How accurate is this? "Amazon Quietly Bricked Jailbroken Kindle Devices Last Year"

Nate the great · 03-24-2015, 08:33 AM

Techdirt is saying that Amazon bricked Kindles late last year. Is that true?
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...-devices.shtml

I was under the impression that the Kindles were merely locked down (but still functioned). Did I miss something?

ottdmk · 03-24-2015, 11:07 AM

The headline is misleading. Reading the article all they discuss is locking down the Kindle, including the elimination of any additional functionality applied through a root'ed previous version. (Not to mention making it almost impossible to return to a rootable firmware.)

HarryT · 03-24-2015, 11:27 AM

It's nonsense. What they actually mean is that the version 5.6 firmware, which first appeared in the Kindle Voyage, and was then released for the Paperwhite 2, closed the loopholes which had previously allowed relatively easy jail-breaking of the Kindle. Ask in the "Developer's Corner" Kindle sub-forum if you need more details.

Nate the great · 03-24-2015, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's nonsense. What they actually mean is that the version 5.6 firmware, which first appeared in the Kindle Voyage, and was then released for the Paperwhite 2, closed the loopholes which had previously allowed relatively easy jail-breaking of the Kindle. Ask in the "Developer's Corner" Kindle sub-forum if you need more details.

That would be a good idea, so i moved the thread.

eschwartz · 03-24-2015, 01:46 PM

"Misleading" headline.

Also I see they only just heard about it, probably because goodereader, who they quote, also only just heard about it.

Sensationalist hooey.

NiLuJe · 03-24-2015, 01:46 PM

The conflation between the Fire TV and the eInk Kindle is especially misleading, because it's completely technically bogus.

And to get back to what we care about here, while the downgrade process on eInk Kindles since FW 5.6 is slightly involved (an increase in complexity that actually began with the earlier FW series, somewhere along the 5.4 line), restoring the jailbreak on previously jailbroken 5.6 device is easy as pie: it's as 'complex' (i.e.: drop file in right place, click right button, enjoy) as the initial JB procedure, if not less so, because we've had to unify some of our more scattered basic stuff to handle everything in a saner way.

And the cat and mouse game is nothing new, it's been a constant battle since the Kindle 2.x days. Although, granted, it's now hit a serious standstill.

So, yay, "journalism". (It's not as if we were hard to reach for comments and/or explanations, as Nate just proved

). Even more baffling when the mostly appropriate stuff is actually linked in the article. :?.

JSWolf · 03-24-2015, 02:11 PM

Don't forget that the new Kindle also cannot be jailbroken. So it's possible to by three models of Kindles that cannot be jailboken.

Does the PW1 have a 5.6 version firmware available for it?

HarryT · 03-24-2015, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does the PW1 have a 5.6 version firmware available for it?

No, it's just the Voyage and PW2 that run firmware 5.6.

Nate the great · 03-24-2015, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

So, yay, "journalism". (It's not as if we were hard to reach for comments and/or explanations, as Nate just proved

). Even more baffling when the mostly appropriate stuff is actually linked in the article. :?.

Thanks!

JSWolf · 03-24-2015, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, it's just the Voyage and PW2 that run firmware 5.6.

Also, the Kindle (7th Generation aka Kindle Touch Basic) also runs a 5.6 firmware version.

NiLuJe · 03-24-2015, 03:24 PM

Yup, the issue on these two new devices is entirely linked with FW 5.5/5.6 being currently impregnable *when starting from scratch* (and from a purely SW standpoint, I'm leaving the serial thing on the side on purpose), and of course being the initial FW releases for those devices (which makes the downgrade issue moot for jailbreaking purposes).

The downgrading issue just happens to make the *recently shipped* PW2 fall into the same big basket of nope, since they now usually come on FW 5.6

. [And downgrading had for quite a while been the first step to go through in order to jailbreak one, which is why the two things are linked in this context].

Legacy Hardware · 03-24-2015, 05:22 PM

Not sure about the Kindles but the update did brick my rooted Fire TV. Like it was stated couldn't roll back the firmware either. Luckily got away with returning it and saying it stopped working after an update.

