Kindle PW3 with 5.12.4 firmware - problems and solutions

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by hius07

Here it is
https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredow...ite_5.12.4.bin

That link no longer works for me (Access Denied). It appears that Amazon has finally pulled the 5.12.4 update for the PW3 from their servers.

I also noticed that they updated the Source Code Notice page. Previously it showed firmware builds of version 5.12.4 and 5.12.5 for the PW3. Now it stops at 5.12.3.

[Quoth]

Arguing about if the PW3 is EOL or not, or what EOL even means IN THIS CONTEXT, is not useful.
The point surely is about what people on the the last PW3 FW should do if there is a problem – my PW3 is on 5.12.4 and has no problems – or which FW they should (if any) update to if on a much older version.
I do seriously dislike the Aa Menu, which I think was also in 5.12.3?
It's too wasteful of space:
Themes take up too space
A scroll bar rather than page numbers or arrow buttons is stupid on eInk. I've found the chapter navigation hard for many versions now.
The font menu is terrible if you add extra fonts.
The layout menu is crazy waste of space and why STILL not steps with arrows etc, like on Kobo? The minimum margin is too big. Why only 3 options of each taking up a giant portion of screen?

The "More" option and its scroll is mad:
Why a scroll bar, not pages?
Why stupid slide switch graphics for a check box you tap for on/off
Why are these not in Settings? Some were, or are they going to be "per book"? They seem to be global? Or used to be.

Generally there have been some good changes in the UI /Features since the PW3 came out, but apart from whatever mysterious issue there is with 5.12.4 generally the Amazon GUI designers have lost the plot. However that's true for Kobo, Android and Win10 also with stupid designs of control elements. Amazon now seems really poor for GUI.

[Quoth]

Presumably if 5.12.4 is really bad for PW3, then Amazon ought to produce a special 5.12.3.1 or something that is recognised as an upgrade to 5.12.4 so the "victims" can go "back". There are reasons to do with databases why you might need a special version of an older FW to be able to go back, one that at install "understands" a later database and fixes up somehow so it will work with older FW.

So it doesn't surprise me that you can't load earlier FWs, unless there was a delete database and everything, an "ultimate" factory reset.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Presumably if 5.12.4 is really bad for PW3, then Amazon ought to produce a special 5.12.3.1 or something that is recognised as an upgrade to 5.12.4 so the "victims" can go "back". There are reasons to do with databases why you might need a special version of an older FW to be able to go back, one that at install "understands" a later database and fixes up somehow so it will work with older FW.

So it doesn't surprise me that you can't load earlier FWs, unless there was a delete database and everything, an "ultimate" factory reset.

Not every update uses a different database. So not every downgrade would need a reset.

The solution would be for Amazon to come out with 5.13.1 for the PW3 and if it's OK, then EOL the PW3.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You don't get it. EOL in terms of electronics is what happened to the PW3.

You mean "they aren't making them any more"? Indeed not. They're not making the Voyage or Oasis 2 any more either (and the electronics in *all shipping Kindles* is old, by definition, or it wouldn't have got to the "actually shipping" stage in its lifecycle), but you seem to not be insisting that we call them EOL. Still shipping new versions of firmware for a device is not the same thing as still building the electronics for it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by NullNix

You mean "they aren't making them any more"? Indeed not. They're not making the Voyage or Oasis 2 any more either (and the electronics in *all shipping Kindles* is old, by definition, or it wouldn't have got to the "actually shipping" stage in its lifecycle), but you seem to not be insisting that we call them EOL. Still shipping new versions of firmware for a device is not the same thing as still building the electronics for it.

This is not the same as no longer making them. EOL in this case is not making new firmware for the device. It's the same as when Apple says your MAC cannot run the Catalina. Sure the MAC works as it did with the OS on it but you won't be getting the new one. This is what happened to the PW3. So it's EOL.

[JSWolf]

https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...-paperwhite-3/

In the comments,someone else is calling the PW3 EOL (because it is EOL).

[jhowell]

It has been proposed that a bug in the 5.12.4 firmware led to the current situation with the PW3. I think another possibility is more likely.


Why did Amazon pull the 5.12.4 update?

