The other day I came across a YouTube video that shows how to easily disassemble the Kindle Voyage. It only takes a couple of minutes and is surprisingly easy compared to some other devices out there.
Of course taking apart your Kindle Voyage is going to void the warranty, but it’s currently the only way to gain root access.
Ever since Amazon released the Kindle Voyage and new entry-level Kindle, they’ve been blocked from all jailbreaking and hacking.
There used to be a very active development community for Kindle ereaders with all kinds of hacks and mods available, but unless you have an older Kindle those are pretty much all gone now.
The only way to root newer Kindles running firmware 5.6.x and newer is to take them apart and use the serial root method, which is more than most people want to do to hack their Kindle. But it is possible for those willing.
The Kindle Voyage is easier to take apart than I thought it would be, considering the unique design. Once you pry the plastic piece off the top of the back it’s pretty smooth sailing. After that you just have to remove four screws and the back pops right off.
Along with the video below, here are some helpful guides at MobileRead with more info about how to serial root newer Kindles:
Kindle Voyage Teardown / Root – The 7th picture shows exactly where to solder the wires. And further down the page it shows how to do it without soldering.
How-to Obtain Root Access – A step-by-step guide for the basic Kindle, which is the same process as the Voyage and Paperwhite 2.
How to jailbreak 5.6.x (serial port) step by step – More instructions and commentary about jailbreaking Kindles via the serial port.
Amir says
OK,what’s the advantage of rooting and jailbreaking of this device?
Nathan says
There are tons of mods and customizations, like installing alternate readers that support ePub and other formats, you can use custom fonts, fine-tune layout, add custom screensavers, and lots of stuff.
Amir says
Oh,I lee! How those you mentioned I can find over the internet after rooting this device?Just googling?
Nathan says
The Kindle Developer’s Corner at MobileRead is where the action is.
Jeremy says
Hi there nathan
I bought your kindle guidebook.
I have a question. Could you please email me. Best wishes
Jeremy
Nathan says
My email address is on the Contact page. Feel free to ask questions using that, or just leave a comment.
Erick says
Hello! Please can you tell me if it is possible to have jailbreak on the latest firmware kindle? I think it’s the 5.7.4 because the last april i just bought my first kindle~Voyage~. and I think the firmware is installed at the factory, I would like to know if possible because I want to make these changes
Nathan says
Only if you take it apart like this. The easy root method stopped working after 5.6.5.
Erick says
So if I follow these steps that appear in the video will achieve the jailbreak on my Vogage. But you do not need a file?
Erick says
I’m sorry to ask so many things. My question is how can I make changes in my kindle for example add screensaver
Nathan says
Check the referenced guides at MobileRead. The folks over there have experience with this kind of stuff and will be able to help you more than I can since I haven’t serial rooted a Kindle before.
Anthony koller says
Hi, I was wondering. Is it possible to change the Toshiba memory flash chip from 4gb to 128gb by using special tools?.
My ereader has ran out of space and I am hesitate to buy a ipad.
Your reply would be a great help for me.
Nathan says
There are probably about three people in the country that definitively know the answer to the question and I’m not one of them, but I’ll go out on a limb and say no it’s not possible. There’s a manga version of the Paperwhite in Japan that has 32GB of storage space though, and they’re available on eBay.