5 ms·

Wait, wut? How would they stop me from adding new book to my kindle? I can just plug into USB and load directly right?

by Aeolun 6mo ago

fmajid 6mo ago
Well, I don't have a Kindle, so I can't verify this, but I am basing this from reporting: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98k91yy4z4o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98k91yy4z4o "The move will mean owners of older Kindles, including its earliest models such as the Kindle Touch and some Kindle Fire tablets, will be unable to download new e-books." For a more tech-oriented site, according to Ars Technica Amazon removed the ability to upload over USB: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/starting-in-may-pre-2013-kindles-wont-be-able-to-buy-or-download-new-books/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/starting-in-may-pre-... "Previously, owners of old Kindles could have worked around this loss of functionality by downloading books locally and transferring them via USB. But Amazon removed the ability to download books to a PC or Mac in February of 2025." I don't like to brag "I told you so" but I saw this coming 16 years ago: https://blog.majid.info/why-i-will-never-buy-a-kindle/ https://blog.majid.info/why-i-will-never-buy-a-kindle/
- delecti 6mo ago
  Nothing you've quoted is wrong per se, but it's also not the full story. Amazon removed the ability to download files from them to your computer. And they will soon be removing the ability to download files from them directly to older kindle devices. You can still download a MOBI or EPUB from anywhere else online (though I think some older kindles don't support EPUB) and transfer it via USB, and will still be able to after they EOL those older devices.
  - fmajid 6mo ago
    Interesting. Once again, I don't have a Kindle so I can't verify any of this. I do have a PocketBook Versa with stock firmware and a M5Stack Paper S3 running Crosspoint Reader, but hardly use either as I prefer reading on LCD or OLED tablets. The only formats I care about are DRM-free ePub and PDF.
    - delecti 6mo ago
      Totally fair. I don't read much on Kindles either (mostly on my OLED phone). There's just a lot of dis/misinformation around these deprecations that I feel should be corrected. I worked on Kindles earlier in my career and still have a soft spot in my heart for them.
  - kemayo 6mo ago
    Even new Kindles don't support EPUB, per-se. The Send-to-Kindle service started supporting EPUB, and converts them to AZW3 or KFX for actual delivery to your Kindle. But you cannot just USB an EPUB onto your Kindle without any conversion process. (Calibre does make it very simple, though.)
    - trick-or-treat 6mo ago
      Does anyone know if the send to kindle getting sunsetted as well?
zepppotemkin 6mo ago
Among other things, if you become logged out of the device or it's reset you will no longer be able to login with an amazon account ( which is required ) to use the device
- ndiddy 6mo ago
  You can use the Kindle without an Amazon account if you're fine with loading all your books over USB. It will give you a nag pop-up telling you to log in each time you go to the main menu, but the pop-up doesn't show up while you're in a book so it's not a big deal.
  - mattmanser 6mo ago
    What is your point? That's still a major loss of functionality.
- bentley 6mo ago
  I’ve owned three Kindles and never used an Amazon account on any of them.
Alive-in-2025 6mo ago
Often big company drm software to read encrypted/drm files will have a time limit on it, where it will stop working if not updated - because they require knowing the current date. This is how they could block it. Dvd players didn't need to know the date. The new world of constantly evolving drm schemes falls into this world, making it east to eol devices if not updated
blululu 6mo ago
Correct. It’s the ability to download books directly onto the device from Amazon that is being removed.
nerdix 6mo ago
No you can't do that on a kindle. They have a "send to kindle" feature that allows you to add non-Amazon purchased ebooks to your library. But that requires support from the backend (and an internet connection). I'm assuming send to kindle will no longer be supported on these older devices.
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- tedivm 6mo ago
  You can send books to your kindle over USB, and I do that all the time for larger books that are above the size limit on the email system. The big problem is that Amazon no longer allows you to download books from their site to your desktop, so you have no way to actually get a purchased book and send it to the kindle even over USB. However, if you buy non-DRM books from other book sellers you won't have this problem.
  - Groxx 6mo ago
    They block you from doing this if you're not logged in (as I discovered after wiping and rooting one to give to a friend recently). As evidence, note that instructions for rooting them requires the device to be registered - this is because it won't be accessible over USB until you do so: https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ So if you can't log in...
    - pjmlp 6mo ago
      Not a thing on my e-ink kindle, although it is a decade old by now.
  - deleted 6mo ago
    [deleted]
  - jamesgeck0 6mo ago
    > The big problem is that Amazon no longer allows you to download books from their site to your desktop I've bought a number of books on Kindle that were explicitly marked as being sold without DRM. Does this mean I've lost access to any DRM-free downloads that I haven't already backed up?

