# I might have a lemon...



## BK (Feb 5, 2009)

I want to love my new Kindle Fire... I do love the size, love the feel (that rubberized back is great, compared to my cold, slippery iPad), loved my Kindle 2, love Amazon and the Amazon ecosystem...

HOWEVER, here are some of the problems I've encountered with my Fire so far:

Can't watch a single YouTube video -- error message Can't Play Video comes up every time.  Tried about 8 different YouTube videos; nothing plays.  (On the other hand, a movie from Amazon Prime played beautifully.)

Facebook will rarely load; when it does FINALLY load, no pics at all, just little boxes.  I've tried from the Facebook "app" which is just a bookmark, apparently, and I've tried getting there via the Web.  (FYI, FB is not blocked here -- I can reach it at home and at the office, but can't get the site at neither place on my Fire!)

Other web sites, not just FB, are verrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow to load.  (Silk is not silky smooth here -- at home or at my office. Other computers and iPad on the same 2 networks load much quicker.)  I checked the same sites with Windows 7 desktop and iPad, no problems.

Pulse won't load/display any stories.  I click Refresh and the circle goes round and round, then finally stops w/out loading anything.

On the plus side, the Evernote app works beautifully from the start; CNet app is great.  But those were added by me -- FB and Pulse were pre-loaded and neither one works!

Things I don't like that are not bugs:

It was a bad idea for Amazon dump everything we own on the Carousel and NOT let us delete things.  My sister and I share a Kindle account -- I don't want her books cluttering up my screen, but they can't be deleted! I don't want ALL of my books there either.  

And what happened to Collections?  Apparently with the Fire, we LOSE that fabulous Kindle improvement!

It was a bad idea to have preset web page options that can't be deleted.  (Oh, and the pages I've tried and tried to load that won't load are now taking up several rows!)

It's a bad move to pre-load apps without giving the user a delete option.  It reminds me of HP and Verizon bloatware that you can never get rid of.

Is anyone else experiencing the problems I listed?  I know the last few complaints are about the Fire itself, but I figure if enough of us speak up, Amazon can fix those issues.  

Bonnie


----------



## raccemup (Feb 19, 2009)

hmm... Mine is playing back youtube videos like nobody's business. Did you do the software update? That was the first thing I did and it's been performing wonderfully so far.


----------



## BK (Feb 5, 2009)

yes, the software update was the first thing I did...


----------



## katy32 (Dec 20, 2010)

Have you restarted? Whenever fb is glitchy on my droid phone a restart usually fixes the problem


----------



## Lambert (Nov 12, 2010)

I hear you.

Good and bad. My books look great on the Fire, especially the color photos. Better than I thought.

Movies look pretty good.

What is frustrating to me is the interface. It must be something with me,cause not too many are complaining.

It's easy to swipe, but very hard to choose something such as a book or a button link on a web page.

It just won't take 90% of the time. Would a stylis help?

I'm hoping it just needs an update.

How do you check the updates and is there a way to force an update?

For example I keep pressing a book to open it and nothing. Then finally it may say "save to fav" Then it finally will open hopefully.

This is my first tablet. Am I doing something wrong?


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I, too, have watched YouTube videos...worked great.  I also used FB....seemed to work fine.  I've only checked a couple websites (KindleBoards is one of them) and they seem to load fine.

Have you contacted Customer Service?  Sounds like it's time.

Betsy


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I've used FB just fine as well as KB on the web. . .no problems.  Pulse seems to work as advertised.

You CAN delete the pre-set favorites . . .. I did do that to a couple of them that I knew I wouldn't use.

I'd say try restarting completely. . .hold the button until it goes completely off (the users guide says 20 seconds).  Then press the button to restart it.  . .and if things aren't fixed a 'call me back' from Kindle support is probably warranted.


----------



## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> You CAN delete the pre-set favorites . . .. I did do that to a couple of them that I knew I wouldn't use.


