# how can i upgrade my kindle to get rid of ads?



## danjohnson10 (Aug 17, 2011)

I bought my kindle a few weeks ago from Target and the description that was on the price tag said nothing of advertisements being displayed by the $114 model.  One of the things I liked about the kindle the first week I used it was how it could double as a piece of art when I put it to sleep, and the treat of a surprise sketch every time I finished a reading session.  I would never have registered my kindle if it weren't for the inability to create collection folders with an unregistered device, so imagine my dismay at finding that I had irreversibly transformed something classy into a portal for ads.  I'll pay $20 more, just stop it from showing ads!


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## Me and My Kindle (Oct 20, 2010)

> I'll pay $20 more, just stop it from showing ads!


If you only bought your Kindle a few weeks ago, you might be able to exchange it at target for a different model. And if that doesn't work, you might try calling Amazon customer service. They're pretty good about sending people a replacement Kindle for any issues. I don't know for sure that they'd let you do the upgrade, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

And if all else fails, you should be able to sell your "Kindle with Special Offers" for about what you paid for it. And then you can just buy a new Kindle! There's a good chance that in a few weeks, Amazon may even be coming out with a new model!


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## Sharon Red (Jul 23, 2011)

Yeah I have not heard of any way to upgrade it to remove the ads.  I have one with ads and it really isn't that bad, in my opinion at least.


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## Buttercup (Oct 28, 2008)

Yep, you'll have to return/exchange it or sell it.


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## unitbit (Jul 22, 2011)

It's funny, the ads never bugged me... ever.  I'm actually surprised people pay more to not have them.  Just my opinion though.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I'm surprised that anyone can tolerate the ads. My Kindle is my bookshelf, and I wouldn't want anyone putting ads on my bookshelf.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

unitbit said:


> It's funny, the ads never bugged me... ever. I'm actually surprised people pay more to not have them. Just my opinion though.





QuantumIguana said:


> I'm surprised that anyone can tolerate the ads. My Kindle is my bookshelf, and I wouldn't want anyone putting ads on my bookshelf.


And that's why they offer both versions. 

(Me - if I were buying new, I'd buy the version with ads and let my Kindle pay for itself...in fact I considered offering to trade with the OP, but he'd lose out on warranty...my warranty is almost up. )


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## rlkubi (Dec 7, 2009)

I actually like the ads!  Not a problem at all!  Plus I get deals


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I have only heard that you have to buy a non-special offers Kindle to get rid of the ads.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

Buy a cover and you wont have to look at the ads.


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

There is a hack that allows you to remove the ads. I have seen it discussed at a different location. To do so requires hacking your Kindle and could invalidate your warrenty. 

If you don't like the ads, I would return the KSO and pay the extra money for a Kindle Wi Fi.


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## mikeschr (Dec 7, 2010)

Also, they aren't just ads, they're discounts most of the time.  My KSO has paid for itself about twice over.  I happened to be in the market for a new laptop, and I used the 20% laptop discount to get a spectacular deal, not to mention the other deals on things I was already shopping for.

Still, if you don't like them, get a regular K3, but it's not quite accurate to just refer to them as ads.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

danjohnson10 said:


> I bought my kindle a few weeks ago from Target and the description that was on the price tag said nothing of advertisements being displayed by the $114 model. One of the things I liked about the kindle the first week I used it was how it could double as a piece of art when I put it to sleep, and the treat of a surprise sketch every time I finished a reading session. I would never have registered my kindle if it weren't for the inability to create collection folders with an unregistered device, so imagine my dismay at finding that I had irreversibly transformed something classy into a portal for ads. I'll pay $20 more, just stop it from showing ads!


Before you do anything else, call Amazon CS and ask. Since they have what I consider close to the world's greatest customer service, there is at least a chance they'll help you out. It can hardly hurt to ask.


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

danjohnson10 said:


> I bought my kindle a few weeks ago from Target and the description that was on the price tag said nothing of advertisements being displayed by the $114 model. One of the things I liked about the kindle the first week I used it was how it could double as a piece of art when I put it to sleep, and the treat of a surprise sketch every time I finished a reading session. I would never have registered my kindle if it weren't for the inability to create collection folders with an unregistered device, so imagine my dismay at finding that I had irreversibly transformed something classy into a portal for ads. I'll pay $20 more, just stop it from showing ads!


If it is within the 30 days I would call amazon and see if view would do a switch. I remember a year or two ago they had a 30 day return option. This may be before jgd kindle was in stores.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## laurie_lu (May 10, 2010)

I'm one of those who would not pay less to see the ads.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

My opinion:  Amazon hit on the 'sponsored version' (containing ads and special offers) because it enabled them to reduce the prices. . .even at $139 there were still a lot of people complaining that it was too much to pay.  I think it's inspired. 

And I bet there were people for whom Kindle just wasn't in the budget who were able to swing it for the lower price.  And if they can take advantage of some of the offers on things they would have bought anyway, that's even better!


