# I found a Kindle Fire. How do I find the owner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112 "2023-08-05T17:16:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/1 "2023-08-05T17:16:22Z")
For a couple of weeks, I noticed a Kindle Fire propped up on a mailbox in a bank of mailboxes. I finally decided to see if I could find the owner. I know nothing about Kindles. The front is glossy, completely black, and has only what appears to be a camera on it. The back is matte black, with a glossier horizontal strip with ‘Kindle’ moulded into it. I bought my wife a Fire HD 8 six years ago, and I found its USB charging cord. I plugged it into the Kindle Fire. (I know it’s a Kindle _Fire_ because it said so on powering up.) Here is a picture of the screen that I just took: [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/WkCwVvn.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/D9gpuID) The time and date are incorrect. There is a lock icon. Pressing the lock icon doesn’t do anything. I assume there’s personal information on it that might lead me to the owner. (i.e., post on Next Door and someone could prove it’s theirs.) Is there any way to ‘open’ this device? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/2 "2023-08-05T17:19:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Pressing the lock icon doesn’t do anything. Have you tried sliding/swiping it, as opposed to just pressing it? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/3 "2023-08-05T17:20:14Z")
For most Kindle models, you swipe up or to the side on the main screen and it’ll go to whatever unlock security if any the device has. You can also try to swipe up/side from the lock itself. Of course, I said “most” because lots of people hack the security to repurpose them as general android tablets. But if there’s a PIN/SWYPE security on it, you’re likely not going to get much info on the owner, although their ability to unlock it would be a good sign of ownership if you instead posted it publically. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/4 "2023-08-05T17:21:45Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Have you tried sliding/swiping it, as opposed to just pressing it? OK, that worked. This is apparently ‘Linda’s second kindle’. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/5 "2023-08-05T17:26:36Z")
If you can get to the Settings menu (probably by swiping down from the top of the screen and then tapping the gearwheel “Settings” icon), you may be able to find information about the person it’s registered to (like their name or their email) under something like “Account” or “Profile.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/6 "2023-08-05T17:34:25Z")
I found a full name and a gmail address. I’ll attempt to contact her. Thanks for the help. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/7 "2023-08-05T17:41:28Z")
Let us know what happens! ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/8 "2023-08-05T18:01:46Z")
Wonderful. The OP did good work. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/9 "2023-08-05T18:08:08Z")
I hope it works. I emailed the gmail, I posted on Next Door to see if anyone knows her, and I’ve just forwarded the email to the kindle-dot-com address I found. There are lots of pics. A couple I presume to be the owner, there are dog pics, and some pics of what looks like an Alaska cruise. It should be easy to confirm ownership if she responds. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/10 "2023-08-06T01:22:10Z")
Keep us updated. Unless she is a Serial Killer. Then, goodbye. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/11 "2023-08-06T01:29:10Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Let us know what happens! > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Keep us updated. No reply yet. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/12 "2023-08-07T20:19:05Z")
I emailed both the gmail and kindle addresses this morning, giving my phone number and saying if I don’t hear back I’ll turn it over to the Sheriff’s Office. Then I called the Sheriff’s Office to give them a heads-up that I may be turning in found property. A deputy called while I was down at the corner market. I remembered gave him the owner’s first name, middle initial, and surname, and her kindle email address. (I couldn’t remember the gmail one.) About 15 minutes later I was just walking in the door when my phone rang. The deputy said he was able to find a phone number from the kindle email address. He said it had been disconnected, and that ‘all indications’ were that the woman died ‘a few years ago’. I tried to give him the gmail address since it was now right in front of me, but he said the woman is deceased and they don’t need it. He said I made a ‘valiant effort’ and that I could ‘do whatever [I] thought was right’ with the Kindle. So how did it end up being propped up at the end of a line of mailboxes? I see two possibilities: 1. A friend or relative inherited the device and lost it, and someone put it on the mailboxes; or, 2. Someone’s getting rid of the owner’s stuff and put it out there for someone to take. Either way, it looks like I have a free Kindle Fire. Honestly, though; with the effort I put in trying to be a Goodie, it’s bloody inconsiderate of the woman to be dead. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/13 "2023-08-07T20:36:49Z")
