Trying to Jailbreak KT4 brand new with firmware 5.11.0

[susmoka]

Hi,

I have a brand new Kindle Basic 3 (2019) / KT4 with Serial: G0910L... that I just unpacked, and it’s running firmware 5.11.0 and I would like to jailbreak it.

I have moved the Merchant.zip into the root folder, and searched for ;merchant after unplugging the Kindle, but it does nothing. Why is it not working?
The Kindle is brand new, I haven’t registered it or connected it to the Wifi yet.

Thanks in advance

[mergen3107]

You need to install *factory* image of 5.11 for KT4 first, then do the merchant thing again.
Details here (read everything carefully before attempting anything): JB Wiki

[mergen3107]

After you install Jailbreak, install JB Hotfix too.
Then you can revert back to *customer* firmware, which you can download from the Amazon website for your specific Kindle.

[NiLuJe]

@susmoka:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

TL;DR: Identify your device, install the appropriate factory image like any other FW update. Once it's done (it will take a while, longer than a "normal" FW update), you can install the Factory JB.

[susmoka]

Originally Posted by mergen3107

You need to install *factory* image of 5.11 for KT4 first, then do the merchant thing again.
Details here (read everything carefully before attempting anything): JB Wiki

Thank you! Will do this.

My question is, after installing the Factory FW, and jailbreaking my Kindle, will I be able to run an earlier version of the firmware than 5.11.0 on it?
I was planning to try to install one of the really early Paperwhite 2 firmwares, e.g. FW 5.4.5 or smth like that, because I prefer the interface of that. Will it run on this new Kindle?

[NiLuJe]

@susmoka:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

You are *not* able to downgrade a Kindle, which means you will have to be running a FW version <= to the factory image we have on hand.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by susmoka

Thank you! Will do this.

My question is, after installing the Factory FW, and jailbreaking my Kindle, will I be able to run an earlier version of the firmware than 5.11.0 on it?
I was planning to try to install one of the really early Paperwhite 2 firmwares, e.g. FW 5.4.5 or smth like that, because I prefer the interface of that. Will it run on this new Kindle?

You really, really should never try to install a different model firmware on a Kindle.
About the only thing THE SAME between models is the "Kindle" name on the device, they are always very different internally.

Note:
The packaging of the series 5.x devices are all "model locked", both Amazon and MobileRead.
Which of course does not mean that people haven't tried it, just to discovered how to brick their device.
Similar to people that find the "Erase All" featured command, and wonder: Gee, what does this do?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by knc1

Note:
The packaging of the series 5.x devices are all "model locked", both Amazon and MobileRead.
Which of course does not mean that people haven't tried it, just to discovered how to brick their device.

I'm guessing brute force by serial method or something?

I accidentally copied the wrong firmware update to my PW4 because of Amazon's confusing naming and the device just deleted it.
update_kindle_paperwhite_v2
update_kindle_all_new_paperwhite_v2

[knc1]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I'm guessing brute force by serial method or something?

I accidentally copied the wrong firmware update to my PW4 because of Amazon's confusing naming and the device just deleted it.
update_kindle_paperwhite_v2
update_kindle_all_new_paperwhite_v2

Having the system immediately delete an incorrect package is the intended result, both here and at Amazon.
BUT
You are correct, people can get inventive just for the heck of it.

Back when BranchDelay was helping out here, he came up with some other things. Some worked, some did not.

And there have been other people here, well experienced people, who have had to return devices (for whatever reason they could invent).

So my recommendation is to not try over-riding the model-locking of packages.

[NiLuJe]

Official updates have a stricter (i.e., perfectly sane) model checking than factory FW.
You *can* get some factory FW to go through on the wrong device. An official update, on the other hand, much harder .

(Technically, official updates are model-locked, while factory updates are platform-locked).

[knc1]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

- - - - -
(Technically, official updates are model-locked, while factory updates are platform-locked).

Seems reasonable.
To "sample" next year's platform now removes the critical path to having next year's factory Q.A. firmware ready.
Besides, sometimes it is next to impossible to create 'new' Q.A. firmware while the hardware is still in a preproduction sampling (hardware that 'engineering' might change at any moment).

[NiLuJe]

Yeah, we'll see how that turns out for the Oasis 3, but either there's genuinely going to be a shitton of variants, or it took a lot of board revisions to get it into shape .

[susmoka]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Yeah, we'll see how that turns out for the Oasis 3, but either there's genuinely going to be a shitton of variants, or it took a lot of board revisions to get it into shape .

Thanks everyone for the replies!