Kindle Paperwhite connection glacially slow.

ed_williams · 08-22-2023, 03:07 PM

I have several Kindles including a 6th and a 7th generation Paperwhite. Recently they have become almost unusable for downloading books I own from Amazon. Typical symptom is that a book will show as 'queued', then sit in that state for a while (minutes to hours) then disconnect from wifi. If the stars are aligned, it will alternate between 'queued' and 'downloading' for a while (tens of minutes), then either lose connection or complete. Attempting to connect to the store fails - 'not available'.
Trying to push downloads from my Amazon account to the kindles fails silently.
I've tried just about everything I've googled - including completely resetting and re-registering one of them.
I have an excellent wifi setup - speedtests from co-located devices via wifi show 200 Mbit/sec downloads, and I have no problems with other connected devices. I even rebooted my router. When connected the wifi symbol on the Paperwhites always shows all bars.
Ideas?

Quoth · 08-22-2023, 03:50 PM

Use Download to PC for USB transfer and then a USB cable.

ed_williams · 08-22-2023, 04:02 PM

That still works - but is inconvenient. Is getting my Kindle's to work as they did for many years doomed or potentially fixable?

JSWolf · 08-22-2023, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ed_williams

That still works - but is inconvenient. Is getting my Kindle's to work as they did for many years doomed or potentially fixable?

If the firmware is not the latest firmware, update the firmware and try again.

ed_williams · 08-22-2023, 04:16 PM

Both Kindles ( 6 and 7th generation) are running their corresponding latest firmware - checked on the Amazon website by serial and because the option is greyed out on the Kindles.

JSWolf · 08-22-2023, 04:16 PM

If you can create a guest account on your router, try creating one and see how it works.

ed_williams · 08-22-2023, 04:26 PM

Yes. I already have a guest network on my router and it is equally unsuccessful. I've also tried tethering to my IPhone's hotspot. As through my router it works intermittently if at all and at best extremely slowly.

BionicGecko · 08-22-2023, 04:33 PM

I have also encountered issues downloading books from the Amazon servers lately, on all my eInk Kindles. I found that if I cancel the download and start again, it generally goes through. The problem seems limited to Kindles as I have no issues on my iOS devices.

I have a UK Amazon account, might be relevant if that's your case as well ed_williams.

ed_williams · 08-22-2023, 04:56 PM

I have a US Amazon account.
I just tried using my IPhone hotspot again - and it downloaded OK! But when I tried to switch the network back to either of my wifi networks, it refused to connect - and only succeeded after rebooting the Kindle.
What is driving me nuts, is that there is no consistent behavior. I'm trying a download again through wifi and it is cycling between 'downloading' and 'queued'. After five minutes of this it dropped the connection and is 'connection required'. Somehow I'm getting such a throttled connection it is timing out.

Gary_Berg · 08-23-2023, 11:59 AM

Just a thought; try rebooting your router to see if it is confused.

Sent from my SM-T870 using Tapatalk

ed_williams · 08-23-2023, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary_Berg

Just a thought; try rebooting your router to see if it is confused.

Sent from my SM-T870 using Tapatalk

I tried that already as I mentioned in the OP. I can see the Kindles on my network and the IP address they have been assigned by DHCP. They do not respond to ping or show any open ports, however. Is that normal?

Quoth · 08-23-2023, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ed_williams

I tried that already as I mentioned in the OP. I can see the Kindles on my network and the IP address they have been assigned by DHCP. They do not respond to ping or show any open ports, however. Is that normal?

Yes, a client (only) shouldn't respond to pings, though they can, and absolutely should never have open ports.

Your Router should not have any open ports unless you are running your own VPN server for safe access in a café/hotel WiFi point.
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

CathyA · 08-25-2023, 12:59 PM

I had a similar problem some time ago. For me, the solution was to change the router settings for the 2.4GHz network to use a static channel instead of Auto. I chose 9 because an app I downloaded showed it was the least congested one in my neighborhood, and some online research suggested that older kindles can't connect to higher channels. That worked so I never tried anything else, but my next step was going to be using separate SSIDs for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks.

Quoth · 08-25-2023, 01:21 PM

Some higher channel numbers are not allow in USA and some other countries, which is why they can fail on some devices.

A fixed number is better than Auto. If the other people are on auto it works even better

ed_williams · 08-25-2023, 05:50 PM

That was a useful thought! I now realize that my bandwidth testing was only over the 5GHz channel. I only have some legacy and IOT devices, like my Kindles that use 2.4GHz. I checked the statistics on the AP and found the RF environment on Channel 1 was no longer the best - so I switched it to Channel 7, the current optimum.
It's still not acceptable - but it did only take three tries and a reboot to download a novel.
It's not like I live in an apartment building though. My nearest neighbor is 200 yds away, and on channel 1 I was only showing 2% packets dropped. That doesn't seem like show-stopper.

