Old Kindle Fires Can No Longer Download Books
TIL that old Kindle devices can’t be registered to an account, and thus can’t be used for reading books. […] I learned this by having my Amazon credentials repeatedly rejected despite various two-factor/OTP contortions and finally managing to contact a human being who ultimately took the device serial number and said “ah, that model is too old”.
[…]
I gather this is a first-generation Kindle Fire, which makes it from 2011. So it’s old, but I can’t even use it with it’s original software to read books that were made for that platform.
[…]
I’ve now tested and I can indeed load PDF and non-DRM .mobi via USB.
Sad. It sounds like E-ink Kindles, which are even older, may still be supported, though.
Previously:
- Amazon Shuts Down Newspaper and Magazine Subscriptions
- Older Kindles Will Lose Cellular Access
- Two-factor Authentication for Old Apple TVs
- Outlawed by Amazon DRM
Update (2023-08-16): Andrew Abernathy:
I just tried registering this first-gen Kindle Fire again and it worked right away.
I’m reluctant to say it was user error, since I tried the exact same process many times yesterday with ever-increasing care to make sure I was entering things correctly, and Amazon support asked me for the serial number, then told me it was too old and couldn’t be registered. But…maybe I did manage to mess it up. Or maybe Amazon later flipped some switch based on the serial #?
A happy result, but, as with GrammarlyGO, when the good news directly contradicts the bad news given by support, I have questions.
Previously:
4 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
As I have now posted on Mastodon: Prompted by someone's response, I just tried registering this first-gen Kindle Fire again and it worked right away.
I'm reluctant to say it was user error, since I tried the exact same process many times yesterday with ever-increasing care to make sure I was entering things correctly, and Amazon support asked me for the serial number, then told me it was too old and couldn't be registered. But…maybe I did manage to mess it up. Or maybe Amazon later flipped some switch based on the serial #?
One huge plus for e books is that you don't lend then out to people and never get them back.
Lending books? Now, there's a thought. My hoard must be complete!
...and this is why I don't read eBooks. My paper copies don't just stop working after a few years of standing around on my bookshelves. I get there are upsides to eBooks and downsides to dead tree editions but my oh my does modern tech have a looong way to go when it comes to reliability and longevity.