The Kindle Fire HD from Amazon.com – which has been renamed simply Fire HD – is one of the most popular and versatile e-readers in the world. The device offers vivid, eye-popping graphics and color, a number of different features not found on a more basic e-reader, and you can purchase Fire HD in a variety of size formats to suit your reading preferences and portability needs.
As with any electronic gadget that operates thanks to an advanced software platform, from time to time you may experience bugs or glitches. While that can be frustrating and confusing, usually the fixes are simple and can get your Fire HD back up and running again right away. Most of the problems users encounter are easy to solve, as long as you know the recommended steps for troubleshooting.
Here are some of the common issues that you may encounter, along with recommended solutions you can try that may remedy the glitch and get you back to reading and enjoying the other features on your Kindle.
How to Reset/Reboot Kindle Fire
You can think of your e-reader as a miniature computer. You are probably aware that when using laptop or desktop computers they sometimes encounter problems that just rebooting them will solve. Oftentimes with a computer if it stops functioning properly or a software program or browser you are using quits responding, turning off the gadget and then turning it back on again will reset it and clear out the problem.
If you own a Kindle Fire HD you’ll want to know how to perform that fundamental do-it-yourself task, because rebooting is often one of the first things to do in a troubleshooting process. There are two ways to perform the task – one is called a “soft” reboot, and that is done by just sliding the power switch and holding it in place for 20-30 seconds. Doing that initiates an actual reboot of the device, versus just turning it off. After you release the power switch a reboot screen should appear, and the reboot normally takes a couples of minutes to complete. So note the time, wait about 90-120 seconds, and then turn your Kindle Fire HD back on and it see if that fixed the problem you were having.
To do a more powerful reset that will return your reader all the way back to its factory settings, you swipe down from the upper part of the screen and then tap “More.” Select “Settings-Device” and at the end of that menu you should see the option “Reset to Factory Defaults.”
Because resetting to those defaults will erase all of your personal data you will see a warning before you proceed. Be sure you really want to take this step before doing so, because your personal saved data may be valuable to you and it will all be removed. A “hard” reset to factory settings will take several minutes as the device restores itself and then it will automatically reboot.
Screen Freeze
When your screen locks up or freezes you can perform a “soft” reboot to clear out any bugs. If that doesn’t do the trick, it could mean that your battery is not sufficiently charged. Plug in the Kindle to its charger and try to turn the device on again. If the battery is completely dead leave the device on the charger for at least an hour and then see if you can turn it on without problems.
Wi-Fi Connectivity Problems
When your Kindle loses its Wi-Fi connection, you may want to turn off the device and turn it back on again to see if that works. If not, check your device settings under “More-Wireless.” If airplane mode has been activated then you won’t be able to connect to Wi-Fi, so make sure that airplane mode is not activated. Is the Kindle Fire battery fully charged? When nothing seems to work you may need to reset the Kindle to its factory settings or call customer service for additional tech support.
Computer Connectivity Problems
What if your Kindle Fire HD isn’t communicating with your computer and interfering with your ability to share files between the two devices? Try turning off and back on both the computer and the Kindle to see if that cures the problem. If not, the USB cable you are using could be defective or not plugged in correctly.
If nothing works, you may still be able to move files from one device to the other using an indirect method such as Dropbox – a free file-sharing service. Just activate Dropbox (or a similar service) and put the files you need to move inside of it. Then retrieve them with the device you are trying to transfer them to.
Internal Error Messages
When you see a message saying “an internal error has occurred” you can begin troubleshooting by restarting your Kindle Fire HD, waiting half a minute, and then powering it up again. When that doesn’t fix it, turn off your Internet router and after a half a minute turn it back on again. Occasionally the date and time on your Kindle will be out of synch. Go to settings under “More- Date and Time” and input the correct date and time.
Most of the time you’ll experience no serious problems with the Kindle Fire HD, because it has gone through lots of upgrades and each of those involves multiple tests to ensure reliability and smooth functioning. When a DIY troubleshoot doesn’t solve the problem, contact the manufacturer and ask for technical support.
1 Comment
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