The Kindle operating system, by default, is the perfect example of a walled garden. It locks you into an Amazon ecosystem in every possible manner.
Half of the software interface is the Amazon storefront with copious ads everywhere (including the lock screen unless you fork over more cash to remove them).
The other half is the e-book reader interface, which Amazon artificially restricts.
First, you need to pass your books and documents through Amazon’s servers (either through the Send to Kindle web portal or the email system). The servers convert whichever format you upload (EPUB or otherwise) into Amazon’s formats.
Second, even if you want to “sideload” your books via USB, you must convert them into Amazon’s proprietary file formats using free software tools like Calibre. The only exception is PDF documents, but standard Kindles are notoriously awful for reading PDFs.
Jailbreaking a Kindle breaks it free from Amazon’s walled garden. A Kindle like that can do more than the stock software allows.
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It frees your library
Load and export books without the Amazon ecosystem
With a jailbroken Kindle, you don’t need the file-conversion rigmarole. You don’t need special software or Amazon’s web portal to get your files into the library. You can drop in a document or e-book in virtually any format and read it.
It also works the other way. You can get the books out of the library without requiring file conversions back to their original formats.
Credit:
Lucas Gouveia/Android Police | Amazon
Simply drag and drop any file into the Kindle’s storage, and it should work.
Normally, the Kindle library recognizes and displays only Amazon’s proprietary formats, which means the files on the device don’t retain their original formats.
So if you want to get your books and documents off the Kindle to read on your phone or computer, say as .mobi or .epub files, you will have to reverse the conversions.
A jailbreak bypasses those restrictions. You can read the books in their original formats on the Kindle and move them off the device.
Amazon recently ended support for old Kindles with a wireless update, which means they are now cut off from the Amazon store.
You can still read the books you’ve loaded. However, if the Kindle is reset or de-registered, there is no way to log back in, turning a functional device into a brick.
Instead, if you jailbreak one of those old devices, you can stop Amazon’s over-the-air update system.
Similarly, you can take a Kindle off Amazon’s grid by disabling its tracking and telemetry network. You can even remove lock screen ads without paying.
It has a special open source book reader
The stock reading interface isn’t the only option
This is easily the best perk of jailbreaking a Kindle. You can replace the default reading interface with a free and open source reader called KOReader.
KOReader is incredibly mature and powerful. It has a huge and thriving community that maintains and develops it. It is more feature-rich than the default Amazon interface.
On top of that, it is extensible through a massive library of free plugins.
For starters, it supports e-books, documents, and comic books in most formats without requiring file conversions.
It even has excellent support for PDFs because it can automatically reflow and fit the content onto your Kindle screen. You don’t need to pinch, zoom, and drag the document around like with the default Kindle reader.
You can customize every visual element of the reader window to your liking. This includes but is not limited to custom fonts, gestures, sizes, layouts, E Ink rendering, status bar style, and everything in between.
You can save these customizations as a “profile” and switch between profiles on the fly. KOReader is purpose-built around freedom to customize.
What makes KOReader special (and a cut above Amazon’s default reader) is the plugin system. I’ll list some of my favorites:
- Calibre lets you connect your Kindle to the Calibre desktop app wirelessly.
- Stats gives you exceptionally detailed reading statistics for your library.
- Text editor lets you take quick notes without leaving the KOReader interface.
- News gives you RSS feeds.
- Exporter lets you export your highlights and notes directly as plain text files.
- OPDS provides you with access to your private book catalogs or online public domain catalogs like Project Gutenberg. That way you can fetch thousands of free books from those resources and read them.
You can set KOReader to start on boot, meaning you’ll never drop into the stock Amazon interface, even after the device restarts.
It has an app store
Download new Kindle apps with one tap
KindleForge is an app store for jailbroken Kindle devices. It doesn’t require a payment or an online account. You only need to download the store onto your Kindle, and you can install new apps with a single tap.
The store features must-have apps, including KOReader and KUAL (an app launcher for Kindles). So KindleForge, the store, was the first app I installed after jailbreaking my Kindle.
The KindleForge catalog spans most app categories: e-readers, productivity tools, games, hot fixes, and Kindle utilities.
You can find apps for taking notes, flashcards, pomodoro timers, word processors, audiobook players, the Linux distro Alpine, and a Minecraft server app.
Custom screensavers
Set any image as the lock screen display
On most stock Kindles, the lock screen displays ads from the Amazon store, and there is no way to turn them off without paying a premium for an “ad-free experience.”
A jailbroken Kindle not only lets you remove those display cover ads, but also allows you to replace them with images of your own. You’ll need KOReader for this.
Look for the Screen settings under the gear button. From there, you can choose to display the current book’s cover on the lock display. Or, you can move your image files to the Kindle’s storage and select a single image as the sleep screen.
It can also automatically select a random image from a folder every time you lock the device.
You can play games on it
Get Wordle on your Kindle, and more
The open source community also develops awesome games optimized for E Ink screens.
The simplest way to download those games on a jailbroken Kindle is via the KindleForge store. When downloaded, they show up in the Kindle library as booklets, which you can tap to launch the games.
KWordle is a Wordle clone that works offline on Kindle devices. The game interface lends itself surprisingly well to the E Ink format.
You can also get a chess game called Gnome Chess from the store, which plays nicely on a Kindle. A few other games are available in the KindleForge catalog. Plus, you can manually load more from the internet.
It may not be as practical, but you can get a Game Boy emulator for your Kindle. Assuming you have access to the game ROMs, you can (kind of) play classics like Pokémon, Tetris, Donkey Kong, Tamagotchi, Space Invaders, Snow Bros, and Paperboy.
Wireless and direct file drops
Several ways to manage your library from any device
Stock Kindle limits how you can get books into your library.
You can plug the device into a computer and transfer files over USB. Or, if you want to load books wirelessly, you’ll do it through Amazon’s servers: Send-to-Kindle web portal, the Kindle app, or the email system.
Jailbreaking a Kindle gives you multiple new ways to drop files wirelessly into the library.
First, you can connect the Kindle to your PC wirelessly using the Calibre app. KOReader has a built-in Calibre plugin for doing that. It lets you drag and drop files (in any format) into the KOReader library.
KOReader also has plug-ins that turn the Kindle device into a web server, letting you upload books from any web browser.
Similarly, you can start SSH or FTP servers for wireless file transfer. Both devices need to be on the same local network for this to work.
Finally, there’s a version of LocalSend that works on Kindle. You can download the LocalSend plugin for KOReader and drop files from your phone or PC using the LocalSend app (no setup required).
Amazon’s software hamstrings your Kindle
Your Kindle experience can be better when you cut Amazon’s interface and replace it with open source software.
For starters, it saves you from the many artificial restrictions Amazon places on Kindles (the proprietary file formats and bare-bones features, for example).
More importantly, it turns your Kindle into a small but capable Linux computer. That’s how the community has been able to rally behind these devices and repurpose them so wonderfully.
Resolution
1,236 x 1,648
Storage
8 GB
Screen Size
6.8 inches
Connections
USB-C