A new jailbreak turns your Kindle into the e-reader of your dreams

While Amazon’s Kindle e-readers are a convenient way to carry a library of books wherever you go, one of their biggest flaws is how locked down they are. Amazon has only worsened this issue recently by removing the ability to download and transfer Kindle books you’ve bought onto your PC via USB and by applying an even more restrictive DRM on its e-books.

Luckily, members of the Kindle community are always finding new ways to liberate Kindles from Amazon’s restrictive ecosystem. In January, a jailbreak called WinterBreak made headlines by freeing Kindle devices from all of Amazon’s restrictions and allowing users to download additional apps like KindleForge and KOReader.

However, like any new jailbreak, Amazon eventually released a software update for its Kindle devices that prevented WinterBreak from working. But that didn’t stop the Kindle community. Now, there’s a new method to jailbreak Amazon’s latest Kindle models, and the amusing part is that it exploits Amazon’s built-in Kindle ads, which the company charges $20 to remove.

This new technique, called AdBreak, works by running a custom JavaScript through the ad files on your Kindle to jailbreak it, then hotfixing it to block future updates (via Android Authority). I won’t go into all the detailed steps here, but a guide is available on the Kindle Modding website. The YouTuber Dammit Jeff also has a simple video guide if you’re interested in trying it yourself.

The AdBreak jailbreak has limitations

You can’t use it on every Kindle

Since AdBreak exploits the ads on Kindle devices to jailbreak them, it has some limitations and doesn’t work on every Kindle model. Specifically, it doesn’t work on the Kindle Colorsoft or the Kindle Scribe because they don’t have ads to begin with. If you have a Kindle model that supports ads, but you’ve already paid to remove them, this jailbreak will still work, but you’ll need to re-enable ads on it before you do anything.

Once you jailbreak your Kindle, it opens up new possibilities that were previously restricted by Amazon’s software limitations. One major advantage is the ability to install KindleForge, which adds a custom app store to your device, which you can use to download tons of useful apps for free.

One of the standout apps is KOReader, which provides a completely new way to read books on your Kindle device. It lets you open a wide range of file formats on your Kindle, making it easy to transfer books from your PC for reading. It even includes a plugin with Calibre that allows you to sync your reading progress and keep track of it on Calibre on your PC. If you’re not familiar with Calibre, it’s an e-book management software that you can use to organize and convert your library of e-books, and with a jailbroken Kindle, you can fully utilize it.

KOReader also lets you customize your Kindle in ways you probably didn’t even think were possible, such as creating custom screensavers, customizing the status bar, and installing various plugins and extensions to truly tailor your Kindle device exactly to your liking.

If you’re interested in trying AdBreak, it’s best to do it soon. Amazon is probably already hard at work on a fix, and once it releases a patch and your Kindle auto-updates, you won’t be able to use it. Additionally, a word of warning: if you try this, do so at your own risk. Follow the steps carefully, as there’s always a chance something could go wrong during the process, and you might have to reset your Kindle.