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Amazon comes clean about how the 3G shutdown will affect older Kindles
Some customers get a free Kindle Oasis, some get a $50-70 discount for a new one and just two weeks to take advantage of it
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Last month, we asked Amazon what was going to happen when AT&T's planned 3G shutdown in 2022 lands — an important question, as the company's Whispernet-branded 3G connectivity for many Kindle devices would be affected, since it piggybacks on AT&T's network. In some cases, as with particularly old Kindles missing Wi-Fi, this shutdown would mean they'd stop working entirely. While the company wouldn't answer our questions at the time, now it's emailing affected device owners explaining they'll get a $50-70 discount towards a new Kindle and $15-25 in eBook credit, and Amazon tells us that Kindle 1st gen owners are outright getting a free Kindle Oasis.
What's going to happen to your Kindle after the AT&T 3G shutdown?
We hope for the best, but Amazon's not saying
AT&T's plans to shut down its 3G network next year will have a wider impact on devices than just your uncle's dated flip phone. Although AT&T is handing out free smartphones to affected subscribers, there's one other big category of gadgets that will be affected by the shutdown, and so far, none of the companies involved have said a word about what they're going to do. See, Amazon's 3G Kindles for most of the last decade use AT&T's network for their Whispernet data connections. So, what's going to happen to all the 3G-connected Kindles out there when they don't have data anymore?It's a big question, and we asked Amazon about it as we spent the last month trying to dig up details about it, but the company refused to answer our repeated inquiries on the subject. Whatever it's planning is still secret — and that's assuming it's not just going to leave 3G Kindle owners in the lurch after AT&T refarms its spectrum. Some 3G Kindles also have Wi-Fi, but not all do, which means some models may effectively turn into bricks or live their life tethered with sideloaded ebooks.In the absence of an official explanation or roadmap, we reached out to a couple of network and device analysts for expert commentary on the possibilities.