Windows 10’s Anniversary Update has been a fairly smooth rollout for Microsoft thus far, but some significant problems have still cropped up at various points. There have been major problems with webcams due to changes in Windows 10 Anniversary Edition’s supported standards — and now there are apparently problems with various Kindle devices as well.
So far, the problems seem isolated to the Kindle ebook readers rather than Kindle Fire tablets, and, like many problems, it’s not affecting everyone. Some readers have reported that the issue only hits USB 3.0 ports, while others have issues across the entire system. It’s also been reported that some devices work perfectly if you connect the Kindle while the system is off, then turn it on again. Disconnecting and reconnecting the Kindle post-boot will still cause a crash and booting the system with the ebook reader connected doesn’t solve the problem for everyone, either.




Based on the type and nature of the complaints, it could be an issue with certain USB chipsets. This would explain why USB 3.0 causes the problem for some people but not others, and why both USB2 and USB3 are affected on some systems. What’s less clear is why the problem is hitting the Kindle family in particular. Some reports have indicated that the Kindle Paperwhite is primarily affected, but Microsoft’s user forums contain reports of people having trouble with other devices as well, including the high-end Kindle Voyage. There’s no word on whether this problem affects the Kindle Oasis, Amazon’s latest premium device.


If your Kindle is refusing to play nice with Windows 10, we’d suggest trying a different type of USB port, rebooting with the device already plugged in, or even using a USB port hub (some individuals have reported this resolved the situation).
 
Microsoft is aware of the problem and has released a short statement saying: “We are aware of an issue with a small number of Kindle Voyager and Paperwhite e-Readers causing an unexpected behavior when plugged into Windows 10 devices after installing the Anniversary Update. We are currently working on an update to address this issue.”
So far the Windows 10 Anniversary Update seems to have rolled out mostly smoothly, issues with webcams and Kindles notwithstanding. The problem does seem limited to Kindle devices, specifically, and a test of several other tablets (Acer Iconia, Nvidia Shield) revealed no problems when we plugged them into the USB ports of an Intel X79 motherboard.