Kindle Jailbreak in 2024

[minidonnie]

I have a Kindle Basic 10th Gen running fw 5.16.7 and I would like to install Koreader on it, is there any way to jailbreak or downgrade the firmware to an older version? I read some posts but it was hard to comprehend, any help is appreciated!

[BionicGecko]

Unfortunately no. Kindles can only be downgraded if already jailbroken, and the latest jailbreakable version is 5.16.2.1.1.

Version 5.16.3 also introduced a lot of system-level changes and the existing hacks no longer work, so it is unlikely that a functional jailbreak will come out anytime soon.

[minidonnie]

Originally Posted by BionicGecko

Unfortunately no. Kindles can only be downgraded if already jailbroken, and the latest jailbreakable version is 5.16.2.1.1.

Version 5.16.3 also introduced a lot of system-level changes and the existing hacks no longer work, so it is unlikely that a functional jailbreak will come out anytime soon.

May it be possible for a jailbreak to come out in like a month? or is it better to just buy a secondary one and just go with that?

(I would also like to personally buy another one anyway to get the page turn buttons)

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by minidonnie

May it be possible for a jailbreak to come out in like a month? or is it better to just buy a secondary one and just go with that?

(I would also like to personally buy another one anyway to get the page turn buttons)

No, it probably won't come out next month. Maybe not even next year. No one knows until someone discovers a way.

You'd be better off buying a device that doesn't need jailbreaking to install KOReader (Kobo, Pocketbook, Onyx Boox).

[mergen3107]

I went Kindle way only because there is no 300 ppi 10-inch Kobo yet
I gambled, but was lucky to get one with FW <= 5.16.2.1.1.

If you plan to buy a Kindle that you want to get JaliBreak on, make sure:
1) Kindle is brand new and unopened.
2) Look at the box's back, find 16-character serial number. If you divide it into four groups of four characters, like AAAABBBBCCCCDDDD, pay attention to CCCC. These numbers are YWWD, where Y is the last digit of the year (for new Kindles, 1 is 2021, 2 is 2022 and so on), WW is the week number of that year, D is the day in that week. This is the manufacturing date of the Kindle. You need YWWD to be 321X or less, like 317X, or even 2WWD. This will ensure that the FW is <=5.16.2.1.1 for Scribe or <=5.16.0.1 for other Kindles - where getting JB is possible.
3) Because of the above conditions, probably your best bet is an open market like eBay where you can see the actual box before shipping (except mass sellers, unless they are kind enough to take photos for you before you purchase). You can also try your luck on Amazon, and then return unopened box if the manufacturing date is too new (or even opened, I remember they used to accept it as is anyway for full refund, don't know how it is now).

Then, with JB and FW, there other considerations.
1) You can get JB, then you need to block OTA updates, then install KOReader and other stuff. If it gets updated to a newer version, you can downgrade back and restore JB. Here you need to keep track of when this happens an never do two in a row of either FW upgrade or factory reset without restoring JB in between (otherwise it will be lost).
2) There are some positive moves towards making stuff useful on FW versions 5.16.3 and above: https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/11986 . The thing is, Amazon switched compilation code libraries from soft float ones to hard float ones. This means the compiling tools and software compilation needs to be tweaked specifically for this change. I am about to test KOReader on 5.16.9 soon.

[GeorgeYellow]

To dispute the "buy something else" crowd, I'll point out that Kindle devices are heavily subsidized because they are customer hostile.

One option is to never register the Kindle with Amazon. This makes it a bit harder when it tree-crashes, but if its purchased on your account, you can still use the warranty.
An unregistered Kindle doesn't get software updates. I'm not sure if it still gets the advertising.

Another option is to register, and quickly go to permanent airplane mode. You can then download purchased books with another device and push them to the Kindle although not quite as convenient.

A third option would be to prevent the update from landing on the user exposed file system, if you have a non-MTP Kindle.

[minidonnie]

Originally Posted by mergen3107

I went Kindle way only because there is no 300 ppi 10-inch Kobo yet
I gambled, but was lucky to get one with FW <= 5.16.2.1.1.

