16 ms·

All Kindles can now be jailbroken

1377 points by diana-404 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
OuterVale 2y ago
Kindles have long had a history of gaolbreaks. I've scarcely seen a scene as dedicated as the folks over on the MobileRead Forums (https://www.mobileread.com/forums https://www.mobileread.com/forums). I notice many of the names associated with this new break as people who were associated with hacking early Kindles back in the early 2010s. For context, it's been a little while since we've had a fresh gaolbreak for new Kindles. Last one was LanguageBreak, which came out back in 2023 and required firmware 5.16.2.1.1 or lower.
- cadamsdotcom 2y ago
  Mate, I’m Australian and even I think a gaol is just a dyslexic watching soccer.
  - ggm 2y ago
    Only Americans (to the extent I know) differentiate jail and gaol. Jail and prison. I first read gaol in a 1960s kids book by Randolph Snow. An Australian as it happens. https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1496448 https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1496448
    - thaumasiotes 2y ago
      > Only Americans (to the extent I know) differentiate jail and gaol. Jail and prison. You inhabit a very different reality than everybody else. Americans do not differentiate jail and gaol; Americans don't use the word "gaol" under any circumstances, ever. It is not a part of American English.
      - ggm 2y ago
        I apologise for mixing terms. Jail and Prison? Do you disagree this is a point of difference? Americans also don't seem to talk about being on remand. In police custody is unwieldy, I agree.
        int_19h 2y ago
        "jail" and "prison" are the American English words in question. Although that distinction is rarely relevant in casual conversation in practice. People say "jail" and mean "prison" all the time.
        thaumasiotes 2y ago
        As int_19h notes, there are people (in the US) who believe that there is a difference between the meaning of the word "jail" and the meaning of the word "prison". And as int_19h also notes, those people are wrong; Americans will just be confused if you try to use the words differently. It's similar to the insistence of a group with near-perfect overlap that crimes for which jail time isn't a possible punishment can't be correctly referred to as "crimes".
        LordKeren 2y ago
        While they are often used interchangeably, it is not uncommon for people to make the distinction between jail and prison in the US. It can definitely come across as a “Frankenstein’s monster” type of pedantic correction, but they truly do mean two different ideas in the US
      - RajT88 2y ago
        American here. Never seen the word written before.
        gabeio 2y ago
        Same had to actually look it up and at least Merriam-Webster lists the word as “chiefly British spellings of JAIL, JAILER”. Which at least hints that the dictionary writers thought it is less common out side of Britain.
    - yellowapple 2y ago
      I'm an American and I don't differentiate between jail and gaol; I just assumed the latter to just be a funny European spelling of the former. But yes, we do differentiate between jail and prison - the former usually being for those with short sentences or for those awaiting trial, and the latter being for those with long sentences. Interesting that other countries don't maintain that distinction - but I guess most countries don't have such a sprawling prison-industrial complex to warrant separate short-term v. long-term detention classifications.
      - pyuser583 2y ago
        The American distinction is jail v prison. In practice, the distinction is overblown. Jails do hold long term prisoners, and prisons get pre-trial prisoners too. There’s literally a market for jail beds. So prisoners are often sent where there’s an open spot, with little distinction between “short term” and “long term”. A better distinction is that jails are run by a law enforcement agency, while prisons are not.
        otteromkram 2y ago
        Dictionary essay of the difference between the two words: https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/jail-vs-prison-difference https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/jail-vs-prison-diffe...
        t-3 2y ago
        Your distinction is probably a better one, but the one I've heard is lockups hold temporarily from hours-days, jails hold prisoners for sentences up to a year, prisons for over a year. People might end up in a jail for much longer, but normally they don't.
        eloisant 2y ago
        France also has the same distinction. "maison d'arret" = jail, "centre de detention" = prison. the word "prison" however (that also exist in French) is a generic term for both.
        2y ago
    - polshaw 2y ago
      There's a confusion here. Gaol is simply a rarely used (I would say archaic) spelling of jail. It does not mean prison. British English also differentiates jail and prison, by extension I assume that's universal.
      - d1sxeyes 2y ago
        British English as a language might, British people do not, and the physical facilities are the same. We say someone is “held on remand” if they are incarcerated pre-trial, and the part of the prison which holds prisoners pretrial is often referred to as the “remand wing”.
      - Andrex 2y ago
        I feel like I've read, well not a lot, but a pretty decent amount. More than my average peer, probably. I don't think I've ever once encountered "gaol" before today. Reading the parent comment, I believed it was a non-English language loanword, and probably a recent one at that, until I read the comments. It's not like I avoid archaic works, either. It's possible I did come across the word at some point, but it was a one-off and without any repetition it faded quickly from my memory. Am I a one-off?
        theonemind 2y ago
        I got like 740 on the verbal SAT and I’ve never seen it
- diana-404 2y ago
  I'm new to kindle, I've been into this since 2021 so im not so aware of kindle's jailbreaking history. Can you tell me what gaolbreak is?
  - shasheene 2y ago
    Gaol is an archaic spelling of jail, that retains the same pronunciation and meaning as jail :)
  - dgfitz 2y ago
    So “gaol” is supposedly an alternative way to spell “jail” that I first encountered in a video game. I keep seeing “tyre” on here too. I guess hn is hipster for alternative spellings.
    - richiebful1 2y ago
      "tyre" is just UK English
      - ggm 2y ago
        As is gaol
        petesergeant 2y ago
        Which dictionary are you using that doesn’t mark it as an archaic form in British English?
        FabHK 2y ago
        Merriam-Webster has it as "chiefly British spelling" of jail, and Oxford English Dictionary has it as a "variant". https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaol https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaol https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=gaol https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=gaol
OuterVale 2y ago
Relevant recent discussion: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th - 299 Points | 173 comments - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43070155 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43070155 Amazon ends kindle ebooks "Download and Transfer via USB" - 121 Points | 94 Comments - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43041726 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43041726
- Quarrel 2y ago
  I suspect most people that go this route (ie download and manage their own ebooks, then transfer them to their Kindle) use Calibre, which afaik, is unaffected by this change. https://calibre-ebook.com/ https://calibre-ebook.com/
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - thewileyone 2y ago
    This is the way ... my way at least
- dlenski 2y ago
  Does a jail broken Kindle allow me to remove the DRM from Kindle ebooks downloaded to it? (I genuinely don't know. Until now, I've always downloaded Kindle purchases via ”Download and transfer via USB”, then stripped the DRM and transferred to the device with Calibre.)
  - Mindwipe 2y ago
    Not in and of itself, no. It would allow another source to downloading them from the Amazon website (as that is going away) on to a PC where stripping software can (in some cases) be applied. It also might (but might not) be a way for decryption keys to be extracted from devices for that purpose, but it doesn't automatically provide such an exploit.
    - 2y ago
xnx 2y ago
New Kindle Jailbreak Works with Any Kindle on Any Firmware: 5 points | 45 days ago | 1 comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42579291 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42579291
shasheene 2y ago
Highlighting the very popular app enabled by this, KOReader: https://koreader.rocks/ https://koreader.rocks/ https://github.com/koreader/koreader https://github.com/koreader/koreader
- goosedragons 2y ago
  Koreader can also be installed on Kobo out of the box with no jailbreaking. Just in case anybody was thinking of getting a Kindle for this.
  - vanderZwan 2y ago
    It's worth doing so on older kobo readers in my experience because it turns pages faster, and it also correctly displays embedded ePub fonts that the native software doesn't. I don't know how many of you will ever read books that feature APL glyphs so I don't know how relevant that last bit is, and I can't speak for more recent models.
    - SSLy 2y ago
      stock kobo has two epub readers. trash one from adobe used for drmed files and stock epubs, and an actually good one for use with KEPUB files. There's a calibre plugin to make the conversion upon push to the device.
- RachelF 2y ago
  Yes, KOReader is the reason to jailbreak a Kindle. It's way better than the built-in Amazon reader app.
  - safety1st 2y ago
    I was actually trying out KOReader (on Android via F-droid) last night and it... looks promising... but better than the Kindle app, really? It doesn't have a dark mode which is basically baseline for me reading at night. Or am I missing something?
