I’ve been happily using my Amazon Fire tablet for more than a year, not just for reading books but for looking at newspapers, working the NYT crossword puzzles, and even doing a little shopping. This is mostly after I go to bed and am not using my laptop.

Last night out of curiosity I tapped the icon on the main screen that has a Zen calligraphy circle and says Amazon Al . . . under it. I didn’t know it was Alexa, I don’t use Alexa and don’t want anything to do with it.

The next thing that happens is that “Alexa” is welcoming me to my “new” Fire and asking me to register it. I don’t want to do this. I can’t back out. There is no back or escape option.

I try to skip forward, but it won’t let me unless I register. I go around in circles. Finally I shut the damn thing off, hoping it will clear. Nope. Back into the same loop. So, really irritated, I register the damn thing.

Then:

• The interface changes. A lot of stuff pops up or has prominent labels that weren’t there before.
• I’m forced to sign on with a password instead of just using the swipe to sign on. Annoying, unnecessary extra step.
• AND . . . all my bookmarks are gone. Everything has been wiped.

So without telling me where that button would take me, without any kind of warning, I entered a one-way tunnel that cleared out everything I’d been using the device for.

This is a dirty trick and I am fuming.

Is there any way back? Do you know? Or do I just have to start all over again?

I feel like biting the thing. Hard.

Topics: tablet, Amazon, fire, DAMN IT, furious, lost data, alexa, unauthorized reset