Kindle screen freezing problem

hamer

Kindle screen freezing problem

Hi guys,

I'm not really sure which section to put this post in cos it's more of a "hardware" problem than a kindle book request etc. So if it should be in a different section I apologise.

My wifes basic model Kindle touch has developed a problem where the screen has frozen and only displays at the bottom half and a couple of lines at the top. the bottom section which does display also has vertical lines to the right hand side.

There are numerous comments on Kindle related forums that explain a "re-boot" saying to hold the start button button in for 15-20 seconds which should re-start the reader. Other comments say that this is a common problem and unless it is still in warranty the only solution is to buy a new or recon'd one.

I have also read that a reset can be done by depressing a button internally with the end of a paper clip or such however all stored data will be lost.

Queries :-

1. Is it possible to perform an internal re-set and if so how do I do it.

2. If the above is possible, how do I save the existing files to my laptop and transfer them back once the re-set has been completed.

All comments would be appreciated,

Cheers,
Hamer.

buyitall

I had this issue with my kindle keyboard when it was a couple of months out of the 12 month warranty - I was unable to get the kindle working again, no matter what I tried. It does seem to be a common problem, although Amazon deny this. I tried on several occasions to get Amazon customer services to replace, but the most they would offer was 20% off a new kindle.
The kindle should still be recognised when you plug it into a laptop, so you can open it as an external device (just like you would access content on a memory stick/usb drive) and copy the files so that you don't lose them. I use a free programme called Calibre to organise my kindle content.
If all the books were originally purchased from Amazon, you can just re-download them from Amazon anyway, so they would not be lost even if you hadn't saved them.

hamer

Hi buyitall,

My wife has just spoken to Kindle support and as the reader is 3 months out of warranty they said that they couldn't comment on the longevity of the device but have offered a discounted replacement.
To me this sounds like some admittance of liability.

Hamer.

buyitall

hamer wrote: »

Hi buyitall,

My wife has just spoken to Kindle support and as the reader is 3 months out of warranty they said that they couldn't comment on the longevity of the device but have offered a discounted replacement.
To me this sounds like some admittance of liability.

Hamer.

There are absolutely loads of threads on various sites online of people with kindle screens which suddenly freeze. Mine definitely hadn't been dropped; it did coincide with being used on holiday at meditteranean temperatures, not sure if that would have been a trigger. I thought I was fairly persistent with customer services, but I couldn't get them to budge on 20% off.

Dave_C_2

You can reset the kindle by leaning on the power switch for a long time.

Details here

Worth a try before buying a discounted kindle.

Dave

VanMan2007

Dave_C wrote: »

You can reset the kindle by leaning on the power switch for a long time.

Details here

Worth a try before buying a discounted kindle.

Dave

I echo what Dave_C said, as something similar happened to my mums. I held the power switch down for 30 secs. Then it rebooted and all was okay again.

zzzLazyDaisy

I had a persistent problem with my keyboard kindle last year - it would freeze several times a day, despite rebooting etc.

In the end I reset it back to factory settings, and re-registered it with amazon.

I also used to organise my books into collections but I have stopped doing that as it seemed that this was contributing to the problem, as if the processor could not cope.

Now I keep most of my library on Amazon library. I have about 300 on on the kindle, but if I want to read a particular book, or a book about a particular subject, I just use the search facility.

I've had no more problems, so it might just be worth trying.

hamer

Thanks to all, after further reading on differant forums it seems that the screen is cracked.

patman99

Watchdog looked into this problem & it is down to static electricity of all things.
The Kindle screen only uses power to change the display as it uses 'e-ink' technology. This however, is susceptable to static shocks. Even removing a jumper can create enough charge to kill a Kindle screen if you then pick one up shortly afterwards.

hamer

Update,
Amazon have offered to replace it with a Kindle touch wifi at a discounted cost of £67.99 with free p&p so we have ordered one.

rosie383

Just thought I would pass this advice on in case it helps anyone. My Kindle keyboard froze when on holiday and I have been unable to get it to respond at all. CS advised me to hold the power-on button for 20 secs, relaese, and then hold the home button down for 60secs which should take me to a screen enabling me to re-set to factory settings.
Unfortunately this still hasn't cured my problem, but as I have read many, many forums on kindle troubleshooting, and had never come across this advice, I wanted to pass it on in the hope that it may help someone else.