New Kindle from Amazon, but unregistered!?

[jimberry]

My new Kindle arrived today, but it is proving difficult to get started.
Since it was purchased online from Amazon, I was led to believe that it would be already registered, but that seemed not to be the case, since it is named "My Kindle" rather than my user name.

I think I managed to register from my laptop, but the Kindle still can't connect to Amazon via USB to complete the registration.
After connecting the USB cable, I am told to "eject" the device, but even after doing that, it is stuck in "USB Drive Mode" and the "Home" or "menu" buttons do nothing.

I tried connecting to a wireless network at my local library, but couldn't load the T&C acceptance page, so couldn't get any further. This could be a network problem, and I will try again tomorrow, but it is disconcerting to say the least.

Have I bought a "lemon"?
 

[Linjeakel]

Hi, Jim, welcome to Kindleboards!  

If you're not sure if your device is registered, log into your Amazon account and go to your 'manage your kindle' page. If you chose 'manage your devices' from the left hand column, it should be listed there. If not, choose the 'register a kindle' option and you can register it online.

As far as connecting via USB, that does sometime confuse people as how you disconnect depends on whether you want to disconnect altogether or keep charging, but read on your Kindle - read our FAQ about it and it should explain how it works:-

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,73465.msg1181732.html#msg1181732

Do come back and let us know how you get on or if you have any other problems.

Edit: I'm moving this to our Tips, Tricks & Troubleshooting board as it might be helpful to others in the same boat.

[toadhall]

If I'm not mistaken, a Kindle connected via USB to a computer is not sufficient for you to be able to register it on Amazon. You need to connect it via Wifi which is how the Kindle connects to the Internet and is able to "talk" to Amazon and register it.

[Ann in Arlington]

To clarify toadhall's comment. . .you need to connect via WIRELESS to complete the registration.  It can be WiFi or 3G if your device has it.

Assuming you've gone to menu-->settings--> REGISTER and entered your amazon account credentials, I would expect it at that point to prompt you to turn on wireless.  If you're at home and connecting via your own home WiFi network, you'll have to enter your network name and password for the Kindle to be able to connect.  Alternatively, you can go to a public place where there's free WiFi or, if you have a device with 3G it should connect that way automatically.

[Linjeakel]

I think what toadhall and Ann are saying, is that although you can register the Kindle online, until it connects wirelessly, either by wi-fi or 3G, the Kindle itself won't actually know it's registered. But I think all you have to do is connect - I don't think you have to go through the registration process again on the Kindle if you've already done it online, for the process to be completed.

The USB connection is for charging and loading books onto your Kindle when you don't have wireless access.

[Ann in Arlington]

Linda has summarized it perfectly!  It's a question of the Kindle knowing it's registered.

[jimberry]

Thanks!

So - "don't click the icon in the task bar, but right-click the Kindle folder in Windows Explorer (My Computer) then select 'Eject'".

Since the onscreen message is just "please eject" and the "tooltip" for the taskbar "Safely remove" icon is "Safely remove Hardware and Eject Media" it is not surprising that Kindle newbies are misled into thinking that "Eject" is the same as "Safely remove".
And since "Eject" in this case doesn't really eject anything from Kindle-like devices, I guess it really should be called something else.  (Maybe it's Windows that is a "lemon" ;-) )

It seems a bit arbitrary to limit internet connection to wi-fi, but I guess I can live with downloading via DSL and then transferring to the Kindle.

Completing the registration can probably wait until I can find a working public wi-fi network.

[Ann in Arlington]

If you have DSL internet you could get yourself a wifi router and have your own network. . .they're not very expensive and it really is a lot easier than than downloading and transferring via the computer.

Besides confirming the registration, the first time you connect wirelessly will open up some other features, like collections.

There are kindles that you can get that have 3G wireless as well as the wifi.  Amazon pays the ATT bill so it's not surprising to me that they restrict it to getting stuff from Amazon.

[jimberry]

> get yourself a wifi router
Yes that could be an answer - I have been considering adding a wireless extender to augment my existing "wired" network, anyway.
But do you know what is the technical restriction preventing access directly via a DSL connection? Isn't a connection just a connection? What's the significant distinction in this regard between "wireless" and DSL?

[Morf]

The technical restriction is that when you are using a USB cable to connect your Kindle to your PC your Kindle not directly accessing your DSL.

To explain...

When your Kindle is working normally and has a wifi connection to DSL (or a 3G connection) you could consider it to be an "intelligent" device - it is able to connect to the internet as a client.

Once you plug your Kindle into your PC, it effectively stops being an intelligent device, and it becomes a "dumb" device, effectively no different from a pen drive or memory stick: it becomes a slave to your PC and your PC can store books into the Kindle's memory. Although your PC is connected to the Internet, the Kindle is not because it has gone into "dumb" mode.

When you eject it and remove it, the Kindle comes back alive again and sees the books that have been added to its memory.

If the Kindle had an Ethernet socket in it, you could connect it to your wired network and it would work as an intelligent device that way, but sadly it doesn't have.

Practically, the options you have are:

1) Find an open wifi connection (I believe other people have used McDonalds etc), let your Kindle finish its registration that way, and then do all other book downloads via your PC.
2) Get a WiFi router.
3) Return the Kindle and buy a 3G version instead, so you can use 3G (ie cell phone network) to connect and download.

For completeness, I should also add that there are a couple of very technical options but I doubt if anybody on here would be able to help you do these (I know I can't):

4) If your PC has wifi as well as wired ethernet (eg a laptop) there are probably ways of getting it to act as a bridge to provide wireless connection; I have no idea how.
5) I believe that the latest Kindles have something in their firmware that lets them do networking over USB (I've seen this in connection with the jailbreak) so theoretically you could use your PC as a router and enable USB networking, I've no idea how you do this and it would probably invalidate the warranty.

[jimberry]

If you have DSL internet you could get yourself a wifi router and have your own network. . .they're not very expensive and it really is a lot easier than than downloading and transferring via the computer. ]

In fact, that is how the local library network is set up, and I have still not been able to connect after numerous attempts on several visits, so I am not convinced that it would work any better on my own network, so if I do get a wifi router it will be for other reasons, and I won't depend on being able to connect the kindle.

I was able to connect ONCE at different branch of the same library system in a nearby town last week, but went back there this morning and had no luck.

[jimberry]

Well, I did purchase a new WiFi/ADSL2+ modem/router, and contrary to my expectations, the Kindle has worked fine with it, no hitches at all.

[Morf]

Glad to hear everything's OK now!