So 99% of the time your Kindle Paperwhite is working fine but every now and then you come across an issue with it that you can’t seem to resolve. I wanted to create this troubleshooting guide which can help resolve a number of common issues you may face when using your Kindle Paperwhite.

I’ve got some great tips on resolving: 

• My Kindle Won’t Charge
• My Kindle Will Not Connect To WiFi
• My Kindle Won’t Turn On
• My Kindle Has Frozen
• When All Else Fails – Some More Drastic Measures

 

 

 

These should get you Kindle Paperwhite up and running again and have been tested on a number of different generations of the device. So let’s get your Kindle Paperwhite started!

 

 

My Kindle Won’t Charge

Solution 1 – Faulty Charging Cable

The first thing to check here is that your Amazon Kindle Cable is not a dud. You can actually change your Kindle on any standard USB cable. USB cables can become damaged through overuse or bending them on a regular basis. If you have an Android phone, you can try charging the device with the same cable you use to charge your phone. If not, USB cables can be picked up from many discount stores in your area.

 

Solution 2 – Faulty Charging Plug

It may well be the case that the cable is fine but the plug is not. You can test this is a couple of ways. First, try charging your Kindle through a laptop to see if there’s any luck there. Next, if you have an Android phone, you can use the same plug to charge your Kindle. I would recommend leaving it overnight to give it the best chance of charging.

 

 

Solution 3 – Restarting The Kindle

This is different that turning the power button off and on again. Firstly try a soft reset. This involves holding the power button for 7-10 seconds. The Kindle screen should flash off and on indicating a reset has been performed. Then try charging the device overnight. If this fails, try a hard reset. This involves holding the power button for at least 45 seconds. The same screen flashing will occur. Again leave the device charging overnight. One thing to note here is that you will not lose any of your content on the device by performing either of these actions.

 

Solution 4 – Inspecting The Charging Port

It may be that something small has become lodged in the power port which is preventing the connection being made between the cable and the Kindle. I’d recommend using a torch to inspect this. You may also discover that the port has become bent which means it’s not going to make the connection correctly. Without invalidating your warranty, that’s going to be difficult to fix so it’s worth getting in touch with Amazon customer services at this point.

 

Solution 5 – Pulling The USB Cable Out And Back In Again

This might be a quick fix for your charging issues. You should hear a click when connecting the USB cable. If not, try a different cable to see if you get the desired effect.  

 

Solution 6 – The Battery Is Actually Dead

If the Kindle Paperwhite hasn’t been used for a long time or has been left in a place which is too hot or cold for it, this can kill the battery. If all of the above solutions have failed, this is likely that the battery is dead and not much can be done about that other than contacting Amazon Customer Support.

 

My Kindle Will Not Connect To WiFi

 

Solution 1 – Let’s Start With The Obvious

So let’s make sure that you’ve not got Airplane mode enabled and WiFi mode disabled. You’ll see a picture of a plane in the top left hand corner if you’re in flight mode. If you have WiFi disabled then won’t see this symbol in the top left of the screen on your Kindle

 

 

Solution 2 – Forget The Connection And Connect Again

You may have entered your password incorrectly too many times and so the WiFi connection just isn’t letting you on anymore. In the settings section, navigate to WiFi connections and select forget connection. Once done this will enable to you connect again as if you’re a brand new user and enter the password again

 

Solution 3 – Reset The Kindle

Your Kindle kindle sometimes does need a reset to function again properly again. You can do this by holding the power button for 45 seconds until you see the screen flash. As mentioned before, you won’t lose any of your EBooks or other settings.

 

Solution 4 – Reset The Router

We’ll start with the simple solution where you need to switch off the plug, wait 10 seconds and then switch the router plug back on. Your WiFi router will look something like this (see image below). You’ll need to wait about a minute for the router to come back online before trying to connect to the WiFi again.

 

 

 

Next we’ll look at resetting the WiFi router to its default settings. This will involve opening a web browser and following your manufacturer’s instructions to do this. An example guide can be found here

 

 

Solution 5 – Try Connecting Your Kindle To Another WiFi

It’s time to take your Kindle Paperwhite on a day trip. These days you can find open WiFi spots pretty much everywhere. Some are more reliable than others so I could recommend hanging out in your favourite cafe and asking for the WiFi password. If this works then it proves that something needs to be fixed with your local WiFi network.

