this post was submitted on 16 May 2026
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Users turn to jailbreaking their older Kindles as Amazon ends support (techcrunch.com)
submitted 2 days ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] lordziv@lemmy.nz 8 points 21 hours ago (3 children)

I'm genuinely curious what benefits jailbreaking one gives. I've had a Paperwhite for over 5 years and I've never purchased a single book for it. All I need is a local collection of .epubs and Calibre and I'm away. I keep the Wi-Fi off constantly and have never signed into it once.

[–] nshibj@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

I'm on the same boat as you (except on a pretty old Kindle Touch), and I still don't know if it's worth for me. It seems like people will lose the ability to connect to Amazon's servers and will lose the books they bought from them.

But for us who don't get our books from Amazon and just transfer them using Calibre: are there any big advantages?

[–] nahostdeutschland@feddit.org 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

After May 20, users will only be able to use their devices to read content that’s already downloaded. Once an older device is deregistered or reset to factory settings, it cannot be re-registered after May 20.

Which means: You can still read your books, but you are on borrowed time. If something goes wrong, you can't access all the books you bought from Amazon in the last decades anymore with your current device. So jailbreaking makes sense and it is also important to crack the DRM on those books.

[–] 8oow3291d@feddit.dk 1 points 15 hours ago

Are we sure they don't just mean that you can't use the Amazon store to download new books? I know that is not what they literally write, but it is likely what they mean.

[–] napkin2020@sh.itjust.works 3 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

Koreader supports Calibre wirelessly, so there's no need to ever mess with a USB cable again. It also has no telemetry, does not nag about unregistereded device and, doesn't force you to give up Wi‑Fi(there are quite a few websites designed for ereaders). It can read RSS, natively supports EPUB, and offers a custom dictionary, custom screensaver, custom status bar, and a better horizontal mode, including columns.

I've been avoding messing with my Kindle when I was doing the same thing; not registering and using Calibre. But the latest news gave me a reason to try and I regret not doing this earlier.

edit: Fixed name.

[–] nshibj@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Could you please explain what Kopub is? I cannot find information online: is it a jailbreak method? an app that can be installed after jailbreak? Do you have a link?

[–] napkin2020@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago

Sorry! I meant Koreader. It is an app that can be installed after jailbreak.