Just the other week I blogged about my holiday reading list. I read a lot, and I love to read. Previously I’d been very attached to actual physical books, but just over a year ago I decided to make the leap to using an ebook reader. I parted with £150 for an Amazon Kindle, and £50 for a cover to keep it safe.
The phrase ‘just over a year ago’ in the paragraph above will be crucial to the plot in this particular story.
Moving nearer to the present day, and last night I was reading, when suddenly the screen froze. It looked odd, like the top 90% of the screen had a bit of the screensaver to the left and then some vertical lines, but otherwise blank – and the bottom 10% of the screen had an indication of pages as normal (but only 9 pages!).
The Kindle has sometimes frozen before, and so I know how to reset it. I did that, and it made no difference. I put it on charge overnight in case that would help and decided to tackle it this evening.
But no amount of resetting, or following the instructions on the Amazon support website, helped. I Googled for ‘Kindle Screen Lines’ to get answers to the problem and found lots and lots of forums with people discussing the same issue, including on Amazon’s own forums. I was very clearly not alone – it seems to be a widespread and common problem.
Some people had managed to resolve it with a reset, some had called Amazon support and been sent a replacement device – but many others were told they were just out of warranty, so would have to buy a new device (at a discount).
And, when I called Amazon support tonight, that’s what happened to me – because I bought it just over a year ago.
In the conversation he tried to argue with my assertion that it seemed to be a common problem. At first denying he’d heard of it, and demanding that I showed him the web page that referenced the issue – but then eventually saying ok, it is a problem, but it happens to hardly any Kindles. I asked him what ‘hardly any’ meant – and he said in his experience on the helpdesk it was ‘only 1 in 100′. Amazon doesn’t often release figures of how many Kindles it has sold, except on the 15th Dec 2011 it announced it had sold more than 1 million a week for the previous 3 weeks. So from just the 3 million sold in that 3 week period, their tech support representative estimated that 300,000 will fail! This reinforces the scale of the problem that I’ve seen in the forums.
So. I now have the choice of buying another Kindle (at a discount) – but then knowing it’s likely to fail again in a year or so. Or I lose all the books I bought – and I’d built up quite a reading list of books I was working through.
Conclusions and Consumer Warning
Kindles are not built to last. They seem to be failing on a large scale after between 12-18 months. If you’re buying one, consider it as a purchase that will only last as long as the warranty period – 1 year. You’ll have to buy another after that (and remember that’s on top of the cost of the actual books!)
The books you buy for your Kindle, will ONLY work on a Kindle. You can NEVER switch to another e-reader device without losing all your books, that you have paid for.
That’s right. By trying to be one of the people that pays for the content they consume, you are going to be restricted and punished for your ethical behaviour. If you pay for content, it seems you’re the fool. The ones who download it illegally can use it on any device they like.
That’s called Digital Rights Management, and it stomps all over your consumer rights. Can you imagine if CDs released by Sony would only play in Sony CD players? Competition regulators would not have allowed that, so why do we accept it with ebooks? It’s time to change.
UPDATE: Because of some of the issues I’ve highlighted here, there is a growing community of users that have developed software tools to allow removing DRM from ebooks. This should only be done on your own ebooks you have bought, and you should not then distribute them to others outside the terms of your agreement with the publisher or retailer. It gives you back your rights to use books you have bought as you wish, eg transfering Amazon ebooks to a Sony e-Reader or Nook if you decide to change hardware.
…and Finally… 101 Uses for a Dead Kindle
Anyone got any uses for a dead Kindle? I’ve started a Flickr set to try to gather 101 of them at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73311005@N06/sets/72157629147039107
I’ll be adding to it as I find uses for my newly dead Kindle. If you have any photos to share of uses you have found for your dead kindle, add them to Flickr with the tag ‘deadkindle’, or email them to me at the address on the contact page for this blog, and I’ll upload them.
Can I get to the full 101? Watch this space, and follow me on twitter: @steveparks and the hashtag #deadkindle.
Read recently a perfect product lasts just over a year.
