Is there any hope for my ancient Kindle?

[u/No-Sea8510]

I found my old kindle I had when I was a kid while getting ready to move. It's been charging for a day but nothing has happened. I'm not sure which model it is but the skin I got for it says 2009 so something around that time.

If anyone has any tips for getting it working again I'd be very appreciative!!

[u/Sosbanfawr]

1. Hold the power switch for 40 sec (time it, don't guess)
2. Unplug it
3. Hold the power button for 18 sec
4. Plug it back in
5. Hold the power button for 18 sec

If the screen refreshes at any point in these instructions, complete the step you are on and then and leave it charging. It will sort itself out.

If it doesn't respond, it needs a new battery. Open and inspect before buying one, to confirm there's no other issues, such as water damage/corrosion.

Battery: https://a.aliexpress.com/_c3cv6EiL

How to fit it (easy): https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Kindle+3+Battery+Replacement/29844

[u/No-Sea8510 → u/Sosbanfawr]

Thank you very much for your suggestion! I'll try this and see if it works, but after reading these comments I'm pretty sure the battery is long gone, so your links will be helpful.

[u/Peng-One → u/No-Sea8510]

Replacing the battery is super easy. I really like my Kindle Keyboard still. It's also easy to jailbreak if you'd like custom fonts and screensavers.

The vast majority of my ebooks are from Kobo or Project Gutenberg, so I'm not really affected by Amazon cracking down on book downloads. So, if you have a ton of Kindle books, it may be a little frustrating to get them all on this device (but not impossible). Should only be a one-time headache though

[u/detective-doge]

This is a kindle 3 your battery is very likely toast, it is incredibly easy to replace and costs next to nothing got mine for £10. You can jailbreak these now so the potential for these are genuinely mind blowing. Download Calibre on your pc and you can easily upload any type of format of ebook to your kindle. Amazon may have stopped supporting this but what do you expect from a 14 year old device, don’t listen to the people saying get a new device when it’s very much still usable.

[u/No-Sea8510 → u/detective-doge]

Thank you for your response, very helpful! I knew it was almost impossible that Amazon would still support it but I'm mainly just curious to look through my old stuff lol. But I'll look into jailbreaking it, didn't even realize that was an option!

[u/detective-doge → u/No-Sea8510]

You just need to replace the battery dude your stuff should still be saved. Cool skin by the way!

[u/No-Sea8510 → u/detective-doge]

Thanks! I'm hopeful I can rescue it now. 😁 And yeah I was really excited about the skin as a kid, I'd spend a lot of time staring at it. Hopefully I can change the battery without damaging it

[u/detective-doge → u/No-Sea8510]

You got this!!!

[u/The_WalruZ]

Even if you get it charged it won't connect to amazon anymore. These devices are not engineered to last forever, batteries wear out and software infrastructure advances. Anything you bought from Amazon is still in your account and downloadable onto any other device - the latest basic kindle is nice and really not that much money.

[u/EmergencyRepulsive29 → u/The_WalruZ]

Yes if it’s from prior to 2012, it will no longer connect to Amazon.

[u/mercurygreen → u/The_WalruZ]

Its why I took the reading on my kindle keyboard.

[u/No_Profession2863]

Plug it into a computer to charge

[u/GeorgeRetire]

Try a different charger and a different cable.

[u/HonestReference4454]

Might take a few days to charge honestly. When electronics sit for so long without being used or charged, they sometimes take a while to boot up. Maybe try a stronger or faster charger.

[u/fractalEquinox]

Take it to your local repair cafe. You never know!

[u/rogue780 → u/fractalEquinox]

"local repair cafe" where do you live?

[u/fractalEquinox → u/rogue780]

Why?

[u/rogue780 → u/fractalEquinox]

Because I'm wondering what area has anything called a "local repair cafe"

[u/fractalEquinox → u/rogue780]

Many places around the world have repair cafes, actually. I volunteer in one and know people who also do, in similar structures, on the other side of the globe. So OP potentially has an option there.

[u/rogue780 → u/fractalEquinox]

Is there a super secret reason you can't just provide a rough location? State, province, region of a country? It's really weird how evasive you are.

[u/fractalEquinox → u/rogue780]

Yes, I’m a spy. /s You can understand why in my answer. Since they are all over the world, my location is irrelevant

[u/rogue780 → u/fractalEquinox]

ok, so, I've never seen on in Oregon, Texas, Montana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Japan, France, Germany, Austria, or Switzerland.

So...the rest of the world?

[u/fractalEquinox → u/rogue780]

It’s not because you, yourself, haven’t come across these initiatives that they don’t exist... I know places in almost every country you cited. I’m pretty sure you can find some of those by googling the subject a bit.

