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Amazon have rendered my kindle useless

(91 Posts)
Luckygirl3 Thu 09-Apr-26 16:25:52

I (and many thousands of others) have received an email basically telling me that my kindle will no longer be useable as amazon has withdrawn the technical means of downloading books onto it, either directly or via computer amazon book purchase.

They have basically made it obsolete and stopped it performing the function for which it was bought in the first place.

I am surprised that they can legally do this - it is not because it has become technically impossible. They just want you to fork out for a more modern one.

Anyone else in the same boat? Any retired lawyers out there who might have some ideas about this?

Elegran Thu 09-Apr-26 22:13:41

The newer models are still supported, it is just some from 2012 and earlier which won't download new books any more. Someone up the thread a bit was saying that there are ways to get round it.

25Avalon Thu 09-Apr-26 22:25:59

I’ve not had anything from Amazon so hopefully am ok. In fact they’ve offered me £2 off my next kindle purchase. My kindle was bought for me by dd when dh and I went to New Zealand which was 2016.

What if you are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited?

Allira Thu 09-Apr-26 22:27:25

REKA

Have you tried the kindle app itself? I discovered I couldn't get books from Amazon any more but looked on the kindle app and there's lots of books on there.

How does that work, though?

Surely the old Kindle would have to have the facility to connect to the internet to be able to download anything?
Those pre-2012 Kindles will not be able to access the internet.

Allira Thu 09-Apr-26 22:31:06

25Avalon

I’ve not had anything from Amazon so hopefully am ok. In fact they’ve offered me £2 off my next kindle purchase. My kindle was bought for me by dd when dh and I went to New Zealand which was 2016.

What if you are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited?

Presumably yours is post 2012.

The offer has a time limit, it is until 20th June. A promotional code for £20 off a new Kindle and a £15 credit towards ebooks.

Luckygirl3 Thu 09-Apr-26 22:50:18

I have succumbed and taken the 20% discount on a new kindle - I think it is a good deal - but am still mightily hacked off that a purchase should have been made redundant when it is working fine.

I tried the amazon app but can't really read the books clearly in my phone.

I think this new kindle will see me out!!

Ziplok Thu 09-Apr-26 22:58:35

Allira

25Avalon

I’ve not had anything from Amazon so hopefully am ok. In fact they’ve offered me £2 off my next kindle purchase. My kindle was bought for me by dd when dh and I went to New Zealand which was 2016.

What if you are subscribed to Kindle Unlimited?

Presumably yours is post 2012.

The offer has a time limit, it is until 20th June. A promotional code for £20 off a new Kindle and a £15 credit towards ebooks.

The offer is 20% off a new kindle (certain models only), not £20, and as you say, £15 credit towards e books, so the saving can be greater than £20 depending which kindle you opt for, for example, the one priced at £189.99 can be bought for £151.99

Moonwatcher1904 Thu 09-Apr-26 23:07:37

I am very disappointed with Amazon discontinuing older Kindles. I have a lot of books on mine which I've read and 2 that I haven't yet.
I will not be buying a new one, at the moment.
It's annoying how these companies sell things then after a few years render them useless to make you buy new.

Gin Thu 09-Apr-26 23:15:44

I have never owned a Kindle but have the app on my iPad and prefer it as I can enlarge it and read it more easily than a book as I have poor eyesight. It is true I cannot put it in my handbag or pocket.

Allira Thu 09-Apr-26 23:16:42

The offer is 20% off a new kindle (certain models only), not £20
Yes, just double checked, Ziplok, apologies, it's 20%
It's these new spectacles 🤓 - I certainly can't afford a new Kindle now.

Luckygirl3 Fri 10-Apr-26 07:38:56

this could amount to 2 million devices rendered obsolete according to some estimates, potentially generating over 624 tons of e-waste".

And this is unacceptable when we need to cut down the waste mountain. I am not sure whether the plastic can be recycled.

Moonwatcher1904 ... you will still be able to read the books that you have already downloaded.

Aveline Fri 10-Apr-26 08:26:37

All books downloaded from Amazon are still are on your account so can be downloaded to your new device

David49 Fri 10-Apr-26 09:22:35

I had the original Kindle, it was so much better for traveling than paperbacks, 20 yrs ago I remember sitting in a beach in the Caribbean downloading a new book. Incredible those days now taken for granted , but modern kindle batteries dont last as long.

