How long did your kindle last?

[madteaparty]

Mine just died (confirmed by amazon customer service, such as it is) after about 6 months of light use. Because I am a slow and reluctant adopter, I had had it sitting on a shelf for longer than that, so it is out of warranty. Amazon's response was essentially "Download our FREE kindle app on your iphone and read on that!" or "Buy a new kindle".

 

I am for now going back to actual books and also figuring out a way to not spend thousands each year on amazon anymore. But I am curious. How long do we realistically expect these things to last?

 

I will need an e-reader or three sometime soon for my "round the world" trip, but i hope to find an alternative by then.

[Luckymama]

My Kindle Keyboard is at least 7 years old.

 

Dd20's touchscreen basic model is 5 or so years old; dd15's is a year younger.

[Dmmetler]

DD's is over a year old and gets pretty heavy use. It's just a plain, basic, cheap kindle.

 

 

[wendy not in HI]

We have 3 - all still working great.  One that is 3 years old, one that is 2 years old, and one that is 6 months old.  They all get daily use.  the older two are used by the kids.  No problems. 

[MooCow]

Gosh, my first one is still going after - idk - 6 years or so ?

 

They are all older models.

This.

[madteaparty]

It must be the curse of electronics that strikes me again. Next time I will order one with the evil eye thingie embedded.

[AmandaVT]

We have 3 - the oldest is maybe 5-6 years old and is a basic kindle, then I have a first generation fire which is from 2011 I think and a fire hd from 2013. All are still going strong. 

 

I'm sorry yours died!

[mamajag]

Mine just died (confirmed by amazon customer service, such as it is) after about 6 months of light use. Because I am a slow and reluctant adopter, I had had it sitting on a shelf for longer than that, so it is out of warranty. Amazon's response was essentially "Download our FREE kindle app on your iphone and read on that!" or "Buy a new kindle".

 

I am for now going back to actual books and also figuring out a way to not spend thousands each year on amazon anymore. But I am curious. How long do we realistically expect these things to last?

 

I will need an e-reader or three sometime soon for my "round the world" trip, but i hope to find an alternative by then.

 

Wait, you're angry at Amazon because they won't replace your out of warranty device? That's a massive sense of entitlement right there. It doesn't matter if you used it 24/7 or never. They have no responsibility once the warranty is expired. I'm sorry it's broken, but it is on you to replace old devices.

 

Our oldest is about 5 years old. My kids have Paperwhites that are used for hours a day, and I have a Voyage. No one comes close to the experience that Amazon offers.

[poppy]

Wait, you're angry at Amazon because they won't replace your out of warranty device? That's a massive sense of entitlement right there. It doesn't matter if you used it 24/7 or never. They have no responsibility once the warranty is expired. I'm sorry it's broken, but it is on you to replace old devices.

 

Our oldest is about 5 years old. My kids have Paperwhites that are used for hours a day, and I have a Voyage. No one comes close to the experience that Amazon offers.

 

Eh. Six months is unacceptable.

Amazon C/S replaced my mom's Amazon Fire HDX when the screen broke ......because she DROPPED it. Totally her fault. I wrote them just asking if I could purchase a screen replacement kit for her.  Never expected or requested a free replacement, but it was offered, and delightfully accepted.  It was a "one time exception"--  but I honestly don't think it's that rare, based on what I've read in reviews and other forums.     So, OP, I'm sorry you got unlucky in the "will you get a generous c/s rep or not" lottery.

 

My first kindle is 5 years old or so, and going strong.

[madteaparty]

Wait, you're angry at Amazon because they won't replace your out of warranty device? That's a massive sense of entitlement right there. It doesn't matter if you used it 24/7 or never. They have no responsibility once the warranty is expired. I'm sorry it's broken, but it is on you to replace old devices.

 

Our oldest is about 5 years old. My kids have Paperwhites that are used for hours a day, and I have a Voyage. No one comes close to the experience that Amazon offers.

 

I think I must have spoken to you earlier today. :)

[mamajag]

Eh. Six months is unacceptable.

Amazon C/S replaced my mom's Amazon Fire HDX when the screen broke ......because she DROPPED it. Totally her fault. I wrote them just asking if I could purchase a screen replacement kit for her.  Never expected or requested a free replacement, but it was offered, and delightfully accepted.  It was a "one time exception"--  but I honestly don't think it's that rare, based on what I've read in reviews and other forums.     So, OP, I'm sorry you got unlucky in the "will you get a generous c/s rep or not" lottery.

 

My first kindle is 5 years old or so, and going strong.