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I'm in the "I'll pay more to avoid ads/offers" camp, but I have to add: You mentioned the "surprise artwork" you get with the $139 Kindle. There's only a handful of different pieces, so that "surprise" factor wears out very, very quickly!


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

I actually prefer the ads on my daughter's KSO than I do the screen savers on my K2.  They are more pleasing to my eye than the creepy fish and dead author sketches.  Of course I don't spend more than a few seconds looking at any of them so it doesn't really matter to me one way or the other.  The special offers that have come have been awesome though.


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## auge_28 (Oct 3, 2010)

I will trade my K2 for yours, I won’t mind the ads . . . you can even have the Amazon leather case...


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## Sharon Red (Jul 23, 2011)

I'm still so surprised that people really would pay for removing ads.  Honestly when I'm not using my Kindle, the screen is off anyway and in my bag.  Maybe it is just me!


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

When it first came out people had no idea what the ads would look like or how obtrusive they would be. 

Then there is the camp that once you allow them on the screen saver and home page they might start trying to work ads into books.

Personally, while the deals sound nice, I prefer my reading experience to be ad free. I am happy to hear that the ads have not annoyed people but I am fine with paying more to not have to worry about it.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

QuantumIguana said:


> I'm surprised that anyone can tolerate the ads. My Kindle is my bookshelf, and I wouldn't want anyone putting ads on my bookshelf.


My ads are saving me $400 on a new laptop computer. For that savings, I'll tolerate them. Not only that, the ads look better than the ugly dead authors screensavers. *shudder*. Those things are scary!


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## jbarr (Aug 26, 2011)

Hadou said:


> Buy a cover and you wont have to look at the ads.


Ha! That's one of the first things I thought of when I ordered my cover.

I purchased the 3G+Special Offers model, and am perfectly happy with how ads are implemented. Now, if they start showing ads while I'm reading....


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## NeroAZ (Aug 27, 2010)

put it back in the box and take it back to target with the receipt. they offer a 90 day return policy.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I've never seen the ads - how do they appear?  Where?  Do they actually interrupt your reading with an advertisement?


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## kindlegrl81 (Jan 19, 2010)

DYB said:


> I've never seen the ads - how do they appear? Where? Do they actually interrupt your reading with an advertisement?


On the Kindle's With special Offers instead of the author screen savers you get ads for companies such as Visa. There is also a small ad banner at the bottom of your home screen. They do not show up in books.

In exchange for viewing these ads, you get a Kindle that is cheaper to purchase. Plus, every 4 days or so, Amazon gives you offers; $20 Amazon gift card for $10, 50% off a lighted cover, 20% off laptops, etc.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

kindlegrl81 said:


> On the Kindle's With special Offers instead of the author screen savers you get ads for companies such as Visa. There is also a small ad banner at the bottom of your home screen. They do not show up in books.
> 
> In exchange for viewing these ads, you get a Kindle that is cheaper to purchase. Plus, every 4 days or so, Amazon gives you offers; $20 Amazon gift card for $10, 50% off a lighted cover, 20% off laptops, etc.


That doesn't sound too bad. And I want those discounted Amazon gift cards! Why don't those of us with regular Kindles get those kinds of offers! Not fair!


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## kisala9906 (Sep 4, 2011)

If I had not bought my kindle before they offered that one (and if I didn't need the one with built in Wi-fi because I travel so much) I would have gotten the one with the adds! I really would love to get the amazon gift certs if nothing else and I agree with it actually looking better then the SS that are on the regular kindles!


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

It's funny, someone saw the screensaver on my kindle and said, "Oh, you paid extra to avoid ads."

"Not really," I had to admit. "That wasn't an option when I bought mine!"

It made me wonder if I would have gotten the one with ads if it had been available. I'm still not sure.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

DYB said:


> I've never seen the ads - how do they appear? Where? Do they actually interrupt your reading with an advertisement?


No, they don't interrupt your reading. You get ads in place of the dead authors for your "sleep" screen and a small ad is at the bottom of each page of your book list when in your "home" screen. You don't see any advertisement of any kind when you are in a book.

There are normally 5 different ones at a time that rotate through as you turn your K off and on. They change the pictures and offers approximately every 4 days. 3 are usually ads and 2 are usually special offers.

You can go to this thread to see the types of special offers that have been offered so far... http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,66274.0.html


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## Pinworms (Oct 20, 2010)

I don't have a Kindle with ads, but on the no-ad version its relatively easy to replace the default screensavers with your own images. There are step-by-step guides (with pictures!) that require virtually no computer competance whatsoever, and it takes about 5 minutes to do. I've not heard of an instance where it was the cause of any problems. Yes, it may technically void your warranty, but from what I've heard, Amazon doesn't care (though their policy may be different for ad-versions). The "hack" can be uninstalled.

