# What is the failure rate for Kindles?



## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

As with any mass produced thing there are going to be problems and duds coming from the factory.  However the trick is quality control - attempting to keep those duds from getting out to your customers.  How many kindle duds so you think get out?  How many per 1,000 kindles delivered (notice I said delivered not sold - If amazon sends you three kindles one after another because the kindles keep failing that's three kindles delivered but only one sold because you the customer have one working kindle but they needed to send you three to get you there.)


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I have four Kindles (K1, K4, KT, KF) and they've all worked out of the box....

My brother has two (K1, KF) and they worked fine out of the box.

The grandgirls each have a Kindle (K4s) and they worked out of the box.

Based on my sample  0% failure rate.

Betsy


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I have never had one DOA, but I have had several replaced before 1 year.  I am currently waiting on a replacement K3 as mine has a crack in the fascia.


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## PAWilson (Jan 9, 2012)

One kindle delivered = one reset needed. No failure.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

Had a K2, a DX, a DXG and a K3 - all worked straight out of the box and all still going strong, including the ones I've passed onto others. 

Getting a Touch later this month, so fingers crossed I keep my 0% fail rate!


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

KindleChickie said:


> I have never had one DOA, but I have had several replaced before 1 year. I am currently waiting on a replacement K3 as mine has a crack in the fascia.


We've had a total of 7 new units - I think. Three K1s, 3 K2s and a Fire. (I've also bought a used K2 and a used K3.) The only one that's had to go back due to a factory issue is the used K3, it had a crack in the fascia/frame as well. Probably would've been fine to keep, but the CS rep felt better sending a replacement since it was almost at the end of the warranty period.


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## sparklemotion (Jan 13, 2011)

No DOA's or failures for my 3.


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## Holly (Mar 8, 2011)

0% failure rate here out of four.  Only problem I have had was generated by the Amazon clip on Kindle3 case.  Once I took it off the Kindle, I no longer had rebooting issues.


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## Sticks and Stones (Jan 5, 2012)

I've had several other Kindles before, and only the latest one failed because it was faulty. The others, I'm sad to say, were my fault . So, out of three or four samples, only one had a defect.



> I have never had one DOA, but I have had several replaced before 1 year. I am currently waiting on a replacement K3 as mine has a crack in the fascia.


I'm also waiting for a replacement, but for the Kindle Touch. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

4 Kindles, (K1, K2, K3, Fire) 0 issues
All still in use


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## teralpar (May 18, 2010)

5 Kindles (K2, K3, K4, Touch, Fire) and all of them worked right out of the box...never had any problems.


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## pomtroll (Oct 5, 2010)

*I've only had 2 kindles the K3 & the KT. While both have had glitches now & then, for the most part they work very well. I've never sent one back.*


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

Failure rate is zero for me. One Kindle DX, which I gave to my sister. One Kindle Keyboard I'm still using. And a newer Kindle Basic which I'm using. All three work fine.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

K1 -- no fail -- returned for credit last fall
K3 -- froze up one morning -- but thinking back I probably could have tried a few more things before calling them, but they replaced it quickly so I didn't quibble -- it was tax season, I didn't have time to play with it, and, at the time, it was the only Kindle I had -- the K1 and DX were both out on loan.
2nd (replacement under warranty) K3 -- no fail -- still in near daily use
DX -- no fail -- given to an aunt; she died; gave to her sister
DX (for brother) -- no fail -- still in daily use
K4 -- no fail -- in daily use
Fire -- no fail -- in daily use
DXG -- no fail -- in near daily use


Friends/relatives I know of with Kindles -- all in daily use as far as I am aware
4 K2's -- no fail
5 K3's -- no fail


So that's something resembling a 5% fail rate -- except, as I said, I'm not sure the first K3 really did fail; I think I was just impatient.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Me:

K1, K2, KK, no failures.

Friends:
KK, no failure
Kindle Touch, no failure
Kindle Fire, no failure

Of my own experience, I don't know of a single Kindle failure.

Mike


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

Is it a failure if Amazon, fixes and replaces the device?  I don't think it as bad.  
I had one battery issue kindle replaced and one kindle(k1) screen break ,myears old, that they gave me a deal on a k3 to replace it.
Sylvia


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## Adam Poe (Apr 2, 2012)

Between myself, my wife, my family, and my friends - I know of at least fifteen people with Kindles. None were dead on arrival, and all are still working today. Which is amazing for a mass produced product.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

I've seen a couple that hare fubar'd, but they've been replaced by Amazon/Kindle Support.


