Kindle PaperWhite 2 won't factory reset - every reboot brings back old config

[springjeremy]

Please help! I have a Kindle PaperWhite 2 (2013) WiFi (U.S., Intl.) which until yesterday worked great.

Now every time the device is reset or rebooted, it comes back to an old config that has the same 14 books on it.

I have tried formatting the drive which appears in Windows/MacOS and after reboot it just comes back with the same files.

i have dealt with Amazon support and they just tell me to buy a new Kindle.

Is there any way I can fix this? I have tried updating it (it has version 5.8.2.1 on it) but it won't update. Update your kindle is always grayed out and after a reboot it just comes back to that same old config. I really just want to wipe this thing completely.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by springjeremy

Please help! I have a Kindle PaperWhite 2 (2013) WiFi (U.S., Intl.) which until yesterday worked great.

Now every time the device is reset or rebooted, it comes back to an old config that has the same 14 books on it.

I have tried formatting the drive which appears in Windows/MacOS and after reboot it just comes back with the same files.

i have dealt with Amazon support and they just tell me to buy a new Kindle.

This generally means a flash RAM failure: if the thing won't accept updates any more (or crucial metadata areas won't), you end up with flash RAM that has unchanging content. With a lot of skill you could update it further, but only to turn bits on, not off. The Amazon rep is correct: this Kindle is toast.

It's surprising to me that a Kindle would have suffered flash failure in only three years, but perhaps you were reading a lot of very large books on it?

[springjeremy]

Originally Posted by NullNix

This generally means a flash RAM failure: if the thing won't accept updates any more (or crucial metadata areas won't), you end up with flash RAM that has unchanging content. With a lot of skill you could update it further, but only to turn bits on, not off. The Amazon rep is correct: this Kindle is toast.

It's surprising to me that a Kindle would have suffered flash failure in only three years, but perhaps you were reading a lot of very large books on it?

Well that's more information than any of the dozen tech support reps have been able to guess. Sadly, this Kindle is barely used. we never have more than a dozen small books on it. they just keep taking me through the same useless steps of Reset device and trying to update and then escalating it and telling me they'll get back to me in 2-3 days.

[BZee2]

Originally Posted by springjeremy

i have dealt with Amazon support and they just tell me to buy a new Kindle.

Contact Kindle support rather than Amazon support.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by BZee2

Contact Kindle support rather than Amazon support.

There's no point. It's toast. They can only tell the OP the same thing. The device is years out of warranty, so unfortunately there's nothing that anyone can tell the OP other than to replace it.