# Screensavers Not Supported



## Mollyb52 (Jan 4, 2009)

I am new with my Kindle and trying to be very careful with it.  I was curious and concerned by the earlier post stating personal screensavers could void the warranty.  I wrote to Amazon and this is the response I received:


Greetings from Amazon Kindle Support.

Thank you for your interest in placing personal screensavers on your Kindle.  While it is possible to do so, it is not a supported feature of the Kindle, and you run the risk of damaging your Kindle thus voiding your Warranty.

Best regards, 

Matthew T
Amazon.com -- Earth's Most Customer Centric Company

I am sure others have installed them with no problems.  I just thought I would share this information with everyone so we can all make our own informed decisions.


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## AcBush (Jan 4, 2009)

Tada! Thanks for getting that information from the Kindle Support team - if you do it, make sure you know what you're doing. It's like trying to mod an xbox 360 - it can be done & a lot of fun, but if they [Microsoft] find out you did it, they won't support it anymore...


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## MineKinder (Jan 5, 2009)

Yikes, good to know!


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

That is their text book response.  If they stick with it then there are a lot of Kindles out there with boided warrenties, mine included.   I do have the original screensavers in a zip file and could reinstall them if I wanted to but I just don't want to.

I wonder how they feel about skins and third party covers?


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## MineKinder (Jan 5, 2009)

Vampyre,
It would be just my luck though, while attempting to download a screen saver I would glitch and ruin the Kindle.
Maybe this just all sounds intimidating now, because I have NEVER even seen a Kindle in RL!


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## AcBush (Jan 4, 2009)

Vampyre said:


> That is their text book response. If they stick with it then there are a lot of Kindles out there with boided warrenties, mine included. I do have the original screensavers in a zip file and could reinstall them if I wanted to but I just don't want to.
> 
> I wonder how they feel about skins and third party covers?


Vampyre,

I'm not saying that the screen savers are going to kill the Kindle. All I am saying is that if something goes wrong, the first thing Amazon CS is going to tell you is to do a firmware reset to get it back to the way it was when they sold it to you. So, if you want to cover all your bases, you might as well do a firmware reset before calling amazon.com cs (it wipes everything) but, thats what they will tell you to do. More then likely, that will fix your issue but if it doesn't, and they find out that the issue happened after it was altered (by messing with the screen savers) then you may have a harder time getting a free replacement.

Just my 2 Cents...


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

I'm not really worried bout the screen saver. The first thing I did when I got my Kindle was this.


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## ScottBooks (Oct 28, 2008)

The man does have his priorities straight


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

I find it difficult (though not impossible, given the evidence) to believe that Amazon would enable a series of keystrokes whose sole purpose is to perform a particular function, and then void one's warranty after you used it.  It's like saying that if you discovered how to play Minesweeper on your Kindle they'd void your warranty for doing so.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> I find it difficult to believe that Amazon would enable a series of keystrokes whose sole purpose is to perform a particular function, and then void one's warranty after you used it.


Your logic is irrefutable, Jim. If that is indeed Amazon's policy, they should re-think it. There are several thousand lawyers out there who would happily organize a class action suit for all the users whose warrantees were thus voided.


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

Jeff said:


> Your logic is irrefutable, Jim. If that is indeed Amazon's policy, they should re-think it. There are several thousand lawyers out there who would happily organize a class action suit for all the users whose warrantees were thus voided.


Are you actually agreeing with me?  Or being so subtly sarcastic that I'm not getting it?


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> Are you actually agreeing with me?  Or being so subtly sarcastic that I'm not getting it?


I often agree with you but I think you as often misunderstand my overly dry sense of humor.


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

Jeff said:


> I often agree with you but I think you as often misunderstand my overly dry sense of humor.


That's why I was double-checking.


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## thejackylking #884 (Dec 3, 2008)

dam it jim I'm a doctor not a kindle technician


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

thejackylking said:


> dam it jim I'm a doctor not a kindle technician


...Still Laughing...


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

My favorite of them all is still the first one, from "The Devil in the Dark."  As Bones is trying to heal the Horta: "Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer."


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I actually just checked the Kindle User's Guide and the "About Your Kindle" manual and neither one has instructions for changing the screensavers. I think all the info out there (including the info in my FAQ) came from users who figured it out.

