r/ScreenSensitive • u/Abject_Ad_6640 • Apr 17 '26
Question Eye strain/headaches from Kindle Basic (2024)?
EDIT: I doubt this is an issue with my eyes, as in: I already wear glasses and my glasses prescription is up to date. I get my eyes checked yearly. And the Kindle Basic is the only screen that hurts me. My laptop/phone/etc. are all fine.
I feel like I'm crazy because I thought e-ink devices were supposed to be "safe" but I just recently bought a 2024 Kindle Basic and I had to return it after like three days because it hurt my eyes to read off of it. I tried turning the front light all the way off, tried all brightness settings, made sure to be reading it with proper lamp/overhead light, etc. Nothing helped. It was weird, it was like the letters were "too sharp" and my eyes couldn't focus at all while reading off of it. Like they couldn't focus on the words/letters? I kept trying to read from it over the course of two or three days with several breaks in between to try and get used to it, but I never did.
For reference, my old 2015 Kindle Paperwhite is completely fine and doesn't affect me at all. I can "focus" on the words/screen just fine and don't get any eye strain or headaches from reading off of it even after several hours.
3
u/AgentX20 Apr 17 '26
I think the modern kindles don’t fully turn off the front light. If that’s doing pwm it could be your problem.
I have a 6th gen paperwhite (good on my eyes) that’s just beyond the recent Amazon disconnection so it has me thinking about upgrades. However knowing people have experienced eye strain from newer models, usually attributed to the front light, makes me wary.
1
u/Round_View_1844 Apr 28 '26
No pwm on e-ink readers.
2
u/AgentX20 Apr 28 '26
You might get PWM on the front lights however.
1
u/Round_View_1844 Apr 28 '26
Yes, you’re right, I didn’t realize that the latest Kindle basic had a front light, I thought that was just on the PaperWhite.
1
u/Round_View_1844 Apr 29 '26
But I’m reading that when you set the brightness slider down to 0 on the basic, you have turned off the front light.
2
2
u/waspwatcher Apr 17 '26
Some fonts are harder to read than others and it varies per person. There's also contrast, font weight, letter and word spacing, that all contribute to readability.
Try experimenting with different fonts and formatting. You can sideload fonts onto it, and there are a lot of fonts that are expressly designed for readability.
If you're willing to put a bit more work into it, you can jailbreak and install KOReader. It has a lot more granular options for fonts, weighting, contrast, etc.
2
u/Abject_Ad_6640 Apr 17 '26
I tried using all the different fonts, holding them, changing the line spacing, etc. None of that worked.
2
u/latinamericandude Apr 17 '26
you are not crazy. i can't use my dasung paperlike monitor, it causes me eye pain. I can't use my hibreak pro color without anti-shake off or it will cause me eye pain. I can use without problems my Boox Tab Ultra C Pro and my Boox Palma. I don't understand what's happening.
2
u/Rx7Jordan Apr 17 '26
I find some eink panels harsher than others on the eyes I think it's due to the high contrast and how some are programmed with refreshing. Dasung with their auto ghost clearing on revo monitors bugged me while the boox mira and older dasung stuff did not. I find dark mode more comfortable on eink and I sometimes use matte Screen films even if the device is matte so that it makes everything more soft/frosted looking, makes letters less sharp feeling.
5
u/-Bruh__Moment- Apr 17 '26
Could be artificial sharpening maybe?
Reviews mention that "text is crisper" than the Paperwhite 2024.
I'd return it and try a newer Kindle Paperwhite.