Amazon and DRM changes

[kennyc]

I notice that Woot has older refurbished kindles on offer today...

[MegDreamsofBooks]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I notice that Woot has older refurbished kindles on offer today...

I snagged an older Paperwhite (9th gen, I think?) from Woot not too long ago as a backup. I prefer my old Kindle 4 to download and back up my books since I get color covers there, but the Paperwhite 9(?) is new enough that it should continue to download books for a while but old enough to probably not get firmware updates that block the USB download.

[lkmiller]

There's the Paperwhite 3 from 2015 which came between the Voyage and the 1st Oasis. Amazon considers it 7th gen. Looks like its last update was 5.16.2.1 – June 2023. Then the Paperwhite 4 from 2018 which came after the Oasis 2. Amazon calls that 10th gen. It has 5.18.1 from March 2025, but the 11th and 12th gen Kindles are all up to 5.18.4 which came out in July. So probably anything earlier isn't getting anymore updates.

[xyzzy_foo]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

Then the Paperwhite 4 from 2018 which came after the Oasis 2. Amazon calls that 10th gen. It has 5.18.1 from March 2025, but the 11th and 12th gen Kindles are all up to 5.18.4 which came out in July. So probably anything earlier isn't getting anymore updates.

Amazon will support the Kindle Paperwhite (10th Generation) until at least December 31, 2026.

Kindle E-Reader Device Software Security Updates - Amazon Customer Service

Therefore, while it is unclear why Amazon is neglecting its older generation devices, and they are not currently caught up to the latest firmware version, I do not believe that updates have been completely abandoned for the future.
The new jailbreak method is more than enough motivation for Amazon to release a new firmware update.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by xyzzy_foo

Amazon will support the Kindle Paperwhite (10th Generation) until at least December 31, 2026.

Kindle E-Reader Device Software Security Updates - Amazon Customer Service

Therefore, while it is unclear why Amazon is neglecting its older generation devices, and they are not currently caught up to the latest firmware version, I do not believe that updates have been completely abandoned for the future.
The new jailbreak method is more than enough motivation for Amazon to release a new firmware update.

As to that update support, it is clear from the links that you have posted that these are security not feature updates. And even there, it is entirely left up to Amazon to decide what deserves a security update. Given that Amazon in 5.18.4 patched the exploit used in the as yet unnamed upcoming jailbreak, that it was not backported to more devices suggests that Amazon will not patch it.

Much like long after Windows XP went EOL in 2014, Microsoft released an emergency update for WannaCry in 2017, a remote desktop execution vulnerability in 2019 and—the last I am aware of—in 2024 when a vulnerability in the SMB v1 protocol was patched. A bit humorous in the second release since a big chunk of the code used in WannaCry was created by the NSA.

[lkmiller]

Ah..."at least four years after the device is last available for purchase". So my Oasis 2 (9th gen), last sold in 2019 and last updated in 2023, probably not getting any more, but you never know.

[kennyc]

that's the thing....Amazon has full control of your kindles...(unless of course unless you jailbreak and/or stay off line...)

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by xyzzy_foo

…
Therefore, while it is unclear why Amazon is neglecting its older generation devices,

Limited programming resources.
No-one left that really understands the older firmware and they don't want to break it.
It doesn't increase profits to update these devices.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Limited programming resources.
No-one left that really understands the older firmware and they don't want to break it.
It doesn't increase profits to update these devices.

And of those three items, the last is probably the most important.