I have a custom screensaver on my Kindle and I have removed it and gone back to the originals, then re-added it without any problem. However, I will point out for anyone reading this thread who might be thinking of changing the screensaver but hasn't done it yet: making the change, while not hard, does require that you connect the Kindle to your computer with the USB cable. You need to know who to use Windows explorer (or the equivalent program on a Mac), know how to create and manipulate folders, move files into directories, and navigate to different directories. If you want to remove a custom screensaver, you need to know how to view hidden files. If you don't feel technologically comfortable with any of this, then I would suggest not trying to install custom screensavers. I have heard of people who have really messed up their Kindles because they thought they knew what they were doing, but really didn't.

L


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

Leslie said:


> I actually just checked the Kindle User's Guide and the "About Your Kindle" manual and neither one has instructions for changing the screensavers. I think all the info out there (including the info in my FAQ) came from users who figured it out.
> 
> I have a custom screensaver on my Kindle and I have removed it and gone back to the originals, then re-added it without any problem. However, I will point out for anyone reading this thread who might be thinking of changing the screensaver but hasn't done it yet: making the change, while not hard, does require that you connect the Kindle to your computer with the USB cable. You need to know who to use Windows explorer (or the equivalent program on a Mac), know how to create and manipulate folders, move files into directories, and navigate to different directories. If you want to remove a custom screensaver, you need to know how to view hidden files. If you don't feel technologically comfortable with any of this, then I would suggest not trying to install custom screensavers. I have heard of people who have really messed up their Kindles because they thought they knew what they were doing, but really didn't.
> 
> L


I endorse this comment 2000%


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## robin.goodfellow (Nov 17, 2008)

> Maybe this just all sounds intimidating now, because I have NEVER even seen a Kindle in RL!


Trust me. It's very easy. Not that I would know. And not that there's a whole bunch of threads in the Kindle Boards photo gallery here:
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?board=10.0 with images that you can use.

I'm not saying :don't worry about voiding the warranty". I'm more of the opinion: be aware of HOW you are voiding the warranty. In the interest of full disclosure, I have installed several of my own screen savers, and had no problems downloading, reading, re-reading, or moving books on my kindle.

Scout's honor.
And Jem's too.

~robin


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## ScottBooks (Oct 28, 2008)

The man does have his priorities straight 

EDIT: I was going to remove this but then Jim's post after wouldn't make sense...


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

*ECHO*
*ECHO*
ECHO
Echo
echo
echo


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Vampyre said:


> That is their text book response. If they stick with it then there are a lot of Kindles out there with boided warrenties, mine included. I do have the original screensavers in a zip file and could reinstall them if I wanted to but I just don't want to.


Reminder to Vamp and other folks, if you want to go back to the original screensavers, you only have to delete all your custom ones from the system folder of your Kindle, as explained elsewhere in the forum. They are superceded by any custom screensavers but not erased and come back automatically when the custom ones are removed. As Leslie said, you need to hook the Kindle up via USB and be familiar with using Windows Explorer or the Mac interface to manipulate files and folders.

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

For the record, I've never bothered with custom screensavers.  I am extremely comfortable messing about in Windows folders and such; I just don't have any interest in doing so in this case.  When I'm not reading (like now), my Kindle is usually in it's case, which is usually closed so I don't see the picture anyway.  Anyway, I really like most of the ones that came with. . .I've even gotten used to weird ol' Oscar.

But I will echo Leslie:  be sure you know what you're doing.  I've seen lots of people mess up computers and other devices by doing things not 'officially' supported by the maker.  

Another thought:  judging by membership in this board, Kindle users skew to the, shall we say, 'more mature'?   (Not to mention, female) It's usually the young (male) geeks who want to play with things, take 'em apart to see what they're made of (put 'em back together, see if there are parts left over   ).  (I mean no disrespect to anyone. . .I live with my engineer husband; my 25 year old son calls him regularly to talk about how to do something strange with his computer.)  Anyway, if Amazon considered the demographic of the likeliest users, they may have chosen to focus on easy-to-use-right-out-of-the-box and figured that most users wouldn't want too much in the way of bells and whistles.  I expect the keystrokes to add the screensavers were part of the devolopment process and, though undocumented, just didn't get removed from the underlying OS because, well, why bother if it's not hurting anything.

Random thoughts on a dreary Tuesday. . . .I have absolutely no cites to back up any of my musings!  

Ann


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

^^^ I think you meant "citations."  But you make a good point.

Nevertheless, I stand behind mine.  If the ability to perform a certain function exists and is enabled and readily usable within the current OS, it seems uncharacteristically nasty of Amazon to void the warranty of everybody who utilizes that function.

