LanguageBreak

Jailbreak for any kindle running FW 5.16.2.1.1 or LOWER

The exploit works best around version 5.16.2, so if you are on lower firmware you should consider updating

Do not update past 5.16.2.1.1 even after jailbreak, there have been big changes since and everything is broken, only thing you can do on these versions is downgrade (if your jailbreak survived).

Big thanks to Bluebotlabs for all the help along the way and GeorgeYellow and bulltricks for bringing the vulnerability to light

The latest tarball can always be found here

Make sure to remove any kind of password lock - if you forget to this and are stuck on the password screen enter 111222777 and the kindle will factory reset.

Your files will be deleted make sure to make a backup.

Installation

Before jailbreak

Make sure to read the entirety of the instructions before proceeding.
Enable airplane mode
Make sure that there are no stray .bin files or update.bin.tmp.partial files on the kindle
Repeat number 3 troughout the proccess

Jailbreak

Type ;enter_demo in the Kindle search bar
Reboot the device
Once in demo mode, skip setting up wifi and enter random values for store registration
Skip searching for a demo payload
Select the "standard" demo type
Press "Done" at the prompt to sideload content.
Once the demo is setup, do the "secret gesture" (double finger tap on bottom right of screen then swipe left)
Enter the demo configuration menu by typing ;demo into the search bar
Select the "Sideload Content" option
Copy the contents of the LanguageBreak folder to the Kindle - merging and replacing all files
Unplug your kindle and go back to the demo menu (viz. step 8)
Select the "Resell Device" option press Yes/Resell
Now wait for the press power button to start
The second it appears plug your kindle back into your computer and copy the contents of the LanguageBreak folder into it once again, overwrite files then safely eject
Hold the power button as instructed on screen
A language selection menu should appear in a few seconds
Choose Chinese (The one above the odd Pseudot language, and/or below Japanese)
Your kindle should reboot and you should see some log message on the screen

After jailbreak

After the device has rebooted, type ;uzb into the search bar
Connect the device to a PC and copy Update_hotfix_languagebreak-{language you want to end up with}.bin to the root of the Kindle storage
Eject the device and either enter ;dsts or swipe down and select the settings icon to enter the device settings menu
Select Update Your Kindle to install the hotfix
This will take your device out of demo mode and clean up unneeded jailbreak files.
You will now probably be in managed mode

Exiting managed/demo mode after jailbreak

Unregistered kindle

Enter ;demo into the search bar
Press the right button
The device will say that its "entering demo", but will actually reset into normal mode in English
After this check if you have an mkk folder on your kindle - if it's missing reinstall then hotfix and have fun :)

Registered kindle

Enter ;enter_demo into the search bar
Reboot your device
The device will be in full demo mode so do the setup without wifi and with random values
Do the secret gesture to get into the kindle UI
Enter ;demo into the search bar
Choose Resell device and press Resell/Yes
The device will actually reset into normal mode in English
After this check if you have an mkk folder on your kindle - if it's missing reinstall then hotfix and have fun :)

FAQ

Q: How do  i check that it worked?
A (before installing hotfix): Install hotfix, if you can do that then it worked.
A (after installing hotfix): Type `;log` into the search bar, this should show some text at the top of the screen.

Q: Where are the hotfix files?
A: The structure of the tarball is as follows
LanguageBreak.tar.gz
|-- LanguageBreak
|	|-- documents
|	|	|-- dictionaries
|	|	|	|-- a; export SLASH=$(awk 'BEGIN {print substr(ARGV[1], 0, 1)}' ${PWD}); sh ${SLASH}mnt${SLASH}us${SLASH}jb
|	|	|	|-- amisane
|	|-- DONT_CHECK_BATTERY
|	|-- jb
|	|-- patchedUks
|	|-- .demo
|	|	|-- boot.flag
|-- Update_hotfix_languagebreak-*.bin

Troubleshooting

Can't seem to get it to work?

The exploit works best around version 5.16.2, so if you are on lower firmware you should consider updating

Download the update file of the kindle version you are currently on from amazon install it and try again.

PW5: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_all_new_paperwhite_11th_5.XX.X.bin
PW4: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_all_new_paperwhite_v2_5.XX.X.bin
PW3: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_all_new_paperwhite_5.XX.X.bin
Kindle 11th Gen: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_11th_5.XX.X.bin
Kindle 10th Gen: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_10th_5.XX.X.bin
Kindle 8th Gen: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_8th_5.XX.X.bin
Scribe: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_scribe_5.XX.X.bin
Oasis 10th Gen: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_all_new_oasis_v2_5.XX.X.bin
Oasis 9th Gen: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_all_new_oasis_5.XX.X.bin
Oasis 8th Gen: https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_oasis_5.XX.X.bin

So version 5.16.2.1.1 for PW4 would be https://s3.amazonaws.com/firmwaredownloads/update_kindle_all_new_paperwhite_v2_5.16.2.1.1.bin

Consider buying me a coffee :)

maanisim/LanguageBreak