How to reset you Kindle 3, even if the slide doesn't work | Division by Zero

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How to reset you Kindle 3, even if the slide doesn't work

How to reset you Kindle 3, even if the slide doesn't work

Written by Division by Zero

Wednesday, 27 April 2011 07:43

Last week I posted on my broken Kindle. While attempting to reset my Kindle and try to get some life in it again, I searched on possibilities to reset the Kindle. The only possibility I could find is to slide the power button and hold it for 20 seconds. This will reset the Kindle. But what if it doesn't? There are a few more possibilities.

Warning: I really don't know if opening your Kindle will void your warranty. Know or avoid this risk!

The first step is to open your Kindle, like I did in this post. There are some interesting parts and some will give you the opportunity to reset your Kindle.

Kindle

In this picture the following items are identified:

The battery (held in place by two screws).
The wifi adapter.
The 3G wireless sim card.
The reset button.
The connector of the display.

Item 4 and 1 will help you. If you press the reset button (4) the Kindle will perform a hard reset. If this still doesn't work you last option it to disconnect the battery and reconnect it. This will definitely restart the Kindle.

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Related Articles

Inside the Kindle 3 (Latest Generation)

Comments

0 # jay 2011-08-07 17:27

my kindle is frozen. It only gives black screen or boy under tree.
i opened my kindle, there was no reset button. that area was blank. The words reset were written on the pcb, but no button. I disconnected the battery, but there was no reset. It still toggles between the states i had mentioned earlier.

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0 # Bas 2011-08-07 18:17

Hi Jay,

I'm sorry to hear that your kindle doesn't reset. The screen with the boy under the tree is the startup screen of your kindle. It's strange that the reset button wasn't in place, maybe you have a slightly different version than my kindle.

The description of the problem you're giving sounds like you have a software (firmware) problem with your kindle. Disconnecting the battery is a guarrenteed reset (it did, since the startup screen showed).

You can try to upload the newest firmware. That could solve the problem. Otherwise I'm alfraid the only thing left is to do is to call the helpdesk.

I hope this advise will help you.

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0 # Joe 2011-09-28 11:14

Hi, nice job, but in my Kindle the reset button is also missing, there is only the text on the PCB. Battery disconnection did not solve the problem. Amazon wants me to call them (I am from Hungary) but I try to avoid this. Need to search more, maybe someone already cam up with a home-made solution...

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0 # Bas 2011-09-28 12:30

Hi Joe,

I'm sorry to hear that the reset button is mising. Of course you can always detach the battery and try if that will work. If it doesn't and a firmware update doens't help you should probably contact the Kindle helpdesk. If the guarrentee didn't expire they will come up with a good solution. In my case the helpdesk was really helpfull and they replaced my Kindle for free.

I hope you are able to repair your Kindle.

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0 # sky 2012-02-02 05:04

hi. does diskonecting the battery wipe the books? do you know if duokan os voids the warenty? I have duokan on my kindle 3 and for a few days I have had to hold the power on slide a few seconds longer than usual. Now its just frozen. Also I dont have a reset button.

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0 # Bas 2012-02-02 10:08

Hi Sky,

Disconnecting the battery will not wipe your books from the device. It's save to try. Of course opening the Kindle and touching the circuit board can expose the hardware to static electricity. Try to be cautious.

Your problem sounds like a hardware failure. There are also good alternative solutions if your warrantee has expired.

I don't know if installing duokan will void the warrantee.

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0 # Melinda 2011-12-04 19:33

Hi! I did everything but my kindle still won't wake up. Not even disconnecting the battery worked. And when I disconnected the screen it still had the screensaver of Jane Austen on it. It won't move off of that screen saver. Also, there is no reset button on my kindle. Any idea what's wrong with it? Any help is greatly appreciated--I miss my kindle! Thank you!

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+1 # Bas 2011-12-04 21:07

Hi Melinda,

Sorry to hear that your kindle broke! The e-paper screens always keep showing the last thing the software told it to. It is possible that your kindle works, but due a hardware failure the screen can't be update anymore.

I'm afraid that you are experiencing some hardware failure and need to call the Amazon help-desk. I must say their service was really good. I hope you'll succeed in sorting this out with Amazon.