seneca 2y ago
@dang Can we link to the actual article, instead of a reddit post? https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/
- cwillu 2y ago
  Email hn@ycombinator.com; “@dang” doesn't do anything
  - dang 2y ago
    Changed from https://old.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles_can_now_be_jailbroken/ https://old.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles.... Thanks!
a2dam 2y ago
It's a shame this doesn't work for the Kindle Fire tablets, which are amazing devices for the price but unfortunately tethered to Amazon services.
- idiotsecant 2y ago
  I used a jailbroken kindle fire running lineage for years. I dropped that thing, got it wet, got it hot. It was impossible to kill. It finally had 1 drop to many but it was one of the best devices I ever had in terms of utility / $
  - freedomben 2y ago
    Indeed. I had an original Kindle fire (back when it was still "Android") and I loved it great device for the money. It saddens me greatly how they've locked everything down. They could be the premier builders but instead I know then as grotesque authoritarians.
    - stkdump 2y ago
      I find it exceedingly likely that they lose money on every kindle fire sold (at least during one of their regular sales), unless it causes more content sales. So the solution is of course to make it as useless as possible for anything else, otherwise they would just lose more. Same as inkjet printers.
      - freedomben 2y ago
        I've had the same thought, though if true I wish they'd sell an unlocked version for more money, similar to how they did the ads on lock screen
- toredash 2y ago
  Still have two Fire tablets (HD). Works for streaming and reading but surfing can be a drag
transcriptase 2y ago
It’s interesting reading that the reasons for jailbreaking a kindle are so trivial, amounting to adding some minor functionality to reading books and not much else. Kobo jailbreaks from back in the day gave you root on a stripped down Linux install, complete with telnet ssh and ftp. You could even install python and essentially do anything the cpu/display permitted. Another cool aspect with those older kobos was that they had two microsd card readers… one hidden inside the enclosure that contained the OS, accessible without even needing a screwdriver.
- kragen 2y ago
  Don't Kobo jailbreaks still give you that? Are they even "jailbreaks"?
  - II2II 2y ago
    Yes, you can still do that. The only differences with modern Kobo devices are the loss of an external uSD slot and, on the latest modeks, the liss of the internal uSD slot. I also have a hard time describing the process as jail breaking. Updates to the Kobo are simply unprotected zip files which contain firmware updates along with a gzipped tarball that contain updated files for the filesystem. Anyone with a knowledge of Linux can modify the software. Ibalso consider the situation as rather stable. Not only has Kobo/Rakuten been ignoring modifications of the open source components for over a decade, they have been ignoring patches to the proprietary binaries.
    - kragen 2y ago
      That's great! Thanks!
    - ornornor 2y ago
      I wish we could extract the kobo fonts so they could be used with koreader. I’ve found the fonts on the kobo root partition but they’re encrypted or otherwise obfuscated so simply copying the files doesn’t work :(
- Larrikin 2y ago
kragen 2y ago
This is great news! Can it be patched?
- radicaldreamer 2y ago
  Yes, but you can disable OTA updates
- mook 2y ago
  https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ says it's based on https://kindlemodding.org/mesquito/ https://kindlemodding.org/mesquito/ which in turn says it needs <=5.15.1.1
  - ThatHackerDude 2y ago
    That's a mistake on my part, I've updated that page Right now WinterBreak remains unpatched, but it is patchable and likely will be in the near-future
    - Darthagnon 2y ago
      Is there a better way to block OTA updates than renametoabin? I've tried that and a few alternatives and none help with my Kindle 4s disabling the jailbreak whenever they get a whiff of internet.
tripdout 2y ago
Wow, kindlemodding.org loads instantly. I know it's a simple website, but simple websites often still load slowly.
- RandomBK 2y ago
  The entire frontpage was just 468KB, 91KB compressed, and most of that was the search index. Very neat!
  - deadbabe 2y ago
    Sad that 91kb is considered small.
    - LoganDark 2y ago
      Most websites are like 50mb, my dude.
      - genewitch 2y ago
        Still nearly a half million characters, though. That's 1:40 on dialup. Not 50MB, that's not lightweight, which this thread is about.
        LoganDark 2y ago
        > Not 50MB, that's not lightweight, which this thread is about. I'm not sure what you're meaning to say to this but my point was that 50MB is absolutely humongous and so many websites are around that order of magnitude. 91kb is a lot smaller than it could be, even though it's not exactly absolutely small.
      - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
        Incorrect, most are ~2.5 MB; granted, the size has steadily increased over the years. But 50 MB sites are an exception. https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2022/page-weight https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2022/page-weight
ggm 2y ago
The constant anti patterns in how your library and even things in Amazon's interest like book reviews display are why I would do this, if I thought I could script or fix the changes away. Kindle is Doctorow's enshittification at scale.
- FabHK 2y ago
  I have a nice unregistered recent Kindle that I put books on via USB (I don't even give it WiFi access), and every single time I switch back to the main library to pick a new book to read it puts up a modal informing me that it doesn't have cloud access and prompts me to register. Quite annoying.
  - ggm 2y ago
    This and a hundred other snippets of mal behaviour. I have both calibre side loaded and on device, and it does not like the mixture one bit: they're just files. What's the beef?
- RachelF 2y ago
  Not just enshittification in the way of spying and ads. The actual reading experience has got worse. I have a Kindle 11 and an old Kindle 3. The Kindle 3 actually works better - easier to read, no random pauses, easier to search.
  - talideon 2y ago
    To this day, the 3 is still my ideal version. Everything else since has fallen flat in some way in comparison. It was the right size, had paddle buttons for turning the page, had a passable keyboard, was responsive, could play audio, &c. It was excellent. I very much wish mine didn't die on me.
fvrther 2y ago
Kobo are giving you root access with telnet from the start. You can flash modded firmwares, change the backend servers to phone your own calibre-web instance, install ssh, koreader and even a tailscale vpn on it. They even have UART pins labelled on their board. These are amazing devices to play with. And they read pretty much everything you throw on their storage: epub, cbz, cbr, pdf..
- throitallaway 2y ago
  I moved from Kindle to Kobo for the sole reason that the backlight had tunable color temperature. I've ended up liking it for lot of reasons, including how open they are.
  - zimpenfish 2y ago
    Kindle Paperwhite (and possibly others) have adjustable colour temperature too, with time-based automation. From a quick squizz, not quite the same as the Kobo (I don't think it has the "more blue in daytime" function) but just noting that it does exist on some in some fashion.
    - throitallaway 2y ago
      It's great that Paperwhite have caught up to Kobo in this manner. Back when I was evaluating replacing my (lost) Kindle I believe it was only an option on the top tier ($300+) Kindle.
- pathartl 2y ago
  I moved to Kobo because I bought my partner the Kindle Oasis and just after a year the battery couldn't hold a charge. I contacted Amazon and they would only give me 10% off a new device. I only found one person on the internet who was courageous enough to open one up. The screen was epoxied to the body with no way of opening the device without destroying the screen. So I got her a Kobo Libra H2O. Just as waterproof, significantly cheaper, and you can actually repair it. I ended up getting a Libra Colour for myself and love it.
drilbo 2y ago
my kindle oasis has been largely collecting dusk since I've got my kobo. I do really miss the buttons tho, perhaps this can prolong my buying a third device. the only thing giving me pause is that I apparently have to register the kindle, which if possible, I'm sure I've avoided. any insight on why this is necessary?
- sersi 2y ago
  I've done the opposite. While I love the openness of the kobo and the pocket integration, I end up using my kindle oasis more because of the form factor and because with the metal enclosure it feels better in my hand.
  - t_mahmood 2y ago
    Be careful, I accidentally sat on it and it bent, and display got ruined. Kindle original survives just fine. The metal enclosure is not very robust
restlessdesign 2y ago
For those who prefer the default Reddit UI: https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles_can_now_be_jailbroken/ https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles...
- xethos 2y ago
  Each say we stray further from God's light. I could rant about how dramatically heavier the new Reddit UI is, but I'd be wasting my time - the people here should presumably know why making everything heavier isn't great Or maybe they don't, as evidenced by this new Reddit link not being absolutely buried
  - dwayne_dibley 2y ago
    old.reddit is the only reddit.
    - nunez 2y ago
      libreddit instances are even better (if you're just a lurker)
  - daveoc64 2y ago
    As a moderator of /r/kindle, I can reveal that in January 2025, less than 1% of our visits were from users still using Old Reddit. It does mostly attract users who aren't as technically minded as users on HN. iOS Apps - 36.65% | Mobile Web - 24.85% | New Reddit - 24.37% | Android Apps - 13.30% | Old Reddit - 0.82%