 

Not unusual, but not something to be expected, especially with only 6 months of light use. Kindle prices are subsidized by the amount of books they'll expect you'll buy once you have it. She likely never even broke even on that Kindle. Yes, it's sad it's broken, but it's not Amazon's fault either. In all my years of building gaming machines, I came to one conclusion: Nothing destroys tech like sitting unused. Maybe water. Maybe.

 

I've been the recipient of a LOT of spontaneous Apple Store deals. I used to think it was a lottery, too, and there's a small component of that. However, once I got a brand new in retail box iPod 64gb that ran about $400 because my toddler flushed it in the toilet. I went to the store panicked and remorseful and simply asked them what my options were. The manager was training a new person, and when the new person questioned a retail replacement at that price she pulled him away and started (while pointing at her device) discussing the number of devices I owned, how infrequently I call in on the support line, and my average monthly iTunes spending. "That lady and her family," she whispered quietly, "are the customers we HAVE to keep happy. Go out of your way to amaze them." I'm betting Amazon has similar tracking to hand out these exceptions.

[gingersmom]

I'm on my 4th kindle in about 5 years. Not sure what I do to them but they last just over a year and die.

 

Amazon has offered me a discount for buying a new one usually.

[mathnerd]

Wait, you're angry at Amazon because they won't replace your out of warranty device? That's a massive sense of entitlement right there. It doesn't matter if you used it 24/7 or never. They have no responsibility once the warranty is expired. I'm sorry it's broken, but it is on you to replace old devices.

 

Our oldest is about 5 years old. My kids have Paperwhites that are used for hours a day, and I have a Voyage. No one comes close to the experience that Amazon offers.

Normally, I would agree with you. But, an expensive product that has not been used for even 6 months has died which is unfair to the customer (in my opinion) :(

[zoobie]

I might try a different customer service rep.

 

With any electronic device, you're going to have some lemons even in a reputable brand. My dinosaur keyboard one from 2009? still works, but I bought a Paperwhite and use it now. My two oldest kids have Paperwhites that are 1-1.5 years and used constantly.

[Lady Florida.]

My Kindle Keyboard would have lasted much longer if I hadn't dropped in just the right (wrong) way as to crack the screen. It made it 1-1/2 years. My Paperwhite 1st Generation is 2 years old now and still going strong. I use a cover so it doesn't meet the same fate as my first Kindle. 

 

I read every single day for at least an hour, often more. 

 

It's not Amazon's fault if one doesn't use their device or if one uses it daily for hours. The warranty is based on a calendar, not on use. If I bought a stove with a one year warranty but I only cook once a month or so, the warranty will still run out in a year. Even if the stove stops working.

[FriedClams]

We've had weird luck with them. My DD was second generation (I think - color - all that - but not the first one) and hers has been awesome for years. Not a problem since the day we bought it. DS was the next generation up from hers and he went through about 3 before the current one, which he's had for a couple of years. Just weird stuff - wouldn't charge, etc. Now the one he has is very reliable. They were great about warranty replacements. Really excellent.

[itsheresomewhere]

1st kindle with a keyboard- 7+ years and still going strong.  We also have the 1st gen touch screen 3+ years and it is still going strong. 

[Paige]

My first one broke after about a year and my daughter's broke after only 6 months. She was only days from being within the warranty and one day it just wouldn't turn on. Amazon only offered a discount on a new one that was more expensive than the special sale price they were offering some customers. We are heavy, loyal customers so I'd be shocked if the special exceptions are based on anything other than the customer service agent's mood. My other DD has one, just like her sister's that broke, that has been fine for over 2 yrs and my current one has been working for about 1.5 yrs. I like my kindle and prefer reading it than reading on a tablet, but I won't buy a new one if mine breaks in the near future- they shouldn't die so randomly and quickly.

[Mergath]

My old Kindle Touch is over three years old and still works perfectly, and is on its third person, having gone from me to dd to my mom, who has it now and uses it regularly. I have a Paperwhite that is over a year old, gets used for hours every day, and still works as well as the day I bought it.

 

My guess would be that sitting for so long without charging degraded the battery in some way, and so it didn't last very long once you started charging and using it. Like a pp said, electronics don't like to sit on a shelf for a long time. If you're feeling ambitious, you could try changing out the internal battery.

[poppy]

Not unusual, but not something to be expected, especially with only 6 months of light use. Kindle prices are subsidized by the amount of books they'll expect you'll buy once you have it. She likely never even broke even on that Kindle. Yes, it's sad it's broken, but it's not Amazon's fault either. In all my years of building gaming machines, I came to one conclusion: Nothing destroys tech like sitting unused. Maybe water. Maybe.

