Kindle 2 Hacks

The Kindle 2 was released in early 2009 and is one of many e-ink based readers. The e-ink technology is currently only capable of displaying grey-scale representation of media.

Kindle 2 is based on a ARM6 processor and is running Linux with a Java-based front-end. Wireless connectivity is provided by a cellular network, including roaming for international use of the device.

Tricks

Recovery mode

To enable the recovery mode, reboot and hold the Home-botton when the screen is flashing from black to white.

Connect via USB to a computer and manage the files on the device. Press R to reboot.

Reference:

• Kindle 2 Recovery mode
• Kindle2 Hack List Top 25

Log dump

When a custom package is installed (see below) it has to be removed else a firmware update will exit with an error. Use the commands below to create a log file on the USB-drive with information about the error.

Press HOME and any keyboard key to bring up the search field, enter the following:

;debugOn 
;dumpMessages

Connect via USB to a computer and check the log file.

An example:

ota_install: C def:patch:patchinfo="/opt/amazon/ebook/config/netfront.ini":checksum failure

References:

• Uninstall packages - thread

Force reboot

Sometimes it's not possible to use the menu to reboot the Kindle. Hold the slider for 15 seconds to force a reboot of the device.

Hacks

Applying Hacks

The modifications found below is installed by utilizing the Kindle update process and signing the packages with the correct certificate.

Download a hack, connect the Kindle to a computer, and extract the Update_kindle2_XXXX.bin from the package. Notice the format of the filename, Update_kindle2 is an indicator that this is a Kindle2 update. Also note that the Kindle2 programmed to look in the root of the USB-drive for any file starting with this suffix when the Update my kindle function is issued. If found during boot-up, the content of the update file will be installed/executed.

A note about official firmware updates, firmware updates perform a checksum on vital system files and if one check fails the update will halt. Therefore an uninstall package is usually provided together with the main package.

Creating Packages

Python application to create and sign Kindle firmware update packages.

Downloads:

• Packager v0.5
• Packager v0.6
• Packager v0.7

References:

• How to create packages for Kindle 2 international
• Kindle 2 international packager
• How to create packages for Kindle w/ firmware 2.3

List

USB Network

A USB-network makes it possible to send the data traffic over the USB-cable to a computer and further out to the Internet. And also access to the Amazon book store if the Kindle is pre-registered via the cellular network.

Works on Kindle 1, Kindle 2, Kindle 2 International, and Kindle DX.

References:

• USBNetwork package by ebs and jyavenard - thread

Downloads:

• usbnetwork v0.7 - Includes installer and uninstaller
• usbnetwork (for 2.3) v0.9 - Includes installer and uninstaller
• usbnetwork (for 2.3) v0.10 - Includes installer and uninstaller

Savory Document Processor

This background daemon will automatically convert any epub, lit, odt, rtf, oebzip, fb2 and pdf file into mobi-format that the Kindle can display.

Put the documents in the /documents/ directory on the Kindle. When the conversion is done the original file will be moved to /documents/savory-archive/.

Downloads:

• Savory v0.07 - K2i supported
• Savory v0.08 - uninstaller only

References:

• Native PDF and Mobile ePub conversion for the Kindle 2 International

Screensaver Hack

This changes the default image shown in sleep mode and makes it possible to display a custom PNG image of your choice.

Install the package and put the images into the new /system/screen_saver/ directory. The preferred image size is 600x800px for Kindle2/2i and 824x1200px for KindleDX.

Downloads:

• Kindle2/2i/DX Screen Saver Hack v0.1 - latest
• Kindle2 Screen Saver Hack v0.3
• Kindle2 Screen Saver Hack v0.4
• KindleDX Screen Saver Hack v0.4

References:

• Kindle DX Screen Saver Hack v0.1
• Kindle 2 Screen Saver Hack Wiki

Firmwares

Official firmwares:

• Kindle2 v2.3 update - US 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, and 2.0.4
• Kindle2 v2.3 update - Global 2.2, 2.2.1, and 2.2.2
• KindleDX v2.3 update

References:

• http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200226050 Kindle1 1.2 Instructions]
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200324680 Kindle2 2.3 Instructions]