# Kindle Freezing on Loading Screen



## SteelyPhish (Jul 29, 2012)

Hi everyone, sorry that for my first post on this board I need help!  I usually try to give help before asking.  However, as the title to this thread suggests, my Kindle Keyboard is freezing during the loading screen.  When the loading bar gets about a quarter of the way thru, it just stops.  I've actually let it sit for, at the longest, 24 hours with no change in it at all!  I've called Amazon support, and I've tried to restart it several times on my own to no avail.  Aside from the standard restarts, after Amazon told me that there was nothing they could do (I'm outside of my warranty), I took the back cover off, disconnected the battery, let it sit for a few hours and reconnected it.  This, also, gave absolutely no different result.  Is there ANYTHING that I'm missing that I could try to do to get my Kindle working again?

Whatever help can be given would be greatly appreciated!!


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## Rie142 (Oct 28, 2009)

Did you talk to Amazon customer support or did you talk to Kindle customer support.

Talk to Kindle customer support.

Thanks to Linjeakel for this contact page that I cribbed from the Kindle 3 FAQ's. Links on this page apply to all Kindles.

For reference: Amazon Kindle support pages

Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=sv_kinc_9?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200127470

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=sv_kinh_8?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200487800

Amazon Germany
http://www.amazon.de/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=sv_kinc_7?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200594410

Amazon Kindle Customer Support contact details

Amazon US
In the US: 1-866-321-8851
International: 1-206-266-0927.

Amazon UK
In the UK: 0800 496 2449
International: +44 203 356 6212

You can also get CS to call you back or email them - click on "Contact Us" on the right hand side of the main support page. If you sign in first, they will have your device info when they call.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Make sure it's fully charged, this can occasionally make a difference. Remember that an e-ink display will still display something even if there is no power at all, it could be that the battery is so low that it's not got enough charge to complete the startup.

I'd echo the comment above, make sure you're talking to Kindle CS not just the normal Amazon CS.

I've never known Kindle CS not to offer _something_ in these circumstances - even if it's just letting you buy a new Kindle at a discount price.


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## SteelyPhish (Jul 29, 2012)

I spoke with Kindle CS, and they did offer to sell a new one at a discounted rate; however, this Kindle is less than a year old, 6 months old to be exact.  I understand that its out of warranty because I had to have it replaced once before, but there is absolutely nothing that can be done?  Unfortunately, I'm starting to see the flaws in the design of the new model Kindles; as there is no way to trouble shoot these things.  Also, in talking with Kindle CS they really only ask 3-5 questions about the behavior of the device, then tell you that you have to buy a new one.


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## Rie142 (Oct 28, 2009)

I would call them again.  That doesn't sound right.    I was on the phone for 30-45 minutes each time when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with mine.    So,  I believe if I was you I would call again and get someone else.  Always worth a few minutes of your time to see if you get a different answer.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I agree with Rie. . .and make sure you're talking to the KINDLE customer service people and not the generic Amazon ones:

*Amazon US*
In the US: 1-866-321-8851
International: 1-206-266-0927.

*Amazon UK*
In the UK: 0800 496 2449
International: +44 203 356 6212

Or, if you go to the Kindle support page you can have them call YOU. . .then you're sure you're talking to the right people. Be signed into your account when you call and they'll already have all your device information, too.


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## SteelyPhish (Jul 29, 2012)

Alright everyone who might be interested, here is an update.  I have called KINDLE CUSTOMER SERVICE a total of 4 times, after doing reset after reset after reset, I finally find instructions on how to restore to factory settings.  I followed those instructions, STILL have the same issue.  The last two times I talked to customer service (which were after I restored to factory settings), the three people that I talked to had NO CLUE what screen I was on, how I got there, and how to do anything with it.  On the last phone call I was transferred around from person to person, and finally had a long, meaningless conversation with someone that really ruined the Amazon experience for me.  I was basically told "You're not going to talk to anyone who knows what is wrong, you're out of warranty so we aren't going to help troubleshoot, and the only thing I can tell you is buy a new Kindle device."  Seriously, I hope that the conversation was recorded so that they can see how horrible their customer service has been.  Needless to say, I've found more information scouring the internet about how to fix my Kindle than ANYONE at Amazon could tell me...  Sadly, this will be the absolute last Amazon product I will ever own, as their customer service is horrible and their products too often faulty.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

SteelyPhish said:


> Alright everyone who might be interested, here is an update. I have called KINDLE CUSTOMER SERVICE a total of 4 times, after doing reset after reset after reset, I finally find instructions on how to restore to factory settings. I followed those instructions, STILL have the same issue. The last two times I talked to customer service (which were after I restored to factory settings), the three people that I talked to had NO CLUE what screen I was on, how I got there, and how to do anything with it. On the last phone call I was transferred around from person to person, and finally had a long, meaningless conversation with someone that really ruined the Amazon experience for me. I was basically told "You're not going to talk to anyone who knows what is wrong, you're out of warranty so we aren't going to help troubleshoot, and the only thing I can tell you is buy a new Kindle device." Seriously, I hope that the conversation was recorded so that they can see how horrible their customer service has been. Needless to say, I've found more information scouring the internet about how to fix my Kindle than ANYONE at Amazon could tell me... Sadly, this will be the absolute last Amazon product I will ever own, as their customer service is horrible and their products too often faulty.


