K3 Possible to downgrade firmware on Kindle 3

sendthefire · Yesterday, 03:18 PM

I purchased two Kindle 3 Keyboards off of Amazon several years ago as backups in case my current one broke. I finally got them out of storage, and (tried) to update the firmware to 3.4.3 so that I could register them to my Amazon account. The first one worked fine, the firmware updated and I was able to register it to my Amazon account.

On the second one, the battery was very low, and it shutdown in the middle of the firmware upgrade. I immediately plugged it in, and let it charge. Once it booted up, it shows firmware 3.4.3, but I am unable to get it to register. I am guessing that the firmware upgrade didn't actually complete, not installing the security certificates allowing it to register to Amazon. I have tried a factory reset. I tried copying an older firmware to the Kindle, but the "Update Your Kindle" is grayed out with any older firmware. I tried calling Amazon support, but the device is so old, they have no idea what to do with it, and they recommended that I purchase a new Kindle.

I've searched on here for a way to downgrade the FW to an older version, so that I can re-upgrade to 3.4.3, but haven't found anything. I have tried NiLuJe's jailbreak/hack, but I haven't found a way to install an older firmware.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Since Amazon doesn't allow downloading books to PC anymore, I can't even manually copy them to the device.

dhdurgee · Yesterday, 04:41 PM

I seem to recall there is a trick where you place the firmware on the Kindle and then force a reboot to install it. That should work with the current firmware level and I believe it would finish your install for you. Search for more details, as it might be necessary to have the Kindle plugged in or to force it via the button as opposed to the drop-down menu.

Dave

shamanNS · Yesterday, 10:55 PM

@sendthefire K3 firmware update files work differently that more modern Kindle models, in that they are using some kind of files patching mechanism ( more modern Kindle models firmware bin files contain complete image of rootfs partition).

So the only way you can go back / "downgrade" firmware build or "re-image" / "re-flash" Kindle 3 is using Kubrick:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=206064

If you manage to find a computer old enough that would still boot those old old Linux Live CD images / distros.

Yesterday, 03:18 PM	#1
sendthefire Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2026 Device: Kindle 3 Wifi	Possible to downgrade firmware on Kindle 3 I purchased two Kindle 3 Keyboards off of Amazon several years ago as backups in case my current one broke. I finally got them out of storage, and (tried) to update the firmware to 3.4.3 so that I could register them to my Amazon account. The first one worked fine, the firmware updated and I was able to register it to my Amazon account. On the second one, the battery was very low, and it shutdown in the middle of the firmware upgrade. I immediately plugged it in, and let it charge. Once it booted up, it shows firmware 3.4.3, but I am unable to get it to register. I am guessing that the firmware upgrade didn't actually complete, not installing the security certificates allowing it to register to Amazon. I have tried a factory reset. I tried copying an older firmware to the Kindle, but the "Update Your Kindle" is grayed out with any older firmware. I tried calling Amazon support, but the device is so old, they have no idea what to do with it, and they recommended that I purchase a new Kindle. I've searched on here for a way to downgrade the FW to an older version, so that I can re-upgrade to 3.4.3, but haven't found anything. I have tried NiLuJe's jailbreak/hack, but I haven't found a way to install an older firmware. Does anyone have any suggestions? Since Amazon doesn't allow downloading books to PC anymore, I can't even manually copy them to the device.

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Yesterday, 04:41 PM	#2
dhdurgee Guru Posts: 919 Karma: 3000002 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: K3W, PW4	I seem to recall there is a trick where you place the firmware on the Kindle and then force a reboot to install it. That should work with the current firmware level and I believe it would finish your install for you. Search for more details, as it might be necessary to have the Kindle plugged in or to force it via the button as opposed to the drop-down menu. Dave

Yesterday, 10:55 PM	#3
shamanNS Wizard Posts: 1,163 Karma: 12345678 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Serbia Device: Kindle PW5, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle PW1	@sendthefire K3 firmware update files work differently that more modern Kindle models, in that they are using some kind of files patching mechanism ( more modern Kindle models firmware bin files contain complete image of rootfs partition). So the only way you can go back / "downgrade" firmware build or "re-image" / "re-flash" Kindle 3 is using Kubrick: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=206064 If you manage to find a computer old enough that would still boot those old old Linux Live CD images / distros.

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