Kindle Paperwhite 5 with 5.14.2 out of the box

[Anon Retired]

Hello there! I'm looking forward to replace my Tolino Shine 3 (Kobo Clara HD) with a Kindle Paperwhite 5, but I need to make sure that I can use KOReader with it. Thus, in order to jailbreak it, it need its software version not bigger than 5.14.2. My question is, is there a way to make sure that Amazon sends me a device old enough that has the aforementioned software version. I will be buying it from amazon.de, and shipping it to Romania, if it matters. Thanks!

[BionicGecko]

There's no way to guarantee such a thing unfortunately. Also, seeing that 5.14.3 came out almost a year ago, I would say that the chances of getting a PW5 with a year-old firmware directly from Amazon are rather slim. You might have a better chance with smaller, local retailers who might have some older unsold stock.

[Anon Retired]

One year is a long time, so what you've said makes sense. The thing is that local retailers have a lot bigger prices than Amazon (€110 shipped from Amazon vs €150-160 locally), and it just wouldn't make sense to buy it anymore.

[hleo12]

If I'm not mistaken, someone here ordered a Kindle Paperwhite Nov or Dec last year, and it came with 5.15 out of the box.
I'm afraid you won't be able to buy a Kindle with older firmware directly from Amazon.

[shamanNS]

@mikebluu My guess is that you would have better probability of getting a device with older firmware if you bought Kindle Paperwhite Kids instead of the regular PW5. The logic behind that assumption being that:

1) most people aren't aware that PW5 Kids bundle exists and that is is the best value for that amount of money (since it costs the same as PW5 without ads / "special offers" and also not having ads + having 2 year warranty + free case)

2) in case of ordering from amazon.de the shipping of that particular Kindle product is restricted to Germany and Austria, unlike regular PW5. Probably because "Amazon Kids+" subscription thing is not available to most other European countries. And 1 year of that service is also bundled with PW5 Kids...

Both things should result in much lower number of units sold in comparison to regular PW5. But you could not order that Kids bundle to be shipped directly to Romania, you would have to find someone in DE or AT to forward the package to you.


All that is basically just a theory (and definitively is a gamble to order it without having a way to check device serial number prior to shipping it to you ) but I can confirm that when my friend ordered PW5 Kids from Amazon DE about 1.5 months ago the device arrived with firmware 5.14.0.1 (= so the first / factory firmware).

Like I already mentioned here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...54#post4306654



There is no guaranty that you would have the same luck as he did.
But since my friend was already willing to risk and order a Kindle I suggested to him that he stands a better chance to get "from older stock" if he orders PW5 Kids bundle instead of a regular PW5.

[BionicGecko]

That's very good advice shamanNS.

With regards to:

Originally Posted by shamanNS

2) in case of ordering from amazon.de the shipping of that particular Kindle product is restricted to Germany and Austria, unlike regular PW5.

mikebluu, you might want to look for a service that ships from Germany to Romania for this very purpose. For instance I frequently use this service; this gives me a delivery address in Germany, and upon reception of the package, it is immediately forwarded to the Czech Republic. Of course it means paying twice for shipping, but in some cases it's really worth it.

[Skydog]

To avoid such hassles, you might want to consider a Kobo, fully customizable & patchable, as opposed to a locked-down-walled-garden Kindle. Just my two cents.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Skydog

To avoid such hassles, you might want to consider a Kobo, fully customizable & patchable, as opposed to a locked-down-walled-garden Kindle. Just my two cents.

And use the PW3 as target for Download and Transfer via USB on your Content page. PW3 not needing to be used.
No jailbreaking needed. Kindle ebooks, Collections, Series & Annotations via Calibre.
Optionally runs KOreader, but not needed if ebooks fixed in Calibre.

[Josieb1]

Also Amazon will immediately update the kindle as soon as it’s registered.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Also Amazon will immediately update the kindle as soon as it’s registered.

Do they even wait for registration?

[shamanNS]

Nope.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mikebluu

Hello there! I'm looking forward to replace my Tolino Shine 3 (Kobo Clara HD) with a Kindle Paperwhite 5, but I need to make sure that I can use KOReader with it. Thus, in order to jailbreak it, it need its software version not bigger than 5.14.2. My question is, is there a way to make sure that Amazon sends me a device old enough that has the aforementioned software version. I will be buying it from amazon.de, and shipping it to Romania, if it matters. Thanks!

There is no way for you to run KOReader on a PW5. The firmware that comes on new PW5 is too new to be jailbroken.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hleo12

If I'm not mistaken, someone here ordered a Kindle Paperwhite Nov or Dec last year, and it came with 5.15 out of the box.
I'm afraid you won't be able to buy a Kindle with older firmware directly from Amazon.

That was me for Black Friday 2022.

[shamanNS]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is no way for you to run KOReader on a PW5. The firmware that comes on new PW5 is too new to be jailbroken.

Repeating this stuff that is not quite true milion times doesn't suddenly make it the truth and a fact.

Just stop writing proclamation in form of absolute truth for stuff that may or may not always be the case.

[Anon Retired]

Thank you all for your replies! I think that the best idea would be to buy the Kids version (and I already know a parcel forwarding service, which I've used with no issues), but the Paperwhite 5 doesn't sound as good since I've discovered that the front is made out of plastic, and not glass like the Voyage (my first e-reader). Thus, I'll probably wait for a good deal for a Kobo Libra 2 and hope it won't have numerous issues like my last one.

Talking about the Libra 2, I sold mine in November last year (freezing, crashes in KOReader and Nickel too, strange battery life, etc.). Does any of you know if those problems exist anymore? When I had it, those problems were pretty common as far as I was concerned.

Basically, my biggest problem with my Shine 3 (Clara HD) is its build quality (some creaking when pressing a little hard on it, for example), its back is very slippery (so I use a pop socket that does its job well), and sometimes the sunken screen disturbs me. Still, on my Libra 2, it seemed usable. I'm looking for a pocketable e-reader, as durable as possible (would like to use it caseless), with warm light, open for modifications (not like a kindle) and preferably <€200, so if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!