Are they going to refuse to replace a Kindle that refuses to wake from Sleep Mode if the owner has once played a game of Minesweeper on it?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> ^^^ I think you meant "citations." But you make a good point.


You talkin' ta me? 

"cites" is a pretty standard shorthand in tax circles. I know it's also a past tense verb. 

Ann


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> Are they going to refuse to replace a Kindle that refuses to wake from Sleep Mode if the owner has once played a game of Minesweeper on it?


From what I've heard, no.

L


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2009)

Leslie said:


> From what I've heard, no.
> 
> L


There ya go. Like I said, it just doesn't _sound_ like Amazon to void the warranty of people who utilize the custom screensaver function. I'm not saying it isn't so. Two different people have shown us e-mails that says this is the case. I buy the evidence. But it just doesn't _seem_ right.

Am I making any sense here?


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> There ya go. Like I said, it just doesn't _sound_ like Amazon to void the warranty of people who utilize the custom screensaver function. I'm not saying it isn't so. Two different people have shown us e-mails that says this is the case. I buy the evidence. But it just doesn't _seem_ right.
> 
> Am I making any sense here?


Yes, you are making sense.

I, personally (knock on wood) have not had to have my Kindle replaced. The people who have posted, here and on the Amazon board who have needed to have their Kindles replaced have problems like: 1) the screen goes black; 2) the screen is half black/half white; 3) the screen has lines running through it; 4) the keyboard doesn't work; 5) the whispernet connection is funky and not reliable; and so on.

I haven't heard of anyone whose Kindle became non-functional because they installed custom screensavers (or played minesweeper or used the experimental browser) to the point of it requiring replacement by Amazon. All of the people who had these types of problems (ie, frozen Kindles) have been able to fix them, either by a soft/hard reset or a complete firmware reset (which CS walked someone through, but I don't remember exactly how to do it).

Granted, I have not talked to everyone so this is only my experience. But from what I have heard, it seems replacements are needed when something mechanical is "broken"; software fixes are doable.

L


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

Ann Von Hagel said:


> You talkin' ta me?
> 
> "cites" is a pretty standard shorthand in tax circles. I know it's also a past tense verb.
> 
> Ann


I thought you meant "cites" as in a misspelled "web sites."

Seriously.

Mike


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## Mollyb52 (Jan 4, 2009)

As I said at the beginning of this thread, I am  new to Kindle.  I am trying to make good and informed decisions about a rather expensive piece of electronic equipment.  I had no idea sharing an email from Amazon would create such controversy.  Oh well, I guess we can all learn from such spirited discussion.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jmiked said:


> I thought you meant "cites" as in a misspelled "web sites."
> 
> Seriously.
> 
> Mike


Ah! I see the confusion. Sorry.

Ann


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

Mollyb52 said:


> As I said at the beginning of this thread, I am new to Kindle. I am trying to make good and informed decisions about a rather expensive piece of electronic equipment. I had no idea sharing an email from Amazon would create such controversy. Oh well, I guess we can all learn from such spirited discussion.


This is a pretty low-key discussion, I'd not call it a controversy. Nobody has started calling anyone names yet.  

Mike


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## Lotus (Oct 31, 2008)

While Amazon may have the legal right to void a warranty for changing a screensaver, I doubt the lawsuits/negative press would serve its purpose of having more people buy Kindles.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Mollyb52 said:


> As I said at the beginning of this thread, I am new to Kindle. I am trying to make good and informed decisions about a rather expensive piece of electronic equipment. I had no idea sharing an email from Amazon would create such controversy. Oh well, I guess we can all learn from such spirited discussion.


Actually, thanks for sharing. It's helpful for all of us.

And discussion is good. We try to keep things friendly and respectful, too.

L


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2009)

Was there controversy?


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## beachgrl (Nov 10, 2008)

I posted this in another thread. I wrote to Amazon Customer Service inquiring about my warranty if I customized my screensaver. This is the reply I received:

"Hello from Amazon.com.

The Kindle is covered by a limited one-year parts and labor warranty.

The Terms of Use, (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200144530) state:

No Reverse Engineering, Decompilation, Disassembly or Circumvention. You may not, and you will not encourage, assist or authorize any other person to, modify, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Device or the Software, whether in whole or in part, create any derivative works from or of the Software, or bypass, modify, defeat or tamper with or circumvent any of the functions or protections of the Device or Software or any mechanisms operatively linked to the Software, including, but not limited to, augmenting or substituting any digital rights management functionality of the Device or Software.

