Kindle Paperwhite Unresponsive Display Problem Solved

I have an old Kindle Paperwhite (generation 1) from 2012. Last year, I bought a sleep cover for it on AliExpress. I could not find a cover for such an old device anywhere else.

I put the Paperwhite in the cover and it worked well for a while, until the display suddenly became unresponsive. It wasn't broken, but it didn't respond to touch.

I guessed that the cover was somehow responsible. I asked many people and checked many websites for an explanation, but to no avail. Most of the so-called 'helpful' comments on forums were 'buy a new one'. These people clearly knew nothing, but apparently felt the need to comment on it anyway.

I put it aside, and many months later, while cleaning my disk and shelves, I stumbled upon it again. I thought, 'Well, let's check again.' This time, I found a page that said, 'Magnets can freeze a touch display'.

I took it out of the cover and started charging it. A few minutes later, the Paperwhite woke up and the display was working properly again.

I checked the cover and found two magnets that hold the top cover and the bottom case together. The magnet in the bottom case was easy to remove, but the one in the top cover needed some work. After removing the magnet from the top cover, I glued it back together using LOCTITE Black Rubber Adhesive for fabric and left it to dry for several hours. Looks nearly the same as before the removal of the magnets.

When I put the Paperwhite back into the case, I found that the sleep function was still working. I read that there is a Hall effect sensor triggered by a magnet in the cover. I searched again and found another magnet in the top cover, in the bottom right corner when closed. This magnet is probably the one that triggers the sensor and is hopefully not problematic to the display.

The problematic magnets were those near the display, which I removed. Let's hope my analysis is correct and that the old Paperwhite still has some time to live.

After the magnet removal operation - the magnets were in the protruding part and at the same position inside the wall of the case:

Like new after removal of the magnets and after the opened fabric was glued back together.