# Unable to open PDF files



## Thor (Aug 14, 2012)

Hi, my dear fellow kindle-users. This is my first post. I have been enjoying my kindle for months now, reading mainly PDF books since this is the format I feel more at ease with. But yesterday I turned on my device in order to enjoy my reading and when I tried to open my PDF books an error message appeared telling I could not open my files. But later I tried with a few MOBI files and I could open them easily. Surfing the Web I learned that the reason for all this was a surprising update (without my consent) to my device, an update called 4.1.0, and I had to download a program (Hamster) to change my books to MOBI. So, my questions are:
1. How can I do to open my PDF files?
2. What about updates? Are they worth it or is it better to find a way of blocking them (to avoid all these issues)?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The 4.1.0 update to the basic Kindle has been out for some time and did not affect how PDF's are handled, as far as I know. This page says what it added, and the PDF rendering engine isn't mentioned: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_navbox_top_kindle4?nodeId=200774090

The original ToS does indicate that the firmware will occasionally be updated and that they may be sent wirelessly, so, yeah, you did agree to it.  Normally, they only push it out wirelessly for the first few weeks of an update being out. If you don't turn on wireless in that time, you probably won't ever get the update unless you go and do it manually. The 4.1.0 update came out several months ago so if you have it, and didn't do it manually, it's been on your device for quite a while and is probably NOT the problem. It may even have been on the device when you got it, if you've only had the thing a few months.And, in fact, I have several PDF's on my basic kindle that work just fine. . .given the limitations of the PDF reader on the Kindle.

I don't know anything about anything called Hamster. But, PDF's can be converted to Mobi format a number of ways. They can be sent for conversion via Amazon, or you can do it yourself using one of the many free conversion programs available in the Web. One highly regarded by folks 'round here is Calibre. PDF's that have highly specialized formatting will not convert well.

Some things you can try:

Be sure the battery is fully charged and do a restart. Via the software, go to the menu, then settings, then menu, then restart. Let the device restart. See if the PDF file works.

If you haven't got button control, a restart can be performed using the hardware by pressing and holding the on button for 20-30 seconds. Either way, it's like rebooting the system and frequently clears out any stray bits and bytes that are making things glitchy.

Be sure the PDF's are being loaded into the 'documents' folder on the Kindle. . . I don't know how you are getting them onto the device. If they're sent via Amazon they'll go in the right place automatically, but if you load them yourself via USB connection, it's very easy to accidentally put them in the wrong place.

Are the PDF's even showing up on your home page?

Are you sure the PDF doesn't require permission to open it? Some have password protection or some other sort of security. The PDF reader does not have the ability to deal with those sorts of PDF's.


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## Thor (Aug 14, 2012)

Thanks a lot for your reply. I did not know what to do, so I started to look around my Kindle and changed the default language (Spanish) to English, and after that I could open the PDF files. I confess it is a mystery. Thanks a lot and take care.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Glad you were able to figure it out, Thor! That's not something I would have suggested.    Now that you've found us, spend some time here, we've got a great group of people!

Betsy


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## cursor system (Aug 15, 2012)

Are you saying that kindle can only use PDF with english language? Therefore, other countries must change their phone language to english as well before they can use PDF


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

The OP here was using a Kindle rather than the phone app, so it may not be the same. 

I'm sure there are quite a few phone apps which can read .pdfs so if you have problems with one, you could try another.


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