The description released August 11 at the software update page and at the forums just repeats exactly what the changes were for update v5.4.5 on July 28, 2014 (!)
However, knowledgeable customers say that there were complaints that the footnotes were now not working properly after v5.4.5, and they report that the footnote functioning is working well with this last week's updated release 5.4.5.1.
The links below will work for this update. Below is a copy of what was posted for v5.4.5 on July 28.
Bear in mind, that when it says "v5.4.5" all of it now applies also to v5.4.5.1.
The changes that took effect for v5.4.5 and which still apply for v5.4.5.1
NEW KINDLE PAPERWHITE 2 gets Software Update v5.4.5 has some general improvements and feature enhancements.
Many report never getting automated updates on their E-Ink readers. In that case you can download the update-file and install it manually if wanting to get the feature updates. More on that below.
This update was released last week.
Kindle Paperwhite 2 Software Upgrade to v5.4.5Devices involved: See Paperwhite 2 (US), UK Paperwhite 2: here;
The new, free software update available for Kindle Paperwhite 2 can be found here [U.S. and some international].
[Here's the UK-only software update page]
Amazon's software update page explains how to check the software version currently on your
This update normally automatically downloads and installs on the applicable Kindle
Here are the feature enhancements they describe for update v5.4.5 [Emphases below are mine]
A Reminder about how syncing of your reading between devices and apps is done
- Sync to the Most Recent Page Read
Any books you are reading on your Kindle Paperwhite will now sync to the most recent page read across all Kindle devices and/or reading apps registered to your Amazon account. You can still manually sync your Kindle Paperwhite to go to the furthest page read. To learn more, go to Sync on Your Kindle Paperwhite.- Preview a PDF in Pan-and-Zoom Mode
When viewing a PDF in pan-and-zoom mode, you will now see a small preview window in the margin of the screen.- Read a Sample While Your Physical Book Ships
While you are waiting for select physical books to arrive at your doorstep, you can start reading the book right away by adding a sample of the book to your Kindle library. With this release, these samples will be now available for download in the Cloud tab of your Kindle Paperwhite in addition to your other supported Kindle devices and apps. Any previous samples you have claimed through a physical book purchase will also be available in the Cloud to download. To learn more, go to Read While Your Book Ships.
In order for this to work reliably, the changes to your last page read and any new annotations done (highlighting, notes and bookmarks) must be 'seen' by the servers at Amazon -- this means that your WiFi or 3G wireless connection would need to be 'on' at the time you close the book by tapping the Home icon.
Once the Amazon servers note the changes, they'll be available to the next Kindle-compatible reader or app you open (with Wireless on that device turned On also).
You can turn 'off' the WiFi or 3G Wireless connection after leaving the Kindle book reading, which will help maximize battery use on that device.)
When an eInk screen is displaying a page but there is no change to that screen, the display is having no effect on the battery.
When you change what's being displayed (changing or adding anything on the page, as in tapping it on the side to get a new page or when an action brings a pop-up window or dialog box), the display IS using the battery. That's why just pressing the power button for only ~1 second puts the Kindle to 'sleep' during which it displays an image, which doesn't use the battery, but the Paperwhite light turns off.
Leaving it in this sleep state doesn't draw battery power as a result of the image display itself. If, however, WiFi is On during Sleep state, any activity with subscription downloads or a Special Offers download -will- use battery power.
There is always very slow battery drain in between charges even when a device is turned off.
So, the "Screen Off" is an relatively new choice on mine, I noticed. This just blanks the screen and puts it into sleep state. SOME have requested a blank screen so they know it's "Off" but, in this case, it's only that there's no image seen - not even Amazon's default images during normal sleep-screens.
Mentioned previously also:
"Restart" acts more like a soft-reboot on a computer and clears up memory states that may be causing problems.
There is NO option on my Paperwhite to completely Power Off or Shut down the Kindle. My options are to (1) Cancel a longer key-press action, (2) Restart the Paperwhite (mine is a Paperwhite 1), or (3) choose "Screen Off."
It could be that my dialog box for powering off is different from that seen by others because I chose not to get Special Offers sent to my Paperwhite (I accept Special Offers on my Kindle Fire tablets) and, therefore, blanking the screen with a "Screen Off" does not interfere with the marketing offers on the lockscreen.
Some may choose to get the offers on the Paperwhite and, as a result, may not get the 'Screen Off' option. That's just conjecture on my part.
But, in that case, they seem to get the option to 'shut down' the Kindle.
Also, in my case, holding in the power button for over 20 seconds (rather than 5 seconds) does still cause a Restart (and a clearing of current memory use), as in the past.
