Kindle Paperwhite Jailbreak
===========================

This is a jailbreak for the Kindle Paperwhite. It works on
all currently known Firmware versions (i.e., 5.2.0 and 5.3.0).
It does NOT work on other Kindle models.

Simply follow the instructions in this file to unlock the full
potential of your Paperwhite! ;-)


###############################################################################
#                                                                             #
#  IMPORTANT: BEFORE WE START                                                 #
#  --------------------------                                                 #
#                                                                             #
#  You explicitly agree to the following conditions:                          #
#                                                                             #
#  1. Redistribution of the jailbreak archive is permitted, as long as none   #
#     of the contained files (including this README.txt) are altered or       #
#     removed, and NO other files are added. You MUST NOT redistribute the    #
#     individual files contained in the archive. In other words: You are      #
#     only allowed to redistribute UNMODIFIED copies of the ENTIRE archive.   #
#     If you believe that you have good reasons for wanting to distribute     #
#     (modified or unmodified) versions of the files, you MUST contact ixtab  #
#     and ask for permission.                                                 #
#                                                                             #
#  2. You are not allowed to publish any information about how to             #
#     remove the Special Offers from Paperwhite devices without Amazon's      #
#     consent.                                                                #
#                                                                             #
#  3. You are not allowed to publish any information about using the          #
#     Paperwhite's 3G functionality to gain Internet access for other         #
#     devices (tethering).                                                    #
#                                                                             #
#  In short: don't be a parasite. Pay the few bucks to Amazon if you want     #
#  to remove the ads, and don't abuse their 3G. See the end of this document  #
#  for further information.                                                   #
#                                                                             #
#  *** IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE ABOVE CONDITIONS, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO   #
#  INSTALL THIS JAILBREAK, OR TO REDISTRIBUTE THE ARCHIVE OR THE FILES. ***   #
#                                                                             #
###############################################################################


HOW TO INSTALL THE JAILBREAK
----------------------------

In the archive that you downloaded, you will find several other files.
Plug the Kindle to your computer, and:
1. Copy the "jailbreak.sh" and "MOBI8_DEBUG" files directly to the root
   directory of the attached drive (i.e., not into "documents" or any
   other directory).
2. Copy the "jailbreak.mobi" file into the "documents" directory
   on the Kindle.
3. Safely eject the "Kindle" drive, and disconnect the device.
4. You will see a new document called "Paperwhite Jailbreak". Open this
   document.
5. Follow the instructions in the document. That's it!


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
---------------------

Q: Do I need to reboot after the jailbreak for it to come into effect?
A: No. It is available immediately after installation.

Q: The jailbreak document disappeared after the procedure, but a new one
   called "jailbreak-log" appeared. WTF?
A: This is on purpose. The files that you installed are only required
   during the jailbreak, and should not be there during normal operation.
   Therefore, the "installer" removes itself after it was successfully
   executed. It does leave behind a log file, which is mostly meant for
   troubleshooting if anything goes wrong. You can safely delete that file.

Q: What does the jailbreak actually do? What is it good for?
A: In one sentence: the jailbreak allows you to customize your Kindle. It
   does not actually do anything by itself, but it "opens the door" for
   other customizations. What it really does is to install a file which
   tells the Kindle to accept update packages created not only by Amazon,
   but also by other people.

Q: But the installer seems to do a lot of things...?
A: Yes, it does. By default, it installs the developer certificate for
   device updates, a few known mobileread developer certificates for Kindle
   Apps (Kindlets), a startup script which tries to ensure that the
   jailbreak survives future firmware updates, and a "rescue pack" which
   may allow to repair a broken ("bricked") device in most circumstances.
   You can control what is happening during installation by editing the
   jailbreak.sh file, but this is only recommended for experienced
   developers. For everyone else, the defaults will work just fine.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
----------------

First of all, thanks to Amazon for providing a really fine and high-quality
device. If only it were a bit more developer- and power user-friendly...
(see below for more).

Second, thanks to the great dev community at mobileread, and in particular
to NiLuJe, geekmaster, and yifanlu. This jailbreak would not have been
possible without your efforts.


FINAL NOTE TO AMAZON
--------------------

I know you are reading this, because that's part of your job :-)

Please, pretty please, keep your products modifiable by those who want to
modify them. The developers are not your enemies - we are your allies.
Pretty much all of the tweaks and hacks are actually there to add useful
functionality to the Kindles, to make them even better devices.

I understand that part of the Kindle's success lies in the simple fact
that it's superior to the competitors' products, and I understand that
you want to keep your trade secrets secret. Maybe that is the reason for
the ever-more aggressive obfuscation of the Java classes.

I also realize that a very small part of the information that was published
in the "dev scene" could be considered as a threat. I'm talking about
the ad removal (i.e., disabling Special Offers without paying the nominal
fee). I have personally published such information previously, and retro-
spectively, I shouldn't have done that. Mea culpa. I removed all of it,
and I'm not going to publish anything on that topic again. I don't want
to jeopardize the entire dev scene for a few bucks.

That said, and getting back to the point: Please don't render this
jailbreak method useless. All of the previous methods could be considered
a real threat (in the sense of "security hole"), because they - at least,
in principle - could have happened without the user noticing it, via
some "drive-by" attack. So it's fair to close those holes.
This method cannot be automatically exploited: the user has to knowingly
and willingly take action before anything happens.

So, to conclude: please don't attack the developers' scene and users who
just want to use the full potential of their Kindle.
Oh, and feel free to incorporate the developer-contributed enhancements
into the stock firmware. Almost all of them are using extremely permissive
licenses.

And, as a very last statement: feel free to contact me at ixtab@ixtab.tk.
(Note: This address is intended for Amazon representatives ONLY. General
help requests sent there will be IGNORED - use the mobileread forum instead.)

-- ixtab, December 2012