Wait, wut? How would they stop me from adding new book to my kindle? I can just plug into USB and load directly right?

by Aeolun 6mo ago

Wait, wut? How would they stop me from adding new book to my kindle? I can just plug into USB and load directly right?

Well, I don't have a Kindle, so I can't verify this, but I am basing this from reporting: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98k91yy4z4o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98k91yy4z4o "The move will mean owners of older Kindles, including its earliest models such as the Kindle Touch and some Kindle Fire tablets, will be unable to download new e-books." For a more tech-oriented site, according to Ars Technica Amazon removed the ability to upload over USB: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/starting-in-may-pre-2013-kindles-wont-be-able-to-buy-or-download-new-books/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/starting-in-may-pre-... "Previously, owners of old Kindles could have worked around this loss of functionality by downloading books locally and transferring them via USB. But Amazon removed the ability to download books to a PC or Mac in February of 2025." I don't like to brag "I told you so" but I saw this coming 16 years ago: https://blog.majid.info/why-i-will-never-buy-a-kindle/ https://blog.majid.info/why-i-will-never-buy-a-kindle/

delecti 6mo ago
Nothing you've quoted is wrong per se, but it's also not the full story. Amazon removed the ability to download files from them to your computer. And they will soon be removing the ability to download files from them directly to older kindle devices. You can still download a MOBI or EPUB from anywhere else online (though I think some older kindles don't support EPUB) and transfer it via USB, and will still be able to after they EOL those older devices.
- fmajid 6mo ago
  Interesting. Once again, I don't have a Kindle so I can't verify any of this. I do have a PocketBook Versa with stock firmware and a M5Stack Paper S3 running Crosspoint Reader, but hardly use either as I prefer reading on LCD or OLED tablets. The only formats I care about are DRM-free ePub and PDF.
  - delecti 6mo ago
    Totally fair. I don't read much on Kindles either (mostly on my OLED phone). There's just a lot of dis/misinformation around these deprecations that I feel should be corrected. I worked on Kindles earlier in my career and still have a soft spot in my heart for them.
- kemayo 6mo ago
  Even new Kindles don't support EPUB, per-se. The Send-to-Kindle service started supporting EPUB, and converts them to AZW3 or KFX for actual delivery to your Kindle. But you cannot just USB an EPUB onto your Kindle without any conversion process. (Calibre does make it very simple, though.)
  - trick-or-treat 6mo ago
    Does anyone know if the send to kindle getting sunsetted as well?

zepppotemkin 6mo ago

Among other things, if you become logged out of the device or it's reset you will no longer be able to login with an amazon account ( which is required ) to use the device

ndiddy 6mo ago
You can use the Kindle without an Amazon account if you're fine with loading all your books over USB. It will give you a nag pop-up telling you to log in each time you go to the main menu, but the pop-up doesn't show up while you're in a book so it's not a big deal.
- mattmanser 6mo ago
  What is your point? That's still a major loss of functionality.
bentley 6mo ago
I’ve owned three Kindles and never used an Amazon account on any of them.

Alive-in-2025 6mo ago

Often big company drm software to read encrypted/drm files will have a time limit on it, where it will stop working if not updated - because they require knowing the current date. This is how they could block it. Dvd players didn't need to know the date. The new world of constantly evolving drm schemes falls into this world, making it east to eol devices if not updated

blululu 6mo ago

Correct. It’s the ability to download books directly onto the device from Amazon that is being removed.

nerdix 6mo ago

No you can't do that on a kindle. They have a "send to kindle" feature that allows you to add non-Amazon purchased ebooks to your library. But that requires support from the backend (and an internet connection). I'm assuming send to kindle will no longer be supported on these older devices.

deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
tedivm 6mo ago
You can send books to your kindle over USB, and I do that all the time for larger books that are above the size limit on the email system. The big problem is that Amazon no longer allows you to download books from their site to your desktop, so you have no way to actually get a purchased book and send it to the kindle even over USB. However, if you buy non-DRM books from other book sellers you won't have this problem.
- Groxx 6mo ago
  They block you from doing this if you're not logged in (as I discovered after wiping and rooting one to give to a friend recently). As evidence, note that instructions for rooting them requires the device to be registered - this is because it won't be accessible over USB until you do so: https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ So if you can't log in...
  - pjmlp 6mo ago
    Not a thing on my e-ink kindle, although it is a decade old by now.
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
- jamesgeck0 6mo ago
  > The big problem is that Amazon no longer allows you to download books from their site to your desktop I've bought a number of books on Kindle that were explicitly marked as being sold without DRM. Does this mean I've lost access to any DRM-free downloads that I haven't already backed up?