 

I've been the recipient of a LOT of spontaneous Apple Store deals. I used to think it was a lottery, too, and there's a small component of that. However, once I got a brand new in retail box iPod 64gb that ran about $400 because my toddler flushed it in the toilet. I went to the store panicked and remorseful and simply asked them what my options were. The manager was training a new person, and when the new person questioned a retail replacement at that price she pulled him away and started (while pointing at her device) discussing the number of devices I owned, how infrequently I call in on the support line, and my average monthly iTunes spending. "That lady and her family," she whispered quietly, "are the customers we HAVE to keep happy. Go out of your way to amaze them." I'm betting Amazon has similar tracking to hand out these exceptions.

 

And that, my friend, is showmanship. 

 

I do agree they keep track of requests and customer history. Once you get "nope, you're out of luck", it's no use calling / IMing back to get a better answer, and in fact that will hurt you in the long run. 

 

I am surprised the Kindle warrenty is up in six months now. It used to be longer.

[madteaparty]

My first one broke after about a year and my daughter's broke after only 6 months. She was only days from being within the warranty and one day it just wouldn't turn on. Amazon only offered a discount on a new one that was more expensive than the special sale price they were offering some customers. We are heavy, loyal customers so I'd be shocked if the special exceptions are based on anything other than the customer service agent's mood. My other DD has one, just like her sister's that broke, that has been fine for over 2 yrs and my current one has been working for about 1.5 yrs. I like my kindle and prefer reading it than reading on a tablet, but I won't buy a new one if mine breaks in the near future- they shouldn't die so randomly and quickly.

That's all they offered me, as well, and I have an ungodly amount of Amazon orders (rural, etc). I declined because I'm going to go back to books for now, I don't think the ereader is for me. This was a sign!

[madteaparty]

My old Kindle Touch is over three years old and still works perfectly, and is on its third person, having gone from me to dd to my mom, who has it now and uses it regularly. I have a Paperwhite that is over a year old, gets used for hours every day, and still works as well as the day I bought it.

 

My guess would be that sitting for so long without charging degraded the battery in some way, and so it didn't last very long once you started charging and using it. Like a pp said, electronics don't like to sit on a shelf for a long time. If you're feeling ambitious, you could try changing out the internal battery.

It is not a battery issue, it charges fine.

[OneStepAtATime]

My original Kindle still works just fine and it has to be at least 6 years old.  It does have a sizable crack in the casing because of a very bad drop years ago but it still works.  DH got me a new one, though, because he was afraid that as the crack travels across the original will die.  The new one is maybe a year old and still works well.  DS has a Kindle Fire and has been using it maybe a year and a half or so.   He has dropped it a few times, but we got him a really rugged case and so far it has survived every drop.  He uses it daily.

 

OP it really stinks that yours died so quickly.  That has never been my experience with Kindles.  My mom has a pretty ancient one, too, and it is still chugging along, no issues.  I'm sorry that the warranty expired.  I didn't realize the warranties were so short for a Kindle.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Word Nerd]

I've had mine (Kindle Keyboard) for 4-5 years.

[justasque]

OP, how long was the warranty for?  Obviously more than 6 months, yes?  How long was it on the shelf?

 

Just curious, after reading some of the responses.  I've been using the Kindle app on my phone and my laptop, and liking it, and wondering about getting a dedicated Kindle or just staying with the phone option.

[mamajag]

And that, my friend, is showmanship. 

 

I do agree they keep track of requests and customer history. Once you get "nope, you're out of luck", it's no use calling / IMing back to get a better answer, and in fact that will hurt you in the long run. 

 

I am surprised the Kindle warrenty is up in six months now. It used to be longer.

 

No, it's not showmanship. It's making a point about the realities of business. There's a saying in business: 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your customers. Many of your most successful companies actively go out of their way to cater to that 20% (Apple is notorious for this), and some of them go as far as to discourage their most casual clientele who actually cost them money. The nicer ones "accidentally" stop sending mailings to their bottom 20%, but other companies cut outreach at 30% or 40%. I'm quite certain that I wasn't supposed to overhear that conversation. I slipped closer to the conversation by pretending to approach my kids who were playing on an nearby iMac set up for customers' kids. Before that happened, I thought maybe it was how I approached staff, what mood they were in, or just a random thing. Steve Jobs was asked about letting employees do stuff like this in the stores, and he said the perks have never cost Apple a dime. IOW, Apple gets rewarded with loyalty for their kind gestures...which happen in person in stores and virtually never over the phone. 