    - Summershard 2y ago
      This is much, much less than I would've guessed. I thought the new UI is universally hated. I should leave my bubble more often.
hemant6488 2y ago
I revived my old kindle pw7 using this a week or so ago. If you have an old kindle lying around, you can use it as an e-ink weather dashboard (or anything else for that matter, as long as you can convert it into a 8bit greyscale image). https://terminalbytes.com/reviving-kindle-paperwhite-7th-gen/ https://terminalbytes.com/reviving-kindle-paperwhite-7th-gen...
- internet_points 2y ago
  i love this! unfortunately I'm still using my old pw for reading, I'll have to buy a second used one for this project
- import 2y ago
  Nice to see a good write up. I did the same a year ago, it refreshes every hour (except night) and battery needs to be charged every 24-25 days.
- barrkel 2y ago
  My old kindle is a Kindle 3 from 2010, and it's still my primary e-ink reader. I still haven't found a compelling reason to upgrade.
  - matsemann 2y ago
    I gave up on my first paperwhite last year (10+ years old). Would randomly lose its charge, which was annoying when bringing it on trips (and often not having an old micro-usb charger lying around). And from being stuck into all kinds of pockets and bags without a protector (half the use was it fitting in my pants) had seriously scratched up the screen. The new one I got is nice, but other than the old one being beaten up, I don't notice much difference. A bit faster to click around, but in the end it's mostly the same.
    - Lalabadie 2y ago
      Mine would have longer and longer delays on each page turn when I started using it again last year. It's a 10+ years Paperwhite as well. I jailbroke it and installed KOReader. Suddenly, no delays, great interface, wi-fi sync with Calibre. I might replace the battery one day, but it still lasts 2-3 books.
PostOnce 2y ago
Still can't remove the stupid "cloud not available" nag if your kindle isn't online though, which of course it shouldn't be or they'll delete your copy of 1984.
- throwaway314155 2y ago
  Root access can't fix this?
  - PostOnce 2y ago
    I couldn't find a way, I was hoping someone better at firmware hacking could help me out but my repeated searches have turned up little
- ihuman 2y ago
  What nag? I keep mine in airplane mode and it doesn't nag me (unless I try to do something that requires the internet)
  - hedora 2y ago
    I updated mine a few years ago. (What was I thinking?) Now it nags me every time it is powered on. Does anyone know if factory reset downgrades the firmware?
  - PostOnce 2y ago
    The newer gen kindles nag you every time you go to the menu to change books, even in airplane mode. Maybe this can be turned off if you register it, but I'm tired of having to sign up to some company's ever-changing digital contract and arbitration just to read a book. Specifically, it's a Fullscreen popover that says "cloud not available" which I of course know because it's in airplane mode! You pay 300 dollars and get treated like you're using their device instead of yours.
m00dy 2y ago
it would be really cool to try bionic reader on the ne jailbreak.
october8140 2y ago
How do I get Apple Books on there?
- testfrequency 2y ago
  You don’t. It’s impossible with Apple’s DRM.
tuananh 2y ago
what can you do with jailbreak Kindle? My Kindle usage has been pretty basic.
laserlight 2y ago
Didn't work on my Kindle Paperwhite (10th generation) with firmware 5.17.1.0.3.
- vaylian 2y ago
  What symptoms did you experience when you tried it?
  - laserlight 2y ago
    It was something like “Couldn't connect to Kindle Store”.
    - kelnos 2y ago
      Did you see the "Troubleshooting" section after the jailbreak install instructions?
      - laserlight 2y ago
        Thanks for your help. I've just tried it. It failed with “unexpected error” again --- I believe the first error I got was also this one. I'm not sure what I might be doing wrong.
        laserlight 2y ago
        I tried again. This time I chose “Set up later” after the factory reset, so that I don't have to waste time completing the steps after registration. I got a “Kindle Store is currently unavailable” error. This error is more likely to be the first error I got. Edit: I finally got it working by trying one more time, without factory reset.
- fastball 2y ago
  According to this section[1] of the website, the latest jailbreakable firmware for PW4 (10th gen) is 5.14.2. Not sure where the title of this HN post came from, but given the jailbreak came out on Jan 1st, I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon has already patched the exploit for hardware they're still supporting. [1] https://kindlemodding.org/firmware-and-flashing/downloading-updates.html https://kindlemodding.org/firmware-and-flashing/downloading-...
esseti 2y ago
what are the main benefits of doing so? I'm missing what's the deal with jailbreak in this case, using thee transfer via USB? what's the best thing i can do afterwards?
- genewitch 2y ago
  Koreader is why I'll be doing it. PDFs that don't suck, I hear.
  - Chihuahua0633 2y ago
    Is there a site that calls out how to load this post jailbreak?
- ksynwa 2y ago
  I use Koreader on my Kobo ereader for a few reasons: - Much much faster than stock interface - More customisable - Comes with an ssh server. I load a static rsync binary and use rsync for syncing the library - Much better for reading manga. Supports cbz, cbr format natively. Has the ability to clip empty space around the content to make reading on a small screen easier.
- Cthulhu_ 2y ago
  Use it as an external display or control center; it's hard to find decent and affordable standalone e-ink screens.
ksynwa 2y ago
The amount of DRM and locking down Amazon bolts onto its ereaders and ebook formats feels insane to me. I can understand the profit motive but god damn.
- starbugs 2y ago
  > The amount of DRM and locking down Amazon bolts onto its ereaders and ebook formats feels insane to me. I can understand the profit motive but god damn. I don't. I would be much happier buying ebooks without DRM and I would buy substantially more of them if they were DRM-free.
  - NoboruWataya 2y ago
    I am with you but we are a small minority. I literally don't know anyone IRL who cares about DRM. I doubt people like us factor into their decision making at all.
    - kevincox 2y ago
      No, but I know people wondering why this can't play this video in 4k or why their offline downloaded videos stopped working and they get a pop-up telling them that they need to go online to re-validate them. Yes, not many people know what DRM is but many of the effects are noticed when it ruins their experience.
      - wand3r 2y ago
        I agree, however they probably assume it's their fault or something to do with this arcane black box they use but don't quite understand how it works. For me, I bought a single DRM book against my better judgement because it was the only available way to get it quickly at the time. Predictably, I eventually lost access to it and never bought another one since.
    - wnolens 2y ago
      I have never considered DRM on my Kindle, been using one for 15 years. I can buy any book on Amazon which is any book id be trying to read on this small format, and read it immediately for usually a maximum of $10. Never had want for more!
Fokamul 2y ago
Amazon supporting pirating since 1997
endorphine 2y ago
Question to KOReader users: can you somehow keep the Bookerly font? It's one of the main reasons I like Kindle.
- slezyr 2y ago
  Download the font[1] and put it in the '/koreader/fonts' directory[2]. 1 https://font.download/font/bookerly https://font.download/font/bookerly 2. p13 https://koreader.rocks/koreader-user-guide.pdf https://koreader.rocks/koreader-user-guide.pdf
- c0eos 2y ago
  First, KOReader uses its own fonts in addition to whatever fonts are installed on your device, so yes. Second, you can find and download Bookerly on the internet and put it in the fonts folder, so also yes.
lzmp 2y ago
Hell yeah, power to the users.
m000 2y ago
What are some "killer" applications that would tempt the casual Kindle user to jailbreak the device? I can see someone has ported syncthing [1], which could be convenient for syncing the contents of the device. But probably still too much work compared to using e.g. Calibre and a USB cable a few times per year. [1] https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/
- slezyr 2y ago
  The smallest margin on Kindle Scribe is too large. Changing text justification is not possible. Books cannot be uploaded directly with a USB cable without additional software (calibre). Gesture configuration (tap, two-finger tap, etc). Koreader can do everything you want and is significantly better than the stock reader. Unlike other vendors, kindle requires root to install it.
  - m000 2y ago
    I didn't know about Koreader. A reader with native epub support is a good feature. With the stock reader, Calibre needs to do an epub -> mobi conversion (works well, but still...).
- ornornor 2y ago
  Koreader is much better than the stock software.
  - paulcole 2y ago
    In what ways specifically?
    - homebrewer 2y ago
      Support for epubs and RSS, much more responsive UI, night mode, Calibre integration + SSH server (you can send books over Wi-Fi), countless settings to adjust pretty much anything (for example, you can set margins to zero — the minimum margins on stock firmware are insane). The list goes on. edit: found this link. I don't think this list is complete. https://koreader.rocks/user_guide/#whatcanyoudo https://koreader.rocks/user_guide/#whatcanyoudo
calini 2y ago
Time to finally buy a Kindle I guess
- axpy906 2y ago
  Before you do that would suggest you check out Boox. I am very surprised to scroll this thread and see Kobo call outs but not Boox. No need to jailbreak as highly customizable.
  - soroushmo 2y ago
    Do you have any thoughts on the Supernote?
Shorel 2y ago
