Is Amazon shipping Kindles running older-generation software? That seems to be the scenario. As Nathan of the e-Book Reader Blog pointed out, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition that he bought during Prime Day came with software that dates back to last year. While that might appear to be a huge oversight on Amazon’s part, it is more likely that the device was from an earlier batch that has been sitting in the retailer’s warehouse. Such a Kindle may be especially prone to jailbreaking.
Updating each of the Kindle devices would not only be time-consuming but would also significantly add to the cost. Amazon, not surprisingly, opted for the easier route, which is to ship the Kindles anyway and have them updated via the OTA route. This is exactly what happened with the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition that Nathan bought. The Kindle, which was running a software version 5.17.x, got updated to 5.18.3 during the setup process.
Normally, this should not be of any significance as companies do ship products from an earlier lot, and it is not necessary; they always run the latest software right out of the box. Rather, those get updated subsequently over time. However, Amazon shipping a brand-new Kindle running an older software might be of interest to those who’d like to jailbreak the Kindle.
There is the WinterBreak jailbreak, which first arrived on the scene early this year and is capable of jailbreaking any Kindle device running 5.18.0.1.0.1 or earlier. That makes even the latest generation of Kindle Paperwhite vulnerable to jailbreaking. Amazon quickly came up with the 5.18.1 software update to cover up the loophole that the jailbreak exploited.
So, anyone who gets a new Kindle running older software, make sure you turn the airplane mode on right away. This will ensure the device is open to jailbreaking if that is what you are inclined to do. Otherwise, it is recommended you install all the updates that you come across, as this will let you have all the latest features that Amazon introduced subsequently. Prime among those is the double-tap page-turn feature that is very convenient and allows for a seamless reading experience.