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Old 08-28-2013, 09:44 AM   #1
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Jailbreaking a Kindle Paperwhite

Hi there,

To preface this, I should say that my purpose is mainly getting my Kindle Paperwhite to use a collection manager such as Calibre, as I very much depend on my articles and books to be well organized. I also want to find a way to take notes/assembly quotes that I can send to Evernote. Additionally, some anti-theft service would be very handy.

I'm new to jailbreaking, I've only done something similar to an old xbox once, but I think I understand the concept and the consequences fairly well. However, before I go through with it I have a few questions I'd hoped to get answered by someone competent in this forum. They are:

- Is the reversal process, either the "Rescue Pack" or some other reset, easy? That is, can I completely reset the Kindle even if it has become severely malconfigured (a failsafe backup of the device before jailbreaking)?
- Can I install Prey, or a equivalent service, to the Kindle?
- Can I prevent the Kindle from automatically updating?
- Can I install Evernote or some program that allows me to send notes by email?

Any suggestions, thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 08-28-2013, 10:13 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gingah View Post
Hi there,

To preface this, I should say that my purpose is mainly getting my Kindle Paperwhite to use a collection manager such as Calibre, as I very much depend on my articles and books to be well organized. I also want to find a way to take notes/assembly quotes that I can send to Evernote. Additionally, some anti-theft service would be very handy.

I'm new to jailbreaking, I've only done something similar to an old xbox once, but I think I understand the concept and the consequences fairly well. However, before I go through with it I have a few questions I'd hoped to get answered by someone competent in this forum. They are:

- Is the reversal process, either the "Rescue Pack" or some other reset, easy? That is, can I completely reset the Kindle even if it has become severely malconfigured (a failsafe backup of the device before jailbreaking)?
- Can I install Prey, or a equivalent service, to the Kindle?
- Can I prevent the Kindle from automatically updating?
- Can I install Evernote or some program that allows me to send notes by email?

Any suggestions, thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
That is a very large laundry list of unrelated things.
Which is difficult to answer in a single thread.

0000: Very Difficult
The KUBRICK application can not restore a Kindle Paperwhite.
You can get a Kpw into a state that requires you to use a connection to the serial port inside of the device and a LOT of skill. Sometimes, YMMV.

FIRST: What is commonly called a "jailbreak" (also written: "Device Jailbreak") at **THIS** forum is just the addition of a public certificate for checking the signature on install packages.

SECOND: The 'Device Jailbreak' for the Kindle Paperwhite also does additional things, than simply install an additional certificate file.

THIRD: There are a number of ways to find existing information on this forum for yourself:
*) You can use the topic filters to select only topics with a specific prefix ;
*) You can use the "Master Index" linked to from the sticky area at the top of the forum index page ;
*) When logged in, leave the 'search box' empty and click "search" - that will take you to an advanced search form.

1) "Prey" - have not seen any posts about that here - go for it, let us know of any problems you have.

2) "Prevent Kindle from calling home and/or updating" - Lots of information here on that subject - use this to practice the "find it yourself" features mentioned above.

3) "Evernote" - I don't recall seeing that specific one here, probably another one for you to port, like #1 above.
There is information on other ways to use 'off device' storage described here.
And, of course, that is one of the 'standard' services that came with your Paperwhite - use of the Amazon 'cloud'.

Last edited by knc1; 08-28-2013 at 10:27 AM.
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Old 08-28-2013, 10:19 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gingah View Post
Hi there,

To preface this, I should say that my purpose is mainly getting my Kindle Paperwhite to use a collection manager such as Calibre, as I very much depend on my articles and books to be well organized. I also want to find a way to take notes/assembly quotes that I can send to Evernote. Additionally, some anti-theft service would be very handy.

I'm new to jailbreaking, I've only done something similar to an old xbox once, but I think I understand the concept and the consequences fairly well. However, before I go through with it I have a few questions I'd hoped to get answered by someone competent in this forum. They are:

- Is the reversal process, either the "Rescue Pack" or some other reset, easy? That is, can I completely reset the Kindle even if it has become severely malconfigured (a failsafe backup of the device before jailbreaking)?
Unfortunately no. Kindles can break in all kinds of interesting and funny ways. While all newer Kindles (K4/K5 including PW) have a diags partition from where you can restore the kernel and all partitions, in order to boot to this partition on the Paperwhite, you still need a working main kernel, user partition, and at least somewhat sane main partition. This is different on the K4 and K5Touch, which are virtually unbrickable - because they can be made to boot immediately into the diags system using a special combination of hardware key presses. It's a matter of 5 minutes to get these devices going again. To really brick a Touch, you must knowingly mess around with the boot sector or other sensitive parts of the system.

In their infinite wisdom, Amazon removed that functionality from the PW, so bricking a Paperwhite is much, much easier. That device is a diva, so even a font file or misformatted book can potentially make the PW "need repair". The rescue pack will typically save your ass in such cases, but especially if you intend to toy around yourself with the framework or the partitions, you'd better know what you are doing or have a serial cable ready.