If you plan to buy a Kindle that you want to get JaliBreak on, make sure:
1) Kindle is brand new and unopened.
2) Look at the box's back, find 16-character serial number. If you divide it into four groups of four characters, like AAAABBBBCCCCDDDD, pay attention to CCCC. These numbers are YWWD, where Y is the last digit of the year (for new Kindles, 1 is 2021, 2 is 2022 and so on), WW is the week number of that year, D is the day in that week. This is the manufacturing date of the Kindle. You need YWWD to be 321X or less, like 317X, or even 2WWD. This will ensure that the FW is <=5.16.2.1.1 for Scribe or <=5.16.0.1 for other Kindles - where getting JB is possible.
3) Because of the above conditions, probably your best bet is an open market like eBay where you can see the actual box before shipping (except mass sellers, unless they are kind enough to take photos for you before you purchase). You can also try your luck on Amazon, and then return unopened box if the manufacturing date is too new (or even opened, I remember they used to accept it as is anyway for full refund, don't know how it is now).

Then, with JB and FW, there other considerations.
1) You can get JB, then you need to block OTA updates, then install KOReader and other stuff. If it gets updated to a newer version, you can downgrade back and restore JB. Here you need to keep track of when this happens an never do two in a row of either FW upgrade or factory reset without restoring JB in between (otherwise it will be lost).
2) There are some positive moves towards making stuff useful on FW versions 5.16.3 and above: https://github.com/koreader/koreader/pull/11986 . The thing is, Amazon switched compilation code libraries from soft float ones to hard float ones. This means the compiling tools and software compilation needs to be tweaked specifically for this change. I am about to test KOReader on 5.16.9 soon.

Can I consider non-touch kindles for jailbreak?

[H644b]

A weird thing happened to me relating to this. So I had my kindle break, got customer service to send me a new kindle and then 10 months later fixed the old kindle. Apparently the kindle had stayed in non-working condition and had not updated making it jailbreakable. My main kindle is the newer one as I don't want to touch my books with a jailbreak or anything. So I basically got 1 extra kindle for free.

[jlinear]

Originally Posted by mergen3107

2) Look at the box's back, find 16-character serial number. If you divide it into four groups of four characters, like AAAABBBBCCCCDDDD, pay attention to CCCC. These numbers are YWWD, where Y is the last digit of the year (for new Kindles, 1 is 2021, 2 is 2022 and so on), WW is the week number of that year, D is the day in that week. This is the manufacturing date of the Kindle. You need YWWD to be 321X or less, like 317X, or even 2WWD. This will ensure that the FW is <=5.16.2.1.1 for Scribe or <=5.16.0.1 for other Kindles - where getting JB is possible.

FYI: I just bought a new Kindle Paperwhite 11th gen yesterday on sale at Target with the hope of jailbreaking it. CCCC numbers were 4146 so manufactured this year. It had firmware 5.15.x.x (can't remember last digits). I was able to jailbreak it using LanguageBreak after updating to 5.16.2.1.1.

Edit: By the way I had plenty of time to register it and turn on Airplane mode before it updated. So I can download Amazon content using USB downloads, convert to epub and read using Koreader.

[mergen3107]

Alright, that gives some more hope then
Thanks for sharing!

Make sure to block the OTA updates.

[jlinear]

Originally Posted by mergen3107

Alright, that gives some more hope then
Thanks for sharing!

Make sure to block the OTA updates.

Will do. And thanks for your work on LanguageBreak.

[minidonnie]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

No, it probably won't come out next month. Maybe not even next year. No one knows until someone discovers a way.

You'd be better off buying a device that doesn't need jailbreaking to install KOReader (Kobo, Pocketbook, Onyx Boox).

My kindle was bought in 2019 so it came with a very old software version, is there any way to get that version back to the stantard version it came with?

[mergen3107]

Originally Posted by jlinear

Will do. And thanks for your work on LanguageBreak.

I only tried it on Scribe
LanguageBreak itself is a merit of Marek, NiLuJe, and co

[mergen3107]

Originally Posted by minidonnie

My kindle was bought in 2019 so it came with a very old software version, is there any way to get that version back to the stantard version it came with?

If you are on a newer FW (>=5.16.3) and had no JB, then no.

[minidonnie]

Originally Posted by mergen3107

If you are on a newer FW (>=5.16.3) and had no JB, then no.

It's sad, thanks anyway for all the answers!