Thanks for giving us some resolution to the story, at least. Judging by the picture of the lock screen in the OP, I think it must be an older model. If it really did say it’s a Kindle Fire, it’s definitely an older one, since Amazon dropped the “Kindle” name from its Fire tablets in (if Wikipedia is correct) 2014. So I don’t know how much it’s worth. You’d think that if a friend or relative inherited it, they would have re-registered it to themselves. On the other hand, maybe they kept it registered to the deceased lady so they could still access her library of ebooks etc. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/14 "2023-08-07T21:17:02Z")
I guess the next step would be to save all of the photos and other personal items to a folder on one of the MacBooks. I assume this can be done by connecting the Kindle to the Apple, and then… ? I’m guessing that the Kindle will show up as an external drive, and all I have to do is select the files and drag them into a folder on the Apple. The next step would be to delete all of the owner’s files and information (there’s a Deregister button under her name and her Kindle email address) so it’s basically a ‘new’ tablet. How to do the things above will be appreciated. As I said, I know nothing of Kindles. @Thudlow_Boink: It definitely says Kindle on the casing, and on the screen. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/15 "2023-08-07T21:24:24Z")
If “Linda” passed away, I wonder how that device got out into the wild like that. I would worry a little bit that some next of kin is looking for that thing, but I suppose it’s possible the next-of-kin in question may have been the one to put it there. Damned akward way to voluntarily dispose of electronics, if the case. If I could bestir myself to it, I’d search obits and see if I could find the survivors and contact them, but that is rather a lot of effort on top of the yeoman work and research already done, and there’s always the nagging possibility that you’d be bothering someone who already attempted to get rid of the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/16 "2023-08-07T23:20:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I guess the next step would be to save all of the photos and other personal items to a folder on one of the MacBooks. I assume this can be done by connecting the Kindle to the Apple, and then… ? I’m guessing that the Kindle will show up as an external drive, and all I have to do is select the files and drag them into a folder on the Apple. That’s how you would do it with a Windows PC (I know nothing about Macs), except that you might have to change the settings on the Kindle Fire to allow file transfer (as opposed to just charging) via USB. Depending on what the owner had been using it for, it might or might not have anything on it worth saving. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/17 "2023-08-07T23:38:21Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Depending on what the owner had been using it for, it might or might not have anything on it worth saving. Lots of photos. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/18 "2023-08-08T00:04:42Z")
I plugged the Kindle into my MacBook. I got a pop-up on the Kindle that says: > Some computers require a free file-transfer utility to copy files between the computer and your Kindle. If you need this utility, please open your cojputer’s browser and navigate to [kindle.com/support/downloads](https://kindle.com/support/downloads). So I did that. > # We’re sorry. > > [French bulldog gif] > > We can’t find the page you were trying to view. We apologise for the inconvenience. I tried downloading [Send to Kindle](https://www.amazon.com/sendtokindle/mac), hoping it would work the other way. It installed, then asked if I wanted to send the installer to the Bin. Yes. I looked for anything with ‘kindle’ in it in Finder, and there was nothing but the photo I posted in the OP. I tapped Photos and there were two options: Cloud, and Device. Device had virtually nothing (Download, Attachments, & Facebook – looks like samples), and all of the photos and videos I saw were in Cloud. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/19 "2023-08-08T01:13:59Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > If “Linda” passed away, I wonder how that device got out into the wild like that. Her ghost is wandering the Earth with her Kindle. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112/20 "2023-08-08T01:32:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > with her Kindle. Without her Kindle, I think, unless she’s got a ghost Kindle. She left her material one where @Johnny_L.A could find it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-a-kindle-fire-how-do-i-find-the-owner/988112.md?page=2)