 

These policies at Apple are why I tell my friends who switch to pick an Apple sign in and register every device in their family as belonging to that one ID regardless of which sign in they use on the devices themselves and to go further and make them the family organizer if they are going to use family sharing. If you ever need a miracle from Apple, it substantially ups your odds to have a better looking resume. I never expect it or demand it, though, and I know Apple doesn't owe me anything beyond what is written in the warranty. I certainly don't get upset with them when they don't bend the rules for me.

 

The warranty is one year from date of purchase, not one year from when you decide to start using it. Like I said, it's sad that it died but Amazon isn't beholden to do anything about it. It sure would have been nice, though.

 

Frankly, it's like I tell my kids: Life and fair have never met. You try to make it fair, you take care of your friends and family, and you do the right thing whenever you can but to expect for a moment that life owes you fairness is dooming yourself to a lifetime of misery and unmet expectations. To expect a company to do something contrary to it's shareholders' interests is like having a pet lion you expect to be a vegetarian...you're free to have that expectation, but you're in for a heck of a let down when it finally gets ahold of some meat.

[Guest aotientieat]

I think her point is it died after such a short time of use.

[TeacherZee]

I got mine for Christmas in 2006 and it is still going strong.

[Lolly]

Kindles don't like me, but I like them. My first few died as soon as the warranty expired. (That was back when they were a year.) My current, a paperwhite, one started having serious issues when it passed its six month warranty. The Amazon people were apologetic, but they told me it was dead. I was somehow able to get it to come back to life. (Plugging into recharger. Rebooting. Over and over...eventually it took?) I was not about to purchase another Kindle. I use mine excessively. I generally go through a book a day. My paperwhite still does strange things, but it is still working. Sometimes I only get half a page of text. Sometimes the page turns the wrong direction. Sometimes the page will not turn at all. Sometimes it just keeps turning itself to the homescreen. A reboot usually gets it going again. Occasionally, I have to reboot multiple times a day. It has been finicky for quite a while now. I don't remember how long I have had it.

[madteaparty]

No, it's not showmanship. It's making a point about the realities of business. There's a saying in business: 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your customers. Many of your most successful companies actively go out of their way to cater to that 20% (Apple is notorious for this), and some of them go as far as to discourage their most casual clientele who actually cost them money. The nicer ones "accidentally" stop sending mailings to their bottom 20%, but other companies cut outreach at 30% or 40%. I'm quite certain that I wasn't supposed to overhear that conversation. I slipped closer to the conversation by pretending to approach my kids who were playing on an nearby iMac set up for customers' kids. Before that happened, I thought maybe it was how I approached staff, what mood they were in, or just a random thing. Steve Jobs was asked about letting employees do stuff like this in the stores, and he said the perks have never cost Apple a dime. IOW, Apple gets rewarded with loyalty for their kind gestures...which happen in person in stores and virtually never over the phone.

 

These policies at Apple are why I tell my friends who switch to pick an Apple sign in and register every device in their family as belonging to that one ID regardless of which sign in they use on the devices themselves and to go further and make them the family organizer if they are going to use family sharing. If you ever need a miracle from Apple, it substantially ups your odds to have a better looking resume. I never expect it or demand it, though, and I know Apple doesn't owe me anything beyond what is written in the warranty. I certainly don't get upset with them when they don't bend the rules for me.

 

The warranty is one year from date of purchase, not one year from when you decide to start using it. Like I said, it's sad that it died but Amazon isn't beholden to do anything about it. It sure would have been nice, though.

 

Frankly, it's like I tell my kids: Life and fair have never met. You try to make it fair, you take care of your friends and family, and you do the right thing whenever you can but to expect for a moment that life owes you fairness is dooming yourself to a lifetime of misery and unmet expectations. To expect a company to do something contrary to it's shareholders' interests is like having a pet lion you expect to be a vegetarian...you're free to have that expectation, but you're in for a heck of a let down when it finally gets ahold of some meat.

The demise of my kindle was totally worth it for this free life lesson here. Thank you!

[Pawz4me]

My current Kindle is (I think) almost four years old and still works like new.  The battery life is still amazing.

 

My first Kindle was three (I think) before I bought my second one, so it's about seven years old and still works okay.  The battery life isn't what it used to be, but it still works fine.

[umsami]

I have an early Kindle fire and she is still doing great.  The first one they sent us died all of a sudden after a month.  I contacted Amazon....they had me ship it back to them....and because apparently there was a hardware issue, they sent me a new one.

 

Still going strong, but I should have bought one with more memory.

