title_body: What are the actual on/off/sleep states for and how do you hard reset a Kindle WiFi? I recently purchased a Kindle device (the current non Touch WiFi model) for an AP. I don't live locally but that doesn't get me off the hook for supporting it. Unfortunately, as my device is the Paperwhite, I am unable to compare with how my device behaves. I recently received this communique:
  
  
    The Kindle will no longer  boot up - if that is the correct term. All I get is a gray screen. If one holds the on button for a few sec it will momentarily go dark but nothing else happens
  
  
  I suspect that the device has never really been turned off and on and is at this juncture just locked up. On my device there is a sleep mode that is the normal way to turn it on or off and when it does lock up it can be very difficult to get it unstuck. However I have never seen a mode that responds with a screen clear (I assume that in the "momentary go dark") but then does nothing.
  
  What mode could this device be stuck in and how do you give in a hard-reset so that the firmware actually does a "cold boot"?
upvoted_answer: As already commented,  plug in the Kindle 4 to the wall or your Mac/PC.  Let it charge for a bit -- even 15 minutes will help.  Leave it plugged in,  and press and hold the power button till the screen flashes. Wait a minute to see if it is doing a reboot. When that probably isn't enough,  do it again.  I've heard the number "5 times"  and I've experienced needing at least 4 times (actually, I wasn't counting).  The screen will flash, and after a few times of this,  it will finally continue past the flash and will begin a full reboot.
  
  After 4 or 5 of these freeze ups, I decided my battery might be aging, and started recharging it every night.  It can't hurt.  I also kept my eye open for a cheap spare K4, just in case.