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## valleycat1 (Mar 15, 2011)

I've had my K3keyboard over a year, read it almost daily, carry it everywhere, no failure.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

K1:  had two replaced with no questions asked; sun fading issues. 3rd was fine.
K3:  No problems
K3:  Gifts; no problems


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## Gayle (Aug 31, 2009)

K2 in 2009---no failures (I sold this one to buy a K3, but the person who bought it has had no problems.)
K3 (keyboard) --- no problems (bought when first released)
K4 --- no problems
Kindle Touch --- no problems
Kindle Fire --- no problems

0% failures

All work just fine and are used a lot! I always have one with me as I read constantly.  I've been known to read while standing in line to check out at the grocery store!


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

Gayle said:


> ..... I've been known to read while standing in line to check out at the grocery store!


Doesn't everyone.....?


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

K1 - replaced when screen failed in less than a year
(2) K2 - no failures
K3 - replaced day after it arrived due to rebooting issue, but it was due to the Amazon covers they finally figured out
K4 - no failures
Touch - no failures


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## Cyanide5000 (Aug 30, 2010)

The only problem I've had with any of my kindles was a broken screen, and that was my fault anyway. I once had a bit of a charging issue but that fixed itself. As for any official figures I dont think we will find out, companys will probably try to keep figures like that from the media/public i guess.


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

I think, it's just an opinion, of course, that the failure rate on Kindles is much, much lower than the failure rate of Kindle users. This has always been a problem but became painfully obvious with the introduction of the Fire.


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## BevAnneS (May 11, 2010)

Seven Kindles and each one worked like a charm.  The last four I bought were refurbs.  I also never had a problem with the lighted cover either -- still using it.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

My wife and I have bought 2 Kindle 2s, one of them failed and was replaced by Amazon.

We have one Kindle 3 and 2 Kindle Fires.

So 1 out of 5 of our Kindles failed.


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## Seleya (Feb 25, 2011)

I have one K3 and one K4, both have worked perfectly from the start, no problems whatsoever.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I had my K1 replaced, because the big page turn button got stuck. The replacement is still going strong, although its not used as much anymore. It still is my favorite design out of all as far as ergonomics go. 

My K3 I have had since they came out. It did develop a crack in the lower right corner, but since everything else works on it, I just stuck a skin on it and its fine. I just wanted the crack to be out of sight. I can see the faint outline of it in the light and it hasn't gotten any worse in a year. Otherwise its good to go. 

I use the heck out of my kindles, I am talking 100's of books a year so they are getting a workout.  

To me though, none of the things I listed I would consider a failure. I never really worry while under warranty as Amazon is so great about it all. 

And so far my fire is doing fine too. 

But I do think that some people have real issues, with as many units as have been sold, there are bound to be a few lemons in there.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

K2--Used heavily, worked great, sold, sold again, still working for owner #3!
K3 wifi--Part of the initial batch of K3s, problems with spontaneous reset that seemed to be frequent with the intial batch, returned to Amazon for replacement
K3 wifi--(replacement) used heavily, given away, still working for new owner
K3 3G--used lightly, still working
K4--Used heavily, still working

So a 20% failure rate for me.  Though I suspect a software update would have fixed the K3 wifi resetting.  Kindle CS actually prompted ME to return it for replacement, I suspect they wanted to get a look at one that was having problems.


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## AshMP (Dec 30, 2009)

I had a bunch of problems with K3 ... until it was resolved that it was never the device but the case with hinges that was causing the problems.  All things considered ... and knowing what the issue was really ... 0% as well


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## annelb (Nov 8, 2008)

K1 - worked great right up to the time my husband stepped on it. I had it for a couple of years. 
K3 with SO - no problems at all
Kindle Fire - Have had it for only a couple of days but I have not seen any problems. 

Anne


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## MagentaSunset (Oct 1, 2010)

_4 in our household - two K3s, a Fire and a Touch. All have been fine. _


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## Riverrun (Nov 29, 2011)

Newish to Kindle, having bought 2 K4s (one for myself and one for dh) towards the end of last year. I was amazed to find both work without hassle straight out of the box. I had a freeze-up once, but I sorted it once by pushing on the power button for a count of around 30 seconds. Mine is in use daily, my dh's almost daily. We couldn't be without them now - and we're those people who swore that nothing could or should replace 'real' books.


