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Brent Gannetta

Flea market find brought back to life

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

I purchased this Kindle at a flea market for $10. The woman said it turned on but it no longer could connect to the internet. It wasn't charged and it did not come with it's original charger, but I took a chance. It's only $10, right?

Back home I was able to charge it using a standard micro USB cable, and it booted up fine, however I quickly ran into the wifi problem she had warned me about. I did some Googling and found that after the 4.0 update there was a major update to the protocols used by the Kindle to connect to Amazon's login servers. It required a number of manual updates to be done via a connected PC. Google "Kindle 4.0 manual updates" for instructions and the files required. It is great to pull this out on the bus or train and get a chapter or two in on my commute. I am in a veterinary assistant apprenticeship and a few of my school books are available on Kindle Unlimited, meaning I don't have to lug around quite so many text books. The only drawbacks to this model are the lack of a backlight and the frequency at which I accidentally hit the next or previous page buttons. If you can find one of these Kindles at a flea market or yard sale, grab it!

98 people found this helpful

Helpful

Anna

Simple, light weight, sturdy, easy to use reader, Perfect!! For the person who just wants to read a book!

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Bought this to replace my old one of the same model that died after 4 yrs of over use. I read a lot & when I developed carple tunnel in my hands holding paper back books became difficult & painful, hardback books were just impossible. So I bought one of these, used the crap out of it for 4 yrs & it finally died. This is an older model, so I had to get a refurbished one because I wanted the same one. I like the simple style. It's just like a regular book, except light weight & I don't have to hold it open. The pages turn with a slight thumb pressure. It's small, barely bigger than your average paper back, so I can carry it in my (over-sized) purse. It is also sturdy, reminds me of the old Nokia cell phones. It's not quite as sturdy as those because you could drop them off a building & then go swimming with them & they'd still work! But I have dropped this one & the previous one a few times & they didn't even hic-up. Just kept on ticking. Keep in mind that this is one of the first Kindles, so it is simple, no frills. There is NO Light. Just like a regular book, you can't read it in the dark. (get a book light if you need too, it will clip on the top, just as on a regular book) The design of the screen shows very, very little glare from light sources. If you get some, just angle it slightly & you're good. There is limited, beta-test, internet. It's really only good for buying books on amazon & down loading them. This is not a tablet to surf the web on. This is an electronic book. Period. I bought one for my mom. She has arthritis in her hands so this is perfect. She can't figure out text messaging or how to check her voice mail, but she can use this!! Small, light weight, easy to use, sturdy. I love this thing & will use the crap out of it until it dies (hopefully I get another 4 yrs out of it, that's less than $10 a year!), then I will buy another one, rinse & repeat until they stopping refurbishing & reselling them. Then I will cry & buy some newer, fancier, piece of crap that will be a pain in the @$$ to use & probably glitch all the time. So, if you like to read, & like to keep things simple, then this is the device for you. I wish they would start making these new again. There are plenty of tech-aversion people like me, or older people would need something simple to read on, & this thing is perfect!! Stop trying to improve on perfect!!

48 people found this helpful

Helpful

Nicole S

Great little ereader, but should come with update instructions

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

If you're like me, you were SUPER excited to see that e-reader technology has become this cheap. So many books! So much access! I've had a Kindle Fire for a few years but after it stopped working I thought I'd try this version. It *feels* amazing - light, compact, perfect for slipping in a large coat pocket. There isn't a backlight on this model, but honestly that's probably better for my eyes anyway.

BUT....

it really should come with at least a slip of paper directing you to to google "why won't my Kindle connect to wi-fi?" because it definitely won't be able to. I'll save you some searching: in 2016(ish) Amazon pushed an update to Kindle, and if your device didn't get it, no internet for you. I'm assuming since the device was wiped in order to send it to me, it was back to version 4.1.2 which is DEFINITELY older than that 2016 update. You'll need to connect this to a computer to update it manually, download the update file from Amazon, drag it to your Kindle (NOT sorted into a folder, just in the main bit), go to the menu by pressing the home and then the three-lined button, scroll to "settings", press the three-line menu button again, and THEN you will get the "Update Kindle" option if you downloaded the correct file...if not, delete it and try again with a different one. You can't just put them all on there and hope for the best, just one at a time. If you're a couple versions behind, you'll need to do them in order.

AND...

Once you do all the above and get connected, you'll need to sign in. If you're like any savvy person these days you have 2-factor authentication set up. But you know what older Kindles don't support? You guessed it! You'll get an error that your password is incorrect even if it's exactly right. Per Amazon, you can (in theory) re-enter your password with the code they text you on the end - so password123456 instead of password, where 123456 is the code they text/email you when you try to log on for the first time - but there's not convenient place they tell you that, so you could also just do what I did and disable 2-factor authentication temporarily until you're signed in.

Ta-dah!

I'm sure this will be a lovely device that will actually lat longer than my fancier, tablet-like Kindle Fire did. And honestly, the extra work is definitely worth it given that I paid just over $20 for this amazing piece of reading technology. But really...they should at least give you a heads up you'll have to do all this. Hopefully this helps someone!

Keywords for future googlers: why won't my old kindle connect to wifi, how to update old kindle, where to put kindle update files old kindle, can't sign in on older kindle, 2SV on old kindle

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Kindle, 6" E Ink Display, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers (Graphite)

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