After having three Kindles I moved to Kobo, and it was much, much better in the compatibility side of things. Now I am using a PocketBook and it is also great. The synchronization feature between browser, phone and the reader is very good, it is reason enough to have it instead of a Kindle.
Zambyte 2y ago
I am replying from my Daylight Computer. Happy to answer questions about it. https://daylightcomputer.com https://daylightcomputer.com
- ulkis 2y ago
  OMG that was the most unintuitive and annoying to browse/scroll page I have seen in a long time. Hope the device is good though.
- fivestones 2y ago
  Looks interesting. Can you use it like a jailbroken device (ie, install whatever you want from the terminal on it)? Or is it locked down too?
  - chimineycricket 2y ago
    It's an Android tablet, download whatever apps you want.
  - skiman10 2y ago
    It runs a custom Android 13 based skin with access to the Play Store.
  - Zambyte 2y ago
    As others have mentioned, it's simply Android by default. They also officially endorse this wiki, which has information on unlocking the bootloader and gaining root access: https://www.daylighthacker.wiki https://www.daylighthacker.wiki
- mrobot 2y ago
  Have you tried the remarkable and if so how does it compare? I don't think the remarkable 2 was anywhere near 60fps. But i think you can put nixos on it.
glimshe 2y ago
Cool! But what prevents Amazon from patching this in a few days?
- ZiiS 2y ago
  Well they haven't patched _anything_ in the last 600 days so that would be fairly optimistic.
adilcanq 2y ago
imagine if they pulled a slick double free in the bootloader heap and jacked up a custom rop chain to completely sidestep that rsa sig check. amazon ain’t gonna be happy.
pidgeon_lover 2y ago
This is good news, but I am curious about the Wifi requirement - is the jailbreak web-based? Is Wifi usable afterwards on Mesquito-jailbroken Kindles? I know on my older jailbroken Kindles, the jailbreak is very fragile and they can no longer be connected to the internet, partly because of Amazon's agressive OTAs and partly because Amazon disables developer mode and hence the jailbreak every time my Kindle 4s touch the internet. (PS. If anyone can suggest a way to prevent this and secure my jailbreaks, it would be much appreciated - I've tried 3 different OTA blockers and none work reliably)
- ZiiS 2y ago
  The install talks though how to block OTA, wifi remains fully working.
  - Darthagnon 2y ago
    I've tried renametoabin (the one mentioned by the Mesquite jailbreak Kindle Modding Wiki in the OP), BlockKindleOTA, ShutTheBackDoor, etc. all of which do more or less the same thing to attempt blocking OTA updates on the Kindle. None work to prevent the Kindle 4 from disabling the jailbreak as soon as it gets wifi access.
    - ZiiS 2y ago
      I only have experience with Oasis (8th gen) I am afraid.
lovestory 2y ago
Will this allow for more bluetooth options? For example connecting with bluetooth page turner would be a killer feature, but so far Kindle only allows for audio transfers via bluetooth.
drio 2y ago
I just wanted to express my support for KOReader—it’s a fantastic piece of software. I use it on my Kobo, and the UI is noticeably faster than the device’s default system. It also offers a wealth of customization options. This may not be an issue on newer e-readers, but the ability to highlight seamlessly across adjacent pages is truly liberating.
- Agraillo 2y ago
  On a little technical side, the cross-platform engine of KOReader is developed in Lua and low level stuff like drawing and eInk specifics is different for every device. I think this separation might be very noticable for anyone running it on Android, almost no standard UI elements, dialogs, etc. But that's what makes this project so widespread device wise I think
dartharva 2y ago
This is perfect! For anyone stuck in the hotfix installation step - try turning Airplane mode on before updating your Kindle. It worked for me.
x1ph0z 2y ago
I can’t understand how kindles are popular when there’s a plethora of ebook readers without the locked down DRM.
- apexalpha 2y ago
  They're sold through Amazon.
- colejohnson66 2y ago
  Because most users don't care. They give Amazon a few bucks a month and they get unlimited ebooks.
- SheinH 2y ago
  I bought a Kindle Scribe recently because it was around $250 secondhand. That makes it the cheapest of all of the 10" e-readers available. It's perfect if you want to read textbooks, PDFs, and manga.
- frantathefranta 2y ago
  IIRC e-ink used to not be that cheap and Amazon sold you one for not that much money.
- miohtama 2y ago
  I am using because of ease to use with Amazon. For my $8 book purchases I read once I do not want to see too much trouble.
- hombre_fatal 2y ago
  Household name + most people don't even know about ebook DRM so they never encounter that downside + it's the books that come with DRM; you can move pirated books to it just fine.
- NoboruWataya 2y ago
  The devices are cheap (for what they are), the ebooks are cheap and most people are already neck deep in their ecosystem so being locked down isn't an issue to them. Also, it's not like other ebook readers let you buy non-DRM versions of whatever books you like. Most popular ebooks have DRM of some kind.
kluyg 2y ago
KOReader on Kindle Scribe 2022: https://imgur.com/a/oYshWxI https://imgur.com/a/oYshWxI KOReader is so good for reading PDFs, compared to the native reader, I’m very impressed. Supports proper landscape mode (where swiping to next page moves to the second half of the current page, THEN next swipe gets you to the first half of the next page), supports auto-rotation, support auto-cropping of PDFs with controllable margin (killer feature), supports contrast adjustments, … It does not support handwritten annotations, but for just reading PDFs - it’s perfect.
- b0dhimind 2y ago
  I have a lot of PDFs and this is the most interesting. Do you use the Calibre KOReader add-on to sync and manage? Does that work well? Do deletions of books sync? Does highlighting annotation work/sync fine? I would make the move just for that alone since SendtoKindle is kind of basic.
  - kluyg 2y ago
    I didn’t get that advanced yet. I’m trying to figure out the Dropbox integration at the moment. I don’t use Calibre. I know highlighting works (I’ve annotated the PDF I’m reading), but I didn’t test highlights export / sync yet.
- ajusa 2y ago
  Which book is being read in that screenshot? Looks interesting. I did a few searches based on the text and couldn't find it.
  - kluyg 2y ago
    My friend wrote it. I’m reading a draft. I’ll ask him if he’s willing to share more broadly, but it’s probably too early
- 42772827 2y ago
  I always found KOReader to be too fiddly for ePubs, has that changed recently or have I been doing it wrong? I want a set of sane defaults to be applied to every book, I don’t want to tweak every book individually. This leads to distraction for me
thehias 2y ago
Can you buy a "Kindle with ads" and remove these ads then after a Jailbreak?
- locusofself 2y ago
  You can usually just contact amazon support and they will remove the ads for you without a fee.
  - aalam 2y ago
    They don't do that anymore, at least not for me. I tried contacting two different support agents and both mentioned that the functionality has been removed for them by the higher-ups.
- squaresmile 2y ago
  Yes you can
- pidgeon_lover 2y ago
  Yes, it is technically possible, but it is occult knowledge. I don't know how. I know the one Kindle with ads I had, they somehow disappeared and never returned after I reset it, possibly because I did not connect it to any Amazon account or Wifi. You won't get any help with that aspect from any mainstream Kindle jailbreak devs or on MobileRead, as they follow a general policy of live and let live with Amazon. They don't get DMCAs on jailbreaks, they don't help people "pirate".
wolfspaw 2y ago
Nice! With this Jailbreak can one install a Manga/Novel aggregator/reader like Mihon Manga reader?
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
synergy20 2y ago
what can I do with it specifically? i use a boox these days,but i do have 4 kindles collecting dust
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
jskrn 2y ago
Hmm can a jailbroken Kindle receive library books via, say Libby/Overdrive or other method?
pkkkzip 2y ago
Does this jailbreak allow unrestricted web browsing? Ability to read long threads on kindle would be amazing.
earthboundkid 2y ago
My Kindle was bricked by an Amazon OTA update. Checkmate, atheists.
tlhunter 2y ago
Is it worth buying a Kindle now?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- tlavoie 2y ago
  No, Kobos are a better choice. Much more consumer-friendly, even if the default book store is still DRM-encumbered.
jerojero 2y ago
Before I swapped to Kobo I jailbroke my Kindle Voyage and installed Koreader on it. It was amazing. I would have kept the voyage for longer but the micro-usb was killing me. That's the only reason, the battery was still holding on, it had turning page "buttons" (better than nothing) and an amazing screen.
creativenolo 2y ago
> RIP bricked Kindles during beta-testing I wonder how many Kindles were hurt during the making of this…
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
amithanda81 2y ago
Thank you so much. Kindle now looks so much better. KOreader indeed is the killer app. (little did I know that I could install it without jailbreaking). I followed the instructions. It worked flawlessly. KOreader had a few issues, installing latest nightly fixed it. and I am thoroughly enjoying the uplevelled experience.
nirava 2y ago
It's incredible how frickin long I've waited for this. I've had WiFi off for years to avoid updating.
cdaringe 2y ago
I could never get the rtc wake to work correctly in my kindles. For an eink dashboard, low power mode is critical. I ended up just buying a solde.red eink display. Very happy with my purchase. Did a write up about it here https://cdaringe.com/e-ink-dashboard/ https://cdaringe.com/e-ink-dashboard/

