Kindle Screen Failure, Replacement
April 23, 2008
Gadgets fail. Some more than others, but that’s what they do. Assuming that the failure rate isn’t completely excessive, what separates one gadget (and vendor) from another is often just how well they support their product.
My Kindle has been slowly failing for the past couple of weeks.
I first noticed that the book I was reading didn’t have a title. I figured it was just a glitch in the book file, but it became clear that what happened was that the top quarter-inch or so of the display was just not displaying (or displaying so faintly it couldn’t be read).
Not too much later, I also had a “white line” down the left edge of the page, which was causing the leftmost pixels of the first letter of each sentence to disappear.
Failing Kindle Screen
Normal Kindle Screen
No doubt about it, my Kindle was checking out. I was a little surprised that the screen was the point of failure; I’d felt since day one that the buttons were a bit fragile, but after 50 – 60 books, they were still working fine.
The good news was that this coincided with Amazon actually having Kindles in stock for the first time since November.
Late Saturday evening, I logged into Amazon and started to write a message to Kindle customer service. As I was doing this, I noticed there was a “call me now” button, so I decided to try it. It was 11:30pm on Saturday night, but I was immediately connected with a very helpful support tech. Instead of forcing me through a script, he listened while I explained that I’d done all of the expected stuff (reset the unit with the hidden reset button, made sure it was charged, etc.), and said “Sounds like it’s broke. No problem, we’ll get another one out to you.” No muss, no fuss, no long delays, and best of all, no problem waiting for me to return the old unit until the new unit arrived (it was still mostly usable, just unclear for how long).
The new unit showed up today (essentially, 2nd day shipping since it couldn’t go out until Monday), in full retail packaging. The only noticeable difference is that this one indicates that it’s running version 1.08 of the Kindle OS, while my old one (purchased on day one) was still running 1.0. (well, that and the new one wasn’t broken)
I have to say that I’m quite pleased with Amazon today. Anybody can make a gadget that breaks, but it’s how you manage the experience from that point on that matters. Apple gets this entirely, and apparently so does Amazon.
The only minor fly in the ointment was in trying to get my purchased content over to the new Kindle, I called support, who suggested most everything but what actually needed to be done, which was associate the new Kindle with my account. Oh well, maybe I wasn’t clear about the situation. I figured it out myself a few minutes later, so no big deal.
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dude, this so reminds me of way back in 2000 when, not knowing any better, i got an Apple mouse for Chris for Christmas. he very graciously told me some technical (then-)mumbo-jumbo (which i didin’t understand at the time) having to do w/USBl. but point is, i tried to return it and was actually told to keep it cause the costs for returning would’ve been more expensive than me just keeping it. i was amazed at this generousity and ended up giving the mouse to a more appreciative less-of-a-Techie Mac user.
rimones last blog post..teeny silver beings infiltrated my flat
My Kindle was damaged– it’s still not clear to me how– and now the screen no longer works. But guess what? Amazon has quietly changed their policies in the last several weeks and will now no longer replace damaged Kindles. And to make matters worse, they do not have a repair program in place. So, a mere month after getting this for a 40th birthday present, I’ve got a $350 brick on my desk. Thanks, Amazon!
Benn, sorry to hear about that that — that sucks!
For whatever it’s worth, I’d try them several times (typical customer service roulette – hang up and try again if you don’t get the answer you want), and if that failed, I’d try to escalate it if you can — if there’s a new model on the way (and it sounds like there is), they don’t need any bad public opinion regarding their support.
Mine started acting up in the beginning of aug.. streaking a bit.. but i lived with it.. it’s been on my bookshelf for close to a month now.. I just charged it and started it up, and the screen is completely messed up.. no one has played with it.. just been sitting there..
is there not any warranty service with the kindle?
I’m not sure where my paperwork is, and I can’t find a single thing on the product page at Amazon that talks about warranty, but I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to contact Amazon about it, if I were you.
I had a really good experience with their customer support — Benn (above) apparently wasn’t as lucky, but I’m not sure what he means re: damaged — mine didn’t have any damage, it just failed — much the way it sounds like yours did.
I think you should contact them, and if you don’t get a satisfactory result, keep trying — often a non-helpful customer support person is more the person you get than the company policy.
I managed to break my Kindle yesterday. I was certainly me who did the breaking (the screen), as opposed to the Kindle dying on it’s own, so I hardly think that the burden of replacement should be on Amazon. When I called customer support, I managed to get the same response as Benn:
“We’re terribly sorry that you broke your Kindle, but we don’t have any suggestions for how you can get your screen replaced.”
I don’t think that anybody should have expected to get their Kindle replaced for free (if the damage is the fault of the users), but thought I should add that Amazon’s good customer service does not currently seem to be at the “so good that we’ll replace your $360 item for free”.
In case anybody is looking for other demographic info, I buy a fair amount of stuff from Amazon, and I’m an Amazon Prime member. I have not, however, bought any books for the Kindle — I’ve been digesting stuff from other e-book sources. Maybe Chuck is an excellent Kindle book customer?
> Maybe Chuck is an excellent Kindle book customer?
Meh… I’ve bought enough Kindle books to make having purchased it worthwhile (due to the cost difference), but the majority of the books I’ve read on it haven’t been purchased Kindle books (I’ve had a large library of non-DRM’d mobipocket books for a long time, and it continues to grow). Somehow I doubt that all that enters the equation, tho.
I think the more important point is that my Kindle wasn’t damaged — the screen failed all on its own initiative.
Which is not to say that it doesn’t suck that there’s not a repair option for damaged Kindles — shit happens, after all. I’d suggest making as much noise online as possible — have you tried the mobileread.com Kindle forum? Maybe someone there would have a suggestion.
I just had this exact problem with my Kindle. My experience with Amazon also mirrored Chuck’s. I just described the problem and they’re sending out a new unit pronto. So, seems like Amazon only balks if the damage to the unit is caused by the user. Irritating, but it makes sense.
Yes, they have a quick, free replacement policy if it’s a defective Kindle, but if the user caused a prob they don’t replace it. The warranty is only a limited one for 1 yr.
However, the new policy as of last month is that when a user causes a problem in the Kindle, then they can replace it for $180.
Call customer service and remind the rep that this is the new policy if you encounter one who doesn’t know it
Just called Kindle customer service: I broke my Kindle 1 (the display)–They are sending me another Kindle 1 for $180 plus shipping. They just want me to return the damaged unit within 30 days or they will charge me. Very reasonable policy.
Recieved the kindle as a Christmas gift for son and of course being younger the screen was damaged. Called Amazon and they of course did their diagnostics to see whether it was a defective screen or if he had broken the screen (which he had) and they of course offered the replacement to us. I am expecting the new one within a couple days. I am very happy that they offered this……better than being without one or a “brick on the desk”.
I gave my wife a kindle 2 for mothers day. She loved it. Then she accidently broke the screen. Amazon wants $200.00 to trplace the unit. Who make this great product and doesn’t offer a repair center. I will never buy from Amazon again. My wife was buying 3 to 4 books per week now she is buying none. Who is the real loser here.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOUR WIFE BROKE IT –AND YOU’RE UPSET BECAUSE THEY WANT TO CHARGE YOU LESS THAN A NEW ONE TO REPLACE IT? ???
GET REAL.
I JUST BROKE MY SCREEN AND FOUND THIS POST. I’VE HAD IT ALMOST TWO YEARS, AND IF THEY’LL REPLACE IT FOR $200 I’LL BE THRILLED! ANYBODY HAVE THE BEST CUST SERVICE # TO CALL FOR THEM?