KOReader is so good for reading PDFs, compared to the native reader, I’m very impressed. Supports proper landscape mode (where swiping to next page moves to the second half of the current page, THEN next swipe gets you to the first half of the next page), supports auto-rotation, support auto-cropping of PDFs with controllable margin (killer feature), supports contrast adjustments, … It does not support handwritten annotations, but for just reading PDFs - it’s perfect.
I revived my old kindle pw7 using this a week or so ago. If you have an old kindle lying around, you can use it as an e-ink weather dashboard (or anything else for that matter, as long as you can convert it into a 8bit greyscale image).
Kindles have long had a history of gaolbreaks. I've scarcely seen a scene as dedicated as the folks over on the MobileRead Forums (https://www.mobileread.com/forums). I notice many of the names associated with this new break as people who were associated with hacking early Kindles back in the early 2010s.
For context, it's been a little while since we've had a fresh gaolbreak for new Kindles. Last one was LanguageBreak, which came out back in 2023 and required firmware 5.16.2.1.1 or lower.
The amount of DRM and locking down Amazon bolts onto its ereaders and ebook formats feels insane to me. I can understand the profit motive but god damn.
What are some "killer" applications that would tempt the casual Kindle user to jailbreak the device?
I can see someone has ported syncthing [1], which could be convenient for syncing the contents of the device. But probably still too much work compared to using e.g. Calibre and a USB cable a few times per year.
Still can't remove the stupid "cloud not available" nag if your kindle isn't online though, which of course it shouldn't be or they'll delete your copy of 1984.
I could never get the rtc wake to work correctly in my kindles. For an eink dashboard, low power mode is critical. I ended up just buying a solde.red eink display. Very happy with my purchase. Did a write up about it here https://cdaringe.com/e-ink-dashboard/
I just wanted to express my support for KOReader—it’s a fantastic piece of software. I use it on my Kobo, and the UI is noticeably faster than the device’s default system. It also offers a wealth of customization options. This may not be an issue on newer e-readers, but the ability to highlight seamlessly across adjacent pages is truly liberating.
It’s interesting reading that the reasons for jailbreaking a kindle are so trivial, amounting to adding some minor functionality to reading books and not much else.
Kobo jailbreaks from back in the day gave you root on a stripped down Linux install, complete with telnet ssh and ftp. You could even install python and essentially do anything the cpu/display permitted. Another cool aspect with those older kobos was that they had two microsd card readers… one hidden inside the enclosure that contained the OS, accessible without even needing a screwdriver.
what are the main benefits of doing so?
I'm missing what's the deal with jailbreak in this case, using thee transfer via USB? what's the best thing i can do afterwards?
Thank you so much. Kindle now looks so much better. KOreader indeed is the killer app. (little did I know that I could install it without jailbreaking).
I followed the instructions. It worked flawlessly. KOreader had a few issues, installing latest nightly fixed it. and I am thoroughly enjoying the uplevelled experience.
This is good news, but I am curious about the Wifi requirement - is the jailbreak web-based? Is Wifi usable afterwards on Mesquito-jailbroken Kindles?
I know on my older jailbroken Kindles, the jailbreak is very fragile and they can no longer be connected to the internet, partly because of Amazon's agressive OTAs and partly because Amazon disables developer mode and hence the jailbreak every time my Kindle 4s touch the internet.
(PS. If anyone can suggest a way to prevent this and secure my jailbreaks, it would be much appreciated - I've tried 3 different OTA blockers and none work reliably)
Will this allow for more bluetooth options? For example connecting with bluetooth page turner would be a killer feature, but so far Kindle only allows for audio transfers via bluetooth.
Before I swapped to Kobo I jailbroke my Kindle Voyage and installed Koreader on it. It was amazing.
I would have kept the voyage for longer but the micro-usb was killing me. That's the only reason, the battery was still holding on, it had turning page "buttons" (better than nothing) and an amazing screen.
my kindle oasis has been largely collecting dusk since I've got my kobo. I do really miss the buttons tho, perhaps this can prolong my buying a third device.
the only thing giving me pause is that I apparently have to register the kindle, which if possible, I'm sure I've avoided. any insight on why this is necessary?
After having three Kindles I moved to Kobo, and it was much, much better in the compatibility side of things.
Now I am using a PocketBook and it is also great. The synchronization feature between browser, phone and the reader is very good, it is reason enough to have it instead of a Kindle.
The constant anti patterns in how your library and even things in Amazon's interest like book reviews display are why I would do this, if I thought I could script or fix the changes away. Kindle is Doctorow's enshittification at scale.
imagine if they pulled a slick double free in the bootloader heap and jacked up a custom rop chain to completely sidestep that rsa sig check. amazon ain’t gonna be happy.
Kobo are giving you root access with telnet from the start. You can flash modded firmwares, change the backend servers to phone your own calibre-web instance, install ssh, koreader and even a tailscale vpn on it. They even have UART pins labelled on their board. These are amazing devices to play with. And they read pretty much everything you throw on their storage: epub, cbz, cbr, pdf..
All Kindles can now be jailbroken
(kindlemodding.org)1345 points by lumerina 17 February 2025 | 418 comments
Comments
KOReader is so good for reading PDFs, compared to the native reader, I’m very impressed. Supports proper landscape mode (where swiping to next page moves to the second half of the current page, THEN next swipe gets you to the first half of the next page), supports auto-rotation, support auto-cropping of PDFs with controllable margin (killer feature), supports contrast adjustments, … It does not support handwritten annotations, but for just reading PDFs - it’s perfect.
https://terminalbytes.com/reviving-kindle-paperwhite-7th-gen...
For context, it's been a little while since we've had a fresh gaolbreak for new Kindles. Last one was LanguageBreak, which came out back in 2023 and required firmware 5.16.2.1.1 or lower.
Kindle is removing download and transfer option on Feb 26th - 299 Points | 173 comments - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43070155
Amazon ends kindle ebooks "Download and Transfer via USB" - 121 Points | 94 Comments - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43041726
https://github.com/koreader/koreader
I can see someone has ported syncthing [1], which could be convenient for syncing the contents of the device. But probably still too much work compared to using e.g. Calibre and a USB cable a few times per year.
[1] https://syncthing.net/
Kobo jailbreaks from back in the day gave you root on a stripped down Linux install, complete with telnet ssh and ftp. You could even install python and essentially do anything the cpu/display permitted. Another cool aspect with those older kobos was that they had two microsd card readers… one hidden inside the enclosure that contained the OS, accessible without even needing a screwdriver.
I know on my older jailbroken Kindles, the jailbreak is very fragile and they can no longer be connected to the internet, partly because of Amazon's agressive OTAs and partly because Amazon disables developer mode and hence the jailbreak every time my Kindle 4s touch the internet.
(PS. If anyone can suggest a way to prevent this and secure my jailbreaks, it would be much appreciated - I've tried 3 different OTA blockers and none work reliably)
I would have kept the voyage for longer but the micro-usb was killing me. That's the only reason, the battery was still holding on, it had turning page "buttons" (better than nothing) and an amazing screen.
the only thing giving me pause is that I apparently have to register the kindle, which if possible, I'm sure I've avoided. any insight on why this is necessary?
Now I am using a PocketBook and it is also great. The synchronization feature between browser, phone and the reader is very good, it is reason enough to have it instead of a Kindle.
https://daylightcomputer.com
For anyone stuck in the hotfix installation step - try turning Airplane mode on before updating your Kindle. It worked for me.
I wonder how many Kindles were hurt during the making of this…
i use a boox these days,but i do have 4 kindles collecting dust