1377 points by diana-404 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Kindles have long had a history of gaolbreaks. I've scarcely seen a scene as dedicated as the folks over on the MobileRead Forums (https://www.mobileread.com/forums https://www.mobileread.com/forums). I notice many of the names associated with this new break as people who were associated with hacking early Kindles back in the early 2010s. For context, it's been a little while since we've had a fresh gaolbreak for new Kindles. Last one was LanguageBreak, which came out back in 2023 and required firmware 5.16.2.1.1 or lower.

cadamsdotcom 2y ago
Mate, I’m Australian and even I think a gaol is just a dyslexic watching soccer.
- ggm 2y ago
  Only Americans (to the extent I know) differentiate jail and gaol. Jail and prison. I first read gaol in a 1960s kids book by Randolph Snow. An Australian as it happens. https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1496448 https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/1496448
  - thaumasiotes 2y ago
    > Only Americans (to the extent I know) differentiate jail and gaol. Jail and prison. You inhabit a very different reality than everybody else. Americans do not differentiate jail and gaol; Americans don't use the word "gaol" under any circumstances, ever. It is not a part of American English.
    - ggm 2y ago
      I apologise for mixing terms. Jail and Prison? Do you disagree this is a point of difference? Americans also don't seem to talk about being on remand. In police custody is unwieldy, I agree.
      - int_19h 2y ago
        "jail" and "prison" are the American English words in question. Although that distinction is rarely relevant in casual conversation in practice. People say "jail" and mean "prison" all the time.
      - thaumasiotes 2y ago
        As int_19h notes, there are people (in the US) who believe that there is a difference between the meaning of the word "jail" and the meaning of the word "prison". And as int_19h also notes, those people are wrong; Americans will just be confused if you try to use the words differently. It's similar to the insistence of a group with near-perfect overlap that crimes for which jail time isn't a possible punishment can't be correctly referred to as "crimes".
        LordKeren 2y ago
        While they are often used interchangeably, it is not uncommon for people to make the distinction between jail and prison in the US. It can definitely come across as a “Frankenstein’s monster” type of pedantic correction, but they truly do mean two different ideas in the US
    - RajT88 2y ago
      American here. Never seen the word written before.
      - gabeio 2y ago
        Same had to actually look it up and at least Merriam-Webster lists the word as “chiefly British spellings of JAIL, JAILER”. Which at least hints that the dictionary writers thought it is less common out side of Britain.
  - yellowapple 2y ago
    I'm an American and I don't differentiate between jail and gaol; I just assumed the latter to just be a funny European spelling of the former. But yes, we do differentiate between jail and prison - the former usually being for those with short sentences or for those awaiting trial, and the latter being for those with long sentences. Interesting that other countries don't maintain that distinction - but I guess most countries don't have such a sprawling prison-industrial complex to warrant separate short-term v. long-term detention classifications.
    - pyuser583 2y ago
      The American distinction is jail v prison. In practice, the distinction is overblown. Jails do hold long term prisoners, and prisons get pre-trial prisoners too. There’s literally a market for jail beds. So prisoners are often sent where there’s an open spot, with little distinction between “short term” and “long term”. A better distinction is that jails are run by a law enforcement agency, while prisons are not.
      - otteromkram 2y ago
        Dictionary essay of the difference between the two words: https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/jail-vs-prison-difference https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/jail-vs-prison-diffe...
      - t-3 2y ago
        Your distinction is probably a better one, but the one I've heard is lockups hold temporarily from hours-days, jails hold prisoners for sentences up to a year, prisons for over a year. People might end up in a jail for much longer, but normally they don't.
      - eloisant 2y ago
        France also has the same distinction. "maison d'arret" = jail, "centre de detention" = prison. the word "prison" however (that also exist in French) is a generic term for both.
        2y ago
  - polshaw 2y ago
    There's a confusion here. Gaol is simply a rarely used (I would say archaic) spelling of jail. It does not mean prison. British English also differentiates jail and prison, by extension I assume that's universal.
    - d1sxeyes 2y ago
      British English as a language might, British people do not, and the physical facilities are the same. We say someone is “held on remand” if they are incarcerated pre-trial, and the part of the prison which holds prisoners pretrial is often referred to as the “remand wing”.
    - Andrex 2y ago
      I feel like I've read, well not a lot, but a pretty decent amount. More than my average peer, probably. I don't think I've ever once encountered "gaol" before today. Reading the parent comment, I believed it was a non-English language loanword, and probably a recent one at that, until I read the comments. It's not like I avoid archaic works, either. It's possible I did come across the word at some point, but it was a one-off and without any repetition it faded quickly from my memory. Am I a one-off?
      - theonemind 2y ago
        I got like 740 on the verbal SAT and I’ve never seen it
diana-404 2y ago
I'm new to kindle, I've been into this since 2021 so im not so aware of kindle's jailbreaking history. Can you tell me what gaolbreak is?
- shasheene 2y ago
  Gaol is an archaic spelling of jail, that retains the same pronunciation and meaning as jail :)
- dgfitz 2y ago
  So “gaol” is supposedly an alternative way to spell “jail” that I first encountered in a video game. I keep seeing “tyre” on here too. I guess hn is hipster for alternative spellings.
  - richiebful1 2y ago
    "tyre" is just UK English
    - ggm 2y ago
      As is gaol
      - petesergeant 2y ago
        Which dictionary are you using that doesn’t mark it as an archaic form in British English?
        FabHK 2y ago
        Merriam-Webster has it as "chiefly British spelling" of jail, and Oxford English Dictionary has it as a "variant". https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaol https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaol https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=gaol https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=gaol

OuterVale 2y ago

Relevant recent discussion: Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th - 299 Points | 173 comments - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43070155 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43070155 Amazon ends kindle ebooks "Download and Transfer via USB" - 121 Points | 94 Comments - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43041726 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43041726

Quarrel 2y ago
I suspect most people that go this route (ie download and manage their own ebooks, then transfer them to their Kindle) use Calibre, which afaik, is unaffected by this change. https://calibre-ebook.com/ https://calibre-ebook.com/
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- thewileyone 2y ago
  This is the way ... my way at least
dlenski 2y ago
Does a jail broken Kindle allow me to remove the DRM from Kindle ebooks downloaded to it? (I genuinely don't know. Until now, I've always downloaded Kindle purchases via ”Download and transfer via USB”, then stripped the DRM and transferred to the device with Calibre.)
- Mindwipe 2y ago
  Not in and of itself, no. It would allow another source to downloading them from the Amazon website (as that is going away) on to a PC where stripping software can (in some cases) be applied. It also might (but might not) be a way for decryption keys to be extracted from devices for that purpose, but it doesn't automatically provide such an exploit.
  - 2y ago

xnx 2y ago

New Kindle Jailbreak Works with Any Kindle on Any Firmware: 5 points | 45 days ago | 1 comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42579291 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42579291

shasheene 2y ago

Highlighting the very popular app enabled by this, KOReader: https://koreader.rocks/ https://koreader.rocks/ https://github.com/koreader/koreader https://github.com/koreader/koreader

goosedragons 2y ago
Koreader can also be installed on Kobo out of the box with no jailbreaking. Just in case anybody was thinking of getting a Kindle for this.
- vanderZwan 2y ago
  It's worth doing so on older kobo readers in my experience because it turns pages faster, and it also correctly displays embedded ePub fonts that the native software doesn't. I don't know how many of you will ever read books that feature APL glyphs so I don't know how relevant that last bit is, and I can't speak for more recent models.
  - SSLy 2y ago
    stock kobo has two epub readers. trash one from adobe used for drmed files and stock epubs, and an actually good one for use with KEPUB files. There's a calibre plugin to make the conversion upon push to the device.
RachelF 2y ago
Yes, KOReader is the reason to jailbreak a Kindle. It's way better than the built-in Amazon reader app.
- safety1st 2y ago
  I was actually trying out KOReader (on Android via F-droid) last night and it... looks promising... but better than the Kindle app, really? It doesn't have a dark mode which is basically baseline for me reading at night. Or am I missing something?

seneca 2y ago

@dang Can we link to the actual article, instead of a reddit post? https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/

cwillu 2y ago
Email hn@ycombinator.com; “@dang” doesn't do anything
- dang 2y ago
  Changed from https://old.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles_can_now_be_jailbroken/ https://old.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles.... Thanks!

a2dam 2y ago

It's a shame this doesn't work for the Kindle Fire tablets, which are amazing devices for the price but unfortunately tethered to Amazon services.

