I am seeing announcements all over Facebook about it being necessary to update Kindles. Apparently, it is only older versions of Kindle that need to be updated, ones before 2012. Since I got mine on eBay, and was not sure which year it was, I thought I better check and see if it needed the update. The update has to be done before March 22nd, so very soon. When I checked, mine said it had the current system already running and the little place that was for updating would not activate; so I am assuming that mine must be new enough to not have needed the update. However, it is a good thing to check and see if you think your Kindle might need the update. The information said that it will not connect to the cloud, and all of your books will be lost if it needs to be updated and that is not done. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...94710&linkId=6b8b7c07dccc641ebce0799a55023517
Since mine are fairly new, I haven't paid much attention. I wonder if the ones that will need updating are the early ones that came with its own Internet connection, called WhisperNet. For those who are new to Kindles, the first Kindles didn't require a separate Internet connection. You could get online to shop for books and download them using its own Internet service, which did not cost extra. They also have a very basic Internet connection in an area that was labeled "Experimental," so you could connect to other web sites as well, but the browser was pretty rudimentary.
I saw this... and I have no idea where my Kindle reader is now... I'm using Kindle Fire, not the reader. I guess it's packed in a box somewhere. Maybe I should have deactivated it. Oh well... too late.
From what I read, you can still upgrade it, @Mari North ; but it is a longer process to do it if it was not done before today. There seems to be quite a bit of info online about how to do the updating, besides the article that I posted; so if you find the e-reader, you should be able to update that as well. I started out with an e-reader, but because I often read books that have illustrations, I got a Kindle Fire instead, and gave the e=reader to @Joyce Mcgregor , who is my neighbor. She reads a lot of "paperback-type" novels, which do not have pictures, and it is lightweight and easy for her to use. It is only the early ones that have to be updated; so if yours are newer han 2012, they should be fine. Mine was, and I am not sure about the ones that I gave to Joyce; but I sent her the information to update.
This is definitely good to know, since I'm sure many of the older models are still being sold on eBay, as well as elsewhere online. I still haven't been able to buy one, but hopefully will be able to do so at some future point, and I'll try to remember to check whichever one I end up with, to see if I'll need to update it. I have a few other things on my purchase list before a Kindle, but I definitely want one.