Flash my kindle to Android

1. Upgrade firmware

Background

The method of jailbreaking a kindle differs depending on the firmware. Versions after 5.14.3 need to be downgraded to jailbreak because Amazon has officially fixed the vulnerability. My kindle is version 5.9.1, which does not match the jailbroken version, so the first step for me is to upgrade the firmware.

Since it is recommended to upgrade after jailbreaking to fix vulnerabilities, based on the evaluation of the difficulty of jailbreaking, I chose to upgrade to firmware version 5.14.2, which can save some of the more difficult steps of jailbreaking.

Firmware upgrade method

Reference materials and firmware download address

Method Reference Book Companion-Kindle firmware version number query method and firmware update steps

Firmware download address is also a collection of Kindle firmware. You can download it with confidence. All the firmware collected are official firmware.

Detailed process

  1. Download the latest firmware file;
  2. Connect the Kindle to the computer with a USB data cable, and a removable disk named “Kindle” will appear in “My Computer” (or “Computer”) (MAC systems will appear directly on the desktop);
  3. Copy the downloaded firmware file to the “Root directory” of the removable disk (at the same level as the documents folder);
  4. After copying, safely remove or eject the drive and disconnect the USB connection between the Kindle and the computer;
  5. Enter the Kindle interface and click “menu (upper right corner of the screen) → Settings → Menu (upper right corner of the screen) → **Update your Kindle**” (English version: menu → settings → menu → update);
  6. Next, the Kindle will automatically enter the firmware update state, and the prompt “Your Kindle is being updated” will be displayed on the screen;
  7. Wait for a moment and the Kindle will automatically restart after the update is completed. After the restart, the firmware will be updated successfully.

2. Jailbreak and install jailbreak plug-in

Write in front

Jailbreaking can do a lot of things. Kindle jailbreaking refers to opening the closed nature of the Kindle system. The purpose is to enhance the functions of the Kindle by installing third-party plug-ins developed by netizens without affecting the functions of the native system, including completing the functions of the native system. , run third-party software, etc. But for me, I mainly use the KUAL plug-in launcher to flash Android firmware.

For more information about jailbreaking, you can refer to this article from Book Companion

The jailbreak method in this article refers to and is mostly quoted from Book Companion – jailbreak tutorial link, jailbreak plug-in resource link. Book Companion’s method is much more detailed than mine. I only record and excerpt the parts that are applicable and needed.

My kindle is PaperWhite3 32G Japanese comic version, the firmware version is 5.14.2

Thanks again to the book companion!

Jailbreak

Preparation

  1. On the Kindle interface, click the menu [Settings → Device Options → Reset] to reset the Kindle device;
  2. When resetting, you will be prompted to select a language, select [English → United Kingdom] and click [Next] to continue;
  3. After the reset is completed, you will enter the Kindle interface and the WiFi settings will appear. Click [Set up later] and the subsequent [Finish Later] button to ignore the WiFi settings, and then skip the function guide. Enter the main interface of Kindle;
  4. Enter ;enter_demo in the Kindle search box and press Enter;
  5. Click the menu [Setting → Device Options → Restart] in order to restart the Kindle device.
  6. Enter ;demo in the Kindle search bar to enter the demo menu “Demo Menu”;
  7. Click the [Sideload Content] button to enter the “Demo Mode: Add Content” interface;
  8. Then connect the Kindle to the computer with a USB cable until the Kindle disk appears.

Start jailbreak

First download the file watchthis-jailbreak-r03.zip: Baidu Cloud Disk | Mega Cloud Disk

MD5: d73a76dab7824840972ad51f377dede1
SHA1: 5e828629bb9635e68cbc3221b344bb0902577c7f

Unzip the file and you will get a folder named watchthis-release. Select the file PW3/PW3-5.14.2.

  • PW3-5.14.2.zip
  • demo.json

and in the root directory

  • Update_hotfix_watchthis_custom.bin

Open the Kindle disk and follow these steps:

  1. Create a folder named .demo in the Kindle root directory (i.e., at the same level as the documents folder).
    • Windows system: Open “Command Prompt” and enter the Kindle drive letter found in My Computer or Explorer, such as E: (Note that the actual drive letter shall prevail), press Enter to switch to the Kindle root directory, then enter the command mkdir .demo & amp; & amp; start .demo, and press Enter again to successfully create and open the folder.
    • macOS system: Open “Terminal“, enter cd followed by a space, and drag and drop the Kindle disk to the terminal. Press Enter to switch to the Kindle root directory, then enter the command mkdir .demo & amp; & amp; open .demo, and press Enter again to create and open the folder.
  2. Copy PW3-5.14.2.zip and demo.json to the newly created .demo folder;
  3. Then create a new empty folder named goodreads in the .demo folder (do not store any files in it);

Through the above operations, there should now be a directory structure as shown below on the Kindle disk.

