# Kindle Paperwhite update 5.3.3



## sparklemotion (Jan 13, 2011)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_left_cn?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201064850

Includes optimizations for performance, image viewing, registration and Wi-fi connectivity.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Interesting.  Mine's currently at 5.3.1.  I wonder what happened with 5.3.2. 

I'll not do it manually right away -- bet it comes overnight tonight.


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

I've purposely waited on updating because, according to the discussion on Amazon, there were problems with the font on some books after the last update. (The font couldn't be changed after the update, even though it could be changed on the same book before the update.) Apparently, Amazon was aware of the problem and was working on a fix. Hopefully, this additional update includes the fix!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I decided to manually update (mine was also at 5.3.1).  I don't change fonts, so I can't remember which book I even tested it on when someone here posted about the problem.  Y'all will have to let us know.

5.3.2 was the update for the Kindle Touch.  So aparently, the 5.3 series of firmware is for the touch screen devices.

Betsy


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

Good to know, thanks for the heads-up.


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## Alice Coyl (Mar 29, 2011)

I just downloaded the update and it is manually installing right now.


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## sparklemotion (Jan 13, 2011)

gdae23 said:


> I've purposely waited on updating because, according to the discussion on Amazon, there were problems with the font on some books after the last update. (The font couldn't be changed after the update, even though it could be changed on the same book before the update.) Apparently, Amazon was aware of the problem and was working on a fix. Hopefully, this additional update includes the fix!


I updated and have not had any problems with changing fonts with this update.  (But then I didn't have problems with the last update either and I change fonts a fair bit.)


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

Installed and everything's fine. Thanks for letting us know!


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## Jimblob (Jan 15, 2013)

Thanks for the heads up. Manually getting it now.

Servers are really slow though. Going to take me over half an hour to get, lol.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

The problem with the fonts was apparently not with every book. But for the book I'm reading right now, _The Round House_ by Louise Erdrich, I did find differences with my Kindles. On the paperwhite, I don't like the font it's in, which I think is Helvetica, but I'm unable to change it to anything else. The KPW is on version 5.3.1. I was able to change the font on another book I got recently. Maybe I'll try the update this weekend and see if it will fix the problem. I just realized I also read the title of this thread wrong, and thought at first this was a follow-up update to the recent Kindle Touch update. I only just realized there's actually a new paperwhite update as well. (even though this is of course clearly stated in the thread title!)

I'm reading _The Round House_ on the Kindle Touch instead, because I can still change among the available typefaces there. Right now that's on 5.1.2. I think I'll try the KPW update first, and see if I can change the font on this book after that. Otherwise, I think I'll wait until I finish reading the book before doing the K Touch update. I am looking forward to having the newer features on the K Touch, though.


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## BettyR (May 11, 2010)

I have "The Round House" on my Paperwhite and I just upgraded to 5.3.3. I tried changing fonts, but cannot. It looks like this issue has not been addressed.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

BettyR said:


> I have "The Round House" on my Paperwhite and I just upgraded to 5.3.3. I tried changing fonts, but cannot. It looks like this issue has not been addressed.


I don't think the 'unchangeable fonts' issue is a problem with the kindle. It's a problem with how the book was formatted by the publisher. I suggest, for any book that it is a concern for you, that you go to the product page on Amazon and provide feedback.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

Thanks! I downloaded the update. This time, I shut wifi/3G off before the download & it was fine. The last time, I had trouble getting my wifi on, with the last Kindle Touch update.


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

Hmmm. Not showing up for me. I have version 5.3.1 and turned on Wi-Fi and tapped Sync and Check for Items. It shows No new items. I'll give it a day or so to show up. If nothing does I'll get it manually. 
Thanks for the heads-up, sparklemotion! 

Editud for spelink.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

hamerfan said:


> Hmmm. Not showing up for me. I have version 5.3.1 and turned on Wi-Fi and tapped Sync and Check for Items. It shows No new items. I'll give it a day or so to show up. If nothing does I'll get it manually.
> Thanks for the heads-ip, sparklemotion!