To summarize: IF the rescue pack is installed and "accessible", you can restore the PW to a working state. But the PW can fail in so many different ways that even the rescue pack is not guaranteed to be accessible.

Quote:
- Can I install Prey, or a equivalent service, to the Kindle?
Not that I know.
Quote:
- Can I prevent the Kindle from automatically updating?
Yes. Search this forum for "back door lock".
Quote:
- Can I install Evernote or some program that allows me to send notes by email?
Possibly. I don't know anything off the top of my head, but try searching this forum or browsing the index for possibly suitable software. In the worst case, you can write your own
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Old 08-28-2013, 11:04 AM   #4
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Thanks for the quick replies!

I guess bricking it is the main concern, as I genuinely like the device. On the other side, I almost bricked it after transfering a few faulty documents to it, so the danger is always present. I don't have a serial cable, but acquiring one shouldn't be a hassle. At any rate, having the rescue pack could be a life saver; as you say, the paperwhite is prone to faults.

In regards to your suggestion, knc1, I did read several pages and posts of various threads here - but I did not know about the three more specified ways of searching for posts. Thanks for the tip.

My secondary concern about the Kindle is in regards to theft. I mentioned Prey because I use it on my laptop, and I have something similar working on my phone. Guarding against theft may not have any foolproof methods, but I usually feel more at easy knowing the applications are running in the background. And finding the device via a website usually saves me some hours searching for where I left it.

I'll read a little more before going ahead with the jailbreak, but it would certainly appear to be beneficial.
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Old 08-28-2013, 11:40 AM   #5
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@Gingah-
I am in no way one of the developers on this forum, but consider myself an 'advanced' user. The software released by the developers on this forum is not only rock solid but significantly better than anything produced by Amazon (they won't take any bows, but they should ). As long as you follow their directions for installation, the likelihood of 'bricking' is very remote and the upgrades available make it well worth the very slim risk. I would encourage you to take the plunge... and to become an active member of the forum. Cheers!
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Old 08-28-2013, 12:45 PM   #6
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Evernote - No.
Just send emails from your computer to <yourkindlename>@free.amazon.com

Click here for more info:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...deId=200767340

Last edited by knauck; 08-28-2013 at 12:50 PM.
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Old 08-28-2013, 01:03 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by knauck View Post
Evernote - No.
Just send emails from your computer to <yourkindlename>@free.amazon.com
Just to clarify: I meant using Evernote, or really any software for taking notes, to mark any piece of text (or copy a part of an image), annotate it, and then send it (with details such as which document it was, the author, the page) by email.

This way, it can easily be used for research and studies.
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Old 08-28-2013, 01:13 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gingah View Post
Just to clarify: I meant using Evernote, or really any software for taking notes, to mark any piece of text (or copy a part of an image), annotate it, and then send it (with details such as which document it was, the author, the page) by email.

This way, it can easily be used for research and studies.
The Kindle's 'annotate' function stores all of that information in a file on your device (even after it sends it to Amazon to be data-mined).

Just pick the information out of that file and send that to the desired destination.

The Kindle system should already have utilities and/or support for SMTP. Do a little bit of digging into your device, see what is all there.
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Old 08-28-2013, 06:26 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoSharks View Post
@Gingah-
I am in no way one of the developers on this forum, but consider myself an 'advanced' user. The software released by the developers on this forum is not only rock solid but significantly better than anything produced by Amazon (they won't take any bows, but they should ). As long as you follow their directions for installation, the likelihood of 'bricking' is very remote and the upgrades available make it well worth the very slim risk. I would encourage you to take the plunge... and to become an active member of the forum. Cheers!
This is encouraging Gosharks. I recieved my WP 30 minutes ago and have not even connected it to wifi. I've read about 20 posts, a bunch of sticky's, the indexes, etc. I'm trying to get a framework/foundation of everything as I am a total noob at Kindles, but not jailbreaking/rooting/etc over the years. So am I jailbreakng to load a KUAL or loading a Kual to jailbreak and add other things. Is a KUAL firmware/operating system, or just an "app"?

My goal is to load books from Calibre that are epubs and need to be changed or add a epub reader which ever is better to do. I would not mind adding things in the furture like games or other helpful apps/program. close the update so it doesn't wipe the jailbreak.

Is a Kindlet an "app"?

Where do I start? Add a rescue pack first?

Here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=198446

OR
Should I start here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=203326

I don't even know the firmware version as it is stuck on the wifi connect page and I don't want to do that if not necessary so that I don't upgrade to a newer version that is not supported.

UPDATE: I chose setup later after selecting connect to wifi. So now I have a home screen but have not been able to find a version#

I'm on the IRC chat if anyone wants to give me a few quick tips.

