# Whispersync disaster



## Trekker (Dec 26, 2008)

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## davem2bits (Feb 2, 2009)

I'm a K2 newbie but this whispersync feature looks like a waste of Kindle developers time to me.  Many more Kindle users want folders/tabs than the ability keep track of reading location between two Kindles.  Why did dev waste time/effort on WS?  Where are they going with this?

OP:
You need to turn off sync, either on menu or Amazon Kindle page.


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah, I was just wondering about that last night.  My husband and I both have Kindles, and often read the same book.  Why on earth would I want to have my Kindle go to the page he is on, or vice versa?

Strange that they would develop a feature that I've never heard of anyone requesting, as opposed to many suggestions people have made that would be helpful.

I love the new way to delete on K1 after the 1.2 firmware update, so that is a positive step.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

I have not had any problem with this feature. It works just like it should for me.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

Trekker said:


> Do you leave whispernet on all the time? It may work better that way. I only turn it on when I want to download a book.
> 
> The only thing I can think is that when I turned it on, I didn't give it enough time to send the latest info to the server. But still, I don't see how K2 got synced with an earlier copy. Bizarre.


No I do not leave whispernet all the time. I do make sure both Kindles have wispernet on when I am going to synced a book. In fact after your post I went to check it out and most of the books I am reading on my K2 were at the right pages on K1 except for a couple of them which I synced with no problem.I could see how both books being synced to the same place could be a problem if two people were reading the same books and were at a different place in the book. I do make sure that I give enough time for the wispernet to turn on K1 and K2


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## BK (Feb 5, 2009)

Trekker, I just thought of a way you might be able to find your place in the book you were reading when Whispersynch screwed up... Can you remember a word or phrase near where you left off -- or a character just introduced?  Maybe you could find the page using the Search function.  

Just a thought.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I always bookmark when I put the book down for any reason.  That being said, whispersynch does not work for me or my K1


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Just so you know, if you use the WhisperSync feature and it doesn't sync properly, you're supposed to be able to hit the back button and it will put you back to where you were before you did the sync.

I haven't tried this yet, but I read it yesterday. (And for the life of me, I can't find where I read it, but I'm looking)

I'll try to steal the KK back so I can test it.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

luvmy4brats said:


> Just so you know, if you use the WhisperSync feature and it doesn't sync properly, you're supposed to be able to hit the back button and it will put you back to where you were before you did the sync.
> 
> I haven't tried this yet, but I read it yesterday. (And for the life of me, I can't find where I read it, but I'm looking)
> 
> I'll try to steal the KK back so I can test it.


Don't know if you are answering me but you have to be in WN area, and I am not in Mexico, that's why it won't work for me. But it is a good habit to bookmark. I just discovered the back button the other day and LOVE it!


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## jeremy81 (Feb 27, 2009)

The point of Whispensync is so that an individual can read the same publication across a host of devices. For instance if/when Amazon releases the iPhone or other smartphone app if I leave my Kindle at home I can pick up my iPhone and read a few pages of my book and return to my Kindle at home and resume where I left off on the iPhone. Sounds like a convenient feature to me. Though it does seem like they need to come up with a a solution for multiple reader households.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

My feeling is that Whispersync could be useful for one person who owns two Kindles, such as Gables Girl or Anne. However, in my case, I have five Kindles on my account. I downloaded a book yesterday and started to read it. Then my friend (also on my account) downloaded the same book and she read it. When I went back to read today, the book was at the end, because my friend had finished reading in her copy. Not so useful for me. So I guess I'll just turn the Whispersync off. 

I wish I could set it to work between the two Kindles that I read on, but that doesn't seem to be possible. As a result, for me, the Whispersync feature is essentially useless.

L


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

What if your friend turns it off on hers and you leave it on for your 2 kindles?

Ann


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Ann Von Hagel said:


> What if your friend turns it off on hers and you leave it on for your 2 kindles?
> 
> Ann


My understanding is that the Whispersync gets turned on/off at my Amazon account. When I looked at it yesterday, it said it was "On for Leslie Nicoll." Sort of like a light switch. I don't think turning off "disable annotations backup" is the same as turning off the Whispersync.

