Amazon: Kindle Users Need To Update Or Lose Connectivity

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Amazon is warning Kindle e-reader users to install a critical software update by Tuesday, March 22. Otherwise they risk the abilities to download Kindle books and access the Kindle Store or Kindle services.

Kindle users would be wise to hop on doing the update as soon as possible ahead of cut-off date to avoid the inconvenience.

Here is a list of affected Kindle devices along with the software versions each should be running:

Users who fail to install the critical update will see an error message flashing across their screen that says that the device is unable to connect to the Internet.

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Those users will have to install the update manually.

Amazon has been nudging customers for a while to install the critical update, an Amazon spokeswoman told InformationWeek.

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"We have actively been contacting customers to encourage them to update their Kindle e-readers for months," the spokeswoman said, noting, "As I'm sure you can appreciate, the number of affected devices is not something we would share."

However, according to a Forbes report, potentially millions of Kindle e-reader customers could be affected. The reported estimated that Amazon sold approximately 2.4 million Kindle e-readers in 2009, a number that rose to 20.1 million Kindle devices in 2012.

When Amazon launched its high-end Kindle Paperwhite in 2012, the Internet e-commerce giant noted at the time it did not have clear visibility into whether it was leading to additional sales for its other products or services. Users who do not do the critical update may find themselves locked out of the Kindle Store and its services.