Many people want to custom screensaver on their Kindle device. But this is not an easy job. Unlike setting screensaver on cellphone or computer, changing screensaver on Kindle device is much more complex. You need to jailbreak the device first. Then you have to install some other files on the device or modify some system files. For tablet like Kindle Fire, changing Kindle Fire screensaver is not that difficult. But for Kindle e-ink ebook reader, the process may be much more complicated. This article will tell you how to change screensaver on the most popular e-ink reader —— Kindle Paperwhite.
Tips: To turn off the Ads on Kindle PaperWhite, please read the guide on How to Remove Ads from Kindle eReaders, Kindle Fire.
Step 1. Jailbreak Kindle Paperwhite
You may hate hearing words like jailbreak, root, hacking. They sound so complicated and may cause the device bricked. But this is a must-have step for changing screensaver. So don't hesitate, just follow this tutorial and jailbreak your Kindle Paperwhite: How to Jailbreak Kindle Paperwhite.
If you do as the tutorial says, the device won't get bricked easily.
Step 2. Install screensaver hack
Now you have to install some files on the device. We need two files: the Python pack and the screensaver hack. Click here to download these two files: kindle-python-0.8.N.zip and kindle-linkss-0.15.N.zip.
First we need to install the Python pack. Extract kindle-python-0.x.N.zip file and you can see the update_python_0.x.N_install.bin file.
Connect Kindle Paperwhite to computer and copy this file to the root directory. Then eject the device and go to Menu – Setting – Menu. Choose "Update your Kindle" and wait for the updating process finishes. Then connect Paperwhite to computer again.
Second, we need to install the screensaver hack. The process is as the same as above. Extract kindle-linkss-0.1x.N.zip file and copy the update_linkss_0.1x.N_install.bin file to the root directory of Kindle Paperwhite.
Eject Kindle Paperwhite from computer and update it again. After updating finishes, connect the device to computer. You will find three new folders at the root directory.
Open the "linkss" folder and you'll find a folder called "screensaver". This is where you put the screensaver.
Now just put the new screensaver to this folder and everything is done. Remember that the new screensaver should be a .png file and has a dimension of 758*1024. You can get more screensaver from this post:7 Places to Download Kindle Screensavers
Jonny Greenwood joined Epubor since 2011, loves everything about eBooks and eReaders. He seeks the methods to read eBooks more freely and wants to share all he has got with you.
The links are fixed and I upgrade them to newer versions.
Hi,
I also installed KUAL on my Paperwhite 2 - if I copy a new pic into the folder as explained, the screensaver on the paperwhite is not changing...
Its kind of transparent.
Can you please help me?
Hi Carlos,
I guess it's because your current firmware version is higher than the python pack version in the article.
You can search " kindle-python-0.x" in Google, try to find a newer version.
Will this work on the latest Kindle Paperwhite?
I just bought one yesterday :) ..its the 2nd gen apparently.
Excellent article btw, the easiest and most concise, thank you.
Hopefully I can get these nasty default images changed :)
which can change some files in the kindle system. The screensaver images are in /usr/share/blanket/screensaver. Maybe you have to downgrade your kindle to use that.
Unless you are already rooted/jailbroken, you can forget this on firmware 5.6.x as Amazon have made it currently impossible to jailbreak without soldering.
I'll shortly be updating my blog with a full article on the options you may have depending on FW - wcs.bz
Darryl
kindle-python-0.8.N.zip and kindle-linkss-0.15.N.zip.
Can not download
The update button is not available. It is light grey
When i paste the update_python_0.x.N_install.bin into the root directory and eject my kindle, the update kindle button is not available to be pressed (as if there were no outstanding updates). I reconnect my kindle to my computer, open it on my computer, and the update_python_0.x.N_install.bin file is no longer there.
Help pls...