idiotsecant 2y ago
I used a jailbroken kindle fire running lineage for years. I dropped that thing, got it wet, got it hot. It was impossible to kill. It finally had 1 drop to many but it was one of the best devices I ever had in terms of utility / $
- freedomben 2y ago
  Indeed. I had an original Kindle fire (back when it was still "Android") and I loved it great device for the money. It saddens me greatly how they've locked everything down. They could be the premier builders but instead I know then as grotesque authoritarians.
  - stkdump 2y ago
    I find it exceedingly likely that they lose money on every kindle fire sold (at least during one of their regular sales), unless it causes more content sales. So the solution is of course to make it as useless as possible for anything else, otherwise they would just lose more. Same as inkjet printers.
    - freedomben 2y ago
      I've had the same thought, though if true I wish they'd sell an unlocked version for more money, similar to how they did the ads on lock screen
toredash 2y ago
Still have two Fire tablets (HD). Works for streaming and reading but surfing can be a drag

transcriptase 2y ago

It’s interesting reading that the reasons for jailbreaking a kindle are so trivial, amounting to adding some minor functionality to reading books and not much else. Kobo jailbreaks from back in the day gave you root on a stripped down Linux install, complete with telnet ssh and ftp. You could even install python and essentially do anything the cpu/display permitted. Another cool aspect with those older kobos was that they had two microsd card readers… one hidden inside the enclosure that contained the OS, accessible without even needing a screwdriver.

kragen 2y ago
Don't Kobo jailbreaks still give you that? Are they even "jailbreaks"?
- II2II 2y ago
  Yes, you can still do that. The only differences with modern Kobo devices are the loss of an external uSD slot and, on the latest modeks, the liss of the internal uSD slot. I also have a hard time describing the process as jail breaking. Updates to the Kobo are simply unprotected zip files which contain firmware updates along with a gzipped tarball that contain updated files for the filesystem. Anyone with a knowledge of Linux can modify the software. Ibalso consider the situation as rather stable. Not only has Kobo/Rakuten been ignoring modifications of the open source components for over a decade, they have been ignoring patches to the proprietary binaries.
  - kragen 2y ago
    That's great! Thanks!
  - ornornor 2y ago
    I wish we could extract the kobo fonts so they could be used with koreader. I’ve found the fonts on the kobo root partition but they’re encrypted or otherwise obfuscated so simply copying the files doesn’t work :(
Larrikin 2y ago

kragen 2y ago

This is great news! Can it be patched?

radicaldreamer 2y ago
Yes, but you can disable OTA updates
mook 2y ago
https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ says it's based on https://kindlemodding.org/mesquito/ https://kindlemodding.org/mesquito/ which in turn says it needs <=5.15.1.1
- ThatHackerDude 2y ago
  That's a mistake on my part, I've updated that page Right now WinterBreak remains unpatched, but it is patchable and likely will be in the near-future
  - Darthagnon 2y ago
    Is there a better way to block OTA updates than renametoabin? I've tried that and a few alternatives and none help with my Kindle 4s disabling the jailbreak whenever they get a whiff of internet.

tripdout 2y ago

Wow, kindlemodding.org loads instantly. I know it's a simple website, but simple websites often still load slowly.

RandomBK 2y ago
The entire frontpage was just 468KB, 91KB compressed, and most of that was the search index. Very neat!
- deadbabe 2y ago
  Sad that 91kb is considered small.
  - LoganDark 2y ago
    Most websites are like 50mb, my dude.
    - genewitch 2y ago
      Still nearly a half million characters, though. That's 1:40 on dialup. Not 50MB, that's not lightweight, which this thread is about.
      - LoganDark 2y ago
        > Not 50MB, that's not lightweight, which this thread is about. I'm not sure what you're meaning to say to this but my point was that 50MB is absolutely humongous and so many websites are around that order of magnitude. 91kb is a lot smaller than it could be, even though it's not exactly absolutely small.
    - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
      Incorrect, most are ~2.5 MB; granted, the size has steadily increased over the years. But 50 MB sites are an exception. https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2022/page-weight https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2022/page-weight

ggm 2y ago

The constant anti patterns in how your library and even things in Amazon's interest like book reviews display are why I would do this, if I thought I could script or fix the changes away. Kindle is Doctorow's enshittification at scale.

FabHK 2y ago
I have a nice unregistered recent Kindle that I put books on via USB (I don't even give it WiFi access), and every single time I switch back to the main library to pick a new book to read it puts up a modal informing me that it doesn't have cloud access and prompts me to register. Quite annoying.
- ggm 2y ago
  This and a hundred other snippets of mal behaviour. I have both calibre side loaded and on device, and it does not like the mixture one bit: they're just files. What's the beef?
RachelF 2y ago
Not just enshittification in the way of spying and ads. The actual reading experience has got worse. I have a Kindle 11 and an old Kindle 3. The Kindle 3 actually works better - easier to read, no random pauses, easier to search.
- talideon 2y ago
  To this day, the 3 is still my ideal version. Everything else since has fallen flat in some way in comparison. It was the right size, had paddle buttons for turning the page, had a passable keyboard, was responsive, could play audio, &c. It was excellent. I very much wish mine didn't die on me.

fvrther 2y ago

Kobo are giving you root access with telnet from the start. You can flash modded firmwares, change the backend servers to phone your own calibre-web instance, install ssh, koreader and even a tailscale vpn on it. They even have UART pins labelled on their board. These are amazing devices to play with. And they read pretty much everything you throw on their storage: epub, cbz, cbr, pdf..

throitallaway 2y ago
I moved from Kindle to Kobo for the sole reason that the backlight had tunable color temperature. I've ended up liking it for lot of reasons, including how open they are.
- zimpenfish 2y ago
  Kindle Paperwhite (and possibly others) have adjustable colour temperature too, with time-based automation. From a quick squizz, not quite the same as the Kobo (I don't think it has the "more blue in daytime" function) but just noting that it does exist on some in some fashion.
  - throitallaway 2y ago
    It's great that Paperwhite have caught up to Kobo in this manner. Back when I was evaluating replacing my (lost) Kindle I believe it was only an option on the top tier ($300+) Kindle.
pathartl 2y ago
I moved to Kobo because I bought my partner the Kindle Oasis and just after a year the battery couldn't hold a charge. I contacted Amazon and they would only give me 10% off a new device. I only found one person on the internet who was courageous enough to open one up. The screen was epoxied to the body with no way of opening the device without destroying the screen. So I got her a Kobo Libra H2O. Just as waterproof, significantly cheaper, and you can actually repair it. I ended up getting a Libra Colour for myself and love it.

drilbo 2y ago

my kindle oasis has been largely collecting dusk since I've got my kobo. I do really miss the buttons tho, perhaps this can prolong my buying a third device. the only thing giving me pause is that I apparently have to register the kindle, which if possible, I'm sure I've avoided. any insight on why this is necessary?

sersi 2y ago
I've done the opposite. While I love the openness of the kobo and the pocket integration, I end up using my kindle oasis more because of the form factor and because with the metal enclosure it feels better in my hand.
- t_mahmood 2y ago
  Be careful, I accidentally sat on it and it bent, and display got ruined. Kindle original survives just fine. The metal enclosure is not very robust

restlessdesign 2y ago

For those who prefer the default Reddit UI: https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles_can_now_be_jailbroken/ https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1hrwytr/all_kindles...

xethos 2y ago
Each say we stray further from God's light. I could rant about how dramatically heavier the new Reddit UI is, but I'd be wasting my time - the people here should presumably know why making everything heavier isn't great Or maybe they don't, as evidenced by this new Reddit link not being absolutely buried
- dwayne_dibley 2y ago
  old.reddit is the only reddit.
  - nunez 2y ago
    libreddit instances are even better (if you're just a lurker)
- daveoc64 2y ago
  As a moderator of /r/kindle, I can reveal that in January 2025, less than 1% of our visits were from users still using Old Reddit. It does mostly attract users who aren't as technically minded as users on HN. iOS Apps - 36.65% | Mobile Web - 24.85% | New Reddit - 24.37% | Android Apps - 13.30% | Old Reddit - 0.82%
  - Summershard 2y ago
    This is much, much less than I would've guessed. I thought the new UI is universally hated. I should leave my bubble more often.

hemant6488 2y ago

I revived my old kindle pw7 using this a week or so ago. If you have an old kindle lying around, you can use it as an e-ink weather dashboard (or anything else for that matter, as long as you can convert it into a 8bit greyscale image). https://terminalbytes.com/reviving-kindle-paperwhite-7th-gen/ https://terminalbytes.com/reviving-kindle-paperwhite-7th-gen...

internet_points 2y ago
i love this! unfortunately I'm still using my old pw for reading, I'll have to buy a second used one for this project
import 2y ago
Nice to see a good write up. I did the same a year ago, it refreshes every hour (except night) and battery needs to be charged every 24-25 days.
barrkel 2y ago
My old kindle is a Kindle 3 from 2010, and it's still my primary e-ink reader. I still haven't found a compelling reason to upgrade.
- matsemann 2y ago
  I gave up on my first paperwhite last year (10+ years old). Would randomly lose its charge, which was annoying when bringing it on trips (and often not having an old micro-usb charger lying around). And from being stuck into all kinds of pockets and bags without a protector (half the use was it fitting in my pants) had seriously scratched up the screen. The new one I got is nice, but other than the old one being beaten up, I don't notice much difference. A bit faster to click around, but in the end it's mostly the same.
  - Lalabadie 2y ago
    Mine would have longer and longer delays on each page turn when I started using it again last year. It's a 10+ years Paperwhite as well. I jailbroke it and installed KOReader. Suddenly, no delays, great interface, wi-fi sync with Calibre. I might replace the battery one day, but it still lasts 2-3 books.

