2nd September 2010 | Journalism
If you want to unfreeze your Kindle or restore the factory defaults, do the following:
1. Hold the power switch to the right for 20 seconds.
2. Press the HOME button for 1 minute. Eventually you will see the screen to your right.
3. Nine times out of ten just hitting the DEL button at this point will unfreeze your machine without having to lose all your files (please note, you can replace them later but it takes time and you will lose your notes, bookmarks, and settings).
4. If that doesn’t work you will have to restore the factory default settings by typing in R E S E T. As soon as you hit the T it will reset.
That’s it. Please note that this is for the Kindle 3G + wifi 6 inch version.
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Have tried it and the tree screen does not come up! Desperate
Hi Eloisa, try it again and give it a couple of minutes. It should work! If not, it might be a case of exchanging the one you’ve got. Contact amazon support.
Hey, Some idiot friends of mine were playing with my Kindel. Apparently they “just turned it on” and then the screen went all crazy, but I noticed in some clearer parts of the screen that the Kindel was Reacting underneath the messed up picture… What do I do???
Hi Ellie,
Unfortunately I’ve not seen that before in a Kindle (cameras yes) and I hate to say it, but it sounds like your friends (or another cause) may have damaged the screen. I could be wrong though so I would advise calling or messaging Amazon support direct to see if they have experience of this. Let us know how you get on.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
HAH! This worked…!! Ironically, it froze on an amazon.com page :o)
Hi Frank,
My screen froze during an experiment when I tried to access net radio via google on my new Kindle. Your suggestions worked like a dream.
Thanks heaps and if you like any of my pewter art works let me know and I will do you a deal.
Thanks again
Warm regards
Graeme Anthony
Glad it worked for you Belle. You too Anthony – if I ever need a new chess set I’ll know where to come. :)
Does it wokr for kindle 3?
Sadly none of that above worked for me. My kindle 3 screen just stayed blank. So, I took of the back cover with much effort and unscrewed the two screws holding the battery to the motherboard terminal and removed the battery and let it wait for a few minutes.
Screwed the battery in again and the green led stayed lit as I put it back together.
There was a pic on the screen like above except there was no password section or text on the bottom. There was a progress bar in the bottom though. After a few minutes the screen changed to the default dude under the tree and turning on it worked fine.
All my books where on there and checking that my current book was at the same section I was sure that everything was back to normal.
Drastic last ditch effort before sending off back to Amazon. I am in an asian backwater country at the moment and sending it off to get serviced is the probably the same as buying a new one and having to pay double for it because of customs.
Works for 3G Kindle. This one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Wireless-Reader-3G-Wifi-Graphite/dp/B002LVUWFE/ref=tag_stp_s2_edpp_url
Pat. That sounds like your battery removal technique worked. Thanks for the feedback. Enjoy your trip. Personally those Asian backwaters are some of my fave places on the planet.
Thank you so much.. my Kindle wouldn’t turn on, despite it having been almost fully charged the night before. Your instructions worked wonderfully!
hello sir,
how long does it take to start the kindle, i did follow the instructions above and my kindle is under the recovery mode, am wondering if got frozen again or something,.
I did follow the 4th option but my kindle hangs and froze on the loading page and become unresponsive again. could you please advise me what I’ll do with my kindle, it’s kind of memorable and I really don’t want to lose the unit… hope to hear from you soon sir. Thanks…
Hmm, hi Riacel. Not had that one before. It usually takes a few minutes to restart with steps 1-3, and then with any hard reset (step 4) it’ll take slightly longer. So be patient, and when everything looks like when it came form the factory you’re done – although minus the files – but you can re-download/sync these.
It’s been a while since I’ve done it on mine so I can’t give you an exact time. You may well lose your bookmarks/notes with the hard reset however.
I started using kindle for editing purposes but stopped because of this.
I hope this helps, let us know how you get on.
Thanks so much! My wife’s Kindle did not completely freeze, but it would not access the restart menu. Your instructions worked like a charm!
You are very welcome Tim, glad I could be of help!
I fixed my Kindle – using the drastic way of patcatuk! First I tried all other ways, then I e-mailed amazon, got the use of an “expert” who wrote to me telling it was a hardware problem and I would have to ship the Kindle to amazon. My Kindle had, however, just passed the one-year-warranty, so that would be expensive. That’s what I call planned obsolescence!
It was difficult getting the Kindle (“last generation”) apart, but with patience and a thin table knife, I got it done. The rest – unscrewing the battery and waiting, and putting the Kindle together – was easy, and now the Kindle works! THANK YOU!
I have the same problem- my screen froze, and it won’t reboot. It happen a year and a month after purchase, so no warranty replacement applies. T took out my battery, and screen is still as it was- frozen with vertical lines. put battery back, nothing happen. Took it out again. Anyone have more ideas how to bring it to live?
Well, I guess mine is just dead broken, and will have to buy a next one. But I’m so pissed off, that it broke down just after its warranty expired!