08-22-2023, 03:07 PM	#1
ed_williams Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2023 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (6th gen)	Kindle Paperwhite connection glacially slow. I have several Kindles including a 6th and a 7th generation Paperwhite. Recently they have become almost unusable for downloading books I own from Amazon. Typical symptom is that a book will show as 'queued', then sit in that state for a while (minutes to hours) then disconnect from wifi. If the stars are aligned, it will alternate between 'queued' and 'downloading' for a while (tens of minutes), then either lose connection or complete. Attempting to connect to the store fails - 'not available'. Trying to push downloads from my Amazon account to the kindles fails silently. I've tried just about everything I've googled - including completely resetting and re-registering one of them. I have an excellent wifi setup - speedtests from co-located devices via wifi show 200 Mbit/sec downloads, and I have no problems with other connected devices. I even rebooted my router. When connected the wifi symbol on the Paperwhites always shows all bars. Ideas?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Kindle paperwhite (10th edition) slow and busy UI	Inquisitive_Ram	Amazon Kindle	4	06-12-2023 01:20 PM
Collections on Kindle Paperwhite incredibly slow	FacetiousKnave	Amazon Kindle	4	09-21-2022 10:49 PM
Kindle Paperwhite very slow!	stop__dreaming	Amazon Kindle	3	02-03-2016 03:09 PM
Kindle Paperwhite exit Demo without serial connection	Atter	Kindle Developer's Corner	5	03-30-2015 02:11 PM
Kindle Paperwhite 3G - Internet connection?	MaxBraun	Amazon Kindle	7	02-11-2014 12:28 PM

08-22-2023, 03:50 PM	#2
Quoth the rook, bossing Never. Posts: 11,373 Karma: 87000777 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper11	Use Download to PC for USB transfer and then a USB cable.

08-22-2023, 04:02 PM	#3
ed_williams Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2023 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (6th gen)	That still works - but is inconvenient. Is getting my Kindle's to work as they did for many years doomed or potentially fixable?

08-22-2023, 04:16 PM	#5
ed_williams Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2023 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (6th gen)	Both Kindles ( 6 and 7th generation) are running their corresponding latest firmware - checked on the Amazon website by serial and because the option is greyed out on the Kindles.

08-22-2023, 04:16 PM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,390 Karma: 129358310 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If you can create a guest account on your router, try creating one and see how it works.

08-22-2023, 04:26 PM	#7
ed_williams Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2023 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (6th gen)	Yes. I already have a guest network on my router and it is equally unsuccessful. I've also tried tethering to my IPhone's hotspot. As through my router it works intermittently if at all and at best extremely slowly.

08-22-2023, 04:33 PM	#8
BionicGecko Addict Posts: 205 Karma: 1500001 Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Czech Republic Device: Kindle Voyage, Oasis 3 and Scribe	I have also encountered issues downloading books from the Amazon servers lately, on all my eInk Kindles. I found that if I cancel the download and start again, it generally goes through. The problem seems limited to Kindles as I have no issues on my iOS devices. I have a UK Amazon account, might be relevant if that's your case as well ed_williams.

08-22-2023, 04:56 PM	#9
ed_williams Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2023 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (6th gen)	I have a US Amazon account. I just tried using my IPhone hotspot again - and it downloaded OK! But when I tried to switch the network back to either of my wifi networks, it refused to connect - and only succeeded after rebooting the Kindle. What is driving me nuts, is that there is no consistent behavior. I'm trying a download again through wifi and it is cycling between 'downloading' and 'queued'. After five minutes of this it dropped the connection and is 'connection required'. Somehow I'm getting such a throttled connection it is timing out.

08-23-2023, 11:59 AM	#10
Gary_Berg Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2021 Device: Oasis	Just a thought; try rebooting your router to see if it is confused. Sent from my SM-T870 using Tapatalk

08-25-2023, 12:59 PM	#13
CathyA Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 903052 Join Date: Jun 2017 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I had a similar problem some time ago. For me, the solution was to change the router settings for the 2.4GHz network to use a static channel instead of Auto. I chose 9 because an app I downloaded showed it was the least congested one in my neighborhood, and some online research suggested that older kindles can't connect to higher channels. That worked so I never tried anything else, but my next step was going to be using separate SSIDs for the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks.

08-25-2023, 01:21 PM	#14
Quoth the rook, bossing Never. Posts: 11,373 Karma: 87000777 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper11	Some higher channel numbers are not allow in USA and some other countries, which is why they can fail on some devices. A fixed number is better than Auto. If the other people are on auto it works even better

Advert

Advert

08-25-2023, 05:50 PM	#15
ed_williams Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2023 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (6th gen)	That was a useful thought! I now realize that my bandwidth testing was only over the 5GHz channel. I only have some legacy and IOT devices, like my Kindles that use 2.4GHz. I checked the statistics on the AP and found the RF environment on Channel 1 was no longer the best - so I switched it to Channel 7, the current optimum. It's still not acceptable - but it did only take three tries and a reboot to download a novel. It's not like I live in an apartment building though. My nearest neighbor is 200 yds away, and on channel 1 I was only showing 2% packets dropped. That doesn't seem like show-stopper.