SteelyPhish--

I'm sorry that you had that experience, it's not the typical experience most of our members have had (including my recent experience). Are you sure you were talking to Kindle CS and not Amazon CS? (Amazon US customers inside the US: 1-866-321-8851, outside the US: 1-206-266-0927. Other customers, see here.)

I know it's very frustrating...

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The problem you describe is pretty clearly a software issue. . .they (or we) can suggest certain software steps, all of which you've apparently tried.

It still doesn't work so the only thing that can be done at this point is replace the device.

If it were still under warranty, they'd probably have offered that to you as soon as the first thing didn't work. (A replacement device in this case wouldn't have a fully year warranty, but your original warranty would be extended a few months, as I recall.)

Still, even though it's out of warranty, and they have no further responsibility, they offered you a discount on a new one -- which _would_ come with a full one year warranty. This is not unusual for them and is more than most vendors would do.

I hear that you're frustrated, but I wonder what else you expect them to do?


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## SteelyPhish (Jul 29, 2012)

Ann in Arlington said:


> The problem you describe is pretty clearly a software issue. . .they (or we) can suggest certain software steps, all of which you've apparently tried.
> 
> It still doesn't work so the only thing that can be done at this point is replace the device.
> 
> ...


I understand all that you're saying, truly I do. I work retail so I understand the end-of-warranty deals and such. However, what I fully expect them to do is back up their product with people in their customer service department that know and understand the device. I know its a software issue, I suspected that when I first had the issue with it not booting fully during the start-up process. The frustration comes from bringing up a screen that CLEARLY says "Call Kindle Customer Service (insert phone number) to update device from the restore screen." It is extremely frustrating when you call a company that prides themselves on customer service, yet the people they employ undergo no training on the capabilities of the device that they are trying to troubleshoot. _No one_ that I spoke to even had a clue what this screen was, one offered to have me e-mail a picture of it to him because he had never even heard there was such a method to restore to factory default settings (unfortunately I was not then, and am not now, using a computer that I can e-mail a picture from). The words that came from the last person I spoke to were literally "This is all we are trained to do: Tell you to lock the screen, turn it completely off, do a hard reset, and if none of that works tell you to buy a new one." I'm sorry, but NEVER have I had an issue like this from any other company where you couldn't get at least ONE person that knows what is going on. I understand that offering a _*slight*_ discount is more than what most vendors would do, but most vendors would work on customer retention by help to FIX the issue, not outright refusing to help. Please understand, my frustration at this point is not just their product, I've done enough research to know how to fix it now; my main frustration stems from their ABSOLUTE lack of respect for the consumer by having their customer service representatives poorly trained and their refusal to extend ANY troubleshooting beyond the warranty period. I work with customer service departments day in and day out, and have NEVER spoke to anyone with such a lack of knowledge about a product that they sell/troubleshoot. Please forgive me if I am presenting myself as rude, I just have not ever had this much of an issue with a company even helping troubleshoot a product out of warranty.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

SteelyPhish said:


> The frustration comes from bringing up a screen that CLEARLY says "Call Kindle Customer Service (insert phone number) to update device from the restore screen."


Woah! Is that actually the message that is on your screen, word for word?

That's not a normal screen for a KK that is starting up, in fact it's not a screen I've ever heard anybody reporting seeing ever (and believe me, I've read an awful lot of posts on here in the last two years), and it's not a screen I can find with a google search.

My guess is that this is the Kindle complaining that the firmware is screwed. If this is the case, then although I understand your frustration I wouldn't expect the average Kindle CS rep to know how to handle this, and I'm afraid the few Level 3 techs who could help will not be allowed to get involved with calls for out of warranty equipment - in fact, they're probably not allowed to talk to the public at all! 

You might want to take a look over on mobiread, where the techies tend to hang out more. In particular, these two threads might help:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186076 - links to http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/K3noobdebrickatk
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170929

If you're not sure, post over there with the exact text that is on your screen and see if they can advise what to do.

Hope this helps - keep us posted!

----edit to add:---

Having typed the above, I noticed you said:



SteelyPhish said:


> I've done enough research to know how to fix it now;


...please enlighten us, how did you fix it?


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## SteelyPhish (Jul 29, 2012)

Fixing it involves using the serial connection on the top port of the accessory ports on the side, the ones that serve the lighted cases.  Its has to be powered up using the "Restore to Factory Defaults" command, and then jumped into using that serial port connected to a computer running Unbuntu.  You need a mirror file of a working Kindle3 to flash onto the device so that when it does boot up its not clearing the memory again, like it usually does.  Really all you're doing is replacing the root file system, and forcing it to hold on to the information as it resets itself.  Its more complicated than what I've written, but I actually found the instructions and the video for it on MobiRead.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Interesting, that sounds like pretty much the same place that I ended up with when I looked into it.

Just curious, did you end up building the circuit for the serial port connector or did you manage to buy one?

I notice that the MobiRead threads seem to suggest there is a way of doing it using USB only, but I admit I didn't read it in detail.

So is it back to life again now? If so, congratulations!


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