Troubleshooting Software update killed my Kindle Paperwhite

stagnite · 08-09-2018, 09:02 AM

Hi Everyone,

My 3 year old, little used Kindle Paperwhite is stuck on the screen:

"Your Kindle software is updating.
This can take a few minutes.

DO NOT turn off your kindle during the update process.

Your Kindle will restart automatically as soon as the update is complete."

That was a week ago!

Since then I have tried everything. Holding the only button for 40 seconds will cause the screen to flash clear then black, then it just goes back to the software updating screen.
Amazon have told me the machine cannot be fixed.
I now have the battery out hoping that might fix it but no joy. The screen remains stuck on either the software updating screen, or a plain screen if I disconnect the battery whilst the screen is flashing.

When I connect the Kindle to my laptop (Windows) the laptop will not recognise the Kindle.

Surely there must be a way of wiping the memory and re-booting?!?!? Using a defibrulator

Anyone have any other ideas?

The best option so far is to buy a new one with a 15% discount that I have been offered.

It seems mad to throw it away as all the hardware is working.

Thanks in advance.

patrickt · 08-09-2018, 11:04 AM

I have three Paperwhites. The update caused me no problems. One of my Paperwhites locked up earlier this week. It wouldn't reset. I finally forced it to reset while it was plugged into an electrical outlet and it seems to be working fine, now. It was my oldest Paperwhite that locked up.

Bethann · 08-15-2018, 06:15 AM

Update also killed my paperwhite! The battery no longer holds a charge even with the wifi off and in sleep mode, and also did a reset to no avail! If they don't make this good, no more kindles for me.

patrickt · 08-15-2018, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bethann

Update also killed my paperwhite! The battery no longer holds a charge even with the wifi off and in sleep mode, and also did a reset to no avail! If they don't make this good, no more kindles for me.

I can certainly understand. If Amazon doesn't do what you want, to hell with them whether the problem was caused by the update or not. So far, two reports of distinctly different problems out of how many receiving the update?

Bethann · 08-15-2018, 01:33 PM

This is a new paperwhite (only a few months old), so I would expect it to have a good battery. Worked ok before update, so I assume it is related to that.

No need to swear, patrickt. Very rude!

rcentros · 08-15-2018, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bethann

This is a new paperwhite (only a few months old), so I would expect it to have a good battery. Worked ok before update, so I assume it is related to that.

No need to swear, patrickt. Very rude!

I would definitely get hold of Amazon and request a replacement.

rcentros · 08-15-2018, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stagnite

The best option so far is to buy a new one with a 15% discount that I have been offered.

That's ridiculous. It was obviously a working Paperwhite before the attempted upgrade, or it wouldn't have attempted to do it. Someone at Amazon needs to offer a repair or replacement — a 15% discount is an insult.

DuckieTigger · 08-16-2018, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

That's ridiculous. It was obviously a working Paperwhite before the attempted upgrade, or it wouldn't have attempted to do it. Someone at Amazon needs to offer a repair or replacement — a 15% discount is an insult.

How so? It is 3 years old and out of warranty. Now Amazon is to blame for not offering enough? That is akin of saying: Oh sure, it says 1 year warranty, but don't worry, we got you covered.

ETA: When I bought my Voyages (both dead now - died after warranty expired - one stepped on, the other chewed up by the dog) I asked before placing the order if my Special Offers could be transferred from old Paperwhites to the new Voyages. The person in chat was very nice and did so. Come to find out later that they simply turned Special Offers off on the PWs, and the new Voyages were offer free once they connected the first time. But the Special Offers were still gone on the PWs (I could turn them back off without paying on device page). If I knew ahead of time that this was the case, I would not have asked for it.

rcentros · 08-17-2018, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

How so? It is 3 years old and out of warranty. Now Amazon is to blame for not offering enough? That is akin of saying: Oh sure, it says 1 year warranty, but don't worry, we got you covered.

This was an automatic, unrequested upgrade — performed by Amazon — that turned a working Kindle into a brick. Something obviously went wrong in their (Amazon's) update process. This is the responsibility of the company doing the updates — not the one who's working device was ruined by the update.

You would think a pro-active Amazon would replace the the Kindle just so they could study the bricked one to see what went wrong in an attempt to insure that it didn't happen again.

rioachim · 08-17-2018, 01:01 AM

I have 3 kindles, updated them tens of times, never had any issue. If you have problems it might be that the flash memory has corrupted blocks and this results into a failed update. This means the memory of tou device has issues, not Amazon’s updates. Chill out, these are good devices and you’ll find out after you try another worse brand.

rcentros · 08-17-2018, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rioachim

I have 3 kindles, updated them tens of times, never had any issue. If you have problems it might be that the flash memory has corrupted blocks and this results into a failed update. This means the memory of tou device has issues, not Amazon’s updates. Chill out, these are good devices and you’ll find out after you try another worse brand.

It also "might be" that the firmware update was corrupted in the download. We don't know. What we do know is that, for whatever reason, a working Kindle was bricked by Amazon's automated update process. In my opinion, Amazon should take ownership of that problem.

