Firmware Update Kindle PW2 now at 5.4.5 Kindle Touch now 5.3.7.2

[Franconstein]

Originally Posted by dsmid

The trick is to reboot Kindle with power button after the update file is fully copied but before framework gets chance to analyse it (i.e. before ejecting from PC).
On Windows you will have to wait few minutes to make sure the disk cache is flushed (or to use a tool to achieve that), on Linux it is possible to unmount the filesytem without ejecting it.

Hey guys! I'm going crazy over here! I've been trying to downgrade my Kindle for about 8 hours now. No luck. I've had it for quite some time now (over a year at least), but I never payed any attention to Firmware or stuff like that because I only had 10 books (I'm a fan of paper books, and only got the Kindle because I was going to travel at the time).

Anyway, reading about the Calibre plugin to manage collections, I got hyped! I successfully installed the jailbreak update, and even the Kindlet Kit, then installed the Kindle Collection upgrade, but... My version was too new to run it. Version was 5.4.4.1. So, I did a "Reset", just to get rid of everything inside the Kindle and be safe, then tried to downgrade it. Tried versions 5.3.1 and 5.4.3.2, but the "Update Your Kindle" option was always grayed out (expected, I guess). So, I tried UPGRADING it to 5.4.5, but still, grayed out. Every time I removed the USB cable or ejected the drive from Windows, the .bin file would just disappear. So, I decided to upgrade it "naturally" (through Wi-Fi). After about an hour of fiddling around, updating the dictionary, the welcome guide, etc., I found an upgrade .bin in the root of the Kindle. Just because, I copied the 5.4.5 .bin anyway. Lo, and behold! I could "Update Your Kindle" now! And so I did, and it took its sweet time, too! And when it boots back up, I eagerly go check the version, and it reads... 5.4.4.2. Seriously. Nothing I did would seem to update it further, no more downloads, nothing.

So, I tried, with all 3 versions, the "method". And here's where I think I'm doing something wrong. My steps:

1) Connect my powered-on Kindle through USB to my computer (Windows 8.1, if it helps).
2) Drop the .bin update file into the Kindle root drive (tried, one at a time, with both downgrades and the upgrade).
3) After the file transfer was complete, I tried one of the following (must have done this process about 30 times, so I varied a bit each time):
3.a) Eject the drive. Check for the "Update Your Kindle" (always grayed out).
3.b) Press the power button for about 15 seconds, until Windows didn't recognize the Kindle anymore. My Kindle would then be "frozen" on the "USB Drive Mode" screen. I'd then disconnect the USB cable, then try to restart the Kindle (not consistent here, sometimes I had to hard-press the power button for a while, and then release, sometimes just a single touch would restart it). Sometimes I'd try this without disconnecting the cable, just to see what would happen. The device would restart, then I'd get the following screen message:

The update was not successful.

UPDATE ERROR: 11

3.c) Wait for about 15 minutes after the transfer would complete, then do as described on 3.b; same message.

3.d) Use the "sync" tool to clear the cache, do as described on 3.b; same message.

3.e) Wait for about 15 minutes, THEN use the "sync" tool, THEN do as described on 3.b; still the same result.

So... what am I doing wrong? Any ideas? Please? A step-by-step guide, maybe? I'm losing my mind here.

Thanks and cheers!

[dsmid]

5.4.5 is for PW2, you have PW1.

[NiLuJe]

Also, double-posting is evil.

[Franconstein]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

@Franconstein: You're trying to install a PW2 update on a PW1 (or vice-versa).

You're starting from 5.4.4.x, that tells me you own a PW1, not a PW2 (so your profile is wrong). The good news is, you can use the downgrader hack (cf. the snapshots list).

Sorry guys, I was mislead to believe I had a PW2! It's all solved now! Thanks a bunch for your support! You were swift and on the spot!

Also, sorry for being evil!

