this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2024
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Flashing the Kindle Paperwhite with a custom ROM (lemmy.ml)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
15 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

This is a of a post made during a time where outgoing federation for lemmy.ml was broken. I hope lemmy.ml readers will forgive me for shoving my filthy little words under the shining gaze of their precious and observant eyes for a second time.

I have a Kindle Paperwhite (7th generation). (Stallman weeps) It appears people generally customize their kindle beyond Amazon's original design by jailbreaking it. But I was wondering if I could replace the entire system on the kindle by a new one, for even more hacking fun.

It appears Kindle Paperwhites run on ARM processors, so there should be plenty of compatible software. However, it appears flashing the ROM of kindle only appears in the context of something called the Kindle Fire. Why is that? Is there any reason ROM flashing for the paperwhite kindles isn't common? The only reasons I could think of is that disassembling and reassembling the kindle paperwhite is kinda annoying (especially with the glue holding the case together) and that maybe not everyone has a board to externally flash ROMs. I've also thought that maybe the ROM is write-protected or that the software is signed and that the Kindle will refuse to boot off of anything that hasn't received Jeff's blessing. Is there any existing guide on flashing a custom ROM? Have any ROMs been created already?

Maybe my foolish self has not searched good enough and hasn't found the discussions on ROM flashing of other kindle models, but in any case I think it's good to have this discussion on here on Lemmy too even if it potentially already exists somewhere else on the internet, so that other fools like me may come across your wisdom and be enlightened.

If this is complete and utter nonsense what I'm babbling about, can I at least somehow download the firmware and software running on the kindle from the device, so that I may poke and probe it with my disgusting, dirty little fingers, defiling Amazon's intellectual property?

I hope that you have a good day and that the following days be good too. If I am stupid for even mentioning the idea of a good day, I wish that some day our suffering may end and that a good day be something we all can look forward to.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Not sure of the hardware specifics, but "ARM" is not saying anything significant. You have to see if the specific processor used has mainline support in the present or in a past kernel that you can use.

For instance, Android is a scheme where google takes a Linux kernel, strips absolutely everything they can out if it and documents thoroughly. All the thing can do is run the app environment, but the kernel is incomplete with no hardware support. All the manufacturer must do is add the hardware support modules at the last possible moment. This makes it possible for manufacturers to only add binary support modules. The entire arrangement is designed to exploit the end user with these orphaned kernels and hardware you can never own. The hardware is undocumented anywhere, and each device is different enough that reverse engineering one will do nothing for supporting the next.

I'm not saying your device has an orphaned kernel, but this is what to look for in any device. Mainline kernel support means full ownership. Proprietary is always theft of ownership.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Wow, this is the best high-level description of how Android is structured and distributed.

Next time someone asks why they can't flash their X phone with the X2 rom, I'll just send a link here (so don't delete this!)

Well done.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

Project Treble and GSIs solve a lot of the intercompatibility issues. Of course, Treble doesn't help if your device wasn't originally Android, or came out before Treble existed.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

So here is the jailbreak thread for the paperwhite, and here is the master list for other models.

There used to be Duokan, which was an OS-replacement. I can't for the life of me find an install image. If you do, let me know. I'd like to try it out.

And in my searching just now I've also come across fread-ink (project on hold since 2020), inkbox (mostly for Kobo devices, but some kindle support) and an old hackaday article about HOPE XII which I can't find any further information on.

Best of luck freeing your Kindle!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

I remember "Jailbreaking" mine and getting shell access and some things, not sure if there's any like, custom ROMs that make it a better e-reader though. It's been a while.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

I have jailbroken a couple of old e-ink kindles, and as far as I know, custom ROMs just straight don't exist any more. There have been a couple of attempts, some successful, but the device is so old they've pretty much fallen off the internet. The base OS is Linux, around a 2.6 kernel, and I'm fairly sure everything apart from the bootloader is just on relatively unprotected flash memory. Aside from the reader software it's a pretty standard Linux. To the point where one of mine actually runs an old Debian chroot.

I'm not near my PC now, but I'll link the jailbreak forums when I can. You'll need a fair bit of technical knowledge and judicious use of archive.org, the link rot is a very real problem.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Amazon hasn't used the "Kindle Fire" term for a while, They're now just "Amazon" Fire tablets; I would imagine for Simplicity so people don't get one thinking it's just an eInk eReader.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

It always baffled me that they initially named the product thusly. So many customers were led to not understand the difference between the e-readers and the tablets! I think they were trying to use "Kindle" as a name for their entire device line, but they finally started pulling their heads out of their asses with the launch of Fire TV and Fire Phone, officially rebranding non-kindle devices as "Amazon Fire."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

So, the Kindle OS is really basic.

If you’re able to jailbreak, look at installing KUAL and KOReader and that should change your experience enough to not need an entire new OS.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Kindle Fire was the original name of Amazons Android tablets. They later became just “Fire Tablets” and dropped Kindle from the name.

You’re seeing a lot about flashing the Kindle Fire because they still come without Google apps installed and some users believe that makes them very hamstrung. A custom ROM like LineageOS makes it a “real” Android tablet.