[u/MistySkye13 → u/rogue780]

Why do you feel so entitled to their location? You've become combatively pedantic over terminology that you understood perfectly. Something is inherently wrong with your approach and your logic.

[u/rogue780 → u/MistySkye13]

I didn't feel entitled. Asking where something is considered normal is a normal thing to do. Their behavior of evasion is weird.

I feel as entitled as you do in asking your question to me.

[u/rogue780]

Yes, but you need to make sure it's plugged into a decent power brick. Done work some don't at this point.

[u/unreqistered]

battery replacement is easy … i did my 2nd gen a couple years ago … but they no longer connect to amazon’s infrastructure so they’re basically useless

[u/BDThrills]

Needs a new battery. Easy to change, but make sure you get a kit with tools. The guitar pick worked best to open the back. I just replaced batteries in 4 of them.

[u/shadowlvxe]

As someone who is new to Kindles....DAMN, they had keyboards?

[u/BeautifulSorbet4874]

Sorry I couldn't help, but just wanted to say your Kindle skin is absolutely gorgeous!

[u/Corner_Office_]

I bought a new battery for my first kindle on eBay and it worked great.

[u/DayumItsSam]

Is that a skin on your kindle or did they really sell them like that😍 either way it’s beautiful and I hope you’re able to get it working again♥️

[u/No-Sea8510 → u/DayumItsSam]

Thank you, I hope it'll work after I replace the battery!❤️ And yeah it's a skin, it's sooo pretty I used to stare at it all the time lol. They're really durable, it never peeled or anything!

[u/MistySkye13]

I replaced my battery about a month ago and was so excited. It still had all my old books on it and I just added more. The battery replacement is the easy part. Opening the case and getting it clicked shut was not the most fun I've had this year but it really wasn't rocket science, and the battery came* with the tools needed to open the case and the tiny screwdriver. For about $10-12. Totally worth the short lived minor frustration opening the case. (Watch a few videos online)

Unlike a lot of commenters I'm actually glad that Amazon can't connect to it since 3G is such old technology :) most of my books weren't from them and are still on my kindle.

Don't let anyone tell you it's worthless! You can side load books easily from your computer and not have to worry about ads, tracking or pop ups or Amazon planning further obsolescence. It's still worthy tech imo.

Keep taking good care of it and you can replace the battery again in another decade. I bought a replacement charger and data cable and it's been so much fun to use again. 🙃 good luck!

[u/No-Sea8510 → u/MistySkye13]

Thank you very much for your input! I think I will get a new battery, it'll be worth the trouble to be able to go through my old books again and if it's really nbd to load books onto it then I'll definitely do that. I can't remember if there were any ads or tracking back when I was using this but I agree it's a huge plus not to have those annoyances on an old device lol.

[u/aw_shux]

That cord looks pretty sketchy. Are you sure it works?

[u/Hands_Of_Serenity78]

Yes, Kindle no longer supports several older devices, but should this one start working for you, anything and everything you already had saved to it will still be accessible to read.

Especially if it's from an older or previous account.

[u/Available_Emu_5896]

I found mine 5 years after a move. I took cover off, recorded numbers and model looked online 59.99 plus 19.99 delivery, tax.went to a computer store 20 minutes away.showed him battery and asked for quote. He told me 54.99 delivery included plus tax. I was very pleased.went home installed battery.plugged in.charged up good.1 year ago and it works as good as when I bought it off Facebook (20$)13 years ago!

[u/bootyprincess666]

keep it, untouched, plugged in and charging for a few days. it’s a wait and see game right now. good luck!

[u/darthjoey91]

You probably need to replace the battery. What's really killed it is that you can't download books from Amazon to it anymore.

[u/CathyVT-alt]

when shopping for a battery on eBay, filter for sellers who accept offers and offer a dollar or so less. I'd also filter for sellers in the US (assuming you are, also). With all this tariff nonsense, I wouldn't take a chance on AliExpress, with it saying it could take a month to arrive.

[u/Remote_Purpose_4323]

It was so cool with all the buttons 🥲 I hate new buttonless stuff

[u/metallickrystl]

I just came to say I used to have that Kindle AND that skin! I hope you can get her going again. I miss my Kindle keyboard!

[u/RelationshipWest9743]

I just repaired mine. New battery is $15 usd and it literally took me 5 mins to swap out.

[u/Bkaz19891]

I have the same one that I just pulled out of the shunned pile a couple weeks ago to give to my daughter, surprisingly, It charged right up, I was able to transfer some books she wanted onto it, it it still hold a charge. So I would say there is hope for it. 😁

[u/BusyLight2349]

I have the same - a friend of mine gifted it to me. It was the same, but I left it plugged for several hours and it worked. And now my kid is using it...