Tutorial LanguageBreak - Software Jailbreak for (probably) any Kindle <=

[dexter3535]

Originally Posted by Quoth

You can only update to newer on a Kindle. Only JB allows downgrade. The "Upgrade" option is disabled if no suitable signed FW is found.

Is it true that if you have factory image , you can downgrade the kindle without having jailbreak ?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by dexter3535

Is it true that if you have factory image , you can downgrade the kindle without having jailbreak ?

What do you mean by factory image?
There are official Amazon files. You can't install an earlier one.

[j.p.s]

pw2 running firmware below version 5.8 could be downgraded, a unique special case.

"factory image" were special kindle model specific firmware images that fell off a truck that had vulnerabilities not present in retail firmware. The last one was for a pw3 running 5.9.6 or lower.

In general, no downgrade without jailbreak or serial port access, which is pretty much gone. The bootloader is locked on the last models with known serial ports and no one has found a serial port on recent models.

[Fennek]

I think we might have a PW3 model that is not going to get updates past 5.16.2.1.1.
Does that mean it will always be Jailbreakable?

[Mob201503]

Originally Posted by WarrenUK

This guide is a waste of time. It never works.

I'm aware from your later posts that this comment was born out of annoyance/frustration at not getting it to work (and I hope you got it sorted out successfully), but out of respect and admiration for the work & effort that was put into LanguageBreak, I have to point out that whatever this guide is, the very last thing is "a waste of time".

Many encounter difficulties, because the process is undeniably tricky, and perseverance is key.

By allowing me enjoy buttery smooth KOReader goodness on my PW3, LanguageBreak single-handedly allowed me to shelve my intention to buy a dedicated Android eInk device for the sole purpose of running KOReader.

For that I couldn't be more grateful to all those responsible for this JB.

Love & gratitude again to all of you behind LanguageBreak and KOReader.

[dkinor]

Help - Kindle Scribe, FW 16.2.0.1, jailbroken using the methods in this thread (TY Marek & merger3107), with KUAL (coplate) latest snapshot installed (and confirmed working), and KOReader (latest v.2024.03.01) installed using method described at p.43 of this thread (TY Althusser).

When I try and open KOReader, it looks like KOReader wants to open, but stalls out after a few seconds and does not open (whether opened from KUAL or from (optionally installed) KOL).

I am frustrated by inability to get KOReader to open on my Kindle Scribe (especially when KOReader opens just fine on KPW5 running jb'd 5.14.1). So, I want to start over on my Kindle Scribe, and factory reset my device and re-jailbreak it (to create a blank slate), and then take proper steps to get a working KOReader install. A few questions:

1. Is there a way I can factory reset without losing jailbreak (I know how to factory reset with DO_FACTORY_RESTORE file in kindle root)?

2. I remember reading a post in this thread (from mergen3107?) stating that you can either have JB + KOReader OR notetaking on the Kindle Scribe, but not both. Given that notetaking for Kindle Scribe came on with 5.16.2, this suggests that, if I want to get working KOReader on Kindle Scribe, after I jailbreak, I need to downgrade FW below 5.16.2 (which I can do using the procedure documented by mergen3107). So, my question is (and maybe this is OT, for which I apologize): what is the latest FW version for which users have gotten KOReader to work on the Kindle Scribe?

3. Re firmware downgrades, can I downgrade below 5.16 for Kindle Scribe (e.g., to 5.15.x, for example, where there is documented working KOReader on Kindle Scribe), without risking bricking my device (i.e., I don't know if the bootloader for 5.16.x prevents downgrade to 5.15.x FW)?

Thanks in advance for any help/guidance.

[j.p.s]

5.16.1 is the first firmware to support Scribe hardware, so no Scribe can run firmware below 5.16.1

[scribe_user]

Originally Posted by dkinor

Help - Kindle Scribe, FW 16.2.0.1, jailbroken using the methods in this thread (TY Marek & merger3107), with KUAL (coplate) latest snapshot installed (and confirmed working), and KOReader (latest v.2024.03.01) installed using method described at p.43 of this thread (TY Althusser).

When I try and open KOReader, it looks like KOReader wants to open, but stalls out after a few seconds and does not open (whether opened from KUAL or from (optionally installed) KOL).