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## tricia2475 (Feb 3, 2009)

K2's~ 2 of them.  No problems at all.  Both were used at the time I bought them.
K3~  Given to BFF.  Still working great.
KT~  Pre-ordered it when it came out.  Works great.
KF~  DH uses it everyday without any problems


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## CoffeeCat (Sep 13, 2010)

Kindle 2 US - Worked fine until it hit a wall and the screen cracked.  Obivously wasn't the kindle's fault!

K3 Keyboard - Works beautifully never an issue.

KT - Have had to do one hard reset and one soft reset to fix little sluggish things, but nothing requiring replacement. 

Excluding the (unintentional) kindle abuse, no failure rate here!


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## Xopher (May 14, 2009)

Wife's K1 worked flawlessly for over 1-1/2 years before it slipped from her hand, hit the floor and cracked the screen. She read on it every single day (including in the bath tub in a Ziploc bag). It was replaced with a K3 (3G) and has had no problems in its 1-1/2 year lifespan so far.

My K1 worked flawlessly for ~1-1/2 year until the scroll wheel started giving up the ghost. Everything else works fine (even if I have to scroll 20 clicks or so to move one line). It was retired just over a year ago (January) with a K3 (3G) that has worked great ever since. 

Both of our daughters also have K3s and they have worked great ever since the original unboxing (one even went to Iraq while my daughter deployed for a year).

So, out of two K1s and four K3s, only one saw any type of issue, and that was probably primarily due to use, not manufacturing. None of them have had to go back to the mother ship for defects.


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## tinytoy (Jun 15, 2011)

I have a Kindle Fire, Kindle Keyboard WiFi and a basic K4.  I haven't had any problems with any of them.


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## slavetoabunny (Sep 17, 2010)

My Kindle 3 froze up 2 days ago.  It wouldn't turn off or reboot. I had it for 17 months and it was out of warranty.  Kindle support couldn't do anything for me.  I ran out and bought a Kindle Touch yesterday.


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## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

slavetoabunny said:


> My Kindle 3 froze up 2 days ago. It wouldn't turn off or reboot. I had it for 17 months and it was out of warranty. Kindle support couldn't do anything for me. I ran out and bought a Kindle Touch yesterday.


If you still have the K3, you might try charging it overnight and then see if it'll turn off/reboot. To reboot, you'll need to hold the power button to the right for about 30 seconds.


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

had a K2 that worked wonderfully until I dropped it. so it was replaced the replacement still works but I bought a K3 for the better contrast which I've had just over a year and no issues at all


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## slavetoabunny (Sep 17, 2010)

DreamWeaver said:


> If you still have the K3, you might try charging it overnight and then see if it'll turn off/reboot. To reboot, you'll need to hold the power button to the right for about 30 seconds.


Already tried that. We did get it to turn off and reboot once, but them it froze back up right away.


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## pessimist (Mar 13, 2020)

Consider me the skunk at the garden party, but I find the glowing encomia to the functioning of Kindles on this board to be unbelievable and even hilarious

I love the concept of Kindle -- will always have one.  The access it provides to books is revolutionary and wonderful.  But I've NEVER had a Kindle that lasted more than a year or so, and I've had a couple that failed almost immediately -- failing to turn on/off.  The "troubleshooting" advice was worthless -- the device just failed.  Because the Kindle is cheap enough for me to keep getting them, I'll always do so.  So don't get me wrong -- I endorse the product enthusiastically.  BUT THEY FAIL ALL THE TIME.  I guess it's built-in obsolescence.  Prepare to spend $120 a year or so for the wonderful privilege of owning one.  A bargain.

I suppose I don't need to say so, given my negative remark in the first paragraph of this post, but I have no pecuniary interest in Amazon.  Perhaps the lickspittles who are cheerleading (Why would someone go to the effort of doing that?  Isn't it routine for products to WORK?) might do the same.


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## geezergas (Nov 8, 2014)

DX 10 years, 2nd replacement battery.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

5 kindles active on my account -- ranging from 2 to 6 years old. And the older kindles were still working fine when I traded them in or passed them on to others.