I don't think Sync and Check for Items will do an update. Updates occur when Amazon push them out to the devices - usually, they get downloaded while connected to wifi but I don't think there is any kind of indication that it's downloaded - and then it get installed while your Kindle is asleep so it doesn't disturb your usage.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, two days later, and mine's not updated yet.  Odd that. . .there has been multiple opportunity where the device has been sleeping and wifi has been on.  I'll give it another day and then maybe do it manually.

You can check to see if it's even downloaded by tapping the menu, then settings, then menu again.  If 'Update your Kindle' is NOT grayed out, then it's downloaded but just hasn't had a chance to install yet.  If you tap that it will do so. . . .but you'll probably get a warning that it's going to take a few minutes and restart a time or two.

Usually, though, it downloads and then installs itself whenever and you don't notice anything unless you happen to pick it up while it's in the middle of a reboot!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Back in the olden days of the K1, there were anecdotal reports that buying something from Amazon on the Kindle  and therefore downloading it triggered an update.  I don't think we ever proved that, though.


Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Back in the olden days of the K1, there were anecdotal reports that buying something from Amazon on the Kindle and therefore downloading it triggered an update. I don't think we ever proved that, though.
> 
> 
> Betsy


Yeah, I think when that happened it was coincidence. . . . . .

OR. . . a case of, the only time the person had wireless on was when they were going to buy something. Remember, back then it was 3G ONLY and it did tend to drain the battery faster so people were more inclined to leave it OFF unless they were shopping or knew they had something due to be delivered.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

That's probably right.

The last few updates that came through to my various devices I've let occur naturally.  This one, I downloaded via USB.  I can't really tell any difference.

Betsy


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

history_lover said:


> I don't think Sync and Check for Items will do an update. Updates occur when Amazon push them out to the devices - usually, they get downloaded while connected to wifi but I don't think there is any kind of indication that it's downloaded - and then it get installed while your Kindle is asleep so it doesn't disturb your usage.


Ah, thanks for the info, history_lover!
Of course, not being very patient I went ahead and side-loaded the update from my computer. The update was 164MB. PW works fine now, although it was working just as fine before the update.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

Same here. I don't notice anything different after the update.


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

I didn't get it yet.


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## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

My update just appeared out of nowhere. I noticed it when it changed from saying something like remove from device to delete this book or something like that.


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

I updated.  Seems like my PW turns off the light now when I power down.  Before the light would stay on for awhile (I never timed how long).

I didn't notice any other changes.  How about y'all?


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

kansaskyle said:


> I updated. Seems like my PW turns off the light now when I power down. Before the light would stay on for awhile (I never timed how long).
> 
> I didn't notice any other changes. How about y'all?


I haven't updated and my light never stayed on when I put it to sleep, it sounds like there was something wrong with yours that this update fixed.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Once or twice my light stayed on when I closed the cover.  A restart fixed it whenever it happened.  I attributed it to me being impatient and/or opening and closing the cover to quickly and confusing the switch.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

No, I think I know what history_lover means.

From memory, with 5.3.1, when I turned the Kindle off, the screen saver came on then the light went off a second or so later.

Now, as soon as you press the power button the light turns off, and the screen saver follows a second or so behind.

Not entirely sure, because I hardly ever turn it off, I just close the cover.

Maybe somebody still on 5.3.1 can check?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Mine has not updated.  I usually just close the cover but did an experiment.

I opened the cover and the sleep picture blinked and the light seemed to go at the same time. (I don't have SO's so don't really see the lock screen.

Then I pushed the button to put it to sleep.  The light faded to off and then the sleep picture showed.  When pushing the button to wake up, the light goes on and then the sleep picture changes to the menu.


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

Mine is didn't update, should I wait and see if it does. I have the wireless on.


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

I should note that I'm not using an Amazon cover.  As such, I have to swipe to unlock my PW after I hit the Power button.  

I just attributed the light staying on to some kind of bug when I would power off.  My Kindle did restart during the upgrade so maybe that fixed that issue rather than the upgrade.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Or you could keep a magnet handy....lower left hand corner of the PW.  It's how the covers work.


Betsy


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Morf said:


> No, I think I know what history_lover means.
> 
> From memory, with 5.3.1, when I turned the Kindle off, the screen saver came on then the light went off a second or so later.
> 
> ...


