Beginning on February twenty sixth, 2025, Amazon is eradicating a function from its web site permitting you to obtain bought books to a pc after which copy them manually to a Kindle over USB. It’s a function that a variety of Kindle customers are most likely not conscious of, given books might be extra simply despatched to units over Wi-Fi, nevertheless it’s particularly helpful for backing up purchases or changing them to different codecs suitable with non-Kindle e-readers.
There are a couple of the reason why some Kindle customers may miss this function. It’s helpful if you happen to don’t have entry to a Wi-Fi community, and though it’s a tedious course of since bought books can solely be downloaded one after the other, there’s some peace of thoughts in figuring out you have got offline copies of all of your books.
It doesn’t occur steadily, however as Good e-Reader factors out, Amazon has sometimes eliminated books from its on-line retailer and remotely deleted them from Kindles or edited titles and re-uploaded new copies to its e-readers. In 2009, the corporate eliminated copies of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-4 and Animal Farm, explaining the books had been mistakenly printed. Extra lately, a lot of Roald Dahl’s books, together with Charlie and the Chocolate Manufacturing unit, have been changed with up to date copies that includes modified language on numerous book platforms. It’s a reminder that you just don’t really personal a lot of the digital content material you eat, and with out the flexibility to again up copies of ebooks, you could possibly lose them completely in the event that they’re banned and eliminated.
The function can also be the simplest method to convert books bought from Amazon to different codecs like EPUB that can be utilized on various units corresponding to a Kobo. Books downloaded via Amazon’s web site are delivered within the older AZW3 format which permits DRM to be simply eliminated utilizing numerous software program instruments.
Older Kindle fashions additionally retailer books within the AZW3 format, and they are often extracted by connecting the system to a pc with a USB cable. However fashionable Kindles use the newer KFX format (first rolled out in 2015) which launched improved font rendering, higher format capabilities, and DRM that’s practically not possible to avoid.
The obtain function is a carryover from the times when Kindles didn’t include Wi-Fi, permitting customers who additionally weren’t capable of make the most of Amazon’s mobile Whispernet service to get bought books onto their e-readers. It’s nonetheless accessible via Amazon’s web site by accessing your “Content material Library” whereas logged into your account. For bought books you choose the “Extra actions” menu, select “Obtain & switch through USB,” choose a Kindle system you have got registered, and a duplicate of the e book shall be downloaded to your pc.
However the pop-up that seems when deciding on the obtain possibility now contains an extra warning. “Beginning February 26, 2025, the ‘Obtain & Switch through USB’ possibility will not be out there. You’ll be able to nonetheless ship Kindle books to your Wi-Fi enabled units by deciding on the ‘Ship or Take away from System’ possibility.“
Amazon confirmed the elimination of the e book obtain function in an announcement to The Verge. “Clients can proceed studying books beforehand downloaded on their Kindle system, and entry new content material via the Kindle app, Kindle for net, in addition to immediately via Kindle units with WiFi functionality,” mentioned Amazon spokesperson Jackie Burke.
As soon as this function goes away, you’ll nonetheless be capable of manually copy book information and different paperwork to Kindles over USB utilizing Amazon’s apps or third-party options like Calibre. You simply received’t be capable of obtain copies of your bought books to a pc.
Replace, February 14th: Added remark from an Amazon spokesperson.