What if after the release of the version 5.12.4 firmware there was an unusually large number of support calls from PW3 owners about their devices being bricked by the update. Even a fraction of a percent of upgrades failing would be very problematic. That would have caused them to pull that update while developers researched the problem. Perhaps some automatic deployment continued in order to gather more information to see whether the initial failures were a fluke.


Why didn't they release a fixed 5.12.4 or 5.12.5 for the PW3?

Perhaps the developers discovered that the flaw was actually in the updater contained in the 5.12.3 firmware already installed in the majority of devices. If that is the case then there would be no way to safely update those devices without risking failures that would generate expensive support calls and bad publicity.

This is all just speculation.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jhowell

It has been proposed that a bug in the 5.12.4 firmware led to the current situation with the PW3. I think another possibility is more likely.


Why did Amazon pull the 5.12.4 update?

What if after the release of the version 5.12.4 firmware there was an unusually large number of support calls from PW3 owners about their devices being bricked by the update. Even a fraction of a percent of upgrades failing would be very problematic. That would have caused them to pull that update while developers researched the problem. Perhaps some automatic deployment continued in order to gather more information to see whether the initial failures were a fluke.


Why didn't they release a fixed 5.12.4 or 5.12.5 for the PW3?

Perhaps the developers discovered that the flaw was actually in the updater contained in the 5.12.3 firmware already installed in the majority of devices. If that is the case then there would be no way to safely update those devices without risking failures that would generate expensive support calls and bad publicity.

This is all just speculation.

What I want to know is why did Amazon leave 5.12.4 on the OTA server after they pulled the links for 5.12.4? They they had pulled 5.12.4 from the OTA server, then hardly any PW3 would have had 5.12.4 installed.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I want to know is why did Amazon leave 5.12.4 on the OTA server after they pulled the links for 5.12.4? They they had pulled 5.12.4 from the OTA server, then hardly any PW3 would have had 5.12.4 installed.

I covered one possibility in the text that you quoted. Another is that it was just a mistake made during a crisis.

In any case Amazon is extremely unlikely to comment on this. Whatever the reason, any announcement is likely to generate negative publicity.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jhowell

That link no longer works for me (Access Denied). It appears that Amazon has finally pulled the 5.12.4 update for the PW3 from their servers.

I also noticed that they updated the Source Code Notice page. Previously it showed firmware builds of version 5.12.4 and 5.12.5 for the PW3. Now it stops at 5.12.3.

So wat would Amazon do if you called and complained that your PW3 was running 5.12.4 and you waned 5.12.3 on it?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Arguing about if the PW3 is EOL or not, or what EOL even means IN THIS CONTEXT, is not useful.
The point surely is about what people on the the last PW3 FW should do if there is a problem – my PW3 is on 5.12.4 and has no problems – or which FW they should (if any) update to if on a much older version.
I do seriously dislike the Aa Menu, which I think was also in 5.12.3?

My PW3 is running 5.12.3 and I do not have the new Aa menu.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So wat would Amazon do if you called and complained that your PW3 was running 5.12.4 and you waned 5.12.3 on it?

I doubt that they would do anything, even if they could. Amazon is not in the habit of letting users decide what firmware version their Kindle runs.

Why would you want that? Those running 5.12.4 do not seem to be experiencing significantly more problems than those running other firmware versions.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I doubt that they would do anything, even if they could. Amazon is not in the habit of letting users decide what firmware version their Kindle runs.

Why would you want that? Those running 5.12.4 do not seem to be experiencing significantly more problems than those running other firmware versions.

Evidence shows that 5.12.4 is not supposed to be on the PW3.

[Mnementh]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My PW3 is running 5.12.3 and I do not have the new Aa menu.

Hang on a minute... Do you mean to tell me that you're screaming till you're blue in the face about Amazon not releasing 5.12.5+ firmware for the PW3 because of possible bugs in 5.12.4 and you're not even running it??


So far from what I can see everybody who... you know... actually has 5.12.4 has come on and said they're not experiencing any problems or if they are they're no more than you usually get with a new firmware update and yet you keep on flogging a dead horse about a possible borked update that isn't even affecting you!


I know you're anti Kindle Jon but you really need to stop banging on about something that isn't even affecting you in every thread.