Gadgets Amazon Kindle reading light

Published on April 11th, 2011 | by Joshua Philipp

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Kindle Won’t Start or Charge? How to Reset a Kindle


There is an apparent and unfortunate defect in the Amazon Kindle, which many users—myself included—have encountered. Occasionally the device will not start and will not charge, regardless of the battery level.

Amazon was apparently aware of the problem when they released the device. They even included an excerpt towards the top of the user manual on how to fix this, stating, “If your Kindle does not power on or is unresponsive during use, try resetting the device by sliding and holding the power switch for 15 seconds before releasing.”

Here’s what I recommend—and it has worked for me repeatedly.

The reset Amazon suggests often works. Do that first. All you need to do is slide and hold the power button. Hold it for 15 to 30 seconds.

If that doesn’t work though, you’ll need to do a hard reset. Keep in mind, this does not work with the Kindle 3, as far as I know (no reset hole, and you void your warranty for opening it up), but it works well for earlier generations. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Peel off the back cover of the Kindle. You can do this by using a wedge (I just used my fingernail) to lift it.
  2. Beneath the battery (the large white thing) and to the left, there’s a small hole. Stick a pin or paperclip in there for a few seconds.
  3. Slide and hold the power switch for 15-30 seconds.

My Kindle started working right after that. The light actually turned on while I was still holding the power switch.

If that doesn’t work, some users suggest removing the battery for a few seconds, reconnecting it, then going over the above steps.

It’s an odd problem. It seems to start working again on its own if you leave it be for a few days, but it’s still rather inconvenient. If anyone finds a better method please share.

[Image courtesy of Amazon]


About the Author

Avatar of Joshua Philipp

Joshua Philipp is the Chief Editor of TechZwn.com, and a technology editor and reporter at The Epoch Times. He values narrative and seeking out untold stories.


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  • Bjolin

    Thanks for the help. Actually had to do the reset on mine to get it going again. If you have an earlier version of the Kindle (which I do), the reset button is on the bottom next to charging port.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000486949639 Taleena French

    Where exactly is the hole? I can’t seem to find it. >…o I have the kindle 3.

  • Ami

    I was unable to switch on my Kindle at first i thought perhaps it was dead, but after days of trying to charge it I tried the following and it worked!!
    I held the release button for 30 seconds, then released it and after approx 20 secs tried the slide button and it switched on

    • jj

      thaks for help it worked

    • jj

      thaks for help it worked

    • jj

      thaks for help it worked

  • Trying to be helpful

    CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION! It is not possible to “peel off” the back cover of the Kindle Keyboard 3G and doing so could void the warranty (obviously). Also there is no HOLE on a Kindle 3!!! People please pay attention to differences in models before giving advice!!!

    • ALRUI

      There already is a mention of this in the article!

    • http://www.iserotope.com/ Mark

      Thank you. But with my Kindle Keyboard, the other resetting option doesn’t work. Is there any way to peel off the back with a Kindle Keyboard to try to fix it?

    • http://www.iserotope.com/ Mark

      Thank you. But with my Kindle Keyboard, the other resetting option doesn’t work. Is there any way to peel off the back with a Kindle Keyboard to try to fix it?

  • Rick

    Thank you. It work great.

  • Roni

    Thank you for taking your time and sharing this with us. I thought I was going to have to get a new Kindle.

  • linda stow

    so what do you with the kindle 3? as you said there’s no hole and i could void the warranty.

    • http://techzwn.com/forum-members/joshuaphilipp/ Joshua Philipp

      With the Kindle 3 you could try holding the power switch for 30 seconds. That’s basically the hard reset method they’ve held onto. If that doesn’t work, you’re probably best off contacting Kindle (it’s odd they’re so many models in now and this problem is still there).

  • mike

    kindle on my laptop won’t turn on, any suggestions?

  • Pingback: » 52 Killer Tricks for your Kindle : Girls In Tech :

  • Ms.T

    wow, thank goodness, going to bed last night without reading was very difficult. My kindle earlier in the night had stopped, and I had done the reset, this was the first time it ever happened. And that fixed it, but then it did it again and nothing would make it work. Glad you gave another option. The picture in the other comment was not where my reset button/hole was on the inside, but boy is it ever a small hole.

    FANATASTIC….