I'm still on 5.3.1 (just checked to be sure) and the light definitely switches off a second before it goes to the screen saver (I even bumped the light up to the highest setting so it was most obvious when it went off). For the record, I do not have the Amazon cover.



kansaskyle said:


> I should note that I'm not using an Amazon cover. As such, I have to swipe to unlock my PW after I hit the Power button.


Why do you have to swipe to unlock? Do you have the password security on or something? I do not have the Amazon cover and I merely have to press the power button to wake it up, no swiping necessary.


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## Michael Cavacini (Aug 2, 2010)

The auto update hasn't shown up on my Kindle PW yet either. I'm going to wait for it to come through instead of manually uploading it. We'll wait and see...


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

M.C. James said:


> The auto update hasn't shown up on my Kindle PW yet either. I'm going to wait for it to come through instead of manually uploading it. We'll wait and see...


Glad I'm not the only one.


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## Tabatha (Oct 4, 2009)

I have always had to manually update my kindle's long after everyone has received theirs OTA. I'll wait it out again in case they change it again, as the 5.3.2 for PW got pulled before set out OTA and changed to this 5.3.3 version. This has also happened in the past to other updates, maybe due to finding a problem after the initial release.


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

history_lover said:


> Why do you have to swipe to unlock? Do you have the password security on or something? I do not have the Amazon cover and I merely have to press the power button to wake it up, no swiping necessary.


It is my understanding that PW owners without the Amazon cover must "swipe to unlock" when they hit the power button.

Now that I think about it, maybe it is also the fact that I have the special offers version, which forces me to look at the offer before I can access the unit.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

kansaskyle said:


> It is my understanding that PW owners without the Amazon cover must "swipe to unlock" when they hit the power button.
> 
> Now that I think about it, maybe it is also the fact that I have the special offers version, which forces me to look at the offer before I can access the unit.


Ohhh, yeah, that makes more sense, I don't have special offers on my PW. I did initially have them on my KT - I don't recall having to swipe to unlock but I didn't have them for very long before I opted out.


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## backslidr (Nov 23, 2012)

I don't have the cover or SO and all I have to do is press the power button and it goes straight to the home screen.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Yes, it's the Special Offers.  I don't see why they can't have the "swipe" version of the SO screensavers come up when the PW goes to sleep....  Off to send feedback....

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

history_lover said:


> Why do you have to swipe to unlock? Do you have the password security on or something? I do not have the Amazon cover and I merely have to press the power button to wake it up, no swiping necessary.


If you have SO's, then when you turn it on, there's a lock screen you have to swipe to get past; it's the advertisement you get because you got a discount on the device.

If you do NOT have SO's, then pressing the button goes directly to the home screen -- or wherever you left off last.

This is a little different than older kindles, which didn't have the lock screen, but it's on account of the PW having the 'auto on/off' capability with an appropriate cover. They want you to still SEE the SO's since, after all, advertisers are paying them to show them to you.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> This is a little different than older kindles, which didn't have the lock screen, but it's on account of the PW having the 'auto on/off' capability with an appropriate cover. They want you to still SEE the SO's since, after all, advertisers are paying them to show them to you.


That's right and I have no problem with that. I do wish that when the Kindle falls asleep with the cover open, the screensaver that shows up would be the "swipable" one, not the one that requires the power button. 

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> That's right and I have no problem with that. I do wish that when the Kindle falls asleep with the cover open, the screensaver that shows up would be the "swipable" one, not the one that requires the power button.
> 
> Betsy


Yes. That would make sense. . . . .

I'm sure you've sent feedback to Amazon.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Thinking about this, I don't think the swipe screen is really a "screen saver" at all, it's just the first screen you see when it powers up. I suspect that when the swipe screen is there, the Kindle is powered on.

If you ignore the swipe screen for a while, does it go back to needing the power button pressing?

Is the light on with the swipe screen?

In other words:

Standard Kindle
Off -> Power button -> On

SO Kindle
Off -> Power button -> on with swipe screen -> swipe -> on

In which case, they couldn't leave it on the swipe screen.

Dunno, never seen an SO Kindle, we're not allowed them!


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Mine hadn't updated, so I did it manually.