I love my own collection of screensavers. There are a few sites with great ones (such as http://ebookscreensavers.com/screen-savers/most-viewed ) and I also make my own from my own photographs. If you're looking to use your Kindle as a "piece of art" to display, then this seems like a good thing to do anyways...

Just food for thought if you decide to go that route.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

My understanding is that the ad-supported Kindle is significantly more difficult to 'hack' to put your own pictures on.  

And, since you got a discount on the device on agreeing to accept the ads (and the special offers) the consequences of doing so, if found out, might be more significant -- because Amazon has other partners that it has some responsibility to, having sold them the ad space.  I doubt they'd actively search for violators, but if you need to return it and they see it's been hacked, I would not be surprised if they had a problem with that.  It's true that on 'regular' Kindles, Amazon hasn't much cared except to put more protection against it in each new software update.

My recommendation, if you decide you don't like the ads, is to return it and order the non ad supported version within the 30 day window.  You'll have to pay to return it, less than $10, but if they really bother you it's probably worth it.

FWIW, I bought my K3 before there was an ad-supported version. . . .I don't know whether, either, I would choose the ad-supported one to save some money. . . .which I could use to buy more books.   I haven't see that many of the offers that I'd really be interested in taking advantage of, but there are some.  And I don't mind the default sleep pictures.


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

The hack does exist.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

DYB said:


> I've never seen the ads - how do they appear? Where? Do they actually interrupt your reading with an advertisement?


Not just screen saver and a line on the home page. I look forward to them. I have purchased a number of $1 books.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

I might have a way to get rid of the special offers, at least it worked for my husband and it wasn't intentional...

Apparently, he hasn't bothered to turned on his whispernet for the past 3 or 4 weeks.  When I noticed that he was not getting his special offers any longer, I started working on his K.  I've gone as far as to do a "reset to factory defaults" and still no special offers.  The kindle has gone back to the dead author screensavers and I have no option under the menu to even "view special offers".  It can still access the Kindle Store and download books but it's now minus the special offer options.

I've called KCS.  Their computer shows over 100 attempts to deliver the special offer screensavers in the last few weeks.  All those attempts have locked up the special offer downloads.  They have to go into the system and delete all of those attempts manually in order to get it working correctly again. 

So, there is a way to stop the special offers, if you really want to.


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## wvpeach (Jul 12, 2010)

I have seven kindles in my family all prior to the Special Offers kindle being available. I have been wondering who I can give my Kindle to in the family, but have just about run out of family members to give one to. Should my Kindle break down, or I need to replace the Kindles I have for any reason, I will gladly and happily take one of the special offers Kindles. We shop at Amazon so much as a family I figure it will quickly pay for itself.


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## Susan542 (Jun 24, 2011)

sebat said:


> No, they don't interrupt your reading. You get ads in place of the dead authors for your "sleep" screen and a small ad is at the bottom of each page of your book list when in your "home" screen. You don't see any advertisement of any kind when you are in a book.
> 
> There are normally 5 different ones at a time that rotate through as you turn your K off and on. They change the pictures and offers approximately every 4 days. 3 are usually ads and 2 are usually special offers.
> 
> You can go to this thread to see the types of special offers that have been offered so far... http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,66274.0.html


Do they change even if you have your wireless turned off? I never have my wireless on unless I am downloading something...


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

Susan542 said:


> Do they change even if you have your wireless turned off? I never have my wireless on unless I am downloading something...


No, you need to turn on your wireless to get the special offers otherwise you will end up screwing up your SOK like my husband did. Go back and read reply #34.

Also, if you don't turn it on, your special offer screensavers will disappear as they expire until you don't have any screensavers left. Then you'll end up with this screensaver that tells you to turn on your wifi to download the new special offers.

The special offers and ads change every 4 days.


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## Evan Couzens (Jul 18, 2011)

I have a KSO, and I barely notice the ads. If they bother me, I turn the Kindle face down; call me crazy. But generally, if I'm not reading it, it's in a desk drawer.


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## avid (Dec 29, 2012)

What is Amazon's policy on removing the ads? They just removed from my device absolutely free following a tip they did it for others as well.

I'm not in the States, if I were then the ads would have probably payed for the device. But this way the resale value is higher for my device. Not planning on selling it yet.

Btw. don't you want to upgrade this board to MyBB? This forum engine is not the best...


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

avid said:


> ...
> Btw. don't you want to upgrade this board to MyBB? This forum engine is not the best...


Nope, we're sticking with SMF for the foreseeable future.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

avid said:


> What is Amazon's policy on removing the ads? They just removed from my device absolutely free following a tip they did it for others as well.
> 
> I'm not in the States, if I were then the ads would have probably payed for the device. But this way the resale value is higher for my device. Not planning on selling it yet.


You can buy out of the ads via Amazon easily.

If you got a discount based on agreeing to see the ads and then manipulate the OS to remove them without paying, you've violated your terms of service and possible your warranty. I wouldn't recommend it.


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