  • Teresa Jacobs

    Wow, my 3 month old Kindle suddenly stopped working earlier today and went totally blank. As it was a birthday present from my children I was quite upset to think it had a fault, however after reading all the comments and deciding I had the Kindle 3 I just held in the power button for around 30 seconds and it has just opened up ok. Thanks for the helpful hint

  • Paul Shankles

    My Kindle seems to have gone dead. I held the button down for 30 seconds and it rebooted. It is working fine now, thanks….

  • D. M. O’Reilly

    This worked for my 1st generation Kindle. I really thought my battery was gone and tried to buy one
    from Amazon. Guess what! They can no longer get batteries from their former supplier.

    I love this Kindle. I, too, read in bed. Try that with the Fire (my latest Kindle) . It weighs a ton compared to
    my old Kindle and the view keeps flipping bet. horizontal and vertical at the angle I have to hold it.
    Completely unacceptable.

    Thanks for the solution! My nighttime reading has been RESTORED.

  • Kathy

    Wow it worked!

  • http://rechzwn.com Michelle

    Thanks so much for the help. I LOVE my kindle and panicked when it wouldn’t charge up. I simply hit the reset button and all is well again. Thank you for your brilliance!

    • http://techzwn.com/forum-members/joshuaphilipp/ Joshua Philipp

      Thanks for the kind words. I’m really glad this article has helped so many people :)

  • No Name

    Kindle Fire owner.I held the button for 30 seconds and it worked. I thought it would automatically reboot, but I had to turn it back on to see it was working. What the hell though! One would think they would have worked on this widespread issue between the release of different models.

  • Fernando Salazar

    Excellent advise. thank you. It has started working again. thank you.

  • Fernando Salazar

    Excellent advise. thank you. It has started working again. thank you.

  • jeff

    thank you for your help. After 30 seconds I tired to turn it on but nothing happened, that is for about 30 seconds. Then it started up. Appreciate your help. jeff

  • http://www.facebook.com/sue.flannery Sue Selack Flannery

    Thank you! It helped… it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/sue.flannery Sue Selack Flannery

    Thank you! It helped… it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/sue.flannery Sue Selack Flannery

    Thank you! It helped… it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/sue.flannery Sue Selack Flannery

    Thank you! It helped… it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • http://techzwn.com Joshua Philipp

      My pleasure. I’m glad I could help :)

  • Stupid Kindle!

    I just reset my Kindle 3. Here’s how. Remove the back, just above the power switch you will see the word “reset” witten on the green board. Just below the word are two raised mounds of solder. use a paper clip or something conductive to connect the mounds of solder briefly. The reset function still works, but for some reason the didn’t install the button the 3. What you are doing by connecting the two solder points is completing the same circut the button would if it were there. I guess they wanted to take the power out of the hands of the consumer so you would send it in for repair?

  • Jane

    This also worked for me! So happy! Thanks

  • Jane

    This also worked for me! So happy! Thanks

  • http://www.facebook.com/bradlie.benner Bradlie Benner

    For some reason my kindle wont turn on still. I pluged it in to chrge while I slept and woke up to turn it on and it would not work I’ve trie to reset it no result except my screen froze. Please help!!! I cnt get the back off

  • http://www.facebook.com/bradlie.benner Bradlie Benner

    For some reason my kindle wont turn on still. I pluged it in to chrge while I slept and woke up to turn it on and it would not work I’ve trie to reset it no result except my screen froze. Please help!!! I cnt get the back off

  • Nani

    Great help!

  • jolou

    Thank you – panic over

  • http://www.facebook.com/tiffany.spires.10 Tiffany Spires

    My kindle wouldnt charge and I had tried all the online suggestions. (didnt want to take the back off for fear of damage). I charge mine through usb (that is what i got with the kindle) and I found somewhere to 1 shut down the kindle 2 reconnect the usb cord 3 shut down and restart your computer before my computer even came all the way up my kindle had started to charge. hope this helps someone

  • Gentillefille

    Thanks for the tip!

  • stu

    is this the same for kindle fire hd please

  • stu

    is this the same for kindle fire hd please

  • stu

    is this the same for kindle fire hd please

  • Vspider

    Thanks for the tip, worked like a charm.

  • http://www.facebook.com/modemgod Brian Zwart

    heh…. i started to pull the back cover off and it decided to boot up again….. hehe.

  • http://www.facebook.com/modemgod Brian Zwart

    heh…. i started to pull the back cover off and it decided to boot up again….. hehe.

  • http://www.facebook.com/modemgod Brian Zwart

    heh…. i started to pull the back cover off and it decided to boot up again….. hehe.

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