My Kindle has just gone the same way after 18 months. Amazon admitted that mine as a mechanical fault but all they offered was 20% off a new upgraded version. I am absolutely DISGUSTED with Amazon. BUYERS BEWARE.
I have just gone through this and fallen for the reduced new purchase how can we expose this obvious issue any idea ???? I am disgusted at what I thought was a excellent product and I thought the service to date was second to none
It isn’t true that you can’t read your Kindle purchases on any other device. Amazon makes free Kindle reader apps for Mac and PC, and if you want a portable device similar to the Kindle, you can get an iPad, install the Kindle Reader app, and your Amazon-purchased library can be moved to that.
Curiously enough that’s almost word for word the text that Amazon staff read from their screens to me, or pasted into their emails to me.
But let’s be clear. You _cannot_ read your amazon purchases on any otherebook device.
The iPad is _not_ the same – it’s backlit, and therefore puts a strain on your eyes when readng for long periods. It is not an ebook reader. The whole idea of an e-reader is it’s closer to the experience of reading a book, because of the electronic ink approach.
Amazon DRM specifically stops you from using e-readers from other manufacturers such as Sony etc.
My kindle is 2 yrs old today I turned it on to find lines both across the screen and down the screen I emailed Amazon for advice they suggested I speak to them on the phone ,they called me moments later and I was told a brand new kindle will be in the post ASAP , just received email will receive new kindle within 3 days excellent service could not ask for more , totally free cannot understand why some people have been charged for a replacement and mine was a year out of warranty.
Interesting! I wonder if their sudden change in policy is at all related to the recent call I had from the BBC’s Watchdog programme, saying they were investigating thiskind of problem with the Kindle, and had found it to be a big problem that Amazon was refusing to address?
I’ll now contact Amazon to see if they’ll make amends in my case, and I suggest others do the same.
And if you land on this web page because your Kindle has just broken – don’t take no for an answer from amazon, quote Jackie’s example to them to make sure you get a free replacement.
This is clearly a manufacturing defect, and therefore shoud be covered for up to 2 years under European consumer legislation.
Thanks guys, I have the same problem. Also thought it is crazy that such a device should be seen as a consumable item
The very same happened to my Kindle yesterday. I bought it just over 16 months ago and haven’t used it much as I’m always too busy or too tired to read as much as I should. I emailed Amazon about it and they asked me to speak with them on the phone. They called me so I didn’t have to pay for the call. They first offered me an upgrade at £50..then reduced it to £30. I said I wasn’t prepared to pay them another penny as I didn’t feel the Kindle had been used for more than a few times by me. I was told that my enquiry would be forwarded onto a special team who would inform me of the outcome within 12 hours. The outcome is that they are sending me a new replacement Kindle. So I can’t really complain. My only worry is how long this one will last for!!??
I got my first Kindle just over 18 months ago and it broke just before the end of the warranty period. Lines on the screen etc and a complete freeze. Amazon replaced it immediately. Sadly, straight after I’d downloaded a software update a month ago my new Kindle totally froze and I’ve not been able to reboot since. Amazon offered me a replacement at a discount which I wasn’t too happy about given it was their update that caused the problem. I was told that replacement Kindles only get 3 mth warranties (which doesn’t show much faith in their longevity) but that I could choose between a heavily discounted wi-fi (GBP25) or a similarly discounted Touch (GBP65). I contacted them again yesterday to order the Touch and they advised that they’d made a mistake and could only offer me the wifi at more than the original quoted price (GBP40).
At that point I dropped off the chat accidentally and had to try again later. On my second call I eventually got a seemingly more senior person on the line (after asking to speak to management) and, once she’d looked into the problems and the 3 prior calls I had made, offered to replace it free of charge. So it all worked out in the end but took a lot of hassle to get there. From an environmental perspective it’s very wasteful and the time and effort spent in getting it sorted each time has been pretty frustrating. If it happens again I’m going back to paperbacks!