I am frustrated by inability to get KOReader to open on my Kindle Scribe (especially when KOReader opens just fine on KPW5 running jb'd 5.14.1). So, I want to start over on my Kindle Scribe, and factory reset my device and re-jailbreak it (to create a blank slate), and then take proper steps to get a working KOReader install. A few questions:

1. Is there a way I can factory reset without losing jailbreak (I know how to factory reset with DO_FACTORY_RESTORE file in kindle root)?

2. I remember reading a post in this thread (from mergen3107?) stating that you can either have JB + KOReader OR notetaking on the Kindle Scribe, but not both. Given that notetaking for Kindle Scribe came on with 5.16.2, this suggests that, if I want to get working KOReader on Kindle Scribe, after I jailbreak, I need to downgrade FW below 5.16.2 (which I can do using the procedure documented by mergen3107). So, my question is (and maybe this is OT, for which I apologize): what is the latest FW version for which users have gotten KOReader to work on the Kindle Scribe?

3. Re firmware downgrades, can I downgrade below 5.16 for Kindle Scribe (e.g., to 5.15.x, for example, where there is documented working KOReader on Kindle Scribe), without risking bricking my device (i.e., I don't know if the bootloader for 5.16.x prevents downgrade to 5.15.x FW)?

Thanks in advance for any help/guidance.

There are 3 different versions of KOReader for Kindles in Github release page. I am on 5.16.2.0.1 and I use PW2 version of KOReader on my scribe. Note taking also works on my scribe. Take a closer look at the KOReader releases in Github. You should be careful with downgrading. If you install any incompatible package, you might end up with a bricked device.

[kbs24]

I have a PW3 which is on 5.16.2.1. I was able to get to step 10, plugged into computer as fast as I could, but there was no "kindle" usb folder for me to recopy the Language Break. I went ahead anyway since there was not way to go back, and I selected the chinese language. It rebooted, and now wants me to connect to wifi. I don't know how to "skip" the wifi selection because I can't read Chinese so I think I am stuck. Should I proceed to connect to wifi? Edit: I managed to do a factory reset somehow. So back in English I started over. I had high hopes for this jailbreak, looking forward to my screensavers again, but once more, although i rushed to plug back into PC, there was no Kindle entry in Windows Explorer, so I could not recopy the contents of Language Break into the root. I can't figure out what went wrong. I mean, once the kindle is unplugged from the pc, and it has not rebooted, the Kindle folder is of course, gone from pc. So where am I going wrong? Just not fast enough? Edit #2: Now I am stuck totally in Chinese, Demo mode, and Managed mode. All I want to do now is factory reset, but settings seem to be greyed out....everything is greyed out, except one line which google lens translated as compliance and something else not useful.....Also, because of prior failure to get usb connection fast enough, I got "UPdate failed" for the hotfix. Someone, please just help me get back to factory data reset. That's all I need right now. Many thanks, anyone please help.....

[The_Red_River]

Why my kindle cant exit the managed mode?
I try the ;demo command but after that the kual disappeared

[sanujar]

Thanks for the jailbreak Marek! First time jailbreaker over here so the guide over at https://kindlemodding.gitbook.io/kin...4.3-5.16.2.1.1 definitely helped.

One thing I'd like to note is I'd recommend a factory reset before beginning the jailbreak. When I entered demo mode on a Kindle with hundreds of books and 800MB free space I couldn't get to the screen where I could do the secret gesture; the Kindle would just show three images in a slideshow and then bootloop no matter what gestures I made. Eventually I managed to tap so furiously that the slideshow crashed, gave a critical error message, and allowed me to do a factory reset. I really needed that, given that USB wouldn't work and I could get no other input working.

Other than that I had a few instances like KUAL seemingly removing itself along with MRPI after I logged in to my Amazon account, I think, but another round of hotfix resolved that for me.

Overall, thanks again for the jailbreak, and thanks for the instructions. The only bit where I got stuck was with the bootlooping, which may have been disastrous if I hadn't been able to make it crash out.