Good luck!

Bas

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+1 # Melinda 2011-12-08 17:45

It's ok! I fixed it! I bought the same model kindle but with a very broken screen on eBay for 20 bucks (and free expedited shipping, thank goodness) and then I switched the mother boards and now I have a kindle again! =)

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0 # Bas 2011-12-09 07:58

Hi Melinda,

It's good to hear that you brought your kindle back to life. So it was a hardware failure.

Well.. this is a good solution for everyone that experiences the same problems with their kindle.

Thanks and happy reading!

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+1 # hardcase001 2012-01-15 07:05

I had the problem of not resetting, no charge light, just the welcome screen. I contacted Amazon and they said I was out of warranty and it would be $85.00 to replace. Ouch. So I took your advise and poppped the back off and found 2 screws had backed out of the motherboard. One sitting on a resistor and the other wedged in the bottom. I put them back where they belong and it's working like a champ. I wish all fixes were that easy.

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0 # Julie Jbara 2012-02-04 02:12

Hi,

Amazon NOT helpful with issue with my Kindle 3. Two weeks out of warranty and they want $65 to refurbish. Took off battery and Kindle does not appear to be powering down to reset.....When I plug in orange light comes on but no green light...Hardware issue? Thank you for your website. Not feeling quite as helpless as when I talked to Amazon....

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0 # Bas 2012-02-04 10:56

Hi Julie,

You're welcome! I'm sorry to hear that Amazon didn't help you at all!

When you unplug the battery the screen won't reset. E-paper will keep displaying the same image until your Kindle draws another image.

How does your Kindle react when you use the power button? Does the green light show? If it does not you've probably got a hardware problem. Maybe Melinda's solution will help you. Well... as long as the screen doesn't refresh it is probably a hardware problem.

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0 # Julie 2012-02-04 19:10

Hi Bas,

Thank you...nope...no green light. I think this goose is cooked.

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0 # Andrea 2012-02-18 09:17

It works! I took apart my kindle 3 (which had been frozen for days despite countless times holding the power switch for 30 seconds), unplugged the battery, and toggled the tiny internal power switch a few times with an itty bitty screwdriver. After putting it back together, the screen said the battery was dead. A few hours later, after a full charge, it works as good as new! Thank you for this how - to! It saved my husband and I having to buy a new kindle.

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+1 # Joe 2012-03-19 00:54

Just wanted to give my two cents. My wife's Kindle 3 froze. I tried the standard resets and it did not work. I opened ours up and removed the battery and then reinstalled it and it still would not reset. Ours too did not have a reset button. What I did do was open the back and remove the battery. I then tried doing a reset to drain any power that could be stored on the board (We do this on CPU's at work to drain any capacitors). I then reinstalled the battery and hooked the kindle up to my CPU. Leaving the sync cable connected to my CPU, I held the power switch as described fora reset for close to 2 minutes. While plugged in, the Kindle restarted. When it did restart there was an exclamation mark on the battery. We have it charging now and all seems to be working. I will update this post if we have any other issues.

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0 # Bas 2012-03-19 09:09

Hi Joe,

Thank you for sharing your solution! I hope that your Kindle will keep working.

Bas

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0 # Grace 2012-05-18 22:05

How do you drain power on the board? I dont have reset button, i removed the battery and nothing happened. Please help!!!

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+1 # John 2012-04-03 04:27

just wanted to throw in the alt+shift+r soft reset; most people are way past that but for me the hard reset was useless

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0 # DaveMan 2012-05-15 05:31

Thanks man....removing the battery worked like a charm I saw the green light come on then she paused on the home screen in mid boot...so I plugged her in and she flickered once black then the startup screen came on again and started booting up no problem.

Thanks again for the help!!!

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0 # Bas 2012-05-15 05:40

You're welcome! :lol:

:lol:

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0 # H K 2012-05-20 21:31

Thanks for this article and the related "Inside the Kindle 3". I had a problem with it being stuck in sleep mode and no amount of resetting helped. Since it is out of warranty, I figured I had nothing to lose by opening it up :) So, I took it apart like you described and it turned out that the display connector was loose. I stuck it back in, powered it on and voila, it came back to life! I can read again now :) Thank you!

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