Fans of Amazon's classic Kindle e-readers must beware as the e-commerce giant has announced that devices that were created from 2007 to 2012 must have their systems updated by March 22. Otherwise, the classic Kindle readers will lose their internet connectivity.
Amazon's Kindles became such a big hit since they first came out in 2007 because of their ability to access, purchase and receive e-books through wireless internet. Thus, for Kindles, losing their internet capabilities is tantamount to losing one of their biggest features.
If a Kindle misses the deadline for the update, the device will not be able to access the Kindle Store or sync with Amazon's cloud. The following message will be displayed on devices which do not make the deadline for the update: "Your Kindle is unable to connect at this time. Please make sure you are within wireless range and try again. If the problem persists, please restart your Kindle from the Menu in Settings and try again."
Missing the update does not mean that the e-reader becomes useless, however. In order to receive the update after the deadline, users will need to download the update file from Amazon, connect the e-reader to a computer via USB cable, and install the update from there. It's actually pretty easy, but in today's wireless world, it is still a lot easier to just initiate a wireless update before March 22. After all, the update automatically downloads and installs even if the device is asleep.
In order to update a Kindle to the latest software, just power up the device and check if the update is available. The option is visible in the "Sync and Check for Items" portion of the menu. Amazon stated that the update file should be available right now.
Once the update is successful, a message reading "03-2016 Successful Update" will be visible on the device.
Kindles which must receive the update are the Kindle 1st Generation (2007), Kindle 2nd Generation (2009), Kindle DX 2nd Generation (2009), Kindle Keyboard 3rd Generation (2010), Kindle 4th Generation (2011), Kindle 5th Generation (2012), Kindle Touch 4th Generation (2011) and the Kindle Paperwhite 5th Generation (2012).
Take note, as well, that 3G Kindle devices such as the Kindle Keyboard 3d Generation, the Kindle Touch 4th Generation and the Kindle Paperwhite 5th Generation can only receive the update through Wi-Fi, despite their 3G capabilities.