L


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Leslie said:


> My understanding is that the Whispersync gets turned on/off at my Amazon account. When I looked at it yesterday, it said it was "On for Leslie Nicoll." Sort of like a light switch. I don't think turning off "disable annotations backup" is the same as turning off the Whispersync.
> 
> L


Hmmm. That doesn't seem like a good way to do it. . . .

Ann


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I've tried using the WhisperSync feature between the three Kindles we now have. Sometimes it works properly, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it pops up a message that says "there's another Kindle reading this book, and it's farther along, do you want to start at that location," sometimes it doesn't. 

I've given up for now.... Once they start syncing to other mobile devices, like my iPhone, then I will try again.


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

jeremy81 said:


> The point of Whispensync is so that an individual can read the same publication across a host of devices. For instance if/when Amazon releases the iPhone or other smartphone app if I leave my Kindle at home I can pick up my iPhone and read a few pages of my book and return to my Kindle at home and resume where I left off on the iPhone. Sounds like a convenient feature to me. Though it does seem like they need to come up with a a solution for multiple reader households.


Jeremy - they already have. At http://www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle
there is a link to 'sychronization' of your Kindles and when you click on that it gives you a choice to turn off synchronization for multiple reader accounts.

Someone said there's a way to do it on the Kindle too but I leave that for Leslie to find 

At Amazon on the manageyourpage area for your Kindle acct, they put the k2's synchronization feature 'On' probably for the transfer of books if you're a K1 person who is ordering a K2 and would need the transfer capability and syncing of books for that process.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

artsandhistoryfan said:


> Jeremy - they already have. At http://www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle
> there is a link to 'sychronization' of your Kindles and when you click on that it gives you a choice to turn off synchronization for multiple reader accounts.
> 
> Someone said there's a way to do it on the Kindle too but I leave that for Leslie to find
> ...


Yes, but it doesn't work if you have two different people on the account and one of them has 2 kindles. If the WhisperSync feature is on and the two are reading the same book andthe person who has two wants to read on another kindle, the sync won't work without messing up where the other person is in her book.

It only really works if there's one person on the account with 2 kindles


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> Yes, but it doesn't work if you have two different people on the account and one of them has 2 kindles. If the WhisperSync feature is on and the two are reading the same book andthe person who has two wants to read on another kindle, the sync won't work without messing up where the other person is in her book.
> 
> It only really works if there's one person on the account with 2 kindles


 Yes, so I was actually answering the comment that there should be a way to counter this problem.

As I said, there is a way. We turn synchronization Off, as I did today and I gave the page where we can do that. I go into the K1 to check out some things but I don't want the K2 to be thinking K1's last-visited viewing is where I want to be with the K2. So, we can turn it off. And that problem is solved. (At least it was for me.)


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Yes but how do you find it works when you DO want to sync between 2 kindles but not the third in the house. It seems to be an all or nothing deal. There doesn't seem to be a way to counter this problem.


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## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> Yes but how do you find it works when you DO want to sync between 2 kindles but not the third in the house. It seems to be an all or nothing deal. There doesn't seem to be a way to counter this problem.


I can't try it, since I only have 2 kindles on my account, but I suspect you could sync between just two of your kindles by using your PC.

Try connected the kindle you want to use the latest page from to your PC and then copy the book(s) to use the latest page.

Delete those books from the other kindle before you connect it to your PC.

Then connect that kindle to your PC and copy the saved books to it.

Of course, even if this method does work, you wouldn't be able to use it unless you have access to both kindles and a PC.


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> Yes but how do you find it works when you DO want to sync between 2 kindles but not the third in the house. It seems to be an all or nothing deal. There doesn't seem to be a way to counter this problem.


Ah, okay. I was answering Jeremy's comment which was about two Kindles that should not be sync'd.

Your case is another matter. If it's you who is reading on 2 kindles and someone else has one, you could have a chart up to see who's reading what, when -- and when you're reading a book, the others have to lay off and read some other book until you're finished


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

Not sure if this helps, but this is from the WhisperSync page from Manage Your Kindle

You should only turn synchronization off if:
You and someone else are reading the same book, AND
The Kindles are registered to a single account

When I got my K2, I synced the K1, then downloaded all my unread K1 books to the K2, synched again and all was well. Since then I have given my K1 to my daughter. Since we SO don't read the same thing, I turned it off. I do find the last line odd, since you don't even see the WhisperSync button if you don't have more than one Kindle.