How can you delete preset favorites? I also couldn't figure out how to delete bookmarks they had (I don't need twitter, craig's list, etc. But couldn't find a way to delete them from the list.)


----------



## BK (Feb 5, 2009)

I've restarted several times... and just tried again.  Still no working Pulse, FB or YouTube.  I sent an e-mail to CS, since I am not in a hurry.  Know they must be swamped.
I'll let you know what happens.  I am confident that Amazon will tell me how to fix the problems or replace the unit.  Amazon CS is always awesome!

Actually glad it happened to me instead of to a Kindle first-timer.

Ann said:  >>>You CAN delete the pre-set favorites . . .. I did do that to a couple of them that I knew I wouldn't use.<<<

Ann, how did you delete them?

Bonnie


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Press and hold, a menu will pop up that says "Remove From Favorites/Remove from Device" 

(this works for the Favorites, you can't remove things from the Carousel the same way....)

Betsy


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

DYB said:


> How can you delete preset favorites? I also couldn't figure out how to delete bookmarks they had (I don't need twitter, craig's list, etc. But couldn't find a way to delete them from the list.)


If we're talking about the web. . go to a new tab and you'll see the bookmarks. Press and hold and one of the options is Delete.

If we're talking about Pulse. . . press the sprocket icon to see what's there and press the X to delete. . .

Betsy explained how to remove things from the favorites shelves.


----------



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Where is the software update?

L


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie said:


> Where is the software update?
> 
> L


Tap the icons in the upper right and tap 'more'. scroll down to 'device'. You'll see 'system version' (which should be 6.1 if it's been applied) and an 'update your kindle' link to the right if the update is available. Mine kind of did it automatically when I plugged it in and it found my WiFi.


----------



## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

Just a thought but some Youtube video's are setup so they won't play on mobile devices.  I found that out when I tried to watch one I uploaded myself on my iPhone so I had to go in and change the settings.  

Can you post a link to one you're trying to watch so others can try it and see if it works?


----------



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Thanks, Ann. I have the most recent update.

My Fire is slower than slow. It timed out trying to download a book from my archive! It won't load Kindleboards. It can't connect to Netflix. First I had to wait an extra 24 hours to get it and now this? I'm not a happy camper.  

L


----------



## BK (Feb 5, 2009)

Well, bummer.  Had a looong chat with Kindle Fire CS, and they couldn't solve my problems after all the troubleshooting we tried together.  They say they research the problems and will get back to me within 24-48 hours.

1. YouTube videos won't play -- error message every time, even after troubleshooting

2. FB won't load from app icon (and can't delete the useless icon!)  I can however get to m.facebook.com on the Web, but why have a non-working app --that can't be deleted! -- taking up space on the screen?!

3. Pulse doesn't load anything.  (And again, it can't be deleted!)

I know it will all work out, but I like to watch product and art project demos on YouTube, and my iPad of course doesn't play Flash videos, so that was something I planned to use the Fire for!

ETA: At least Kindleboards works on my Fire!  That's a good thing!


----------



## Guest (Nov 16, 2011)

Leslie said:


> Thanks, Ann. I have the most recent update.
> 
> My Fire is slower than slow. It timed out trying to download a book from my archive! It won't load Kindleboards. It can't connect to Netflix. First I had to wait an extra 24 hours to get it and now this? I'm not a happy camper.
> 
> L


This sounds rough too. Mine is very zippy, but I have heard others wondering where the speed is. I wonder why there seems to be so much variation between people's Fires.


----------



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I'm really discouraged with this Fire right now. It won't load Kindleboards which has to be the ultimate insult! I will see if things improve when I get home and connect to the WiFi there (I have a new router here in the office and connectivity has been spotty all day). If I still have problems at home, a call to CS will be in order.

L


----------



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Okay I have solved the kindleboards problem. I am posting this from my fire. Let's hope things are going to get better!

L


----------