See this post: from 8 years ago when this thread was first started: https://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,109654.msg1649305.html#msg1649305

Between then and the ones I have now, 2 did 'fail' but only because they were stepped on or dropped. (It wasn't me! My brother is a bit touch on his electronics and they were ones in his possession.  )


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

All of the kindles that I have purchased since 2008 are still working.  I don't use the older ones because I have gotten used to the lights, but they still charge, power on, and allow me to read.  Maybe you have just gotten faulty devices - I am sure there are some out there.  But the majority of folks on this board have had multiple models over the years with no problems.
My current daily-use reader is a second-generation Oasis with a 7" screen.  It was purchased brand new in October 2017 and I think it was delivered the beginning of November.  It's been used pretty much every day since then.  The battery in this one is not as good as some of my others - I have to charge it several times a week.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

pessimist said:


> Consider me the skunk at the garden party, but I find the glowing encomia to the functioning of Kindles on this board to be unbelievable and even hilarious
> 
> I love the concept of Kindle -- will always have one. The access it provides to books is revolutionary and wonderful. But I've NEVER had a Kindle that lasted more than a year or so, and I've had a couple that failed almost immediately -- failing to turn on/off. The "troubleshooting" advice was worthless -- the device just failed. Because the Kindle is cheap enough for me to keep getting them, I'll always do so. So don't get me wrong -- I endorse the product enthusiastically. BUT THEY FAIL ALL THE TIME. I guess it's built-in obsolescence. Prepare to spend $120 a year or so for the wonderful privilege of owning one. A bargain.
> 
> I suppose I don't need to say so, given my negative remark in the first paragraph of this post, but I have no pecuniary interest in Amazon. Perhaps the lickspittles who are cheerleading (Why would someone go to the effort of doing that? Isn't it routine for products to WORK?) might do the same.


A what spittle? I don't even know what that word means. Hey, you do you. Thats fine. This is a first and foremost kindle board. Go back to 2008 and you'll see some of us already posting. About the very first kindle. K1. And by the way, mine still works and its now 12 years old. Its a little slow now and I don't read on it as I need a light now. My eyes aged along with my kindles. . I have actually never broken a kindle. I have had a couple replacements of newly ordered ones because of a screen type fault, but they all still work. 
There is no way I would buy a new one every year if the one I have still works. Unless there is a feature I just must have. I think in the early years, I bought a new one every 2 years. Not because the old one didn't work, but because they added something I wanted to have. . I sat outside the other day with my kindle keyboard, which I bought in 2010. Love those buttons still. Couldn't read it inside anymore, due to lack of light.

So yeah, its a kindle board. Of course you are going to find a lot of folks that like them. For many of us it was the first e-ink reader we had.

Sorry yours seem to break so fast. Its not the norm though.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

pessimist said:


> I find the glowing encomia to the functioning of Kindles on this board to be unbelievable and even hilarious


You should not; the vast majority have had nothing but good experiences with Kindles.

I am an early adopter as well as a purchaser of later models. All continue to work perfectly. Does reporting the truth make one a lickspittle?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

FWIW .... when I saw this post this morning -- tacked on to an 8 year old thread -- I figured it was trolling with en eye to eventually putting some spammy link in the post .... BUT, I also felt like it was fair to rebut the poster's contentions. And we have.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Sigh. I didn't even notice the age of the thread. I blame it on the Oak. Brain a bit fuzzy. 
Course I already posted on it 8 years ago too. Is why it popped up in my posted in threads. 

Sigh, there are a few (ends-with-berry) trees I can also blame. And mold. And the dust from vanishing TP.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I've bought at least one and often more than one of every new Kindle since 2009, starting with the Kindle 3.  The exception is the Oasis, which didn't interest me.  I live in a retirement home and I'm the one with internet access so when others want a Kindle I get it for them and show them how to use it and then help them with it.  I have no idea how many Kindles that is but a rough guess is more than 25.  Possibly even 35.  I've passed on my older Kindles to neighbors and so I'm still helping them with them from  time to time.  I'd guess 1/3 of those have moved away and I'm still involved in some way with 2/3 of the Kindles I've bought over the years.

I bought one with a faulty 3G.  None of the others have had any defects.  Two of them have had batteries die after a few years.  All the rest are perfect still, as far as I know.

I think the Kindles are very well made.

I do see people who have one problem Kindle after another in various forums and I always wonder why.  Those people seem to be the exception.  Most people have very good results with their Kindles.

Barry


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

I think it's worth revisiting this idea now that we've got a few years perspective to draw on.