Changing the default screen savers on the Kindle would be considered modifying the Software, thus voiding your warranty.

I hope you found this information useful. If you have any other questions or concerns you can reach us by phone directly by calling 1-866-321-8851.

We sincerely thank you for choosing Amazon Kindle.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:"

So, I am going to wait until My Kindle is past warranty and then reinstall my Decalgirls.

Evelynn


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

beachgrl said:


> Changing the default screen savers on the Kindle would be considered modifying the Software, thus voiding your warranty.


Ridiculous policy by Amazon.

What if you erase the custom screensavers and revert back to the default choices?


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## beachgrl (Nov 10, 2008)

Then they won't know and you will be under warranty again.  That's what I have done.


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## MineKinder (Jan 5, 2009)

Leslie said:


> I actually just checked the Kindle User's Guide and the "About Your Kindle" manual and neither one has instructions for changing the screensavers. I think all the info out there (including the info in my FAQ) came from users who figured it out.
> 
> I have a custom screensaver on my Kindle and I have removed it and gone back to the originals, then re-added it without any problem. However, I will point out for anyone reading this thread who might be thinking of changing the screensaver but hasn't done it yet: making the change, while not hard, does require that you connect the Kindle to your computer with the USB cable. You need to know who to use Windows explorer (or the equivalent program on a Mac), know how to create and manipulate folders, move files into directories, and navigate to different directories. If you want to remove a custom screensaver, you need to know how to view hidden files. If you don't feel technologically comfortable with any of this, then I would suggest not trying to install custom screensavers. I have heard of people who have really messed up their Kindles because they thought they knew what they were doing, but really didn't.
> 
> L


Ya that!


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## madaise (Jan 10, 2009)

But is anyone really "modifying" amazon's screensavers... or are they just adding their own, in which amazon actually gave the keystroke-capability to do within the software?


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

When you add screensavers, you are adding files to the Kindle's system file, which is hidden on the Kindle. If you screw up the system file, they likely have grounds to not honor the warranty.

Adding screensavers (and worse yet, removing them) is not really that easy, especially for people who aren't really skilled in using a computer operating system.


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## AcBush (Jan 4, 2009)

Hence why it is not supported by Kindle Support...


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## Wannabe (Nov 6, 2008)

Chimmer said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon says that downloading books to your kindle is considered "modifying the software" and therefore voids your warranty.


That's not fair. From what I've heard Amazon CS has been very helpful in solving Kindle problems, to the point of replacing Kindles via next-day delivery. Very prompt and reliable service, if you ask me.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2009)

Here is what I have done. I am not advocating or recommendind any one else does this.

I deleted my original screen savers. They still exist on my hard drive, in a zip file if i ever want them back.

Then I deleted the files in the hidden system file. It was hard to find because of Vista but I did it.

Then I added these files as my screen savers. I labled them to reflect the order the books were released.(and I like Dr Pepper  )




















































I also have the 7'th book cover but haven't converted it yet.









I think you may notice a theme here. My goal is to have all those books signed and insert a picture of each signature after the cover of its respective book. I have 3, only 4 to go. 

While this may or may not be supported by Amazon, I personally like the idea that I can make my Kindle unique to me and my personality without having to spend a huge chunk of change to do so.


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## chocochibi (Jan 2, 2009)

Very cool screensavers Vampyre.
Lucky you having signed copies


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## ScottBooks (Oct 28, 2008)

Wannabe said:


> That's not fair. From what I've heard Amazon CS has been very helpful in solving Kindle problems, to the point of replacing Kindles via next-day delivery. Very prompt and reliable service, if you ask me.


I'm pretty sure that this  (little cheesy grin face) indicates this was a joke. (Supposed to be funny--Ha Ha) (Much like this reply...  ).


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2009)

chocochibi said:


> Very cool screensavers Vampyre.
> Lucky you having signed copies


Thanks but luck wasn't involved. I had to drive 350 miles to Charlotte to meet her. What an ordeal! Just kidding it was a great trip. Everyone there was so happy to meet her. She and her partner, "Guy' were great to us. I have a picture of it posted here.

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,258.40.html

I am going back to Charlotte for her next signing and get the rest of those books signed sometime next month I hope. Her books just came out in hard back last year so I had to re buy them.


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