Luckygirl3 Fri 10-Apr-26 09:25:15

The battery on my ancient model is fine - in fact everything about it is fine. I just wish I could go in using it.

Visgir1 Fri 10-Apr-26 10:31:27

Mine was 2011 Paperwhite, last Christmas I asked for a new one as mine was seriously struggling to load books. It lost it's capability to put images onto the front cover as well.
I know from experience that Electronic items don't last forever. Time to upgrade.
My new one is so fast, I am now comfortable with the settings as so different from my old one.
I'm not surprised they are phasing it out.
If this one last as long as my old one, I will be pleased, to me worth every penny.

Allira Fri 10-Apr-26 11:05:15

Aveline

All books downloaded from Amazon are still are on your account so can be downloaded to your new device

Not after 20th May, as I understand it.

From the email:
* You can continue to read books already downloaded on these devices, but you will not be able to purchase, borrow, or download additional books on them after that date.
* If you deregister or factory reset these devices, you will not be able to re-register or use these devices in any way.

I've just downloaded several 99p books on to mine.

Allira Fri 10-Apr-26 11:08:29

The battery runs out on my old one after a very short time anyway.

Old devices can be recycled; some upcycling places may take them, some charity shops do and electronics firms will take them.

Lovetopaint037 Fri 10-Apr-26 11:12:13

I have the kindle app on my iPad which is only a couple of years old. I can’t download a kindle book from my Amazon app to the kindle app. I can read the free books and purchase others shown on the kindle app and the payment is taken from my Amazon account. A friend claims she can purchase kindle books which show up in the kindle app.

Aveline Fri 10-Apr-26 12:23:58

All my kindle books are stored in my Amazon account.

arum Fri 10-Apr-26 13:38:24

I did a bit of research, and found this which may help you . . . uk.pcmag.com/ebook-readers/164329/dont-toss-your-old-kindle-yet-heres-how-to-keep-it-alive-after-may-2026

Or this www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/older-kindle-support-ending/
www.zdnet.com/article/your-kindles-not-obsolete-it-needs-a-jailbreak-ill-show-you-how-its-done/
If you feeling more adventurous, you could try this

caci Fri 10-Apr-26 13:46:02

The same thing happened with my Kobo e-reader. An update was due, but it wasn't available on the older models, so suddenly they could no longer connect to the internet. I bought the "new , improved, updated " model, but it's not as good as my original as it lacks basic features, like being able to see the time at the top if the screen whilst reading a book, , and seeing the battery % remaining now involves several "clicks".

Dempie55 Fri 10-Apr-26 13:54:29

I have several Amazon tablets, but my oldest Kindle is the one I use in the garden, as there is no glare. However, it’s now 13 years old, so I don’t mind getting a new one - cost me £60 with the 20% offer. You can also trade in your old Kindle for £5 and get the 20% offer, but I decided to keep mine and will just load it up with books (I have hundreds- can’t resist the 99p ones!) and keep it for travel.

Juniper1 Fri 10-Apr-26 14:07:41

I can download kindle books from my pc but not my iPad.
Try a PC

Doodledog Fri 10-Apr-26 14:19:30

My new one has a wireless charging device - a little stand (that has to be plugged in, so is not wireless in itself) that you sit the Kindle on to charge it. The beauty is that you can read it as it charges, which is useful. I also use it to read and knit, although turning the pages is awkward.

Ziplok Fri 10-Apr-26 14:21:55

Allira

^The offer is 20% off a new kindle (certain models only), not £20^
Yes, just double checked, Ziplok, apologies, it's 20%
It's these new spectacles 🤓 - I certainly can't afford a new Kindle now.

Sorry, Allira, I hope I didn’t sound brusque when I said it was 20%, not £20. That wasn’t my intention, but as these new kindles are quite expensive, the offer means you save a bit more than £20 which I suppose is a good thing if you can afford to renew now because the offer is time limited 😁👍🏼.

Kitty55 Fri 10-Apr-26 14:22:14

I believe if you have a kindle you can download library book's onto them. . It might be worth looking into. I love my kindle and so far it’s not too old but when it is I will replace it with another. I bought mine at the beginning of covid and would have been lost without it.