In the end, we can all only speak from our own experience. I've had about 10 different Kindles over the last ten years. I've never had a Kindle that didn't work straight out of the box, never had one I had to return as faulty. The only problem I've ever had was with a Voyage that developed one or two dead pixels after a couple of years. Apart from the occasional glitchy behaviour in the older ones, they all still work well enough to be usable - including a K2 and a K3 that I gave away years ago but were recently returned to me after giving sterling service elsewhere.

I don't say these things in a effort to give undeserved support to Amazon, I say them because they're true.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

I've had the K1, the K4, the PW2, and the PW4. Feels like I've had more or I'm forgetting one, but I don't think so...

*My Kindles*

The K1 was good but had the usual minor issues any first-gen device will (nothing that I can actually recall now).

The K4 was fine but I probably had it the least amount of time compared to the rest of my Kindles. I think my sister inherited my K4, and my niece might have it now. If that's the case, it has been quite the workhorse.

The PW2 battery wasn't quite as strong after a few years, and the device somehow wiped itself to factory settings twice, but it was fine otherwise. My dad has my PW2 now, which I assume still works.

The PW4 froze after six months and couldn't be revived. The replacement has been great, knock on wood.

*Family Members' Kindles*

My dad's Kindle Keyboard stopped working after a year, but his replacement is still running.

My sister's Oasis 2 is good, but the battery life absolutely sucks on it. She got it replaced and still had the same issue, so I guess that's just how those work? I've not tested it myself, so I can't give a firsthand verdict.

All in all, these have been pretty solid, dependable devices.


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## geezergas (Nov 8, 2014)

One Kindle, DX, 10 years old, on the 3rd battery. > 120 books a year.


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

6 Kindles here, beginning with the Kindle Keyboard. Only the Keyboard Kindle has failed, and only due to a bad battery.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

We have had an original Kindle, a Paperwhite 1, Paperwhite 2, a Basic, Kindle Keyboard, Voyage, and now an Oasis 2.  All are still in working and in daily use with various people on our account with the exception of the original Kindle that was dropped screen first on a concrete floor after 4 years of continuous use - technically the Kindle still worked, but the screen was too broken to be usable.  None except the original Kindle have had even a battery replacement.

I'm more than satisfied with the longevity of Kindles.


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## fos (Aug 16, 2009)

10+ Kindles in my immediate family. All still working. The only failure was a screen after a K2 had been dropped to the floor. Amazon replaced at a reduced cost.

I have had my current Kindle Voyage since Dec. 2014. I use it every day. It is still working perfectly. 

Jeff


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## MagicalWingLT (May 12, 2009)

Was it Atunah that had to replace one of the Kindles 4-5 times in a row? Because they weren't working? I know it was someone from the boards lol

I had to replace my Voyage twice. First time it was the screen acting up, the second one it was the page turn button not working while the other ones did. Third times a charm and it works. But now the battery is going on it. 

I have a Paperwhite 4 and now thats acting up. It was working perfectly fine but now when I go a page forward it will jump ahead one more page or a few. It ruins the flow of reading for me when I have to keep going a psge back every few pages of reading... I truly believe that Amazon isn't up to the high quality it used to be... And I have been thinking about going with another eReader brand. The problem with that is I need something with Android so I could have the Kindle app on it. I was thinking of getting the Kindle Oasis 3 but I'm hesitant now... But all of my books are on Amazon...


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

MagicalWingLT said:


> Was it Atunah that had to replace one of the Kindles 4-5 times in a row? Because they weren't working? I know it was someone from the boards lol
> 
> I had to replace my Voyage twice. First time it was the screen acting up, the second one it was the page turn button not working while the other ones did. Third times a charm and it works. But now the battery is going on it.
> 
> I have a Paperwhite 4 and now thats acting up. It was working perfectly fine but now when I go a page forward it will jump ahead one more page or a few. It ruins the flow of reading for me when I have to keep going a psge back every few pages of reading... I truly believe that Amazon isn't up to the high quality it used to be... And I have been thinking about going with another eReader brand. The problem with that is I need something with Android so I could have the Kindle app on it. I was thinking of getting the Kindle Oasis 3 but I'm hesitant now... But all of my books are on Amazon...


Nah, wasn't me. I had a K3 replaced once and the Oasis2. K3 was for the casing not being put together. I could see the innards on that one, wasn't good. The Oasis2 had some dead spots, pixels or whatever they are called. But not more than that.


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