Some of Xteink’s credit card-sized e-readers are losing their best feature

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Follow Follow See All News Some of Xteink’s credit card-sized e-readers are losing their best feature Xteink is blocking its pocket-friendly e-readers from installing third-party firmware in some parts of the world. Xteink is blocking its pocket-friendly e-readers from installing third-party firmware in some parts of the world. by Andrew Liszewski Close Andrew Liszewski Senior Reporter, News Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

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Follow Follow See All by Andrew Liszewski May 1, 2026, 2:24 PM UTC Link Share Gift The X3 is Xteink’s smallest e-reader. Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge Andrew Liszewski Close Andrew Liszewski Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Andrew Liszewski is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

The Xteink X4 and X3 are excellent alternatives to Kindles and Kobos if you want an e-reader that’s as easy to slip into your pocket – just not out of the box. Both devices come with stock firmware that’s clunky, limited, and occasionally confusing, but that can be easily fixed by plugging them into a PC to install alternative software called CrossPoint Reader which delivers a more polished user interface and improved functionality. But now buyers report Xteink is blocking the upgrade, which might depend on where you live and where you purchase its devices.

The issue was first reported by a Reddit user earlier this week when they discovered the second Xteink X4 they had purchased from Taobao (a Chinese online retailer owned by Alibaba) wasn’t recognized as a USB device by their computer. After confirming their USB-C cable still worked with their original X4, the Reddit user contacted Taobao’s customer service. Instead of being offered a replacement, they received a statement they shared to Reddit explaining that recently shipped devices from Xteink now come with firmware flashing disabled.

The support statement claims some users experienced crashes and other issues after installing third-party firmware, even after reverting to the stock firmware: Previously, we noticed that some users who tried using third-party firmware encountered problems such as poor optimization, frequent crashes, and even screen damage.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.