new kindle

[ivanoe]

Hi i have just been given a kindle for christmas .and i dont' know how to activate it what is a network key.it asks for a password and i put the one i use for my emails.but it wont accept it .also how do i register it.as you have gathered i am a complete novice.any help you can give me would be greatfully recieved.
.

[patrickt]

The network key is the key to the network. Sorry. I couldn't resist. For my system, I have a wireless modem/router, also called a wireless access point, for my internet connection. That device was provided by my ISP. On the bottom of the device it says, "WEP key: xxxxxxxx". The x's are a long numeric key. You enter that number in your Kindle and your network will admit the Kindle s a functioning device.

Then you turn on WiFi, your Kindle will contact "home" and I think the device is automatically registered and activited. It's been a few months but I don't remember doing anything else.

Happy reading. All the secrets in the world, worth knowing, are in books and if you read, you can learn all the secrets. Especially the secrets your mother doesn't want you to know.

[Ann in Arlington]

All you should really need to connect to your home wifi is it's SSID (basically the network's name) and the password. . . . it sounds like maybe someone else set up the WiFi for you?  Maybe you should ask that person to help you.

If you don't have wifi at your home, you'll need to go to some place that does like a public 'hotspot' in your town.  Often casual restaurants and cafes have them.  

Even without registering, the Users Guide should be on it -- suggest you read through as it has lots of good information.

(I'm assuming here that you did NOT get one of the ones that also has 3G. . . .those models will connect without WiFi since they also work on the ATT cell phone network.)

Once connected you press menu and then settings and the first option will be to register.  It will ask for your Amazon log in credentials, assuming you already have an account with them.  And then you're all set.

[ivanoe]

Thanks to both of you for replying.i did say i was thick ,but you mention g3 and att i dont know what any of those mean.i also can not find settings .
i go to home and on that page are the /oxford dictionary/kindle user guide/oxford American dictionary/set up kindle /archived items.
no settings'whatever i do it takes me back to set up wifi but it wont let me.  still confused.

[lori_piper]

Do you have wireless internet in your home?

If so, the 'network key' is the password that was set up for that internet. Who set that up for you?

If you don't have internet in your home, you will have to go somewhere that has wireless internet in order to download books. That might be McDonalds, Panera Bread, Starbucks or your local library. Many of those places don't have passwords at all, and the ones that do are usually available on a card on the tables or something.

att is AT&T, a popular vendor of wireless internet. 3g is wireless internet that is provided over the cell phone network. You must have a kindle that supports 3g--not all of them do. But then you can connect your kindle--without a network key--anywhere you have cell phone signal.

Hope this helps.

[Ann in Arlington]

Are you maybe not in the US?

If you can tell us where you're located, someone from that area may better be able to guide you.

[ivanoe]

Thanks again both of you for your response.i should have given you more info first time round.I am in Lancashire. i am with sky broadband and i use their router i dont know if this helps. i also have a laptop that was set up through my router and it works fine  i used the codes and numbers off the back of the router ,.dose, this mean i should be able to set up the kindle

[Ann in Arlington]

I'm going to move this thread to our "Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting" section. . . . .I'm sure one of our members will be able to help you. . . Morf?  Are you there?  Here's another Britisher who needs some technical assistance.

[Morf]

Morf here... fellow Lancastrian. 'Ey up! 

OK, let's try this step by step, see how you get on with these instructions and if it doesn't work, reply to say how far through it you got:

Firstly, look at the bottom of your router and make a note of the two settings there.

One of them will be labelled something like "Network name" or "SSID". Here I'm going to call this the network name.
The other will be labelled something like "password" or "WPA Key". I'm going to call this the password.

Now do the following:

1) On the Kindle, Press Home, then Menu. From the menu pick settings.
2) In the Settings screen, go down to WiFi settings and pick "View". It might ask you to turn wireless on, pick OK.
3) After a few moments, it should list WiFi networks it's found. Look for the one that has the same name you've noted down for your network name. Select "Connect" next to this one.
4) It will then ask you to enter the WiFi password. Here you need to type in the password you noted above. Depending upon the type of Kindle you've got you either use the keyboard on it or the on-screen keyboard. Each character appears as you type it, then turns to a dot as you type the next one (so somebody watching can't read it easily). When you've entered it all press "Submit".

Hopefully that should be all that's needed, in a moment or two you should see "WiFi" and a signal strength bar at the top-right of the screen.

Once you've connected, you can then pick "Register" which is at the top of the settings screen. I've never had to do this so I'm not sure of the exact steps, but I guess you will be asked for your amazon.co.uk account and password.

Hope this helps!

[ivanoe]

Hi morf.  thanks for trying to help me i appreciate it.i did what you said but no go.went to  home/menue/settings. got a page up with 5 wifi networks on they all had a locked sign along side them ,(not sure what that means) anyway i clicked on the one for sky (my network) it aksed for my password.
i put in the one i took off my router .labled network key.clicked done then submit.it came back unabled to connect to wifi network.
the password you entered is incorrect or invalid.your kindle is unable to connect wifi network SKY41847. what am i doing wrong.