PostOnce 2y ago

Still can't remove the stupid "cloud not available" nag if your kindle isn't online though, which of course it shouldn't be or they'll delete your copy of 1984.

throwaway314155 2y ago
Root access can't fix this?
- PostOnce 2y ago
  I couldn't find a way, I was hoping someone better at firmware hacking could help me out but my repeated searches have turned up little
ihuman 2y ago
What nag? I keep mine in airplane mode and it doesn't nag me (unless I try to do something that requires the internet)
- hedora 2y ago
  I updated mine a few years ago. (What was I thinking?) Now it nags me every time it is powered on. Does anyone know if factory reset downgrades the firmware?
- PostOnce 2y ago
  The newer gen kindles nag you every time you go to the menu to change books, even in airplane mode. Maybe this can be turned off if you register it, but I'm tired of having to sign up to some company's ever-changing digital contract and arbitration just to read a book. Specifically, it's a Fullscreen popover that says "cloud not available" which I of course know because it's in airplane mode! You pay 300 dollars and get treated like you're using their device instead of yours.

m00dy 2y ago

it would be really cool to try bionic reader on the ne jailbreak.

october8140 2y ago

How do I get Apple Books on there?

testfrequency 2y ago
You don’t. It’s impossible with Apple’s DRM.

tuananh 2y ago

what can you do with jailbreak Kindle? My Kindle usage has been pretty basic.

laserlight 2y ago

Didn't work on my Kindle Paperwhite (10th generation) with firmware 5.17.1.0.3.

vaylian 2y ago
What symptoms did you experience when you tried it?
- laserlight 2y ago
  It was something like “Couldn't connect to Kindle Store”.
  - kelnos 2y ago
    Did you see the "Troubleshooting" section after the jailbreak install instructions?
    - laserlight 2y ago
      Thanks for your help. I've just tried it. It failed with “unexpected error” again --- I believe the first error I got was also this one. I'm not sure what I might be doing wrong.
      - laserlight 2y ago
        I tried again. This time I chose “Set up later” after the factory reset, so that I don't have to waste time completing the steps after registration. I got a “Kindle Store is currently unavailable” error. This error is more likely to be the first error I got. Edit: I finally got it working by trying one more time, without factory reset.
fastball 2y ago
According to this section[1] of the website, the latest jailbreakable firmware for PW4 (10th gen) is 5.14.2. Not sure where the title of this HN post came from, but given the jailbreak came out on Jan 1st, I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon has already patched the exploit for hardware they're still supporting. [1] https://kindlemodding.org/firmware-and-flashing/downloading-updates.html https://kindlemodding.org/firmware-and-flashing/downloading-...

esseti 2y ago

what are the main benefits of doing so? I'm missing what's the deal with jailbreak in this case, using thee transfer via USB? what's the best thing i can do afterwards?

genewitch 2y ago
Koreader is why I'll be doing it. PDFs that don't suck, I hear.
- Chihuahua0633 2y ago
  Is there a site that calls out how to load this post jailbreak?
ksynwa 2y ago
I use Koreader on my Kobo ereader for a few reasons: - Much much faster than stock interface - More customisable - Comes with an ssh server. I load a static rsync binary and use rsync for syncing the library - Much better for reading manga. Supports cbz, cbr format natively. Has the ability to clip empty space around the content to make reading on a small screen easier.
Cthulhu_ 2y ago
Use it as an external display or control center; it's hard to find decent and affordable standalone e-ink screens.

ksynwa 2y ago

The amount of DRM and locking down Amazon bolts onto its ereaders and ebook formats feels insane to me. I can understand the profit motive but god damn.

starbugs 2y ago
> The amount of DRM and locking down Amazon bolts onto its ereaders and ebook formats feels insane to me. I can understand the profit motive but god damn. I don't. I would be much happier buying ebooks without DRM and I would buy substantially more of them if they were DRM-free.
- NoboruWataya 2y ago
  I am with you but we are a small minority. I literally don't know anyone IRL who cares about DRM. I doubt people like us factor into their decision making at all.
  - kevincox 2y ago
    No, but I know people wondering why this can't play this video in 4k or why their offline downloaded videos stopped working and they get a pop-up telling them that they need to go online to re-validate them. Yes, not many people know what DRM is but many of the effects are noticed when it ruins their experience.
    - wand3r 2y ago
      I agree, however they probably assume it's their fault or something to do with this arcane black box they use but don't quite understand how it works. For me, I bought a single DRM book against my better judgement because it was the only available way to get it quickly at the time. Predictably, I eventually lost access to it and never bought another one since.
  - wnolens 2y ago
    I have never considered DRM on my Kindle, been using one for 15 years. I can buy any book on Amazon which is any book id be trying to read on this small format, and read it immediately for usually a maximum of $10. Never had want for more!

Fokamul 2y ago

Amazon supporting pirating since 1997

endorphine 2y ago

Question to KOReader users: can you somehow keep the Bookerly font? It's one of the main reasons I like Kindle.

slezyr 2y ago
Download the font[1] and put it in the '/koreader/fonts' directory[2]. 1 https://font.download/font/bookerly https://font.download/font/bookerly 2. p13 https://koreader.rocks/koreader-user-guide.pdf https://koreader.rocks/koreader-user-guide.pdf
c0eos 2y ago
First, KOReader uses its own fonts in addition to whatever fonts are installed on your device, so yes. Second, you can find and download Bookerly on the internet and put it in the fonts folder, so also yes.

lzmp 2y ago

Hell yeah, power to the users.

m000 2y ago

What are some "killer" applications that would tempt the casual Kindle user to jailbreak the device? I can see someone has ported syncthing [1], which could be convenient for syncing the contents of the device. But probably still too much work compared to using e.g. Calibre and a USB cable a few times per year. [1] https://syncthing.net/ https://syncthing.net/

slezyr 2y ago
The smallest margin on Kindle Scribe is too large. Changing text justification is not possible. Books cannot be uploaded directly with a USB cable without additional software (calibre). Gesture configuration (tap, two-finger tap, etc). Koreader can do everything you want and is significantly better than the stock reader. Unlike other vendors, kindle requires root to install it.
- m000 2y ago
  I didn't know about Koreader. A reader with native epub support is a good feature. With the stock reader, Calibre needs to do an epub -> mobi conversion (works well, but still...).
ornornor 2y ago
Koreader is much better than the stock software.
- paulcole 2y ago
  In what ways specifically?
  - homebrewer 2y ago
    Support for epubs and RSS, much more responsive UI, night mode, Calibre integration + SSH server (you can send books over Wi-Fi), countless settings to adjust pretty much anything (for example, you can set margins to zero — the minimum margins on stock firmware are insane). The list goes on. edit: found this link. I don't think this list is complete. https://koreader.rocks/user_guide/#whatcanyoudo https://koreader.rocks/user_guide/#whatcanyoudo

calini 2y ago

Time to finally buy a Kindle I guess

axpy906 2y ago
Before you do that would suggest you check out Boox. I am very surprised to scroll this thread and see Kobo call outs but not Boox. No need to jailbreak as highly customizable.
- soroushmo 2y ago
  Do you have any thoughts on the Supernote?

Shorel 2y ago

After having three Kindles I moved to Kobo, and it was much, much better in the compatibility side of things. Now I am using a PocketBook and it is also great. The synchronization feature between browser, phone and the reader is very good, it is reason enough to have it instead of a Kindle.

