Dmmetler Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 I am considering a Kindle fire as a gift this year. I know on DD's plain vanilla Kindle I can add books to it on my account, then unregister it and the stuff stays there, and then add it back later (She went to a summer program that didn't want the kids to have anything that connects to the Internet, but allowed e-readers, so I unregistered it for that week). Can I do the same on the fire? I'd like to have it charged and at least a few free apps on it so it's a fun Christmas present as opposed to being something that needs to plug in, charge, and be set up before you can actually use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Why would you need to unregister it? When I'm not actively syncing my Kindle, I keep the WiFi connection turned off to save battery life. It can't connect to the Internet unless I turn the wireless connection on. (You can also turn off cell data.) I'm not sure I understand what the purpose of deregistering it would be unless you're planning to set it up under a new Amazon account after Christmas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 That would be exactly the reason-the gift would be for someone outside my household, so I assume they'd want to set it up under their Amazon account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 If the gift is for someone outside your household, I think you'd be better off just giving them the Fire and an Amazon gift card. If someone gave me a Kindle they'd opened and used, I'd be a little :huh: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 In that case I'd let the recipient add their own apps. I thought it was for your kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 I assume you want to open it and set it up so you can load books on it but then not have it on your account? Otherwise I think you should just gift it new like others said. This may have changed, but when we briefly had a Kindle, it always automatically downloaded absolutely everything on the account it was set up to. There was zero way to not have it sync (that's one of the reasons I ultimately asked the kids to sell it). Not sure what would happen if you de-registered it. One potential solution *might* be to set it up as a child in your household account... that way you could set it up, put books on it as part of the gift (but not everything), and then give them the passcode to wipe it and start over when they're ready. But even that seems a little weird. I suppose it might work for a family member child like a niece or nephew to do that - your sibling or in-law could swap the password when you're ready. But it's awkward - until it's their own account, they wouldn't be able to add any content - not apps or books or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 I was thinking about having it set up and usable-the person who is getting it will be traveling over Christmas and will have limited connectivity, so with it pre-loaded, it could be used right away, while,otherwise, it would wait until they are home. I think I'll see if I can have it shipped to a family member to set up-that way if they have a shared account it can start there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 When I deregistered mine and turned my wifi on, everything that was loaded was automatically taken off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 The apps would be under your registration. You should be able to charge it beforehand without setting it up, but if you open it, it can't be returned. The person might get another one or not have use for one. Unless it's for your minor child, I'd leave it new in package. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 That would be exactly the reason-the gift would be for someone outside my household, so I assume they'd want to set it up under their Amazon account. I just deregister one of my kindle fire. Apps are there but apps won't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 If it's for a child, can you get the family's account info from a parent (and perhaps library card info) so you can have it ready to go? I don't know the age of the recipient, but in a scenario like a long trip, it would be good for it to be "open-and-go" without the parent having to learn new technology en route. If it's an older teen or adult, I agree that in many cases they'd want the fun of setting it up themselves - but perhaps you can prepare a list of links to books you think they'd like, apps that are fun/useful, etc. - the list could be emailed so they could click on the links? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 The Kindle Fire does come partially charged, so they could start registering it and adding apps while it's getting fully charged (assuming they will be at a house after opening it). It takes about 4 hours to fully charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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