Hacks Workaround for Special Offers.

[WalkTheEarth]

TESTED ON MY KINDLE

Here is a simple bypass I found out by accident.

1. Backup all books on your kindle.
2. Factory reset it.
3. Go through setup **DO NOT CONNECT TO WI-FI**
4. And shazam! No more special offers. Restore the books from step one if you desire.

Pros and Cons.

Pros.
No spendin 20 quid for a few ads to be removed.

Cons.
Cant browse amazon Kindle store.
Nor buy books. (tho sideloadin works.)

[DNSB]

And on newer firmware, the home screen nagging about registering.

[JSWolf]

There's a possible solution that's even better that has worked for some. Contact Amazon about the adverts. Some have managed to get them removed without having to pay. And if you do have to pay and don't want to, you can say no and try again another time.

[WalkTheEarth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

And on newer firmware, the home screen nagging about registering.

Yes. if you can look past that and just use the Library tab. its perfectly usable.

[Frogm4n]

That's a lot of hassle to deal with over $20.

[hleo12]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There's a possible solution that's even better that has worked for some. Contact Amazon about the adverts. Some have managed to get them removed without having to pay. And if you do have to pay and don't want to, you can say no and try again another time.

It doesn't work anymore. From what I can gather on reddit, Amazon has really cracked down on agents giving away free removal of ads. I don't know if the agents are lying, but it seems Amazon has removed their capability of bypassing paying the $20.

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

That's a lot of hassle to deal with over $20.

You gotta remember that not everyone is on a "western" country. A lot of territories can't even pay to get their ads removed because their accounts would always default to the US storefront and it won't let you use a non-US credit/debit card, or don't have an international card. Not to mention that $20 might as well be $200 because of their countries buying power. So imagine already paying for a device that's like $1000, then adding more just to not have ads.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

That's a lot of hassle to deal with over $20.

A lot of hassle (and loss of functionality), period. I'd just live with the ads. For $10, I'd pay the upcharge to be ad-free, but $20 is too much, especially on a cheaper device and/or one where you've piggybacked a sales price with the trade-in discount. Obviously mileage varies, but I do wonder to what extent Amazon understands the elasticity of people's willingness to pay extra. $20 seems high to me; it's a not-trivial sum. Would $15 (as with Fire tablets) or $10 actually produce more revenue?

That said, I have two ad-free Kindles in use where the call-and-ask method worked, but I'm not at all surprised that it no longer does.

[Aleron Ives]

I'm sure Amazon's bean counters have already run the numbers to determine that $20 is the optimal price for removing advertising. They can probably run the numbers for how much revenue is generated from advertising over the life of a Kindle vs the customer paying up front.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

I'm sure Amazon's bean counters have already run the numbers to determine that $20 is the optimal price for removing advertising. They can probably run the numbers for how much revenue is generated from advertising over the life of a Kindle vs the customer paying up front.

I used to be more confident that Amazon knew what it was doing than I am now. Just as one personal example, the way Amazon constantly, and I do mean constantly, pitches to me things there's no chance in Hades I'd ever buy, even given how very much data they've gathered on my tastes and purchases over the years, indicates to me that much of what they're doing is sheer guesswork.

[Aleron Ives]

Maybe Amazon has "improved" its recommendations with AI. I'm told that Google search result quality has declined dramatically since Google started using AI for search results.

[haertig]

Just put the Kindle in airplane mode (permanently). And wait. No need to factory reset or any of that other stuff.

There are lots of benefits gained with "permanent airplane mode" IMHO. Getting rid of ads is one benefit. The ads eventually disappear when the Kindle runs out of its cache of ads to display. I haven't seen an ad on my Kindle for years. Note: This "no ads" benefit of permanent airplane mode could well have changed with newer firmware versions. My Kindle is using an older firmware (which is another benefit of permanent airplane mode - no unwanted updates). There are of course some downsides to permanent airplane mode too - say, if you like to sync things - that will go away.

[richorlin]

One benefit to airplane mode is that your battery charge lasts longer. I use Calibre to host my library and allow several of my friends access over the internet. They turn on wi-fi to access and turn off when finished.
An aside, on a similar topic. I just bought an Oasis from Amazon through Amazon Resell for $140. It was listed as “a minor cosmetic imperfection” and “ad-supported”. When it came, it was prestine with no scratches AND the ads were turned off. A surprise upgrade!

BTW, as many have noted, although expensive, both when new and now when used, the Oasis was THE best Kindle that Amazon ever made. Certainly better than the plastic POS they are producing now. The screen, much better. The ergonomics couldn’t be better. The buttons, perfect. Why do you think people are willing to pay well over $200 for a six-year old device on eBay?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by richorlin

BTW, as many have noted, although expensive, both when new and now when used, the Oasis was THE best Kindle that Amazon ever made. Certainly better than the plastic POS they are producing now. The screen, much better. The ergonomics couldn’t be better. The buttons, perfect. Why do you think people are willing to pay well over $200 for a six-year old device on eBay?

I agree. Had all three Oases over the years and really liked them. Still, I sold my last Oasis (the 2019 version) a couple of years ago and moved exclusively to Kobo. No matter how nice the Oasis hardware was, I vastly prefer the Kobo software and integration with Calibre. Plus, the Libra 2 has a noticeably better screen (more contrasty, sharper and with a nicer screen coloring - the Oasis was a bit too yellow for my taste) than my Oasis 3 had. I compared them side by side and the Libra won hands down.

Unless Amazon produces a new, really-really good Oasis, I'm not going to buy a Kindle again.

[cvkemp]

If it is my Fire tablet I don't worry about it having ads. But my PW I pay to have them removed. I keep the wifi on all the time.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

I used to be more confident that Amazon knew what it was doing than I am now. Just as one personal example, the way Amazon constantly, and I do mean constantly, pitches to me things there's no chance in Hades I'd ever buy, even given how very much data they've gathered on my tastes and purchases over the years, indicates to me that much of what they're doing is sheer guesswork.

I too get recommendations for things I've never bought or anything like it.