And I've never been able to grasp the point in the "my Kindles didn't ever puke on an upgrade, therefore it's not a big deal that they did puke on someone else's upgrade" argument. I've never had upgrade issues with my Kindles either, but I don't see how that makes it any more palatable for someone who's Kindle was bricked by an automatic Amazon upgrade. If anything, I would tend to think it would make it ever more frustrating for someone so "lucky."

patrickt · 08-17-2018, 08:36 AM

Coincidence does not establish causation.

When I've had a serious problem with my Kindle I couldn't solve I called Customer Service. Works for me.

rcentros · 08-17-2018, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrickt

Coincidence does not establish causation.

When I've had a serious problem with my Kindle I couldn't solve I called Customer Service. Works for me.

Since the OP was offered a 15% discount by Amazon, I'm guessing he did contact Amazon. Their "fix" seems to be "buy a new Kindle."

EDIT: It should probably be mentioned that the OP posted over a week ago and hasn't come back, so it may be the Paperwhite wasn't permanently locked up and did (eventually) restart.

stagnite · 08-24-2018, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

Since the OP was offered a 15% discount by Amazon, I'm guessing he did contact Amazon. Their "fix" seems to be "buy a new Kindle."

EDIT: It should probably be mentioned that the OP posted over a week ago and hasn't come back, so it may be the Paperwhite wasn't permanently locked up and did (eventually) restart.

Correct, Amazons best solution was to give me a 15% reduction in the cost of a new replacement.
Since my OP, I have removed the battery in the hope it might wipe out the memory and associated problem but no such luck. Still a useless brick that will not move out of the update mode.

It was an automatic update that killed the KP.

Not happy but thanks for your input guys and gals.

soondai · 08-24-2018, 01:16 PM

15%? That's a joke given you could get a bigger discount by mailing in the bricked kindle, collecting a 5 dollar credit and qualify for a 25% off discount thru the trade in program.

They should have given you a working refurb or half off a new one given it was the update that bricked it.

08-09-2018, 09:02 AM	#1
stagnite Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2018 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Software update killed my Kindle Paperwhite Hi Everyone, My 3 year old, little used Kindle Paperwhite is stuck on the screen: "Your Kindle software is updating. This can take a few minutes. DO NOT turn off your kindle during the update process. Your Kindle will restart automatically as soon as the update is complete." That was a week ago! Since then I have tried everything. Holding the only button for 40 seconds will cause the screen to flash clear then black, then it just goes back to the software updating screen. Amazon have told me the machine cannot be fixed. I now have the battery out hoping that might fix it but no joy. The screen remains stuck on either the software updating screen, or a plain screen if I disconnect the battery whilst the screen is flashing. When I connect the Kindle to my laptop (Windows) the laptop will not recognise the Kindle. Surely there must be a way of wiping the memory and re-booting?!?!? Using a defibrulator Anyone have any other ideas? The best option so far is to buy a new one with a 15% discount that I have been offered. It seems mad to throw it away as all the hardware is working. Thanks in advance.

08-15-2018, 06:15 AM	#3
Bethann Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 600 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Philly Device: paperwhite, nook, Kobo mini	Update also killed my paperwhite! The battery no longer holds a charge even with the wifi off and in sleep mode, and also did a reset to no avail! If they don't make this good, no more kindles for me. Last edited by Bethann; 08-15-2018 at 06:16 AM. Reason: addition

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08-09-2018, 11:04 AM	#2
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	I have three Paperwhites. The update caused me no problems. One of my Paperwhites locked up earlier this week. It wouldn't reset. I finally forced it to reset while it was plugged into an electrical outlet and it seems to be working fine, now. It was my oldest Paperwhite that locked up.

08-15-2018, 01:33 PM	#5
Bethann Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 600 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Philly Device: paperwhite, nook, Kobo mini	This is a new paperwhite (only a few months old), so I would expect it to have a good battery. Worked ok before update, so I assume it is related to that. No need to swear, patrickt. Very rude!

08-17-2018, 01:01 AM	#10
rioachim Enthusiast Posts: 26 Karma: 150000 Join Date: Jun 2015 Device: PW2	I have 3 kindles, updated them tens of times, never had any issue. If you have problems it might be that the flash memory has corrupted blocks and this results into a failed update. This means the memory of tou device has issues, not Amazon’s updates. Chill out, these are good devices and you’ll find out after you try another worse brand.

08-17-2018, 08:36 AM	#12
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	Coincidence does not establish causation. When I've had a serious problem with my Kindle I couldn't solve I called Customer Service. Works for me.

08-24-2018, 01:16 PM	#15
soondai Guru Posts: 672 Karma: 1109784 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Paperwhite	15%? That's a joke given you could get a bigger discount by mailing in the bricked kindle, collecting a 5 dollar credit and qualify for a 25% off discount thru the trade in program. They should have given you a working refurb or half off a new one given it was the update that bricked it.

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