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I bought a Kindle some years ago. At first I used it a lot, then I left it unused. I would like to use it again: only trouble is that the battery can't mantain the charge. This is not surprising, it's an 8 year old device, but using it plugged to the wall is not practical.
Is there something that I can do? I searched the Amazon help page but I was unable to find a solution.
You can try to change the battery.
A simple Google search returns a lot of results, I summarize here the steps from this page:
- Turn off your Kindle. Slide and hold the power switch for four seconds, then release. The screen blanks.
- Place the Kindle screen down on a flat, clean surface.
- Remove the plastic back panel. Two tabs keep the back panel in place. Use a thin spudger to slide the panel away from the larger metal back panel. This step is a little scary while you do it. You will think you’re breaking the Kindle, but as long as you apply only gentle force, you won’t actually break anything.
- Remove the metal back panel. With a Phillips #0 screwdriver, remove the two screws which attach the metal back panel to the Kindle’s plastic body, then slide the panel away. Until you replace the back panels, keep a close eye on the volume rocker. Without the back panels to hold it into position, it may fall out.
- Remove the old battery. With a Phillips #0 screwdriver, remove the two screws holding the battery in place, then lift the battery out by its black tabs.
- Install the new battery. Drop it in connector first, then replace the two retaining screws.
- Replace the metal back panel. Place it such that the panel lies flat and the volume rocker is held in place, then replace the two retaining screws.
- Replace the plastic back panel. Place it such that the panel lies flat and the volume rocker is held in place, then slide it toward the bottom of the Kindle.
- Recharge the Kindle with a micro USB cable. After a few seconds, the amber light will illuminate and the screen will refresh.
A not so comfortable but less dangerous solution might be to connect the Kindle with a short USB cable (e.g. 6 inch long) to a small powerbank (the question states that the device is working while it is connected to a power source). So while reading you have also to hold the powerbank, which should have a handy shape for this (e.g. rather flat and approximately same size as the kindle).