IF you experience unusual battery drain
Note that keeping your Kindle always connected to a Wi-Fi network can drain the battery faster under certain circumstances. If you're experiencing that, then once you've got the update "over the air," put the Paperwhite back to "Airplane Mode ON" via the 'Settings' option on the Menu -- the option lets you toggle Wireless OFF, using the "Airplane On" choice.
Amazon's Paperwhite development team won't return the Wireless Off/On choice to the front menu as they did last year for the Kindle Touch, removing the 'airplane mode' icon which confuses many. It's very inconvenient to have the WiFi On/Off setting on a secondary menu and many, as a result, don't even know that they can turn WiFi Off if needed.
Amazon probably prefers that we keep Wireless 'On' due to delivery of Special Offers but the battery-drain problem can occur when circumstances involve (1) subscriptions that are downloaded regularly (my New York Times Latest News subscription updates the Kindle edition about five times a day - $1.99/month)) or (2) due to a weaker connection that results from the distance from the WiFi router, in which case the device keeps trying to connect when a download is due (and that can be for the special offers that Amazon regularly needs to send for those who choose to opt for the less-expensive model with the special-offers feature) and is then constantly active.
BUT, again, WiFi needs to be 'On' after you've read a book and made annotations for a session AND when you then want to be able to continue reading later, on another device (like a smartphone), starting at where you'd stopped.
If WiFi isn't turned on, the Amazon servers won't have any way of knowing the last-page-read location nor any notes or highlighting you've made, which you'd want to be able to access on the other device. So, a reminder on my usual recommendation:
1. When you're finished reading, tap the top-toolbar and press the HOME icon.
That will 'close' the book session and record the last page read and log the annotations.
2. Tap the top of the Paperwhite to bring up the toolbar and menu icon.
3. If you see an airplane icon at the top, your WiFi is Off (and you're in "airplane" take-off mode).
4. Tap 'Settings'
5. Turn Airplane Mode OFF, and that'll turn WiFi ON.
6. At that point, the Kindle will try to sync your changes to the Server and will download anything that is pending (a subscription to a newspaper, magazine, or blog, usually).
7. After that's done, you can go ahead and leave WiFi ON if you have no problems with faster battery drain
OR you can turn OFF the WiFi if you need to save battery power.
Only if you'd rather not wait -- DOWNLOADING and transferring the Update via USB
US: Go to the Kindle Paperwhite Software Update v5.4.5 download section to get the instructions for the download and transfer to your Kindle via USB:
UK: UK Paperwhite eReader owners can do the same for the UK-only page
Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers. Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.
*Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE. Or click on the web browser's BACK button
Here's hoping the PW1 gets this as well. Actually I only care about 'sync to most recent'. It is occasionally annoying to switch between my Fire HD and Android (which like 'most recent') to the PW1 only to find furthest read lost in the footnotes somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to find the PW1 unreliable for me when it comes to sync'g most recent page. But the software is programmed to be so flexible these days on that feature, it can be confusing :-)
DeleteI just got what I think was my first ever auto update on my PW2. I usually run with airplane mode on -- this dramatically reduces battery consumption. With airplane mode on, and the device powered off, I have the equivalent (or as near as you can get on a PW2) to a deep power off state -- I can go for days with PW2 in this state, with no noticeable diminution in available battery power.
ReplyDeleteI had just finished reading a book, turned airplane mode off so I could update my cloud collections, and read any subscribed blog posts. After about 10 minutes it started the update -- it's done now and it says I'm on 5.4.5.1 (I had manually updated via side-loading to 5.4.5 about a week ago). Since I don't use/read footnotes -- this was not anything I needed :grin.
Edward, I remember my Kindle 1 and 2 could go for 3 weeks to a month without needing to recharge! The Paperwhite with WiFi Off, not nearly as long. As you may have noticed in the blog entry, I'm a bear about keeping WiFi Off.
DeleteI read most of the book 'Musicophilia' and it was something like 50% footnotes. They were so interesting I just kept reading the footnotes one after another, as if they were a book :-)
I thought you read non-fiction quite a bit. Those usually have a lot of footnotes. (Or should.)
Thanks for the feedback!
Well I have tons of technical books -- mostly in PDF. They are all on my KFHD 8.9. I don't read them so much as use them for reference. Most of these don't make extensive use of footnotes.
DeleteMy PW2 is almost all mass market fiction (there are about 600 of these in collections of which maybe 200 are actually on the PW2 -- about 40 are in the To Be Read collection -- the rest are in the Already read collection)
I read about two or three non-fiction books a year, and they too don't make much use of footnotes -- I'm not at all into academic stuff where footnotes are used extensively.
Edward, your To-Read collection sounds daunting, since you actually read the books you buy. (A few are more like hoarders when good free and low-cost books are available for only a short while.)
Delete