Amazon discontinuing support for older Kindles in May

[Josieb1]

This is why I decided not to leave anything on the kindle. I have left it registered but will lock access to the store & cloud with a PIN code and remove the WiFi. If I find those two kindles have actually been removed from my Devices I can remove the PIN codes. Any books I load on it I will sideload through calibre. I’ve already lent one device out to friend with some books on it for her to read.

[pepperminttree]

It’s in no way surprising given how old those devices are, it’s a miracle they had the run they did. It’s a shame, though. Those early non touch/IR touch enabled devices unironically had much nicer, book like screens than any modern e-reader. The modern Paperwhite’s look like iPads.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pepperminttree

It’s in no way surprising given how old those devices are, it’s a miracle they had the run they did. It’s a shame, though. Those early non touch/IR touch enabled devices unironically had much nicer, book like screens than any modern e-reader. The modern Paperwhite’s look like iPads.

For most solid-state electronics, once they make it past the infant mortality phase, the lifespan is very long.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pepperminttree

It’s in no way surprising given how old those devices are, it’s a miracle they had the run they did. It’s a shame, though. Those early non touch/IR touch enabled devices unironically had much nicer, book like screens than any modern e-reader. The modern Paperwhite’s look like iPads.

But as we know, this is not how how long the older Kindles will last.

[pepperminttree]

Originally Posted by DNSB

For most solid-state electronics, once they make it past the infant mortality phase, the lifespan is very long.

Definitely from just a hardware point of view, especially in older devices with better serviceable parts/batteries etc. Things get more complicated when we are talking about hardware compatibility with the shifts in security & software standards over their lifetime. Support becomes infeasible when it ultimately leads to insecure devices and/or software because of inherent or outdated hardware constraints. Those old Kindles do not support modern TLS standards, and Amazon has deemed that unsafe for access to modern store/cloud services. A Kindle might not seem like as high risk a device as a phone or laptop but any vulnerable device on your network can be a liability.

All things considered, ~10-15 years is exceptional in terms of software support for any consumer electronics.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But as we know, this is not how how long the older Kindles will last.

You should stick to speaking for yourself, rather than others.

[Brianrh]

Should my Kindle 7th gen still get updates after the deadline? It doesn't seem to be on the lists I've found online but when I go to the Update Your Kindle section on my Kindle , it is greyed out

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Brianrh

Should my Kindle 7th gen still get updates after the deadline? It doesn't seem to be on the lists I've found online but when I go to the Update Your Kindle section on my Kindle , it is greyed out

That's not one of those which will be disconnected from Amazon after the 20th. The last firmware update for 7th gen basic Kindle's was 5.12.2.2 (Jan 2022). That firmware recently got the exploit which changed kfx drm.