I had a couple of books I"d read recently where I couldn't change the font.  Seems that this update fixed that as now I can change the fonts (at least in the one I checked).


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Morf said:


> Thinking about this, I don't think the swipe screen is really a "screen saver" at all, it's just the first screen you see when it powers up. I suspect that when the swipe screen is there, the Kindle is powered on.
> 
> If you ignore the swipe screen for a while, does it go back to needing the power button pressing?
> 
> ...


That makes sense, Morf. As usual.

Betsy


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## Gary_Berg (Sep 8, 2012)

Ann in Arlington said:


> If you have SO's, then when you turn it on, there's a lock screen you have to swipe to get past; it's the advertisement you get because you got a discount on the device.


Ann, you probably know this, but just to remind people - the swipe to bypass the special offer screen just needs to be a tap. No horizontal motion required; just tap the screen after the light comes on.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Gary_Berg said:


> Ann, you probably know this, but just to remind people - the swipe to bypass the special offer screen just needs to be a tap. No horizontal motion required; just tap the screen after the light comes on.


Just be careful where you tap, as a tap in the right place (wrong place?) will take you to the special offer, not to your book or home page. I generally swipe, I find it no more difficult.

Betsy


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## stevene9 (Nov 9, 2008)

Just updated manually, no problems


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

Am I the only one who didn't get an update? I called Kindle Cs and they tried to walk me through it,
but for some reason I couldn't do it. They said I should get it within 24 hours,  it so far I haven't.


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## Dragle (Dec 10, 2011)

Mine still hasn't updated.  It shows 5.3.1.  Has everyone else's already automatically updated? I wonder if there is a problem.   I have been leaving the wireless on and keeping it charged all the time, so that isn't it. I'd rather not bother to do it manually if possible.


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## readingril (Oct 29, 2010)

Mine did not auto update over the wifi so I did it manually myself today.

via me, my Droid, & Tapatalk


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I did mine manually.  Wasn't hard.


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

My wireless has also been on for several days, but so far no update.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm not sure they're actually pushing it out. I think it's a 'minor bug fixes' type update so they're just letting people get it manually. But if someone has issues, then they push it out or have them get it as part of troubleshooting.

Has _anyone_ had it just 'show up'?


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

Gary_Berg said:


> Ann, you probably know this, but just to remind people - the swipe to bypass the special offer screen just needs to be a tap. No horizontal motion required; just tap the screen after the light comes on.


Thanks Gary, this is saving me milliseconds every time I turn on my Kindle.  I just tap in the bottom right of the screen next to the text where it says to swipe, and it opens right up.

I did notice a thread in the accessories forum where folks are putting magnets on their non-Amazon covers to get the Kindle to instantly power on/off. I'm thinking of trying that next.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

kansaskyle said:


> Thanks Gary, this is saving me milliseconds every time I turn on my Kindle.  I just tap in the bottom right of the screen next to the text where it says to swipe, and it opens right up.
> 
> I did notice a thread in the accessories forum where folks are putting magnets on their non-Amazon covers to get the Kindle to instantly power on/off. I'm thinking of trying that next.


Well, but, that won't work if you have special offers. It will turn the light on automatically, but you'll still have to engage the screen to remove the lock picture.

If you do NOT have SO's then the auto open covers do take you to where ever you left off -- you basically don't see the sleep picture at all.


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## kansaskyle (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks for clarifying Ann.  I do have the SO version, which means the magnet would save me from hitting the power button.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

kansaskyle said:


> Thanks for clarifying Ann. I do have the SO version, which means the magnet would save me from hitting the power button.


Right. And it's definitely easier to turn it on by opening a cover than finding and pushing that little button.  Only problem for me is I get confused now -- open my K4 cover and wonder why nothing happened. . . .until I remember I still have to push the button on it.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Right. And it's definitely easier to turn it on by opening a cover than finding and pushing that little button.  Only problem for me is I get confused now -- open my K4 cover and wonder why nothing happened. . . .until I remember I still have to push the button on it.


Yeah, thats me when I pick up my K3. I open the cover and stare at it. Yo, wake up. 

I have special offers on my PW too and I don't swipe either, I kind of just grab it with my thumb there after I open the cover. Since I grab it from the bottom with just the side of my thumb touching there, it never accidentally goes to the offer. I don't even look anymore.

