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'''Amazon Kindle''' is a product line of e-readers made by '''[[Amazon]]'''.
'''Amazon Kindle''' is a product line of e-readers made by '''[[Amazon]]'''.
= Consumer-impact summary =
{{Ph-C-CIS}}


==Controversies==
==Controversies==
Line 20: Line 23:
Kindle devices regularly receive bad scores in repair reviews.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Frauenheim |first=Carsten |title=Kindle 11 Repair |url=https://it.ifixit.com/Device/Kindle_11 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[iFixit]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Kris |title=Kindle Paperwhite 5 (11th Generation) Repair |url=https://ifixit.com/Device/Kindle_Paperwhite_11th_Generation |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[iFixit]]}}</ref> The baseline model has a replaceable battery, but provides no official replacement parts or repair instructions, and solders the power button and usb-c port to the motherboard.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">[https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/e-reader-repairability-scores e-reader repairability scores]</ref> The paper-white model uses excessive amounts of adhesive for the battery and motherboard, which make it harder to replace the battery.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Most of the components of the device, most importantly the e-ink screen, are not available to the general market. Any stock for e-ink displays for these devices can rarely be found, and they usually approach the cost of the device itself, making repair uneconomical.
Kindle devices regularly receive bad scores in repair reviews.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Frauenheim |first=Carsten |title=Kindle 11 Repair |url=https://it.ifixit.com/Device/Kindle_11 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[iFixit]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Kris |title=Kindle Paperwhite 5 (11th Generation) Repair |url=https://ifixit.com/Device/Kindle_Paperwhite_11th_Generation |url-status=live |access-date=16 Mar 2025 |website=[[iFixit]]}}</ref> The baseline model has a replaceable battery, but provides no official replacement parts or repair instructions, and solders the power button and usb-c port to the motherboard.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">[https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/e-reader-repairability-scores e-reader repairability scores]</ref> The paper-white model uses excessive amounts of adhesive for the battery and motherboard, which make it harder to replace the battery.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Most of the components of the device, most importantly the e-ink screen, are not available to the general market. Any stock for e-ink displays for these devices can rarely be found, and they usually approach the cost of the device itself, making repair uneconomical.


Kindle devices run a Linux distribution, however the bootloader is locked down and users have had trouble accessing debug ports on newer hardware.{{Citation needed|reason=Personal account}} Adding to this, Amazon relies on proprietary software and drivers which make it difficult to port a standard mainline Linux kernel onto their devices.{{Citation needed|date=30 Nov 2025}}  
Kindle devices run a Linux distribution, however the bootloader is locked down and users have had trouble accessing debug ports on newer hardware.{{Citation needed|reason=Personal account}} Adding to this, Amazon relies on proprietary software and drivers which make it difficult to port a standard mainline Linux kernel onto their devices.{{Citation needed|date=30 Nov 2025}}
 
== Incidents ==
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents related to this product line. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [:Category:{{PAGENAME}} {{PAGENAME}} category].
 
=== Download feature removed for purchased books (2025.02.26) ===
{{Main|Amazon Kindle removes download feature of purchased books}}
[[File:Fyi-amazon-is-removing-download-transfer-option-on-feb-26th-v0-s7wd6fm1rqie1.webp|alt=Amazon notice about removing download capability|thumb|Amazon notice about removing download capability.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |date=12 Feb 2025 |title=FYI Amazon is removing Download & Transfer option on Feb 26th |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1inr9uy/fyi_amazon_is_removing_download_transfer_option/ |archive-url=https://archive.ph/l6K1B |archive-date=17 Feb 2025 |publisher=Reddit |language=en |format=forum thread}}</ref>]]
On 26 February 2025, [[Amazon]] removed the "download and transfer via USB" feature from their website. This means [[Amazon Kindle]] users are no longer able to download their purchased e-books from Amazon's website to their computers using the "download and transfer via USB" feature. A message describing this change appeared on the page for the download feature a few weeks before the feature was removed.
 