Kindle Disk
└── .demo
    ├── PW3-5.14.2.zip
    ├── demo.json
    └── goodreads

After confirming that the directory structure and required files are correct, continue with the following steps:

  1. Eject the Kindle disk and return to the Kindle interface, click the [Done] button, and the jailbreak script will be installed automatically (no prompt);
  2. Click the [Exit] button to exit the demo menu. Note that if the “Application Error” prompt appears after clicking the [Exit] button, please press and hold the power button for 40 seconds to hard restart the device. After the restart, it will enter the demo mode again. , enter the command ;demo in the search box to re-enter the demo menu “Demo Menu”, then disconnect the USB data cable between the Kindle and the computer, and click [Sideload Content again → Done], and finally click [Exit] to exit the demo menu;
  3. Enter ;dsts in the Kindle search bar to enter the settings interface of the Kindle device, and click [Help & User Guides → Get Started 】. The device will then reboot and the jailbreak script will run during the next boot.

After the Kindle restarts, you will see some text on the startup interface showing the installation process of the jailbreak script.

Finishing work

After the restart is complete, it will enter normal mode. At this point, if everything goes well, the Kindle is successfully jailbroken.

Click the menu [Setting → Language & Dictionaries → Language] to enter the language selection interface, slide the language list to the bottom, and select [Simplified Chinese], click the [OK] button in the two pop-up dialog boxes, and the Kindle can switch to Chinese after restarting.

Install hot fixes

After successfully jailbreaking, if you want to upgrade the Kindle’s firmware to the latest version to fix the demo mode vulnerability, to prevent the jailbreak from becoming invalid after updating the firmware, be sure to install the latest version of JailBreak Hotfix before upgrading.

Download JailBreak Hotfix: Official page ｜ Local download ｜ Baidu Cloud Disk 〈Extraction code: 9rs4〉

The specific installation steps for installing Jailbreak Hotfix are as follows:

  1. Connect your Kindle to your computer using a USB cable until the Kindle drive letter appears;
  2. Unzip the downloaded ZIP package JailBreak-x.xx.N-FW-5.x-hotfix.zip and get a file named Update_jailbreak_hotfix_x.xx.N_install.bin > file;
  3. Copy this bin file to the root directory of the Kindle disk, and then eject the Kindle from the computer;
  4. Click [Menu → Settings → Menu → Update your Kindle] in Kindle in sequence and wait for the restart;
  5. After the restart is complete, you can safely upgrade your Kindle to the latest firmware.

After installing JailBreak Hotfix, you can go to “Firmware Directory” to download the latest firmware file corresponding to your Kindle model (or other firmware versions you want to keep), and manually upgrade your Kindle. Jailbreaking still works after upgrading to the latest firmware.

Install jailbreak plug-in

The jailbreak plug-ins that need to be installed before flashing the Kindle Android system include MobileRead Package Installer (MRPI) – plug-in installer and KUAL – plug-in launcher.

Install MobileRead Package Installer (MRPI) – plug-in installer

MobileRead Package Installer is a KUAL plug-in. Because the current Kindle firmware does not support the installation of plug-in files directly by flashing them into the bin, it needs to be installed through KUAL’s plug-in MRPI.

  • Download MRPI: Official page ｜ Local download ｜ Baidu Cloud Disk 〈Extraction code: xwbg〉
  • Official Guide: KUAL: Kindle Unified Application Launcher (v 2.6)

Installation steps:

  1. Connect your Kindle to your computer with a USB cable until the Kindle disk appears;
  2. Unzip the downloaded kual-mrinstaller-1.7.N-xxx.tar.xz to get a folder;
  3. Copy the extensions and mrpackages folders to the root directory of your Kindle.

Note that if the root directory already has an extensions folder, you can only copy the contents of the decompressed extensions folder to the original extensions folder in the Kindle root directory to avoid deletion of other files in the original folder.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that if you need to install multiple plug-ins (such as those introduced later in this article), you do not need to repeat the installation steps for each plug-in. You only need to copy all the bin files to the mrpackage directory, and then pass ;log mrpi command installs them all at once. This saves a lot of time whenever the plugin needs to be reinstalled.

Install KUAL – Plug-in Launcher

KUAL (Kindle Unified Application Launcher) is a plug-in launcher. After installing KUAL, you can download or write your own plugin and launch it through KUAL. For example, it is used to start plug-in programs such as Koreader and display the battery percentage, etc.

Download the coplate version KUAL: Official page ｜ Local download ｜ Baidu Netdisk 〈Extraction code: n5iz〉

  1. Connect your Kindle to your computer with a USB cable until the Kindle disk appears;
  2. First install the MobileRead Package Installer (MRPI) according to the method provided in the first part;
  3. Then unzip the downloaded KUAL-xxxxxxx-20xxxxxx.tar.xz to get a folder;
  4. Find the Update_KUALBooklet_xxxxxxx_install.bin file in the folder, copy it to the mrpackages folder in the Kindle root directory, then enter **;log mrpi** in the Kindle search box and click Enter;
  5. At this time, MRPI will be called to install KUAL. After the installation is completed and the Kindle restarts, you can use KUAL.