[Morf]

The locked sign is just telling you that these are secure networks and that you need a password to connect. The fact that it sees 5 networks just means that it is seeing your network and your neighbours.

Firstly, let's make sure that you are connecting to the right network - there may be another Sky subscriber nearby, so double check that the network name you're picking - SKY41847 - is the same one as on the label on your router. You can double check by looking on your laptop to make sure that's connecting to SKY41847 as well.

Assuming that's correct, then the problem simply seems to be that the password is wrong.

I'd try again, reading the password very carefully and check for capital/small letters, numbers, punctuation marks, make sure you don't get numbers and letters mixed up (I/1, 0/O etc), and look at each character as you enter it. If your Kindle has a keyboard and the password has numbers in it you'll need to press "Sym" to get the number screen, if it's a new Kindle without a keyboard I'm not quite sure how you work these but I guess there's an on-screen keyboard.

If it still doesn't accept it after a couple of attempts, the only other thing I can think of is if you changed the password on your router when you got it.

After that I think you'll need to get in touch with Amazon Kindle support, they are good at talking you through problems like this, contact details are here http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,73465.msg1181468.html#msg1181468, there is the facility for them to call you back which is really useful!

If all else fails, for the purposes of registering it you could always try a friends wifi or visit a local McDonalds or Starbucks or wherever with free wifi, that isn't going to make buying books for it easy though.

[ivanoe]

Morning MORF. thanks a lot your brill.checked everything,found the network key (password) was in capitals,i had been putting it in as lower case.
did it all again and bingo,all up and running.thanks once again for all your help.

[ivanoe]

I would like to thank ,ANNE of Arlington// Lori Piper //and Patrickt . for there help on my kindle problem.i solved it with all your help .Murf to .
from a thankful Brit,cheers.

[Ann in Arlington]

Glad to hear you got it all sorted!  Hang around and check out the rest of the place, here. . . .lots of book recommendations, helpful tricks, and just plain conversation.

[Morf]

Great, glad you got it sorted.

Now it's time to get some books!  

If you haven't already spotted it, there is a Kindle Daily Deal, a new book every day at a really good price (usually about £1 or so) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_161849367_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000577623&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_r=0J4YJFFWHBKBFZV64HBB&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=264643367&pf_rd_i=341689031.

Worth bookmarking and checking every day, I've picked up one or two really good books very cheap on there!

Also, keep an eye on the blog here http://www.kinworm.com/. Kindle books are regularly "sold" free for a short while to build sales, and Marie regularly includes lists of the free books - she's the only person I've found so far who includes amazon.co.uk freebies as well as amazon.com.

Keep an eye on the list of Kindle bestsellers here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bestsellers-Kindle-Store-eBooks/zgbs/digital-text/341689031/ref=pd_ts_zgc_kinc_341689031_morl?pf_rd_p=260749847&pf_rd_s=right-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=341689031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=03C13PPPD9MD2QFTDWE6, there are lists of both paid for and free books.

Finally, remember that you can always get a sample of a book free of charge - the sample is normally the first 10% of the book. Sometimes the cover and frontispiece etc take up part of this, but you usually get a good few pages of the book to read and see if you like it. Just click "Send Sample Now" below the "Buy It Now" button.

[ivanoe]

Morning Morf. another one for you.i have a disc with lots of books on ,i put the disc in the computer ,plugged in my kindle ,clicked on computer.all the books where there,i right clicked on a item, in the dropdown box it say's(send to)i clicked that and next box had kindle in so i sent everything to kindle.
it worked ,i went back to computer it opened up and there is kindle when i click on that it opens and there are all the books.i've just downloaded.
BUT there not on my kindle why.any ideas'.

[shalym]

Morning Morf. another one for you.i have a disc with lots of books on ,i put the disc in the computer ,plugged in my kindle ,clicked on computer.all the books where there,i right clicked on a item, in the dropdown box it say's(send to)i clicked that and next box had kindle in so i sent everything to kindle.
it worked ,i went back to computer it opened up and there is kindle when i click on that it opens and there are all the books.i've just downloaded.
BUT there not on my kindle why.any ideas'.

They have to be in the "documents" folder on your kindle.

Shari

[Morf]

Yep, just as Shari says, the books need to be in the documents folder.

Plug your Kindle back in to the computer and click on it in Explorer. You should see all the books listed. Select them all - making sure you don't select any of the folders - right click and select "Cut". Then open the documents folder, right click and select "Paste"

This will move all the books into the documents folder where the Kindle will then see them.

One warning, if there were a lot of books the Kindle will work through them all indexing them so it can search them. This will take a while and will use your battery up (even when the Kindle is off), so it's a good idea to keep an eye on the battery and plug it in the mains if necessary.

The Power FAQ http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,73465.msg1181726.html#msg1181726 explains more about this and how to check if indexing is complete.

[ivanoe]

Sorry to be a pain but where are the document folders on my kindle.i have read it everywich way but i can't find them.

[ivanoe]

also Morf you say click on internet explorer and all my books will be listed.again i am lost ,i have clicked on I/E also Firefox/ Google /Sky.
i can't find any books ,so i am still at stage 1.i will understand if you want to terminate this thread.and send me elsewhere but i did say i was a learner.
thanks anyway have a great Christmas, you to shari.

