From Engadget · Kari Paul · · 1m 30s
Give your old Kindle a second life
Amazon ended support for pre-2013 Kindles, but you can still read on them, load new books, or hack the display for other uses.
In brief
Amazon ended support for pre-2013 Kindles, but you can still read on them, load new books, or hack the display for other uses. Amazon stopped supporting Kindles from 2012 and earlier, but owners can still read existing books, sideload new content, or repurpose the device as a display. Originally reported by Engadget.
Amazon ends Kindle support
Starting May twenty, Amazon officially ended software support for any Kindle device released before two thousand thirteen, affecting about three percent of active users.
“These models have been supported for at least 14 years, some as long as 18 years, but technology has come a long way in that time.”
Which Kindles are affected
Unsupported models include the original Kindle, Kindle two, Kindle DX, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle four, Kindle Touch, Kindle five and the first Kindle Paperwhite.
Your old Kindle still works
Older devices won't be bricked. You can continue reading books already downloaded as long as you stay logged in and don't deregister or reset the device.
Sideload new books easily
Use a USB cable and Calibre, an open-source tool, to directly import ebook files instead of Amazon's Send to Kindle feature. Free books are available from Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg.
Turn it into a smart display
The Kindle's low-power display works well for clocks, calendars and dashboards. Set up a Raspberry Pi home server with a free GitHub script to send fresh images over Wi-Fi.
Dispose responsibly or upgrade
Factory reset the device before disposal. Check local e-waste options or ship it back to Amazon. Amazon offers twenty percent off new devices to affected users.
The bottom line
Amazon stopped supporting Kindles from 2012 and earlier, but owners can still read existing books, sideload new content, or repurpose the device as a display.
