When it fell to the floor and stopped working, here’s how I fixed my Kindle Paperwhite broken screen.
It was Saturday night. There was nothing on the television so I headed to bed. The great thing about being a book lover is that there’s always something to read. As the temperature fell below freezing, it felt good to snuggle down under the duvet. But disaster was just moments away.
As I reached to turn out the light, it only took a second to knock my third Kindle off the nightstand. It’s a Kindle Paperwhite — the one with the touchscreen and backlight which means you can use it to read in the dark without disturbing your sleeping companion. The Paperwhite is my third Kindle and I rarely read on anything else. It fell, face first and my heart sank when I heard it clatter off the wooden floor. I feared the worst.
Reaching down, I retrieved the Kindle and pressed the ‘on’ button. Hope sprung briefly as the green light came on but it faded quickly when the light went out again and the screen remained unresponsive. I tried again, holding the on/off button a little longer this time. The green light flashed two or three times but, again, the screen remained unresponsive.
By now, I was worried. My previous Kindles have not survived falling and I feared that the Paperwhite, my most expensive Kindle so far, was about to go the way of its predecessors.
Fixing Kindle Paperwhite broken screen
Turning on my phone, I ‘googled’ for possible solutions and my fears grew stronger. It looked very much like a new Kindle would have to be purchased. I began checking prices and found a local store offering a 20% discount “this weekend only”. Reluctantly, I decided to hit the shops in the morning and prepared to part with upwards of €120.
Sunday dawned. Suited and booted, I got ready to head out shopping. Then, on impulse, I tried one last time to fix the Kindle Paperwhite broken screen. Again, I held the on/off button and again the green light flashed but the screen was dead. Then, I remembered, when I broke my first Kindle, someone, somewhere recommended holding the button for a longer time. I gave it a go. The green light flashed but I continued to hold down the button. Then an orange light flashed and, lo and behold, the screen responded. The Kindle was booting up. I watched and waited as the bar progressed across the screen. It completed loading and there, in perfect order, was all my content. The touchscreen is working. The light is working. A lucky escape and a notional saving of €120. If it happens to you, and I hope it won’t, maybe this little account of my experience will help you resurrect your Kindle Paperwhite.