3. Flash CrackDroid Android system

Write in front

First of all, I would like to thank Ygjsz_, the boss of station B. I learned this method from his video. To avoid spending 160 yuan on Taobao, please note that the system here is different from Taobao, and some tutorials on the Internet require an activation code to use the system, so you need to go to Taobao and pay.

Of course, I didn’t copy it completely. I encountered some difficulties outside of the tutorial, and I solved them myself. Here I record the process I gave to PaperWhite3. Most of the methods are quoted from the big guys.

Prior to this, I had jailbroken my PaperWhite3 and installed the KUAL plug-in.

In addition, my kindle is PaperWhite3 32G Japanese comic version, and the firmware version is 5.14.2. You can only swipe the order system.

Thanks again to Ygjsz_, the boss of Station B, for his contribution.

Flashing process

Tool link: Baidu Netdisk

Process Overview

  1. Install adb, adb driver, fastboot driver
  2. Copy uboot firmware and some Android files to kindle disk
  3. KUAL plug-in starts FlashAndroid
  4. Run the tool Start.exe to find the device and burn the firmware.

1. Install adb, adb driver and fastboot driver

The expert method for this step is to use Google’s integrated installation package, that is, run CrackDroid/Flash Package Directory/fastboot Driver/adb-setup-1.4.3.exe to install.

But my PC cannot be installed with this installation package (it will prompt that the system path cannot be found), and it also lacks the adb driver and fastboot driver.

I heard that most Win8/10/11 systems come with adb drivers and fastboot drivers. It is recommended that if you use the children’s shoes in my tutorial, you should first confirm whether your PC has the drivers. If you don’t know how to look, it is recommended to see if the device can be recognized in step 4 by installing only the adb SDK. If not, go back and install the adb driver and fastboot driver.

1.1 Install adb SDK
  1. Download the adb toolkit. In fact, adb is a free installation tool. The download is a compressed file. After decompression, it is a folder, which contains the files required by the adb tool.
  2. Add environment variables, select My Computer, right-click Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Click Environment Variables, find path, click Edit, and add it to the path you put it.
  3. To confirm whether you have installed it properly, run cmd and enter adb version. If the version is displayed, the installation is successful.
1.2 Install adb driver and fastboot driver

I heard that most Win8/10/11 systems come with adb drivers and fastboot drivers. It is recommended that if you use the children’s shoes in my tutorial, you should first confirm whether your PC has the drivers. If you don’t know how to look, it is recommended to see if the device can be recognized in step 4 by installing only the adb SDK. If not, go back and install the adb driver and fastboot driver.

The method is very simple. Download Xiaomi’s firmware flash tool MiFlash. After downloading and running, a box will automatically pop up for you to install the adb driver and fastboot driver.

Picture quoted from Station B Articles by Chenzhongjiang Official

The picture is quoted from the article of Chenzhongjiang Official on Station B

2. Copy the uboot firmware and some Android files to the kindle disk

  1. Find my PW3 32G version of the flash firmware package (kpw332g.restore.220708.zip) in the flash package directory, and unzip it in the uboot directory to get main-htmlviewer. tar.gz and extension.zip compressed packages.

  2. Connect PW3 USB to PC, open the kindle disk, and copy main-htmlviewer.tar.gz to the root directory of the disk. Note that this file does not need to be decompressed.

  3. Unzip extension.zip and put the extension directory into the root directory of the kindle disk. Note that the directory structure here is \extension\android\...

3. KUAL plug-in starts FlashAndroid

Eject the Kindle disk, keeping the USB connection. Open [KUAL]-[FlashAndroid] in sequence.

Next, the Kindle will restart and will not be stuck, but it will enter the Uboot startup process and the mark will be [Enter]Updating Mode. There will be a countdown. Regardless of whether you interrupt the countdown or not, the device will restart later and the cycle will repeat.

When this mark appears, click on this line of the screen to enter download mode. The output of the countdown is stuck. If there is a fastboot driver, the Android Phone device will appear in the device manager.

4. Run the tool Start.exe to find the device and burn the firmware

The administrator runs Start.exe in the compressed package. If there is a fastboot driver, the device will be recognized. Then after a bunch of printing, enter 2 and press Enter, that is, select “2. Upgrade & Reset Android”. Then wait for the device to restart. That’s it.

P.S. The method of flashing back to the original firmware is the same. Only the flash firmware package is different.

You can later use the adb install -r command to install the apk package, but it should be noted that you need to download and install the APK that is compatible with Android 4.4.