Registering a Kindle DX with Amazon in 2023 - UK edition
Posted by Howard Richardson (comments: 0)
Amazon tech support would have you believe that it's impossible to register and use your "unsupported" Kindle DX or DX Graphite, but with a little effort it can be made to fully work, including the free Whispernet 3G as long as that stays switched on in the UK.
Here's what I did to make this a reality:
- If you can deregister your kindle and empty it without a factory reset, this is preferable. Factory resetting the kindle will cause an internal clock reset which will make your kindle unable to connect to anything on the net. To get round this error you will need the following jailbreak. If you manage to avoid the factory reset, you may be able to skip ahead to step 12 below.
- If your kindle has been factory reset by the seller, or you have found it necessary reset it yourself, you will need all the following steps.
- You will need to jailbreak your kindle. For all of the patches and jailbreaks below, the kindle DX Graphite (what I have) needs the version of the file which contains either the letters dxg or B009. (When you have a choice between a file called install and one called uninstall obviously we need the install one!) To install a patch or jailbreak copy the correct .bin file to the root directory of the kindle via USB, then go to settings menu on the kindle. From settings menu choose Update This Kindle.
- First apply both OS updates from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GKMQC26VQQMM8XSW
- Then jailbreak using the jailbreak at https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88004
- Add in USB Network hack, also from the same place.
- Connect via USB.
- On Kindle home screen enter:
- ;debugON [then ↵] (this begins with semicolon - use Symbols key)
- `usbNetwork [then ↵] (this begins with backtick - use Symbols key)
- On your PC configure the new network to have address 192.168.2.1 and netmask 255.255.255.0. I did this on linux. You might need to execute modprobe usbnet and modprobe cdc_ether as root to load in the modules responsible for ethernet over USB. If you are doing it on Windows, there are instructions at https://www.pcworld.com/article/460030/how_to_use_a_kindle_dx_as_a_pc_display.html under the section "Configure Networking on the PC".
- Telnet into your kindle at 192.168.2.2, port 23 (default telnet port). If you don’t get through, maybe unplug and replug the USB. The kindle shouldn’t go into USB drive mode if your USB Network hack has installed properly.
- After telnetting to the Kindle you should get the root prompt. Typing date should show your Kindle is stuck in 1970. You can now set the date on it with the UNIX date command, as so: date mmddHHMMyyyy
(eg. 3rd April 2023 19:00h would be date 040319002023.) It should repeat back to you the correct date and time. - On your Amazon account, if it’s not already so, turn off temporarily your two-factor authentication.
- Now the date is correct you should be able to go to the settings page on the kindle and use the registration option.
- If you enter the password correctly nothing will happen. If you get the error message that you can’t connect then something has gone wrong.
- Once “nothing happens” on registration, check your Amazon-registered email. They will have sent you a one-time password which is a five-digit number.
- Redo the registration again, but this time substitute the five-digit number for the password. This will successfully register your Kindle DX.
- Switch back on your Amazon two-factor authentication, if you turned it off before. https://www.pcworld.com/article/460030/how_to_use_a_kindle_dx_as_a_pc_display.html
- Whisper net, sync and all the usual Kindle DX functions should be working, so long as 3G is still operative in your country. I had success in the UK. However the store will still be unavailable, so books will need to be purchased via the Web.
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