Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement

Introduction

My Kindle 4 had a motherboard issue and did not start even after I changed the battery. Fortunately, I found a second Kindle 4 with screen damage to salvage a working motherboard and change it.

Although removing a damaged screen from a Kindle 4 is pretty difficult, changing the motherboard proves much easier. Every single part of the device is glued, but the glue is sensitive to heat and will not be such a bother.

What you need

Step 1 Open front and back covers

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Open front and back covers: step 1, image 1 of 3

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Open front and back covers: step 1, image 2 of 3

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Open front and back covers: step 1, image 3 of 3

Follow the Screen Replacement tutorial up to Step 4
Open the back cover
Remove the front cover
Disconnect the battery

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Step 2 Disconnect cables

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Disconnect cables: step 2, image 1 of 1

Disconnect all flex cables from the board
There are 4 connectors to unclip:
Right buttons
Left buttons
Screen
Battery

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Step 3 Unscrew the board from the back

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Unscrew the board from the back: step 3, image 1 of 1

Unscrew the board from the back
3 Torx screws on this side

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Step 4 Unscrew plastic casing

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Unscrew plastic casing: step 4, image 1 of 1

Unscrew the plastic casing from the front
2 screws

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Step 5 Pop the plastic casing off

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Pop the plastic casing off: step 5, image 1 of 2

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Pop the plastic casing off: step 5, image 2 of 2

Heat the plastic piece to help unglue it
Turn the device and push the piece out through the casing

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Step 6 Unscrew board from the front

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Unscrew board from the front: step 6, image 1 of 1

Unscrew board from the front side
That’s another set of 2 screws !

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Step 7 Remove the board

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Remove the board: step 7, image 1 of 3

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Remove the board: step 7, image 2 of 3

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Remove the board: step 7, image 3 of 3

The board has no more screws left, but it is still glued to the casing
Use some more heat to weaken the glue
Lever the board to unglue
Then, remove it by sliding it out

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Step 8 Taking a peek at the board

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Taking a peek at the board: step 8, image 1 of 2

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Taking a peek at the board: step 8, image 2 of 2

Here is what it looks like with EMC shields removed
Don’t try to remove the shields on your new board, they are directly soldered, and you risk damaging the whole PCB.

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Step 9 Change the board and test

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Change the board and test: step 9, image 1 of 1

If you have another device from which you extract the new motherboard, run steps 1 to 7 again
Place the new motherboard
Before closing it back, test the device
Replug all connectors, connect the battery last
The LED should blink green upon battery reconnexion
Try turning the device on

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Step 10 Reassemble

Kindle 4 Motherboard Replacement, Reassemble: step 10, image 1 of 1

Unplug the battery again
Rescrew the board
Replug the battery
Reassemble the plastic piece holding the buttons, the front cover, and the back cover

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Conclusion

Amazon apparently discontinued service for this model: the service will expect double authentication, which apparently is not implemented in the Kindle firmware.

However, you can still use your Kindle 4 with USB : it is recognized as mass storage, and you can load ebooks in PDF or MOBI format in memory.

Check out the open-source software Caliber to convert your files in a vintage Kindle-friendly format.