It happened with me the same 2 days ago:/ I take care of my kindle and never fall down or something similar. It has more than one year (one and a half I think) so it’s not in the warranty and amazon only offers me a discount in refurbished kindles. Even more, they don’t have the plain basic version with this discount, just the wifi+3g version that is more expensive. So by a 2nd hand Kindle I would pay more than a new one (just with wifi). Taken into consideration the amount of people with this problem I think it’s a bad business as probably the refurbished one will have the lines also sooner or later…
I’m really pissed with this situation! I supposed Amazon was a trustful and reliable company, how can they sell products with this percentage of defect/failure??
Thank you I followed your advice, and my 15 month old kindle was replaced. They did try to get me to pay for a new one but I quoted your advice and after a few minutes of deliberation they agreed to do this as a “one time offer”
Same problems with my Kindle screen freezing as others have had. Called Amazon yesterday and was offered a replacement for £47.20. After reading your article I took your advice and called Amazon again insisting I would like a replacement free of charge as per the Sale of Goods Act, that this was a much more common problem than Amazon would admit and how annoyed I was that this device had lasted only 16 months. The person I spoke to was very pleasant and I got the impression he completely agreed with what I was saying but could no say that. Upshot is, I am getting a replacement free of charge and I’ll have my already paid for books loaded. I would urge all other complainants to take your advice and call back. Thanks for your advice.
P.S. Despite being angry at the situation I find that being pleasant to the person at the other end of the line goes a long way to resolving the problem.
Same problem for me. Also told that that had never had this problem before which is rubbish and took delight in telling them that. Love my kindle but hate the fact its not built to last and they seem to think the only answer is purchasing another machine. Now have to decide as to whether I buy another machine or do i go back to paper backs and lose my history
Hi
I am writing this just to say thank you so much for your VERY helpful article and comment stream.
I had the same issue with vertical lines….. I googled the problem and came upon your article.
My first call to Amazon was not successful.. the lady on the phone insisted that I was outside my warrantee period (I’ve had my Kindle for about 17 months…. but I have bought several others for family members) and therefore would have to pay $150 to replace it.
I persevered , insisting that I speak to management or that the matter be escalated.
I received an email the next business day which invited me to chat or phone.
They called me back immediately and I had a similar conversation… and it took several reiterations of how unhappy I was and that I did not think it was right as I was being forced to use their product because of the DRM, and that any savings I might have made on books purchased through amazon were now eliminated as my cost of readers was astronomical etc etc.
All of a sudden the lady went and sought advice and then I was offered a replacement kindle valued at $89. I explained that my kindle had 3G and wireless and that the replacement cost was now ($199)..the Kindle paperwhite (as my Kindle Keyboard version has been superceded).
After another brief discussion , while I held the line, they created a purchase credit on my Amazon account for $199. I placed the order and it is being shipped.
Value $212 incl shipping. ($12 cost to me for shipping)
Thank you Amazon (eventually). And thank you Steve and other respondents to your article.
Same thing happend to me 2x with 2 separate kindles around the 14 month mark. Amazon customer service could have cared less. They offered me replacement devices that were within a few $ of buying new. I think I’ll go with the App on the ipad mini. At least it wont fail after a year! I enjoy the convenience of e-books, but the quality of the kindle is unbearable. Plenty of other, more high-tech devices last much longer than a year – cell phones, cameras, laptops, ipads, etc. I think they are designed to self destruct after 12+ months.
Hi, I am from Hungary and I had already had the same problem earlier before the end of warranty, at that time I got a replacement. Now this replacement device also went bust, no reset tricks on earth would work to bring it back to life. I have a friend who already got a discounted replacement after his Kindle 3 froze permanently after his warranty expired, a few weeks ago his replacement also failed.. incredible.. I will try to get a free replacement now from Amazon, if they won’t agree, I will buy another brand e-reader, no way I will pay for another Kindle after all my and my friend’s experiences (four dead Kindle between us).
This is just outrageous. My second Kindle just died, having this lines problem. The first one died after only 4 month because its cursor kept going down. It was replaced at that time, but now it is outside warranty. It’s nice to read ebooks on a portable device. Too bad this device is badly (or malicious ?) designed…