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of others) have received an email basically telling me that my kindle will no longer be useable as amazon has withdrawn the technical means of downloading books onto it, either directly or via computer amazon book purchase.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

Barbadosbelle Fri 10-Apr-26 16:34:13

.

I gave up on my Kindle after a very short time as I didn't like the very small pages and how pages would turn at the slightest movement. I found a grateful new home for it.

Since I've bought my books on my Amazon ipad app which sends them immediately to my ipad. The page sizes are just like a 'normal size paperback' and so it reinforces the feeling of 'reading a good book'.

I've built up quite a library and love the weekly email offers based on my preferences that Amazon send me. I've bought some great Michael Connolly and John Grisham Kindle editions for 99p to £1:99.

I would never go back to the Kindle.

Allira Fri 10-Apr-26 16:31:05

Allira

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.

Blossom21

Blossom21 Fri 10-Apr-26 16:14:03

So what do we do with the redundant machines?

BlueSapphire Fri 10-Apr-26 15:57:29

Just looked mine up - it's Paperwhite 7th generation, so should be ok.

Allira Fri 10-Apr-26 15:40:21

They are offering a discount as explained earlier in the thread.

Macaydia Fri 10-Apr-26 15:18:25

Amazon should offer a special trade-in price to let their customers know they appreciate their loyalty. They shouldn't make the reading tool expire without a clause written saying such at purchase time and they shouldnt make their customers start all over like a brand new Kindle customer and buy the reading device at full price a second time. How rude ! They need a competitor. This monopoly is probably illegal.

alita Fri 10-Apr-26 15:03:48

The latest update of calibre will allow you to sideload books onto the kindle. For a while it couldn't but it seems to have got over that now.

Allira Fri 10-Apr-26 14:56:44

Oh dear, I must concentrate! My brain is trying to multitask again.
Aveline meant all the books you have ever purchased can be loaded on to your new device, if you buy one.

Elegran Fri 10-Apr-26 14:46:33

Allira

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.

I understand that to mean that the ones already on the old machine will still be there to be read, but you won't be able to add any more.

Is 20th May the deadline for downloading more books successfully? That gives about five and a half weeks to stock up.

Milest0ne Fri 10-Apr-26 14:45:25

I bought a Kindle in USA. It stopped working after 13 months ( the screen looked like a bar code) when I made a complaint I was told to take it back to where I had purchased it. I am not likely to go back to USA again. I can download books on my iPad. I used to get books - old classics on the Gutenberg app Our local library has a BorrowBox app either for some books or to reserve real books, which I prefer to read.

Hithere Fri 10-Apr-26 14:34:22

Doodledog

You may want to look into remote page turners

They look weird but they are life changers

Astitchintime Fri 10-Apr-26 14:33:29

I had my original Kindle for well over ten years and it simply stopped charging. Took it to Curry’s for recycling and bagged £15 off a brand spanking new one…..love it!

Moonwatcher1904 Fri 10-Apr-26 14:32:07

Luckygirl3

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.

Luckygirl3 I quite agree but I might download a few books before the deadline. So that will last me a good while. I've had my Kindle since 2011. I have many books on there and don't mind reading one or two again.

Jeanieallergy21 Fri 10-Apr-26 14:31:34

Allira

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, I think you've misunderstood. If you have an old, discontinued Kindle device, you can continue to read books that are already on it, but you won't be able to add any more books to the old Kindle after 20th May. If you deregister or reset your old Kindle it will no longer work, so don't do that!

However, all the books you have ever purchased for your old Kindle are still in your Amazon account and can all be downloaded to a new Kindle, or to the free Kindle reader app on a phone, tablet or your computer.

Ziplok Fri 10-Apr-26 14:28:13

Luckygirl3

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

My understanding from their notification email is that you should still be able to use it after the end of May, but you will no longer be able to download any additional books onto it after that date. If you buy any books before then, they will load as normal on your existing kindle, so if you’ve got your eye on any titles, now is the time to get them before the cut off date. 😊

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.

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 😁👍🏼.

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.

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

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

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.

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".

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

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

All my kindle books are stored in my Amazon account.

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.

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.