Update: An amazon spokesperson has confirmed that the company is not ending support for the first or second generation Kindle devices for now. So, users can still login into the devices even after having logged out or having performed a factory reset.
The spokesperson refused to comment on the possibility of such a move in the future.
Previously: If you are in possession of one of the older variants of the Amazon Kindle device, well, you might want to make sure that you don’t lose access to the Amazon login on it. Don’t lose access as in — never log out! Why? Well, Amazon just might not allow first or second generation Kindle devices to register with Amazon accounts anymore.
The report comes from The Verge, which notes that new first or second generation Kindle devices — or even old ones that were purchased earlier — would be unable to connect using an Amazon account. So, even if you were to logout or perform a factory reset on your old Kindle device — you would not be able to connect it to your Amazon account again.
The issue surfaced after users complained that they were unable to connect their device with their Amazon account after having performed a factory reset. After several complaints, Amazon took notice and a customer support representative told users that the device “may be too old to connect to our network”. Users were also encouraged to upgrade to one of the newer Kindles to avail the full experience.
Well, considering that the first Kindle devices entered the market almost a decade ago (2007), it is reasonable to expect that the hardware could be getting too obsolete to handle the newer software updates. Amazon had even issued a warning to this effect last year in which it said that customers with older Kindles could find that they are unable to access the Store or even sync across different devices using their Amazon account — unless they installed the new updates.
Meanwhile, this could mar the experience for users who are unwilling to shell out extra money for a new Kindle when their old one is in working order. However, Amazon isn’t leaving them with much choice in the matter. Meanwhile, you can still browse the Kindle store using the first and second generation devices, so there is that at least.
We will be following up on the article with a confirmation of the same in the near future.
