{"id":238365,"date":"2026-05-02T16:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T20:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/02\/xteink-blocks-installation-of-custom-firmware-on-some-ereaders-launches-a-new-android-powered-model\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T18:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T22:35:08","slug":"xteink-blocks-installation-of-custom-firmware-on-some-ereaders-launches-a-new-android-powered-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/02\/xteink-blocks-installation-of-custom-firmware-on-some-ereaders-launches-a-new-android-powered-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Xteink blocks installation of custom firmware on some eReaders, launches a new Android-powered model"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xteink blocks installation of custom firmware on some eReaders, launches a new Android-powered model<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/liliputing.com\/xteink-blocks-installation-of-custom-firmware-on-some-ereaders-launches-a-new-android-powered-model\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-02 16:12:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: liliputing.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: Some links on this page are monetized by the Skimlinks, Amazon, Rakuten Advertising, and eBay, affiliate programs, and Liliputing may earn a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on those links. All prices are subject to change, and this article only reflects the prices available at time of publication.<\/p>\n

The Xteink X3 and Xteink X4 are cheap tiny eBook readers small enough to fit in your pocket or even affix to the back of your phone, allowing you to take a 3.7 or 4.3 inch E Ink screen everywhere you go and catch up on your reading at any time.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s really made these little devices from Xteink go viral in recent months is the fact that while the default software that runs on them is\u2026 not good, there\u2019s an excellent open source firmware replacement called CrossPoint Reader that makes Xteink\u2019s tiny eReaders truly useful. Unfortunately it looks like Xteink is now blocking some users from install CrossPoint Reader or other custom firmware\u2026 but there are a few rays of hope.<\/p>\n

Xteink X4 with CrossPoint Reader (via CrossPoint Reader GitHub)<\/p>\n

A few days ago folks started posting in reddit that Xteink was blocking installation of third-party firmware on Xteink X3 and X4 units\u00a0that were bought from Chinese retailers like Taobao.<\/p>\n

According to a message sent to customers, Xteink was doing this because \u201csome users who tried using third-party firmware encountered problems such as poor optimization, frequent crashes, and even screen damage\u201d and the company decided that rather than telling customers that it wouldn\u2019t offer official repair services to devices that had CrossPoint Reader or other unofficial firmware installed, it would be easier to just block users from installing it in the first place.<\/p>\n

But\u2026 Xteink also appears to be well aware that part of the reason its devices have become so popular is that they\u00a0can run unofficial firmware. So while the company says it is planning to improve the software that ships on its devices, Xteink…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xteink blocks installation of custom firmware on some eReaders, launches a new Android-powered model https:\/\/liliputing.com\/xteink-blocks-installation-of-custom-firmware-on-some-ereaders-launches-a-new-android-powered-model\/…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":238366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/liliputing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/xteink-s4.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-238365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-android"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238365"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238365"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238367,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238365\/revisions\/238367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}