use K4PC 2.8 with the appropriate software to get the key and the correct version of DeDRM to be able to accept that key and use it. But even that's going to come to an end later this year.

One thing that was mentioned here was to fill up your storage on your Kindle that's still supported and leave just a little space and when you plug your Kindle into the USB port, check for a .bin file and delete it. What may be happening is that the space left is too small for the bin file to fit or be able to be installed to change the KFX DRM. I have a PW3 that I will try this with. I last had it on WiFi not long before Download & Transfer was removed. So it still has the KFX DRM that works with DeDRM. And if the free space hack works, I'll be good to go for now.

[texasnightowl]

Originally Posted by Brianrh

So I can still (for now) download and read books from my Amazon account but I will no longer be able to remove the DRM and convert with Calibre ebooks from this device. Is there no way now of being able to read these books on a non Kindle device?

Thanks.

Is your 7th gen the kindle basic on 5.12.2.2 or the PW3 on 5.16.2.1.1? Or technically the Voyage was 7th gen. Answer depends on your model.

At the moment, there is a specific kindle for pc method still working to remove drm ... for now. See the Dealing with Kindle ebooks in Calibre thread to start. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=361503

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by frostymug

Well, here it is. The death date May 20. I tried downloading a purchased ebook from Amazon on my really old Kindle Touch and it did download it. The day isn't over yet. It is about 3 p.m. here. I am going to assume that the inability to download will take place later today. Maybe even at midnight. I will try again tomorrow. I am almost certain I will be out of luck tomorrow but I am kinda curious if they will transmit a message about the new situation to my old Kindle. Maybe, or maybe the connect wheel will just spin and spin and spin forever. Who knows.

As a side question: What percentage of ebooks released on the market can only be obtained through Amazon Kindle?

Mine was okay earlier today, I’ve now had the error message so Amazon are working through cutting off the affected kindles.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Mine was okay earlier today, I’ve now had the error message so Amazon are working through cutting off the affected kindles.

On my PW3, I'll try your free space hack and see if it works.