# What just happened to my Kindle?! (part of screen froze) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086 "2011-07-23T15:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/1 "2011-07-23T15:53:00Z")
I am up at a lake, reading. Put Kindle away. Take it back out - now the top third of the screen is frozen on the “off screen”. No drops, impacts, water or other damage - it just started doing this. Any ideas? There may be a reset button on the bottom but sticking a paper clip in there does nothing. Argh. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/2 "2011-07-23T15:58:29Z")
You can reboot it. Hold the power slider across for 20 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/3 "2011-07-23T16:04:51Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > You can reboot it. Hold the power slider across for 20 seconds. First of all - thanks. Second - I did what you recommended and it rebooted, but the top of the screen is still frozen. Argh. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/4 "2011-07-23T16:46:52Z")
My WAG would be that [this ribbon cable connector](http://news.cnet.com/2300-1040_3-6246513-8.html) has come a bit loose. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/5 "2011-07-23T17:31:21Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > My WAG would be that [this ribbon cable connector](http://news.cnet.com/2300-1040_3-6246513-8.html) has come a bit loose. Again - thanks. The photo in the article you link to can’t be displayed on my iPhone. Argh. But it sounds like I’d be opening up the Kindle anyway - I would wait to do that at home. Heck I’ll use the Kindle app in this phone for now. Part of me wants to make a sarcastic crack about technology but I had similar FUBAR’s with books while traveling. It just stinks to have my reading groove screwed up - reading was kinda the point of being away. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/6 "2011-07-23T20:46:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Part of me wants to make a sarcastic crack about technology but I had similar FUBAR’s with books while traveling. I am down two Kobos to e-ink screens cracked while travelling. I feel your pain. ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/7 "2011-07-23T20:51:52Z")
Is your Kindle still under warranty? My Kindle’s screen completely froze halfway between the screen saver (John Steinbeck) and the main menu when I went to wake it up a few weeks ago. Rebooting did nothing, so I called Kindle tech support. Apparently, rebooting is the only troubleshooting you can do, and if it doesn’t work, it’s bricked. They sent me a new one, no questions asked, so long as I returned the dead one within 30 days. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/8 "2011-07-24T04:56:22Z")
I had the same basic experience as **Jadis** , except mine was a few months old. I called Amazon, and they AM Overnighted me a new one the next day. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/9 "2011-07-24T17:18:52Z")
Amazon’s Kindle customer support numbers are: Inside the United States: 1-866-321-8851 Outside the United States: 1-206-266-0927 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-just-happened-to-my-kindle-part-of-screen-froze/590086/10 "2011-07-25T18:02:16Z")
> [@Jadis](#): > > Is your Kindle still under warranty? My Kindle’s screen completely froze halfway between the screen saver (John Steinbeck) and the main menu when I went to wake it up a few weeks ago. Rebooting did nothing, so I called Kindle tech support. Apparently, rebooting is the only troubleshooting you can do, and if it doesn’t work, it’s bricked. They sent me a new one, no questions asked, so long as I returned the dead one within 30 days. Back from being away. I called and yeah, apparently when the screen partially freezes it is a hardware problem. They are sending me a new one, per your experience above. Fine by me. I bet their margins on each Kindle are something like 80% or higher; each one probably costs \< $50 to make so they have no problem just swapping them out…