NiLuJe · 03-24-2015, 06:29 PM

I can't speak for the Fire TV stuff, so that part may be accurate, but conflating that with the eInk Kindles was just plain wrong, hence the "misleading" headline

.

Rizla · 03-26-2015, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legacy Hardware

Not sure about the Kindles but the update did brick my rooted Fire TV. Like it was stated couldn't roll back the firmware either. Luckily got away with returning it and saying it stopped working after an update.

I wonder if it was intended.

03-24-2015, 08:33 AM	#1
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	How accurate is this? "Amazon Quietly Bricked Jailbroken Kindle Devices Last Year" Techdirt is saying that Amazon bricked Kindles late last year. Is that true? https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...-devices.shtml I was under the impression that the Kindles were merely locked down (but still functioned). Did I miss something?

03-24-2015, 01:46 PM	#6
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,497 Karma: 26047188 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	The conflation between the Fire TV and the eInk Kindle is especially misleading, because it's completely technically bogus. And to get back to what we care about here, while the downgrade process on eInk Kindles since FW 5.6 is slightly involved (an increase in complexity that actually began with the earlier FW series, somewhere along the 5.4 line), restoring the jailbreak on previously jailbroken 5.6 device is easy as pie: it's as 'complex' (i.e.: drop file in right place, click right button, enjoy) as the initial JB procedure, if not less so, because we've had to unify some of our more scattered basic stuff to handle everything in a saner way. And the cat and mouse game is nothing new, it's been a constant battle since the Kindle 2.x days. Although, granted, it's now hit a serious standstill. So, yay, "journalism". (It's not as if we were hard to reach for comments and/or explanations, as Nate just proved ). Even more baffling when the mostly appropriate stuff is actually linked in the article. :?. Last edited by NiLuJe; 03-24-2015 at 01:53 PM.

03-24-2015, 03:24 PM	#11
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,497 Karma: 26047188 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Yup, the issue on these two new devices is entirely linked with FW 5.5/5.6 being currently impregnable when starting from scratch (and from a purely SW standpoint, I'm leaving the serial thing on the side on purpose), and of course being the initial FW releases for those devices (which makes the downgrade issue moot for jailbreaking purposes). The downgrading issue just happens to make the recently shipped PW2 fall into the same big basket of nope, since they now usually come on FW 5.6 . [And downgrading had for quite a while been the first step to go through in order to jailbreak one, which is why the two things are linked in this context]. Last edited by NiLuJe; 03-24-2015 at 03:29 PM.

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03-24-2015, 11:07 AM	#2
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,207 Karma: 3765734 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M8 HD	The headline is misleading. Reading the article all they discuss is locking down the Kindle, including the elimination of any additional functionality applied through a root'ed previous version. (Not to mention making it almost impossible to return to a rootable firmware.)

03-24-2015, 11:27 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	It's nonsense. What they actually mean is that the version 5.6 firmware, which first appeared in the Kindle Voyage, and was then released for the Paperwhite 2, closed the loopholes which had previously allowed relatively easy jail-breaking of the Kindle. Ask in the "Developer's Corner" Kindle sub-forum if you need more details.

03-24-2015, 01:46 PM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	"Misleading" headline. Also I see they only just heard about it, probably because goodereader, who they quote, also only just heard about it. Sensationalist hooey.

03-24-2015, 02:11 PM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,395 Karma: 136466962 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Don't forget that the new Kindle also cannot be jailbroken. So it's possible to by three models of Kindles that cannot be jailboken. Does the PW1 have a 5.6 version firmware available for it?

03-24-2015, 05:22 PM	#12
Legacy Hardware Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2015 Device: Kindle 3w	Not sure about the Kindles but the update did brick my rooted Fire TV. Like it was stated couldn't roll back the firmware either. Luckily got away with returning it and saying it stopped working after an update.

03-24-2015, 06:29 PM	#13
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,497 Karma: 26047188 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	I can't speak for the Fire TV stuff, so that part may be accurate, but conflating that with the eInk Kindles was just plain wrong, hence the "misleading" headline .

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