KINDLE USER’S GUIDE 3rd EDITION · 28 ·
1.4 Status Indicators
At the top of every screen, you also see Whispernet and battery life status indicators to
keep you in the know.
WHISPERNET STATUS INDICATORS
The Whispernet status indicator shows you whether the wireless radio is turned on or
off, the signal strength of your Whispernet service, and the connection speed. Here are
the possible indicators and their meanings.
The Whispernet service is active and your Kindle has a strong signal. The more
bars that are filled in with black, the stronger the wireless signal.
None of the bars are filled in. This means the wireless signal strength is too low
to connect. You will not be able to connect to the Kindle Store, Basic Web, register
your device, retrieve content from Archived Items, or receive your subscriptions.
The bars are outlined in grey. This means Whispernet is checking for signal
strength. This usually lasts less than 30 seconds.
The Whispernet service is turned off. You can turn on the wireless by pressing
the Menu button, and using the 5-way controller to navigate to “Turn Wireless On.”
When you activate a menu, a 1X or 3G icon appears to the left
side of the signal bars that indicates the speed of your Whispernet service. The 1X
icon indicates that your Kindle is connected to the 1XRTT wireless network, which is
slower than the 3G Whispernet service. Kindle will automatically switch back to the
faster 3G EVDO network when available.