Firmware Hero
0

kindle-dash

Give your forgotten Kindle a second life as a bedside e-ink dashboard with calendar, weather and alarm. No server at home needed.

  • Add-on
  • Stable
  • Medium brick risk

Source code

This project hasn't been claimed by its maintainer yet, so its details come from the community. Is it yours? Claim it

Before you start

How hard is it?
HardUses the command line or developer tools.
What you need
  • A USB or MIDI cable
  • Comfort with the command line
  • A computer
  • Another hack installed first
Can it break my device?
Small chance of trouble, with a way to recover. It may void your warranty.
Can I undo it?
The project doesn't say. Assume you can't.
Get itOpens github.com

Did it work for you?

Did kindle-dash work on your Amazon Kindle 4?

No reports yet.

One-tap reports from owners. Bricked reports are checked before they count.

Compatibility

Devices: Amazon Kindle 4.

No compatibility information yet.

Getting started

From the project's README ("Part B: Kindle setup"):

> Charge the Kindle above 50% and connect it to Wi-Fi first. Copy off any personal documents to be safe.

B1. Jailbreak

  1. Download the Kindle 4 NT jailbreak (kindle-jailbreak-k4-.zip). It's linked from the MobileRead wiki page Kindle4NTHacking.
  2. Plug in the Kindle. It appears as a USB drive named Kindle; if it doesn't, try another cable. Copy these to the top level of the drive:
    • data.tar.gz (check the full name with ⌘I, since Finder may hide .gz)
    • ENABLEDIAGS
    • the whole diagnosticlogs folder
  3. Eject, then go to Menu → Settings → Menu → Restart. The Kindle boots into TEQUILA – System Diags.
  4. Choose D) Exit, Reboot or Disable Diags → R) Reboot System → Q) To continue, then wait.
  5. After a reboot, the book "You are Jailbroken" appears in your library. ✅ You can delete the three jailbreak files now.
    • Stuck in diags? Choose D → D) Disable Diagnostics → Q.

B2. SSH over Wi-Fi (USBNetwork)

  1. From NiLuJe's Kindle Hacks thread on MobileRead, linked from the wiki page above, download kindle-usbnetwork-0.xx.N-k4.zip and read its READMEFIRST.txt.
  2. Copy the Updateusbnetwork…k4install.bin file to the drive, then go to Menu → Settings → Menu → Update Your Kindle.
  3. On the drive, edit usbnet/etc/config and set: K3WIFI="true" K3WIFISSHDONLY="true" They're named after the Kindle 3, but they control Wi-Fi SSH on the Kindle 4 too.
  4. Add an SSH key. The SSH server is from about 2013, so use RSA; it won't accept newer key types: …

Read the full instructions

Risk and recovery

Brick risk
Medium
Voids the warranty
Yes
Requires opening the device
No

From the project's README ("B5. Switching without a computer"):

Run this once: sh /mnt/us/dashboard/install-autostart.sh

From → toHow
Dashboard → readerpress any button
Reader → dashboardMenu → Settings → Menu → Restart; the dashboard appears about a minute after boot
  • Turn it off: rm /mnt/us/dashboard/AUTOSTART. The Kindle then boots normally.
  • Remove it completely: sh /mnt/us/dashboard/install-autostart.sh uninstall.
  • Without autostart, start it with ssh kindle 'sh /mnt/us/dashboard/start.sh'. To get back to reader mode, press a button, run stop.sh, or hold power for 20 seconds.

The install adds /etc/init.d/dashboard and /etc/rc5.d/S99dashboard, using mntroot rw and then mntroot ro. A firmware update may remove them, in which case you simply reinstall.

Read the full instructions

Credits, license and support

License
MIT