When you first receive your Kindle ereader, the small selection of screensavers that come with the device look awesome and are a joy to see every time you close it.
But over time they can get a bit boring…
Which is why I’m here to show you 3 ways to change the screensaver on your Kindle ereader.
The first is really easy to do.
You can change the screensaver to the front cover of the book you’re currently reading.
To set Kindle screensaver as a book cover, simply follow the instructions:
Press the power button to switch to screensaver, and you should now see that this has changed to the current book you are reading.
So now you’ll never forget which book you are currently on.
Alternatively, you could create your own custom front cover using any graphics package and then save it in PDF format.
Then use an online site to convert from PDF to MOBI.
Now follow the instructions in section 1. To display the cover of the book you’re currently reading. When you have finished reading, simply switch to the custom cover and voila, the new cover is set as the screensaver.
It may sound strange to remove boring repetitive screensavers with annoying ads (or Special Offers), but I have spoken to several people that have done this and quite like them.
Ways you can cheaply replace you Kindle for one with ads, include;
Personally, I would only go down this route if you have a Kindle that you intend to replace, and even then, you need to seriously consider whether you want include ads, as you will not be able to remove them if you change your mind.
You could of course jailbreak your device.
Jailbreak involves installing third-party firmware (i.e not licenced by Amazon) allowing you access to the main filesystem. From there you can upload a multitude of images which will cycle round as a screensaver.
I go into this in detail in Before You Jailbreak Your Kindle Consider This which discusses the issues you will face.
Ultimately, it’s a choice as to whether you want to jailbreak your Kindle or not. But for the sake of having a different screensaver, it really is not worth it.
There have been rumors that the new Kindle Paperwhite 5, due for release later this year, will provide the option to upload images to be displayed on the screensaver.
It’s just one of many features I discuss on my Kindle Paperwhite 2021 wish list.
Changing your Kindle screensaver to something more personal is tricky, as Amazon has “locked down” the firmware making it near impossible to customize yourself.
You can change the default screensaver images to a book cover, but even this is restricted to the book you are currently reading.
The alternative would be to jailbreak or hack the firmware, allowing you access to the root filesystem but this does have its drawbacks as you no longer have the latest firmware revision that is not authorized by Amazon.
It may be better to wait to see if the new Kindle releases will make this process easier.
