Amazon: Don’t Install the Kindle for iOS Update We Just Sent You

Amazon is warning iPhone and iPad users not to install the latest update to Kindle for iOS after discovering a nasty bug in it. “Note: There is a known issue with this update,” the text accompanying the update reads. “If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install this update at this time.”

Installing the update deregisters iOS Kindles, deleting libraries, bookmarks and other settings from them. But not permanently. Kindle purchases are backed up in the cloud, and can be downloaded once again by re-registering.

So a black eye for Amazon, but not a total disaster, though there’s plenty of outcry on Apple’s iTunes App Store over the debacle. “Thank you new update for erasing all of my saved settings,” one peeved user wrote. “Now I have to go through my hundreds of books to find the ones I haven’t read and change all of my screen settings.”

Amazon told AllThingsD that it’s aware of the issue and is working on a fix.

“We have identified an issue with the app update that may cause your app to become deregistered,” a company spokesperson told AllThingsD. “To register, enter your Amazon account email address and password and all your Amazon content will be available in the cloud. We have submitted an update fix for this issue and are working with Apple to release.”

That update must still go through Apple’s App Store review process, though. So, while a fix exists, Amazon must wait for the company’s approval to distribute it. Sources close to Apple say an expedited review is under way. Broken Kindles on iPhones and iPads aren’t good for its business, either.