[Ann in Arlington]

ivanoe, have you connected your kindle to your computer?

So you should be able to navigate to view it as a drive.  It is probably called something like g:/kindle.  Click on it to open the drive and you should see a list of folders.  One will say documents.  If you double-click it will open that folder -- you'll see files for the books already on the Kindle.

Now, open a new window where you show the books you want to move.  It might be that you'll first have to copy them from the original disk to somewhere on the computer.  Be sure the books are in either .mobi or .prc format -- look at the file extensions.  If it's not one of those two, they won't work on the Kindle. 

Once you're sure the file type is correct, just choose the files you want to move to the kindle and either do a copy past, or click/drag/drop.  You can even do several at once by holding down the shift or ctrl key as you click each file.  (One of those lets you pick and choose and the other selects everything between the two you click -- I always forget which is which until I go to do it. )

Note that if the files have DRM -- Digital Rights Management -- a form of copy protection, you may be able to put them on the Kindle but the device won't read them.

Once the files are moved, properly eject the device and disconnect the Kindle.  Then, as Morf suggests, you'll probably want to plug it in if you moved a lot of files as the kindle will want to index everything.

[ivanoe]

Thanks Ann its' good of you to take the time to help me,but as i said i am thick.half of what you said is double dutch.let me tell what ive' done so far .
i plugged in my kindle,inserted the disc with the books on .then went to my computer.on that page was a icon for kindle and one for the disc.i clicked on the disc /right clicked and and in the box it says send to.so i sent each book to my kindle. on screen they all transfered great.but nothing in the actual kindle itself.
now you say go to computer click kindle and it opens showing two files one being documents.mine dosn't i have left clicked it right clicked it double clicked it.
no documents.so im' stuck.also you say open another window where i want my files to go .im' sorry but i dont' understand what this means how do i know where where my files should go.its' not just a matter of clicking on new folder then naming it .is it. i am sorry to take up so much of your time .
but i have had this kindle a fornight now and there is nothing on it.

[Morf]

Sorry, my bad, when I said Explorer I meant the Windows explorer (which is now called "My Computer") not Internet Explorer. Sorry!

OK, so first of all, don't use "Send to" for a Kindle, it doesn't put the books in the right place.

I'm assuming you've got Windows 7 on your PC. If not, tell me and I'll change the instructions.

Plug your Kindle in, open "My Computer" and look for your Kindle at the left. Click the little arrow to the left of the Kindle, it should then look a bit like this (the arrows don't show on the screen print, sorry!). You may not have all the folders and files I have:



See the book? Right click on it, select Cut.

Then click on the documents folder so it looks like this:



Right click in the right-hand window and select Paste.

Your book should then appear in that folder. Disconnect your Kindle and you should be able to open the book.

If you still can't open it, the chances are it is not the right sort of book file. Right click on the book file, select "Properties" and tell us what it says next to "Type of File":



In the mean time, I would suggest you start by looking at some of the cheap and free books on Amazon which I linked to above, start downloading and reading them so at least you're making some use of you Kindle!

Merry Christmas! 

Morf

[ivanoe]

Merry Christmas Merf.i am afraid this is getting embarrassing, yes i am running windows 7,when you say go to my comuter and click i assume i should have a page like the one you sent me.i dont and i have tried left click /right click i cant' find that page anywhere.the only one that comes up shows me 6 items
windows 7 c  documents e  pictures f  video g  Kindle d  dvd drive h. when i click on kindle i get a list of the books i put there.like i said before nothing with documents on.what am i doing wrong.

[Morf]

OK, in your "My Computer" window, click the Organise menu at the top, go down to layout and in the menu that appears select "Navigation pane". You should then get the left-hand window appearing with the list of your drives.

Your list will be different from mine, of course, but it's only the Kindle we're interested in.

If you still don't see the documents folder, it may be that it's got deleted somehow. You could try recreating it in the way you mentioned earlier -

its' not just a matter of clicking on new folder then naming it .is it.

and move a book in there and see what happens.

If that doesn't work you may have to reset your Kindle to factory defaults - unplug the Kindle and then (on the Kindle) select Home...Menu...Settings...Menu...Reset to Factory Defaults.

After you do that you'll probably have to go through the steps above to reconnect to your wireless network and reregister.



Also, let us know what sort of book files they are as I explained above. It could be that the books are the wrong sort anyway.

[ivanoe]

Good Morning Merf.  i tried what you  said got most of it but something was still not working .so during the week i read somewhere (i think om one of the forums) about a programme called Calibre.so  i downloaded that and it was easy go on calibre at the top left it says' add books,click on it,
and a window opens with documents in click on that and the folder i had made with all the books in came up with the list of contents click on a book and it downloads it for you and puts'  it in Mobi format.i have had to do each book individualy i dont' know how to do them enblock.
anyway i did it thanks to you and all the others at Computer hope.  a big thanks to all
and a happy new year.

[Morf]

Calibre is an excellent program that most of us make use of.

Glad it sorted your problem!