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## dwaszak (Dec 15, 2008)

I actually called cs the second day about this.  The solution I have found that works consistently is when I'm finished reading on one kindle, I go to home page, with whispernet on, go to menu, go to sync and look for new items.  Then when you go to the other kindle, turn on whispernet, go to book ( you can do the home screen too), menu, sync and look for new items, and it has consistently updated to the last page read on my other kindle.  Hope this helps


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

dwaszak said:


> I actually called cs the second day about this. The solution I have found that works consistently is when I'm finished reading on one kindle, I go to home page, with whispernet on, go to menu, go to sync and look for new items. Then when you go to the other kindle, turn on whispernet, go to book ( you can do the home screen too), menu, sync and look for new items, and it has consistently updated to the last page read on my other kindle. Hope this helps


Thanks that sounds easier than what I have been doing.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

dwaszak said:


> I actually called cs the second day about this. The solution I have found that works consistently is when I'm finished reading on one kindle, I go to home page, with whispernet on, go to menu, go to sync and look for new items. Then when you go to the other kindle, turn on whispernet, go to book ( you can do the home screen too), menu, sync and look for new items, and it has consistently updated to the last page read on my other kindle. Hope this helps


I have a question which Kindle do you sync on first the Kindle you are reading on or the other Kindle you were not reading on.


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

dwaszak said:


> I actually called cs the second day about this. The solution I have found that works consistently is when I'm finished reading on one kindle, I go to home page, with whispernet on, go to menu, go to sync and look for new items. Then when you go to the other kindle, turn on whispernet, go to book ( you can do the home screen too), menu, sync and look for new items, and it has consistently updated to the last page read on my other kindle. Hope this helps


 Right. When you have whispernet on, it matches what it has on the Amazon server as a record of your last visited page. The first process mentioned connects with Amazon, and Amazon delivers and then takes note of where you were in each book (by taking the little log file associated with each book -- likely the files that have changed since the last date) -- they back up the associated files. The 2nd process connects with Amazon, which now has your latest reading record for each file renewed for the first Kindle, which will be later than the associated files on this 2nd Kindle, so Amazon updates the 2nd Kindle.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

BruceS said:


> I can't try it, since I only have 2 kindles on my account, but I suspect you could sync between just two of your kindles by using your PC.
> 
> Try connected the kindle you want to use the latest page from to your PC and then copy the book(s) to use the latest page.
> 
> ...


You can't do that. Each book had DRM on it that is specific to that Kindle. It won't open on the other Kindle.


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## dwaszak (Dec 15, 2008)

Anne said:


> I have a question which Kindle do you sync on first the Kindle you are reading on or the other Kindle you were not reading on.


Anne, when done reading, sync first with the kindle you were reading on. Then, when you pick up the other kindle with the same book on it, go to book and sync again


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

dwaszak said:


> Anne, when done reading, sync first with the kindle you were reading on. Then, when you pick up the other kindle with the same book on it, go to book and sync again


Thanks that is what I thought. I just want to make sure I had it right.


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## davem2bits (Feb 2, 2009)

But what if there is a second human and a third Kindle in the mix!!!  And that person needs to sync for some reason.


Don't look at me.  luvmy4brats asked.  I can barely afford the K2 I got, let alone one more and a book.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

artsandhistoryfan said:


> Yes, so I was actually answering the comment that there should be a way to counter this problem.
> 
> As I said, there is a way. We turn synchronization Off, as I did today and I gave the page where we can do that. I go into the K1 to check out some things but I don't want the K2 to be thinking K1's last-visited viewing is where I want to be with the K2. So, we can turn it off. And that problem is solved. (At least it was for me.)





davem2bits said:


> But what if there is a second human and a third Kindle in the mix!!! And that person needs to sync for some reason.
> 
> Don't look at me. luvmy4brats asked. I can barely afford the K2 I got, let alone one more and a book.


I'll just do what I've always done. Write the location number down from where I left off and search for that location on new Kindle.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that Amazon _should_ have a system where you can choose which Kindle to sync with. I can send books to Orion, Bella, and Eleanor, why can't I choose which of those to Sync with? It would work much better if when I want to sync it asks which Kindle I would like to sync with instead of just syncing to the last point read.

Hopefully, Amazon isn't finished working out the bugs with this. Even when trying to sync between them, it only works properly about 50-75% of the time anyway.


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