But it is nice to to have to press that button. On the K3, I use my nail to slide the button, but on the PW, I seem to never find it right away. Its small and more flush, at least on mine it is. 
So the magnetic cover is great.


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## mikeschr (Dec 7, 2010)

I play some games on my PW, and I'm finding them to be more responsive after the update.


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I'm not sure they're actually pushing it out. I think it's a 'minor bug fixes' type update so they're just letting people get it manually. But if someone has issues, then they push it out or have them get it as part of troubleshooting.
> 
> Has _anyone_ had it just 'show up'?


Mine finally updated.


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## Dragle (Dec 10, 2011)

Mine also finally updated last night.


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## freelantzer (Apr 28, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I'm not sure they're actually pushing it out. I think it's a 'minor bug fixes' type update so they're just letting people get it manually. But if someone has issues, then they push it out or have them get it as part of troubleshooting.
> 
> Has _anyone_ had it just 'show up'?


Mine updated on its own just a couple of days ago.


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

I don't know if this is because of the update, but after I read a sample of the book Lunatics and then
bought the book, it downloaded and started at the beginning. I thought is was supposed to go to where you
leave off? Also for some reason I couldn't find the sample.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I had that problem with one of my samples but it was an old sample.  But as I recall, it will delete the samples after you buy from the sample.

Betsy

Sent from Killashandra, 
my Kindle Fire 4G


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## freelantzer (Apr 28, 2010)

amyberta said:


> I don't know if this is because of the update, but after I read a sample of the book Lunatics and then
> bought the book, it downloaded and started at the beginning. I thought is was supposed to go to where you
> leave off? Also for some reason I couldn't find the sample.


Mine did the same thing--opened at the beginning instead of where I left off. But it did delete the sample like it was supposed to.


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

Thanks, I didn't know it was supposed to delete the sample. I will make sure I check the page or
location before I buy the book.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Was it a sample you'd had on the device for a while?  I didn't have any problems with new samples, but my first test was with a sample I'd had for quite a while, and the synching didn't work.

Betsy


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

mine auto updated late last night. It was very odd I was trying to sync my devices and they wouldn't . Suddenly it rebooted and is was fine


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## amyberta (Dec 14, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:



> Was it a sample you'd had on the device for a while? I didn't have any problems with new samples, but my first test was with a sample I'd had for quite a while, and the synching didn't work.
> 
> Betsy


No, I had downloaded the sample, and then bought the book,almost right away.


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## freelantzer (Apr 28, 2010)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Was it a sample you'd had on the device for a while? I didn't have any problems with new samples, but my first test was with a sample I'd had for quite a while, and the synching didn't work.
> 
> Betsy


No, it was a relatively new sample, but I did have it before the update.


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## mlm525 (Jan 7, 2010)

I feel foolish asking such a basic question, but I will anyway!  Where do I go to check the software version?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

mlm525 said:


> I feel foolish asking such a basic question, but I will anyway! Where do I go to check the software version?


Well, that's not too basic: it's not particularly obvious, actually. 

From the home screen go to Menu and then Settings. Then choose Menu again and you'll see an option called 'Device Info'. That'll give you a bunch of numbers, one of which is the Firmware Version.


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## mlm525 (Jan 7, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Well, that's not too basic: it's not particularly obvious, actually.
> 
> From the home screen go to Menu and then Settings. Then choose Menu again and you'll see an option called 'Device Info'. That'll give you a bunch of numbers, one of which is the Firmware Version.


Thanks Ann, 
Obviously I have not been updated - my version is 5.3.0! I guess I need to leave my wifi on for a while and see what happens. I have not had any problems, I just hate to be left out!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

mlm525 said:


> Thanks Ann,
> Obviously I have not been updated - my version is 5.3.0! I guess I need to leave my wifi on for a while and see what happens. I have not had any problems, I just hate to be left out!


I'd say it's not likely to update on it's own at this point; the latest update has been out for some time and they stop trying to send it after a few weeks.

But if you want the update, it's pretty easy to load manually. . . .just go to Kindle Software Updates and find your device and it'll have links to download it to your computer and directions on how to move it to the kindle and install it.


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