Got an Old Kindle? It Might Not Work Anymore. Here’s What to Do.
If you personal one of many following Kindles, you will not give you the chance to obtain new books after May 20: Kindle 1st Generation (2007), Kindle DX (2009), Kindle DX Graphite (2010), Kindle Keyboard (2010), Kindle 4 (2011), Kindle Touch (2011), Kindle 5 (2012), and the Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation (2012). The Fire tablets that may now not be supported are: Kindle Fire 1st Generation (2011), Kindle Fire 2nd Generation (2012), Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012), and Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2012).
To examine which mannequin you could have, go to Settings > Device choices > Device information in your Kindle or Fire pill.
Amazon’s resolution to finish help for gadgets courting again to 2007 was a shock to many Kindle customers, leaving them with more questions than answers. In a press release to clients, Amazon mentioned that the now-obsolete fashions “have been supported for at least 14 years — some as long as 18 years — but technology has come a long way in that time.”
But the corporate stays tight-lipped on precisely why the know-how is now not supported and the rationale behind the chosen fashions. According to safety specialists, it probably comes down to engineering overhead and ongoing upkeep.
“From a security perspective, there may be hardware-specific security vulnerabilities that cannot be patched with software. Rather than recalling a bunch of devices to fix them, it’s easier to issue credits and get people into newer devices than trying to figure that out,” mentioned Mark Beare, a cybersecurity knowledgeable at Malwarebytes.
There’s much less of a safety danger for older Kindles and Fire tablets, given their restricted options. But Beare factors out that gadgets designed years in the past did not account for future safety vulnerabilities and are troublesome to patch after the very fact.
“The longer they sit out in the wild, the harder they are to maintain through software updates, and that becomes a significant burden on engineering teams and a broad security risk,” he mentioned.
Amazon says it will affect lower than 3% of its Kindle e-reader and Kindle Fire clients worldwide. It’s unclear precisely what number of Kindles are within the wild, however market analysis agency Market Growth Reports estimated that 72 million complete Kindle gadgets had been bought as of 2024. So it is secure to say that this transfer will brick a not-insignificant variety of e-readers.
“Companies cutting support for devices is a giant and massive, increasing problem,” mentioned Nathan Proctor, senior director of the Right to Repair Campaign with the nonprofit Public Interest Research Group.
“Electronic waste is the fastest-growing global waste stream, so when companies make these decisions, they have huge consequences for the ecosystem, and for the owners of those products,” he mentioned.
Amazon gives a trade-in program to its clients: If you ship in your previous machine, you will obtain a rebate that you need to use to buy one other eligible Amazon machine. (The trade-in quantity varies relying on the machine.) The firm says that it “takes unused devices and restores them, making them suitable for resale, or recycles them.” If your machine is not eligible for a trade-in (and is now not in ok situation to resell), the corporate will allow you to ship it to a recycler that is “Amazon-approved.”
Devices which are shedding help are older, which suggests the trade-in worth will probably be low. The Kindle Keyboard from 2011, for instance, may be traded in for up to $5. Keeping it as a memento (or giving it to a relative who’d benefit from the library of books on the machine) may be higher for the atmosphere. You’ll additionally nonetheless give you the chance to make the most of the promo code that Amazon is providing for those who determine to purchase a brand new Kindle.
