Kindle Screen Saver Hack for all 2.x, 3.x & 4.x Kindles

Many thanks to clarknova (screen saver hack), porkupan (jailbreak hack) and NiLuJe (revised jailbreak and screen saver hacks).

Note: Amazon does not support 3rd party hacks and may void your warranty should anything go wrong. Exercise caution and use at your own risk. Only the user will be responsible for the results (good or bad).

Please visit NiLuJe's Fonts & ScreenSavers hacks for Kindles thread on MobileRead. This is the jailbreak and screen saver hack I will be describing.

WARNING: Use at your own risk!  This is an UNOFFICIAL update to allow custom Kindle Screen Savers. 
This file is NOT from Amazon.com and any harm it causes your Kindle will be your own fault.

Software: Fonts & ScreenSavers hacks for Kindle 2.x, 3.x & 4.x

Which Kindle Do You Have

Check the Kindle Serial Numbers page for detailed instructions. In particular, the Nicknames column will be the key to pinpointing the exact update file you'll have to use.

How to install the Jailbreak Hack

Note for Kindle 4 Users:
Please skip this section and refer to the Wiki instead.

Note for Kindle Touch/PaperWhite/PaperWhite 2 Users:
While this is out of the scope of this specific wiki page, know that all of this is also possible for your device! Look at the K5 thread for more information.

1) Download and unzip the kindle-jailbreak-0.13.N.zip file. [Note: If you have used the jailbreak previously on your Kindle (when installing the font hack), there is no need to re-install it].

Note for Kindle 3.0.x, 3.1.x & 3.2 Users:
Please use the file corresponding to your kindle model suffixed by -3.0-to-3.2, the other one won't work on these older FW versions, while this one won't work on newer FW versions. Check your Settings page if you're unsure of what FW your Kindle is running.

"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k2_install.bin" - Kindle 2 US
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k2i_install.bin" - Kindle 2 International
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_dx_install.bin" - Kindle DX US
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_dxi_install.bin" - Kindle DX International
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_dxg_install.bin" - Kindle DX Graphite
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k3g_install.bin" - Kindle 3 3G US
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k3w_install.bin" - Kindle 3 WiFi
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k3gb_install.bin" - Kindle 3 3G UK
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k3g-3.0-to-3.2_install.bin" - Kindle 3 3G US (Only if running FW <= 3.2.0)
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k3w-3.0-to-3.2_install.bin" - Kindle 3 WiFi (Only if running FW <= 3.2.0)
"Update_jailbreak_0.13.N_k3gb-3.0-to-3.2_install.bin" - Kindle 3 3G UK (Only if running FW <= 3.2.0)

2) Attach your Kindle to a computer using the USB cable. Copy the appropriate jailbreak bin file to the root of your Kindle.

3) Safely eject & unplug your Kindle from your computer. To apply the update, on your Kindle Home screen, click Menu > Settings > Menu > Update Your Kindle. If "Update Your Kindle" is grayed out, you either did not put the bin file in the root folder or used the wrong file for your Kindle.

On FW 2.x only, the jailbreak update process will FAIL (with a U006 error in the lower left corner of the screen) but that's okay, it's supposed to. :)

To remove the jailbreak (if you somehow want to get rid of it... There's no practical reason to do this though ;)) use the same process described substituting the appropriate "uninstall" bin file.

How to install the Screen Saver Hack (Does Not Work For Kindles With Special Offers)

Note for Kindle Touch/PaperWhite/PaperWhite 2 Users:
While this is out of the scope of this specific wiki page, know that all of this is also possible for your device! Look at the K5 thread for more information.

1) Download and unzip the kindle-ss-0.47.N.zip file.

2) Attach your Kindle to a computer using the USB cable.

3) Copy the appropriate ss bin file to the root of your Kindle.

"Update_ss_0.47.N_k2_install.bin" - K2 US
"Update_ss_0.47.N_k2i_install.bin" - K2 International
"Update_ss_0.47.N_dx_install.bin" - Kindle DX US
"Update_ss_0.47.N_dxi_install.bin" - Kindle DX International
"Update_ss_0.47.N_dxg_install.bin" - Kindle DX Graphite
"Update_ss_0.47.N_k3g_install.bin" - Kindle 3 3G US
"Update_ss_0.47.N_k3w_install.bin" - Kindle 3 WiFi
"Update_ss_0.47.N_k3gb_install.bin" - Kindle 3 3G UK
"Update_ss_0.47.N_k4_install.bin" - Kindle 4

4) Safely eject & unplug your Kindle from your computer. To apply the update, on your Kindle Home screen, click Menu > Settings > Menu > Update Your Kindle. If "Update Your Kindle" is grayed out, you either did not put the bin file in the root folder or used the wrong file for your Kindle model.

5) Plug your Kindle to the computer and place your 600x800 (824x1200 if you have a DX) image files (png or jpeg) into the "linkss/screensavers" folder.

5b) If you want to randomize (at boot) the order in which your screensavers will appear, drop a blank "random" file in the "linkss" folder. (By copying and renaming the existing "autoreboot" blank file, for example)

5c) If you want to shuffle your screensavers each time an autoreboot is triggered, drop a blank "shuffle" file in the "linkss" folder. (By copying and renaming the existing "autoreboot" blank file, for example)

Anytime you want to change your screen saver images just drop a blank "reboot" file in the "linkss" folder (or in the "linkfonts" folder if you also have the Fonts Hack installed) after you've made your changes and you'll be good to go.

Alternatively, you can also reboot your device properly, by clicking Menu > Settings > Menu > Restart.

To remove the screen saver hack, just copy the appropriate "uninstall" bin file to the root of your Kindle and update. Note that, since the v0.6.N, you shouldn't have to deactivate/uninstall it in order to be able to install official Amazon updates!

How to Update the Screen Saver Hack

First of all, no need to touch the jailbreak again. You already installed it the first time you installed hacks. Just forget about it now ;).

Next, no need to run the Update_*_uninstall.bin update, ever. (except in some very specific cases, like if you're updating from another screen saver hack [in which case you should use the original uninstaller for your hack, and not the one found here]).

Then, you can apply the latest Update_*_install.bin update.

After that, to make sure everything's in order, do a full Restart of your Kindle, and you'll be good to go.

Basically, just do a full install of the hack like described here, and then restart your Kindle (Menu > Settings > Menu > Restart).