 

 

Solution 6 – Make Sure Your Kindle Paperwhite Is On The Latest Software Version

This can have an effect if Amazon have released an update that means your Kindle is no longer compatible with your WiFi network. You’ll need to follow this guide from Amazon which will allow your to download the latest version of software onto your PC.

 

My Kindle Won’t Turn On

 

Solution 1-  Soft Reset

Let’s try a soft reset. This can be done even if the Kindle is not on. Hold the power button for 7 seconds and the release it. If successful then the screen will flash and your Kindle will come back to life! To reiterate, this will not erase any of your content or settings.

 

Solution 2 – Hard Reset

If the soft reset fails then go for a hard reset. Hold the power button for 40 seconds and then release it. You should see the same effect as the hard reset where the screen will flash and then the Kindle should turn back on. Again this won’t erase any of your content of settings.

 

Solution 3 – Overnight Charging

I’ve use this tip from when I have issues with other electronic devices with charging issues or when they will no longer turn on. Leave the Kindle Paperwhite plugged into mains overnight and hopefully in the morning that you’ll have the nice surprise that it’s come back to life!

 

My Kindle Has Frozen

 

Solution 1 – Soft Reset

As you can tell, soft reset is good for a range of problems. By holding the power button for 7 seconds and releasing, you should see the Kindle screen flash and then start loading up again. You can then test whether or not this has fixed the issue by trying to read a few different books and navigating between the reading screen and the home screen.

 

Solution 2 – Hard Reset

To enable a hard reset, you’ll need to hold the power button for at least 45 seconds before releasing. Once this has been done, you should see the Kindle rebooting. As with the soft reset option, try browsing through a few Kindle books and navigating between different menus to see if this has fixed the problem.

 

 

Solution 3 – Let The Battery Drain Flat

There are a few ways to speed this up. Firstly, enable the WiFi and then turn the brightness settings to full. If you spend around 30 mins a day navigating between books and the other various menus, it should take no time at all to drain it flat. Then I’d recommend charging it from the mains and leaving it overnight.

 

Solution 4 – Getting Rid Of Corrupt Files

The Kindle could be freezing because some of the Ebooks which have been downloaded have become corrupted. To test this you’ll need to plug your EReader into your PC and manually delete the EBook files. These can be found in the folder EBooks. Once this has been done, unplug the Kindle from the PC and enable WiFi on the Kindle. This will start the syncing process with your EBooks on Amazon cloud.

 

Solution 5 – Perform A Software Update

We want to make sure your Kindle is on the latest software version. This can be done navigating to the settings screen and selecting software update. Alternatively you can download the software update manually following Amazon’s instructions here.

 

 

When All Else Fails – Some More Drastic Measures

 

So the options below are a little more drastic and irreversible so make sure you read all of the instructions below before you have a go.

 

Solution 1 – Factory Reset

If you can get your Kindle to start up you can navigate to the settings screen to perform a factory reset. Warning – This will erase your EBooks on the device and reset any customizations you’ve made on your Kindle. It will also reset your WiFi settings so make sure you have access to those details before performing the reset.

 

Solution 2 – Disconnecting Your Amazon Account

I’d recommend trying this is you’re having issues with downloading EBooks or issues with connecting to the Amazon store. You’ll need to open a browser on your PC and go to Amazon.com. Once there you’ll need to login and navigate to the section ‘Manage My Kindle’. From here you’ll be able to un-sync your Kindle. Once you’ve done this, delete any EBooks from the Kindle where you’re having issue. Finally re-sync your Kindle on Amazon.com by navigating to the same section.

 

Solution 3 – Contacting Amazon Support

Amazon have gotten pretty good with Customer support these days. There are a variety of ways to get in touch with them including email, live-chat and phone numbers. I’m not sure if this is something that Amazon still do but when I had an issue with my Kindle I got a free replacement as it was within the 12 month warranty. They’ll normally need some screenshots or videos of the issue you’re facing. You’ll normally need to login into your Amazon account so your can explain the problem.  

 

 

Conclusion

So hopefully that was useful to people having issues with their Kindle Paperwhite. I just wanted to wish you good luck on bringing your Kindle back to life and any further questions feel free to drop a comment below.

 

Until next time

Cheers

James

 

Got an issue not covered here? Drop me a comment below and I’ll try and help out!