Zambyte 2y ago

I am replying from my Daylight Computer. Happy to answer questions about it. https://daylightcomputer.com https://daylightcomputer.com

ulkis 2y ago
OMG that was the most unintuitive and annoying to browse/scroll page I have seen in a long time. Hope the device is good though.
fivestones 2y ago
Looks interesting. Can you use it like a jailbroken device (ie, install whatever you want from the terminal on it)? Or is it locked down too?
- chimineycricket 2y ago
  It's an Android tablet, download whatever apps you want.
- skiman10 2y ago
  It runs a custom Android 13 based skin with access to the Play Store.
- Zambyte 2y ago
  As others have mentioned, it's simply Android by default. They also officially endorse this wiki, which has information on unlocking the bootloader and gaining root access: https://www.daylighthacker.wiki https://www.daylighthacker.wiki
mrobot 2y ago
Have you tried the remarkable and if so how does it compare? I don't think the remarkable 2 was anywhere near 60fps. But i think you can put nixos on it.

glimshe 2y ago

Cool! But what prevents Amazon from patching this in a few days?

ZiiS 2y ago
Well they haven't patched _anything_ in the last 600 days so that would be fairly optimistic.

adilcanq 2y ago

imagine if they pulled a slick double free in the bootloader heap and jacked up a custom rop chain to completely sidestep that rsa sig check. amazon ain’t gonna be happy.

pidgeon_lover 2y ago

This is good news, but I am curious about the Wifi requirement - is the jailbreak web-based? Is Wifi usable afterwards on Mesquito-jailbroken Kindles? I know on my older jailbroken Kindles, the jailbreak is very fragile and they can no longer be connected to the internet, partly because of Amazon's agressive OTAs and partly because Amazon disables developer mode and hence the jailbreak every time my Kindle 4s touch the internet. (PS. If anyone can suggest a way to prevent this and secure my jailbreaks, it would be much appreciated - I've tried 3 different OTA blockers and none work reliably)

ZiiS 2y ago
The install talks though how to block OTA, wifi remains fully working.
- Darthagnon 2y ago
  I've tried renametoabin (the one mentioned by the Mesquite jailbreak Kindle Modding Wiki in the OP), BlockKindleOTA, ShutTheBackDoor, etc. all of which do more or less the same thing to attempt blocking OTA updates on the Kindle. None work to prevent the Kindle 4 from disabling the jailbreak as soon as it gets wifi access.
  - ZiiS 2y ago
    I only have experience with Oasis (8th gen) I am afraid.

lovestory 2y ago

Will this allow for more bluetooth options? For example connecting with bluetooth page turner would be a killer feature, but so far Kindle only allows for audio transfers via bluetooth.

drio 2y ago

I just wanted to express my support for KOReader—it’s a fantastic piece of software. I use it on my Kobo, and the UI is noticeably faster than the device’s default system. It also offers a wealth of customization options. This may not be an issue on newer e-readers, but the ability to highlight seamlessly across adjacent pages is truly liberating.

Agraillo 2y ago
On a little technical side, the cross-platform engine of KOReader is developed in Lua and low level stuff like drawing and eInk specifics is different for every device. I think this separation might be very noticable for anyone running it on Android, almost no standard UI elements, dialogs, etc. But that's what makes this project so widespread device wise I think

dartharva 2y ago

This is perfect! For anyone stuck in the hotfix installation step - try turning Airplane mode on before updating your Kindle. It worked for me.

x1ph0z 2y ago

I can’t understand how kindles are popular when there’s a plethora of ebook readers without the locked down DRM.

apexalpha 2y ago
They're sold through Amazon.
colejohnson66 2y ago
Because most users don't care. They give Amazon a few bucks a month and they get unlimited ebooks.
SheinH 2y ago
I bought a Kindle Scribe recently because it was around $250 secondhand. That makes it the cheapest of all of the 10" e-readers available. It's perfect if you want to read textbooks, PDFs, and manga.
frantathefranta 2y ago
IIRC e-ink used to not be that cheap and Amazon sold you one for not that much money.
miohtama 2y ago
I am using because of ease to use with Amazon. For my $8 book purchases I read once I do not want to see too much trouble.
hombre_fatal 2y ago
Household name + most people don't even know about ebook DRM so they never encounter that downside + it's the books that come with DRM; you can move pirated books to it just fine.
NoboruWataya 2y ago
The devices are cheap (for what they are), the ebooks are cheap and most people are already neck deep in their ecosystem so being locked down isn't an issue to them. Also, it's not like other ebook readers let you buy non-DRM versions of whatever books you like. Most popular ebooks have DRM of some kind.

kluyg 2y ago

KOReader on Kindle Scribe 2022: https://imgur.com/a/oYshWxI https://imgur.com/a/oYshWxI KOReader is so good for reading PDFs, compared to the native reader, I’m very impressed. Supports proper landscape mode (where swiping to next page moves to the second half of the current page, THEN next swipe gets you to the first half of the next page), supports auto-rotation, support auto-cropping of PDFs with controllable margin (killer feature), supports contrast adjustments, … It does not support handwritten annotations, but for just reading PDFs - it’s perfect.

b0dhimind 2y ago
I have a lot of PDFs and this is the most interesting. Do you use the Calibre KOReader add-on to sync and manage? Does that work well? Do deletions of books sync? Does highlighting annotation work/sync fine? I would make the move just for that alone since SendtoKindle is kind of basic.
- kluyg 2y ago
  I didn’t get that advanced yet. I’m trying to figure out the Dropbox integration at the moment. I don’t use Calibre. I know highlighting works (I’ve annotated the PDF I’m reading), but I didn’t test highlights export / sync yet.
ajusa 2y ago
Which book is being read in that screenshot? Looks interesting. I did a few searches based on the text and couldn't find it.
- kluyg 2y ago
  My friend wrote it. I’m reading a draft. I’ll ask him if he’s willing to share more broadly, but it’s probably too early
42772827 2y ago
I always found KOReader to be too fiddly for ePubs, has that changed recently or have I been doing it wrong? I want a set of sane defaults to be applied to every book, I don’t want to tweak every book individually. This leads to distraction for me

thehias 2y ago

Can you buy a "Kindle with ads" and remove these ads then after a Jailbreak?

locusofself 2y ago
You can usually just contact amazon support and they will remove the ads for you without a fee.
- aalam 2y ago
  They don't do that anymore, at least not for me. I tried contacting two different support agents and both mentioned that the functionality has been removed for them by the higher-ups.
squaresmile 2y ago
Yes you can
pidgeon_lover 2y ago
Yes, it is technically possible, but it is occult knowledge. I don't know how. I know the one Kindle with ads I had, they somehow disappeared and never returned after I reset it, possibly because I did not connect it to any Amazon account or Wifi. You won't get any help with that aspect from any mainstream Kindle jailbreak devs or on MobileRead, as they follow a general policy of live and let live with Amazon. They don't get DMCAs on jailbreaks, they don't help people "pirate".

wolfspaw 2y ago

Nice! With this Jailbreak can one install a Manga/Novel aggregator/reader like Mihon Manga reader?

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

synergy20 2y ago

what can I do with it specifically? i use a boox these days,but i do have 4 kindles collecting dust

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

jskrn 2y ago

Hmm can a jailbroken Kindle receive library books via, say Libby/Overdrive or other method?

pkkkzip 2y ago

Does this jailbreak allow unrestricted web browsing? Ability to read long threads on kindle would be amazing.

earthboundkid 2y ago

My Kindle was bricked by an Amazon OTA update. Checkmate, atheists.

tlhunter 2y ago

Is it worth buying a Kindle now?

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
tlavoie 2y ago
No, Kobos are a better choice. Much more consumer-friendly, even if the default book store is still DRM-encumbered.

jerojero 2y ago

Before I swapped to Kobo I jailbroke my Kindle Voyage and installed Koreader on it. It was amazing. I would have kept the voyage for longer but the micro-usb was killing me. That's the only reason, the battery was still holding on, it had turning page "buttons" (better than nothing) and an amazing screen.

creativenolo 2y ago

> RIP bricked Kindles during beta-testing I wonder how many Kindles were hurt during the making of this…

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

amithanda81 2y ago

Thank you so much. Kindle now looks so much better. KOreader indeed is the killer app. (little did I know that I could install it without jailbreaking). I followed the instructions. It worked flawlessly. KOreader had a few issues, installing latest nightly fixed it. and I am thoroughly enjoying the uplevelled experience.

nirava 2y ago

It's incredible how frickin long I've waited for this. I've had WiFi off for years to avoid updating.

cdaringe 2y ago

I could never get the rtc wake to work correctly in my kindles. For an eink dashboard, low power mode is critical. I ended up just buying a solde.red eink display. Very happy with my purchase. Did a write up about it here https://cdaringe.com/e-ink-dashboard/ https://cdaringe.com/e-ink-dashboard/