=== Example incident two (''date'') ===
...
 
== Products ==
{{Ph-C-P}}


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Amazon Kindle removes download feature of purchased books]]
*[[Amazon alters the content of purchased ebooks]]


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 12:34, 4 January 2026

Amazon Kindle
Basic Information
Release Year 2007
Product Type E-reader
In Production Yes
Official Website https://amazon.com/kindle

Amazon Kindle is a product line of e-readers made by Amazon.

Consumer-impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

  • User Freedom
  • User Privacy
  • Business Model
  • Market Control

Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.


Controversies

While EPUB has been the widely adopted format for digital books,[1] the Kindle e-readers do not support this format natively. That means that it is not possible to load these files directly to the e-reader (which is called sideloading), but have to be converted first to one of the proprietary formats the Kindle uses. Books directly purchased through Amazon come with DRM restrictions.

Around 2022 it was announced that there would be an option to read these files,[2] which was not through native support but via their e-mail service or dedicated app for the Kindle. Both send the file to the Kindle Cloud Library, and process the file on Amazon servers to the proprietary format.

As for the sideloading itself, newer firmware versions of Kindle e-readers only work with MTP,[3] which led to controversy among power users as it disrupted existing workflow, which is to be expected. Book management software like Calibre[4] addresses this issue, and can do the conversion of file formats locally. The recent firmware updates have caused other issues, like faster battery drain than before and a slower user experience.[5]

Anti-repair and anti-ownership practices

Kindle devices regularly receive bad scores in repair reviews.[6][7] The baseline model has a replaceable battery, but provides no official replacement parts or repair instructions, and solders the power button and usb-c port to the motherboard.[6][8] The paper-white model uses excessive amounts of adhesive for the battery and motherboard, which make it harder to replace the battery.[7][8] Most of the components of the device, most importantly the e-ink screen, are not available to the general market. Any stock for e-ink displays for these devices can rarely be found, and they usually approach the cost of the device itself, making repair uneconomical.

Kindle devices run a Linux distribution, however the bootloader is locked down and users have had trouble accessing debug ports on newer hardware.[citation needed - Personal account] Adding to this, Amazon relies on proprietary software and drivers which make it difficult to port a standard mainline Linux kernel onto their devices.[citation needed (30 Nov 2025)]

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents related to this product line. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [:Category:Amazon Kindle Amazon Kindle category].

Download feature removed for purchased books (2025.02.26)

Main article: Amazon Kindle removes download feature of purchased books
Amazon notice about removing download capability
Amazon notice about removing download capability.[9]

On 26 February 2025, Amazon removed the "download and transfer via USB" feature from their website. This means Amazon Kindle users are no longer able to download their purchased e-books from Amazon's website to their computers using the "download and transfer via USB" feature. A message describing this change appeared on the page for the download feature a few weeks before the feature was removed.

Example incident two (date)

...

Products

This is a list of the company's product lines with articles on this wiki.


Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.


See also

References

  1. "EPUB 3.3". w3.org. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Schroeder, Stan (3 May 2022). "Amazon's Kindle will finally support epub files". Mashable. Archived from the original on 3 Jan 2026. Retrieved 16 Mar 2022.
  3. Nathan (20 Oct 2024). "Amazon Removed Download and Transfer Option for New Kindles". The Ebook Reader. Archived from the original on 3 Jan 2026. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
  4. Calibre
  5. Kozlowski, Micheal (20 Aug 2024). "The Amazon Kindle is in a state of decline". Good EReader. Archived from the original on 3 Jan 2026. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Frauenheim, Carsten. "Kindle 11 Repair". iFixit. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. 7.0 7.1 Rodriguez, Kris. "Kindle Paperwhite 5 (11th Generation) Repair". iFixit. Retrieved 16 Mar 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. 8.0 8.1 e-reader repairability scores
  9. "FYI Amazon is removing Download & Transfer option on Feb 26th". Reddit. 12 Feb 2025. Archived from the original (forum thread) on 17 Feb 2025.