Last edited by Stewfish; 08-28-2013 at 06:59 PM.
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Old 08-28-2013, 06:48 PM   #10
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The first thing you need to know is your PW's firmware version...settings-> device info.
The next step is the Jailbreak at the thread you listed...just read everything carefully and follow the directions. Everything else flows from there. Install the applications you want and have fun. After Jailbreaking, either leave your PW in airplane mode or install the BackDoorLock hack via KUAL so that a firmware update does not get pushed to your device and 'break' any of your hacks. Good luck!
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Old 08-28-2013, 07:04 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by GoSharks View Post
The first thing you need to know is your PW's firmware version...settings-> device info.
What firmware would you personally downgrade to 5.3.5 or 5.3.4 or 5.3.1?

Original:
Should I add a rescue pack before the attempt to jailbreak?

All I have in settings is
airplane mode
wifi networks
registration
device options
reading option

Maybe I should connect and register it. It seems like a lot of the settings on this video from THEEBOOKREADER are missing if they are stock. excluding the fonts of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aW6l9aJ5IE

Update: Hit Menu button then, choose settings, then the menu button again to get to device info. This was not available before registering. Now the mac address etc shows up with the firmware as well. It's 5.3.3

Got it:
By default, the following "components" are installed:

The actual device jailbreak, i.e., the certificate which allows to install custom update packages.
The Jailbreak Bridge.
The Kindlet developer certificates. (standalone installer package here - re-installation required after firmware update!)
The Rescue Pack. (re-installation required after firmware update - INSTALL IT! One day, it might save your Kindle...).

Last edited by Stewfish; 08-28-2013 at 07:43 PM.
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Old 08-28-2013, 08:53 PM   #12
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I stopped upgrading at Firmware 5.3.4 as my all time favorite hack is JBPatch. This hack allows me to have hyphenations in my books when reading. ixtab has not advanced it's compatability beyond this (ixtab has some rather pointed and humorous comments about the quality of Amazon's software updates!) and I am unwilling to lose this feature.

Glad to see you have things going the right direction. As I said, if you read the instructions carefully you should have no problems.
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Old 08-29-2013, 05:52 AM   #13
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@Stewfish Calibre can convert epub to mobi and several other formats.
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Old 08-29-2013, 02:42 PM   #14
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An update on my case: After a long process of considering the benefits of the Paperwhite against similar models, and especially what sets it apart - the soft backlight, the touch screen, the resolution - for me, I decided against the model as a whole. I justify this, somewhat ironically, by the features that I liked:

- The backlight, which can be turned off completely or adjusted to the equivalent light of a LCD screen, is a good feature. So good in fact, that it was one of the reasons I first opted for the PW. However, given the variable quality of the font in the articles I read (even when the size was optimized for kindle), I regularly had to keep the kindle fairly close to my eyes, with the backlight on to create enough contrast. Since the backlight is made from LEDs, the result was that reading on the PW was much like reading on the laptop. In this regard, the feature I like most about the kindle is the e-ink, and if I am reading the kindle without the backlight I do not really need a PW.

- The touch screen was not really a disappointment, but I had imagined this feature would make for a fairly smoother interface for the kindle. However, after a few days use I realized I might as well have had the buttons or keys for page-turning.

- The resolution was really a selling point, and it really was quite excellent. For most books, indeed all books I bought from Amazon, this does make a big difference: Reading is easier and text is clearer. But the vast majority of the documents I will be reading are not of book-quality; they are mostly photocopies of notes/book sections, articles, and various materials that require optimization before use on the kindle. As such, the higher resolutions, and indeed the backlight, are features that I do not really need.

- Though not specific to the Paperwhite, quite the opposite really, the organization of books into collections was a cumbersome process. The case might be the same for other kindle models, but at least with them I know that Calibre already can do it. When I am likely to keep upwards of a thousand articles in the kindle, rather than a small handful of books, I really do need to be able to organize them quickly. Also, they might be switched out for other articles at any given time, so creating new collections on the fly is needed.

In conclusion, I returned my Paperwhite to Amazon. To sum up the past four paragraphs, I do actually quite like the device, but the features that set it apart from a regular kindle are not really apt for my use. But fret not, I ordered a regular kindle! It may not perfectly resolve all the above issues, but for the uses I have for it, the price is certainly better.

Another thank you for the responses on how to jailbreak a paperwhite, they surely will help others.
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Old 08-31-2013, 10:17 AM   #15
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Jailbroke a K4NT

I happily received my K4NT in the mail yesterday, and subsequently spent the evening jailbreaking/watching Twin Peaks/doing research for a paper. I accomplished the following:

- Jailbreak the kindle 4NT (Silver) using the Method from the Wiki
- Enable SSH over Wifi using this method
- Changed root password to something memorable
- Log into it via WinSCP

But now I am somewhat stuck. I was just hoping someone could clear up a "small" misunderstanding on my side: If I want to install a bundle through the "update method", such as the BackDoorLock Hack, do I just place the appropriate install.bin file in the root of the Kindle USB Storage (ie not the Documents folder) and restart the kindle?

I read some 50 pages on this forum, and various google results, about what to do after jailbreaking the device, but I am sort of confused about whether the installation method for hacks and packages differ. I'm planning on installing the KUAL, but given the amount of warnings and prerequisites in that post I imagine installing it differs from smaller hacks.
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