Help? Kindle Paperwhite 1st Version Can't register

[GoOnYahGoodThing]

Hi,
Apologies if this is an awfully newbie question.

I've enjoyed a 1st version Kindle Paperwhite for a few years now.
Its been getting slow ..so .. in my wisdom ... I decided to Reset it..

Boy was that a bad idea... Now, while its functional .. I can sideload and read books .. grand.. but my much loved dictionary functionality is no longer working.

It says I have to re-register the device if I want to have a dictionary.

So, Ive spent a coupla days trying to register the kindle again.. and I've had amazon support come on the phone.. and eventually give up...

They've offered me a 15% discount on a new one.. but .. well.. this one would still be grand if I could just get a dictionary working..

The registration is very frustrating.. I put in my amazon user and pass.. and instead of asking me to enter a code.. it just cycles back to the registration menu again.. doesn't connect to amazon or even check .. I put in a wrong password to see would it ever try to validate it.. and no.. same thing..just back to the registration menu again...

I've checked the software version.. its 5.6.1.1 .. so thats up to date for this kindle.. and I've held the power button for minutes to get it to hard reset..
There doesn't seem to be a full shutdown option...

So, I dunno.. anyone got any useful suggestions?
Is there any other sort of reset? Is there any other way to get a dictionary working?

[KindleGuy56]

Yes, I just went through this with my 1st gen Paperwhite - I wanted to transfer it to my daughter from my son.

Short version : you can't register it anymore - Amazon doesn't support it for registration any longer. This Verge article perfectly describes the situation, even though it talks about different devices.

Long version : I was furious! Still am. I scolded many reps over the course of 2+ hours troubleshooting this when they broke the news : why on earth would Amazon let people deregister if they can't register again?? Why aren't they emailing customers about this - they notified us about not being able to use the store any longer! They said I had to buy a new device, which I did. I told them they should reimburse me that cost...they offered me 50%. I threatened to sue them in small claims court (US) and they agreed to reimburse me 100% of the cost of a new one.

And yes, I surely would have sued them for the $150+ cost, no lie.

This feels like a good reason that lawyers and class action lawsuits exist.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by KindleGuy56

…
why on earth would Amazon let people deregister if they can't register again?? Why aren't they emailing customers about this - they notified us about not being able to use the store any longer! They said I had to buy a new device, which I did. I told them they should reimburse me that cost...they offered me 50%. I threatened to sue them in small claims court (US) and they agreed to reimburse me 100% of the cost of a new one.

And yes, I surely would have sued them for the $150+ cost, no lie.

This feels like a good reason that lawyers and class action lawsuits exist.

It wouldn't be so bad if "registration" was sort of optional, didn't matter, but the fact is that an unregistered Kindle is crippled. No series, no collections, no books with DRM.

But the Verge adds:

Update: A spokesperson for Amazon stated the company is actively investigating the issue, and noted that it continued to support all of its Kindle devices.

Update February 13th, 3:55PM ET: Amazon has confirmed that the issue has been resolved and that impacted customers now have the ability to register their devices.

So what's the truth today?

[shamanNS]

Deregister and find out?