dead scroll wheel

[Rebecca]

The scroll wheel on my K1 just stopped working. Anyone else seen this?

CS says... oops - too bad - past the 1 year warranty - we'll replace it for $99...

UGH! Really! So every 16 months I'm going to have to spend another $100 to read my $500 worth of books?

Just askin'

[TechBotBoy]

Scroll wheel? I've got a Kindle - and I think it's a K1 (it's the smaller of the two) and I'm pretty sure there are no wheels on it -- there's a little stubby joy stick ?? 

                 - Tbb

[Betsy the Quilter]

TechBotBoy, if you've got a joystick, you've got the K2, the smaller of the two current Kindle offerings.  The K1 was the original Kindle and it had a scroll wheel, no joystick.

Rebecca, I've had my K1 since October 2008 and have no problems with my scroll wheel, and can't remember having heard this problem before.  Doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, just that it's not common, sorry to hear about your experience.  Let us know what you decide to do.

Betsy

[Andra]

Rebecca, did you do a hard reset with the paperclip?  My K1 has been a little weird lately and the hard reset seemed to straighten it out.

[pidgeon92]

The wheel could be dirty and not making contact (similar to old computer mouses). Try cleaning it with a small bit of cloth or q-tip and a bit of rubbing alchohol.

[Meemo]

Well it is out of warranty, and it would no doubt cost more than $99 to send it away for repair - most places that repair electronics charge at least $50 just to open something up to see if it can be repaired.  There is at least one Kindle repair service online here:
http://www.portatronics.com/product_info.php?info=p767_Amazon-Kindle-Repair---Component-Installation-Service.html
But with their charge just for repair/installation being $59 (plus shipping, plus parts), and that's if you know what's wrong, no diagnostics involved, to me it makes the $99 seem like a pretty good deal - and I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.
Hopefully a reset or cleaning the wheel (or both) will help though and you'll be back to reading.  

One last thought - you were talking to Kindle Customer Service, right?  They are, at times, more lenient and definitely more knowledgeable about all things Kindle than regular Amazon Customer Service.  

Oh, and welcome to Kindleboards!   

[drenee]

The Kindle customer service number is 866-321-8851.
Sorry to hear you're having a problem.  Welcome to Kindleboards.
deb

[loca]

I've seen those K1s, hopefully its not broken.

[Ann in Arlington]

I agree with Meemo and Betsy. . . . .I got my Kindle in June of 2008 . . . .no problems. <knocking > But, of course, it's WAAAAYYYYY out of warranty. I'd sort of thought if something happens to it I'd just upgrade to Kindle 2. . . .but it's good to know I could just get it repaired for $99. . . .I think that's more than fair.  I'm not sure what else one can expect when it's past warranty:  offering a repair at a reasonable price is probably more than many places would do in this situation.

Still, you've also been given some suggestions for dealing with it yourself. . . .my attitude would be:  if it's out of warranty, it's fair game, and I might see if I can't clean/fix it myself.  Or, rather, have my DH help with taking it apart and putting it back together again!