[sanujar]

Originally Posted by kbs24

I have a PW3 which is on 5.16.2.1. I was able to get to step 10, plugged into computer as fast as I could, but there was no "kindle" usb folder for me to recopy the Language Break. I went ahead anyway since there was not way to go back, and I selected the chinese language. It rebooted, and now wants me to connect to wifi. I don't know how to "skip" the wifi selection because I can't read Chinese so I think I am stuck. Should I proceed to connect to wifi? Edit: I managed to do a factory reset somehow. So back in English I started over. I had high hopes for this jailbreak, looking forward to my screensavers again, but once more, although i rushed to plug back into PC, there was no Kindle entry in Windows Explorer, so I could not recopy the contents of Language Break into the root. I can't figure out what went wrong. I mean, once the kindle is unplugged from the pc, and it has not rebooted, the Kindle folder is of course, gone from pc. So where am I going wrong? Just not fast enough? Edit #2: Now I am stuck totally in Chinese, Demo mode, and Managed mode. All I want to do now is factory reset, but settings seem to be greyed out....everything is greyed out, except one line which google lens translated as compliance and something else not useful.....Also, because of prior failure to get usb connection fast enough, I got "UPdate failed" for the hotfix. Someone, please just help me get back to factory data reset. That's all I need right now. Many thanks, anyone please help.....

I can definitely feel the sheer helplessness here, and until someone else more knowledgeable than me can comment, I think your immediate requirement is to get out of managed mode so that you can access other settings. As long as you have access to the search bar and you aren't logged in to a Kindle account:

1. Type ;demo into the Kindle search bar.

2. You will get a prompt with two buttons. Press the right-most button.

3. The device will reboot. If all is well, your Kindle should have a folder named mkk in the root directory.

This worked for me after the jailbreak, so hopefully it works for you too.

[kbs24]

Originally Posted by sanujar

I can definitely feel the sheer helplessness here, and until someone else more knowledgeable than me can comment, I think your immediate requirement is to get out of managed mode so that you can access other settings. As long as you have access to the search bar and you aren't logged in to a Kindle account:

1. Type ;demo into the Kindle search bar.

2. You will get a prompt with two buttons. Press the right-most button.

3. The device will reboot. If all is well, your Kindle should have a folder named mkk in the root directory.

This worked for me after the jailbreak, so hopefully it works for you too.

Thank you for your kind reply. I typed ;demo into the search bar, pressed the enter arrow. (I did not get a right and left button.) From there I used Google Lens Translation and printed out each translated screen that I came to via prompts. Finally, a screen showed several options, one of which suggested that if "I did a full reset I would not be able to it as a demo any more" which sounded like a great choice so that was the prompt I selected. (It had something to do with reselling equipment.) So, voila, it rebooted and the next screen was the language choice. Selected English. All good. Factory data reset. The google translator really saved me. I am happy, not going to try this jailbreak again right now. Maybe someday when I really have a ton of time and patience. Thanks to everyone on this thread for their comments and for the work of the developers who designed the jailbreak!!

[kbs24]

Originally Posted by kbs24

Thank you for your kind reply. I typed ;demo into the search bar, pressed the enter arrow. (I did not get a right and left button.) From there I used Google Lens Translation and printed out each translated screen that I came to via prompts. Finally, a screen showed several options, one of which suggested that if "I did a full reset I would not be able to it as a demo any more" which sounded like a great choice so that was the prompt I selected. (It had something to do with reselling equipment.) So, voila, it rebooted and the next screen was the language choice. Selected English. All good. Factory data reset. The google translator really saved me. I am happy, not going to try this jailbreak again right now. Maybe someday when I really have a ton of time and patience. Thanks to everyone on this thread for their comments and for the work of the developers who designed the jailbreak!!

So today I discovered that, after all the events of yesteray had been solved or so I thought, my Kindle PW 3 will not connect to either of my PCs for data transfer. Tried new cables, tried again factory reset, even tried going back into demo mode and entering ";uzb" in order to enable usb connection in demo mode, but nothing fixed the connection. NOTE, it is still charging via the PC. But no data transfer possible. Still function with Wifi, connects with Amazon etc. Any thoughts? I have scoured Google of course.

[dhdurgee]

Originally Posted by kbs24

So today I discovered that, after all the events of yesteray had been solved or so I thought, my Kindle PW 3 will not connect to either of my PCs for data transfer. Tried new cables, tried again factory reset, even tried going back into demo mode and entering ";uzb" in order to enable usb connection in demo mode, but nothing fixed the connection. NOTE, it is still charging via the PC. But no data transfer possible. Still function with Wifi, connects with Amazon etc. Any thoughts? I have scoured Google of course.

Have you checked the connector itself for bent pins or broken connections to the board? Have you confirmed your cables work for data transfer with another device, for example your cell phone? If you have multiple USB ports on your PCs have you tried all of them?

Beyond that if you have USBNET installed with WiFi connection enabled you should be able to transfer via SSH. As a last resort you can email them via Amazon.

Dave