[DaRk_ViVi]

If someone with an already Jailbroken Kindle Touch is in doubt of what happens when you update, this is what I did on mine:

1) Updated KindleTouch (Jailbroken) from 5.3.7.1 to 5.3.7.2 (.bin file, OTA wasn't showing any update and I was too lazy to wait)
2) It automatically did the JB after the update
3) Kindlet JB was broken, so I reinstalled MKK
4) Screensaver hack wasn't working, so I just reinstalled python + linkss and after the reboot everything was working great!

[ishanc]

Originally Posted by dsmid

The trick is to reboot Kindle with power button after the update file is fully copied but before framework gets chance to analyse it (i.e. before ejecting from PC).
On Windows you will have to wait few minutes to make sure the disk cache is flushed (or to use a tool to achieve that), on Linux it is possible to unmount the filesytem without ejecting it.

I was toying with the idea of jailbreaking my PW2 for a long time before I finally decided to try last night, only to find it had automatically upgraded to 5.4.5 over wifi.

All is lost? Is their still any way I can downgrade?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by ishanc

I was toying with the idea of jailbreaking my PW2 for a long time before I finally decided to try last night, only to find it had automatically upgraded to 5.4.5 over wifi.

All is lost? Is their still any way I can downgrade?

Did you try performing the process detailed in the post you just quoted?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by dgydyti

jailbreak, screensaver hack, and the rest... still compatibile? Aby brave to try?[Quoted hidden spam link edited out.]

If you mean, do they work on firmware v5.4.5 -- it has been out for over a month now, and the respective threads for each and every hack say if they're not compatible.
Also, 5.4.5.1 is out.

The only one which doesn't work AFAIK is the jailbreak, as explained by the jailbreak post -- with the workaround.

Collections Manager used to say not compatible with 5.4.5/.1, until it got updated.

EDIT: Another instance of a really weird spammer regurgitating others' posts and adding in a tracking image. Like, a real post, here (where it made sense).

[Dr. Drib]

Please keep in mind that double-posting is seen as a form of spam.

Here is a link to our Posting Guidelines, for anyone who has not read them:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/faq...ing_guidelines

Thank you for your understanding.



Don
(Moderator)

[LastSilmaril]

Originally Posted by dsmid

The trick is to reboot Kindle with power button after the update file is fully copied but before framework gets chance to analyse it (i.e. before ejecting from PC).
On Windows you will have to wait few minutes to make sure the disk cache is flushed (or to use a tool to achieve that), on Linux it is possible to unmount the filesytem without ejecting it.

Thanks for this. Trivial to do. Copy update to root, run sync <kindle-drive-letter>, hold power button until reboot. Done.
For anybody else looking to downgrade, here's the link to 5.3.7.2.
Also - Sync is part of the SysInternals Suite, which no Windows user should be without. Instead of just downloading sync, you may want to consider getting the whole suite here.

[ishanc]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Did you try performing the process detailed in the post you just quoted?

I am not sure what update file are we talking about? The old firmware 5.4.3.2? Do I need any special tools if am on OSX?

Thanks

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by ishanc

I am not sure what update file are we talking about? The old firmware 5.4.3.2? Do I need any special tools if am on OSX?

Thanks

See the downgrader package here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=225030

Usually, ejecting a drive from a computer will cause the operating system to flush the disk cache, ensuring that the file was properly written to disk, but that would make the update fail here. So we use the command-line tool sync (it syncs the cache to disk).

Windows has a lousy command-line presence, but on linux and OSX it is a system builtin, so just go to Terminal.app and enter

sync

Then poweroff the Kindle using the hardware power button, WITHOUT unplugging.

[NiLuJe]

IIRC, I amended my answer below dsmid's original message.

-> diskutil list & dikutil umount would also do the job on OS X .

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

IIRC, I amended my answer below dsmid's original message.

-> diskutil list & dikutil umount would also do the job on OS X .

that requires two commands, plus naming the correct device.

sync is exactly what was suggested for Windows, and does exactly the right job on linux/OSX too, in one definitive command. Definite win.

Not all OSX users are power users who understand the command-line, so easier-to-follow directions are better on general principle.

[NiLuJe]

@eschwartz: For some reason I was convinced that sync wasn't actually there and/or useless on OS X, thanks .