3 ms·

You are correct, you can sideload, but as soon as you open them in your Kindle, they get an Amazon-DRM; so you can't read the very same files on another e-reade

You are correct, you can sideload, but as soon as you open them in your Kindle, they get an Amazon-DRM; so you can't read the very same files on another e-reader. And - as soon as you go online with your Kindle - said DRM is checked and all non Amazon books deleted. At least, that was the case 10 years ago: I still own a Paperwhite 1st Gen which is now basically defunct. I switched to a Poke 5P (Onyx) and was surprised at the tons of features. No ads, no DRM and reads basically all formats. Win. I downloaded all my Amazon-bought books, so I can still read them on PC, but otherwise I'm done with their product.

loeg 2y ago
I've literally never run into the problems you are describing. It might be true (it seems implausible but I don't know), but it is not a significant factor in day to day ergonomics. Text crispness, page turning speed, battery life, physical dimensions are all much bigger factors in an ereader IMO.
WillPostForFood 2y ago
you can sideload, but as soon as you open them in your Kindle, they get an Amazon-DRM; so you can't read the very same files on another e-reader. Not true and never has been. The Kindle will make no changes to sideloaded files.
- adhamsalama 2y ago
  Other than deleting them.
carlosjobim 2y ago
What you wrote is completely untrue. I have myriad of books on my Kindle which are not on Amazon, and they are not deleted. Neither does anything weird happen to them.
- jestersarmed 2y ago
  [dead]
  - carlosjobim 2y ago
    I get my books from different sources than Amazon. I can transfer these to my Kindle by e-mail or Calibre, without any issue. And they stay there on the Kindle and work fine. I also sync these books from my computer to other devices, Android and iOS, and they work fine also. Use EPUB file format and your books will work on all devices, including Kindle.
    - loeg 2y ago
      > Use EPUB file format and your books will work on all devices, including Kindle. My Kindle won't open EPUB files, only AZW3. But it is easy to convert with Calibre. The rest is true in my experience. Loading non-DRM AZW3 books works fine; Kindle doesn't magically add DRM to them nor delete them. If you're getting books from Amazon with DRM, you don't need to sideload them!
fastball 2y ago
It sounds like you are trying to move DRM'd books you bought from Amazon to another Kindle, which is indeed not possible – that is the purpose of DRM. You'd need to strip the DRM for that to work. But as other commenters noted, if you sideload ebooks which do not already have DRM on them, the Kindle will certainly not add any sort of DRM to the files. This is true both if you sideload via USB or even if you use the "email to Kindle" feature.

loeg 2y ago

I've literally never run into the problems you are describing. It might be true (it seems implausible but I don't know), but it is not a significant factor in day to day ergonomics. Text crispness, page turning speed, battery life, physical dimensions are all much bigger factors in an ereader IMO.

WillPostForFood 2y ago

you can sideload, but as soon as you open them in your Kindle, they get an Amazon-DRM; so you can't read the very same files on another e-reader. Not true and never has been. The Kindle will make no changes to sideloaded files.

adhamsalama 2y ago
Other than deleting them.

carlosjobim 2y ago

What you wrote is completely untrue. I have myriad of books on my Kindle which are not on Amazon, and they are not deleted. Neither does anything weird happen to them.

jestersarmed 2y ago
[dead]
- carlosjobim 2y ago
  I get my books from different sources than Amazon. I can transfer these to my Kindle by e-mail or Calibre, without any issue. And they stay there on the Kindle and work fine. I also sync these books from my computer to other devices, Android and iOS, and they work fine also. Use EPUB file format and your books will work on all devices, including Kindle.
  - loeg 2y ago
    > Use EPUB file format and your books will work on all devices, including Kindle. My Kindle won't open EPUB files, only AZW3. But it is easy to convert with Calibre. The rest is true in my experience. Loading non-DRM AZW3 books works fine; Kindle doesn't magically add DRM to them nor delete them. If you're getting books from Amazon with DRM, you don't need to sideload them!

fastball 2y ago

It sounds like you are trying to move DRM'd books you bought from Amazon to another Kindle, which is indeed not possible – that is the purpose of DRM. You'd need to strip the DRM for that to work. But as other commenters noted, if you sideload ebooks which do not already have DRM on them, the Kindle will certainly not add any sort of DRM to the files. This is true both if you sideload via USB or even if you use the "email to Kindle" feature.