[Night Elf]

My 2nd generation Kindle is still working and I got it in 2009, so 6 years and the battery life is still super good.

My Kindle Fire HD that I got in 2013 broke after about 11 months and they replaced it because of warranty. I don't know exactly when in 2014 that happened. I've decided that when this one breaks, I'm going back to a simple one like the paperweight. I don't know if I want to spend so much money on another Fire. I guess I'm just waiting for it to break since my first Fire did.

But I will never give up my ereader. I'm a Kindle user for life now.

[Carrie12345]

Years. I don't remember when I got it. It's an old model with a crack/gap between the front and back, but it's still kicking!

[linders]

Mine's an original and on its 4th year of almost daily use. I almost wish it would die so that I could justify a newer model.

[DawnM]

I thought mine was dead but it turns out the charger was dead.

 

Do you have another charger (any of those same type chargers will work, I used a Samsung Galaxy Tab one to figure it out)?  Try it and see.

 

 

[Night Elf]

MadTeaParty, how long is your warranty? I was just researching it and it appears that lots of devices have a one year warranty. Or was your device under warranty but they deemed it not eligible for replacement for some reason?

 

The Amazon site says the one year warranty covers the Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HDX, Kindle Fire HD, Fire HD, Fire HDX, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle 7th generation, Kindle Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Fire TV Stick, and Amazon Fire TV.

[marbel]

My kindle fire is getting a little wonky after about 2 1/2 years.  Usually I can fix the problem by shutting it down.  But, I'm starting to notice that it's getting old.    I am thinking of getting another, regular kindle just for reading, now that my daughter has discovered the wonderfulness of  e-books from the library.

 

 

[DawnM]

MadTeaParty, how long is your warranty? I was just researching it and it appears that lots of devices have a one year warranty. Or was your device under warranty but they deemed it not eligible for replacement for some reason?

 

The Amazon site says the one year warranty covers the Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HDX, Kindle Fire HD, Fire HD, Fire HDX, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle 7th generation, Kindle Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Fire TV Stick, and Amazon Fire TV.

 

 

She said she had it on the shelf for a long time so it is past the 1 year mark.

[madteaparty]

She said she had it on the shelf for a long time so it is past the 1 year mark.

Yes this

[Jaz]

Kindle Keyboard = 4 years then set aside as an extra, still works in year 5

Kindle Fire = original still works

2 Kindle Paperwhites = over a year, both work great

inexpensive Kindle = over a year, works great

[redsquirrel]

I had an old kindle with a keyboard and it worked for years and years until DH stepped on it.  That was sad.

 

Now I have a kindle Fire, which I am meh on, which I have had at least one year. It is fine, but buggy. I would get another kindle in a heartbeat, but not another 'fire' or tablet type thingy.  I love the ability to download library books from home! I think I have bought maybe 5 books total on kindle. The rest have been library books. I have three books on it now.

[WinsomeCreek]

Ds bought a basic old school kindle from Amazon. It stopped working after ~6-7 months. No battery issues. It just froze up. He found it didn't support the bulk of books he wanted anyway. He ended up taking over dh's iPad and is one of the library's best customers.

[Mergath]

It is not a battery issue, it charges fine.

 

Really? What went wrong with it? Sometimes they can get stuck indexing on a wonky book and look for all the world like they're fried, but if you can delete the entire contents of the documents folder it can fix them.

 

Sorry, I really like fixing things. ;)

[Kim in Appalachia]

I'm sorry yours died.  I've had mine for years.  It's the touch version, the first one that was like that.  My dad has had his paperwhite since they first came out (2 years ago??) .  He uses his daily, and I use mine a lot as well.  

[shawthorne44]

I bought the Nook touch when it was the latest thing.  it got a lot of heavy use and was still going strong until a few weeks ago I didn't realize it was under my pillow and I put my elbow and all my weight on the screen.  

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

My Kindle Fire is about 3 years old and is going strong (as far as I can tell).  It gets fairly heavy use - books, games, learning apps, music, streaming tv and movies.

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

The Kindle Fire came out in 2011 I think (just trying to remember how long I have had it).  I have a first gen Fire and had gotten it soon after it came out.  It's still going strong.  I use it every single day.

 

My husband and kids got one a year after me.  There Kindles all work as well.  They use them often.  The kids are not gentle with their stuff.

 

 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

And I have a Kindle keyboard which is even older than the Fire.  That one works too. 

[gardenmom5]

ds is still using the kindle I bought him before they ever came out with the fire (or whatever one was in color.)  he regrets not waiting six months . . . .

he uses it all the time.