Amazon Kindle removes download feature of purchased books: Difference between revisions

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 ==Background==
 Amazon allows purchasing e-books on their platform. These e-books are designed to be used with Amazon Kindle devices and the Kindle app. The "download and transfer via USB" feature allows users to download purchased e-books on your computer. The intended use for this is to allow people to transfer e-books from their computer to their Kindle, without requiring the Kindle to have an internet connection. The "download and transfer via USB" feature has been available since the early days of Kindle, when many devices didn't have Wi-Fi capabilities, such as the kindle 1 <ref>https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_1
 </ref> , kindle 2 <ref>https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_2</ref> , and kindle DX <ref>https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_DX</ref>
-=== Reasons for feature: ===
+===Reasons for feature:===
-* Allows users to transfer books to Kindles without an internet connection. Older devices may no longer be able to connect
+*Allows users to transfer books to Kindles without an internet connection. Older devices may no longer be able to connect
-* Lets users create backup copies of their purchased e-book library
+*Lets users create backup copies of their purchased e-book library
-* Provides a way to access books in the older AZW3 format, which is more amenable to format conversion than newer formats due to less restrictive DRM
+*Provides a way to access books in the older AZW3 format, which is more amenable to format conversion than newer formats due to less restrictive DRM
-* Gives users more control over their purchased content
+*Gives users more control over their purchased content
-=== DRM implications ===
+===DRM implications===
 As well as the intended usage, customers use this feature to create backups of their Kindle libraries and to convert the e-books to other formats to use with non-Kindle devices. Amazon Kindle e-readers use a proprietary format to store e-books, and a lot of the e-books contain [[Digital rights management|DRM]], which needs to be removed to use the e-books with non-Kindle devices. Newer Kindle devices use the KFX format, which makes it almost impossible to remove DRM. Since the download and transfer feature uses the older AZW3 format, people with newer Kindles can use this feature to download their e-books in a format where the DRM can be removed.<ref name="theverge" />
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 Other users have resorted to jailbreaking their devices to ensure continued access to previous features. This can be done using tools such as [https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ WinterBreak], which allow users to run custom applications like  [https://github.com/koreader/koreader/wiki/Installation-on-Kindle-devices KOReader], a unified eBook reader that supports PDF, DjVu, EPUB, FB2, and many other formats—on Cervantes, Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, and Android devices.
+== Effect on Original Kindle Devices (Kindle 1 & Kindle 2) ==
+The '''Amazon Kindle 1 (2007)''' and '''Kindle 2 (2009)''' relied on '''EVDO and 3G networks''' for wireless book downloads via Amazon’s '''Whispernet''' service.<ref>https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_1</ref><ref>https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_2</ref> However, with the global shutdown of '''3G networks''' by mobile carriers, these early Kindle models are no longer able to download books wirelessly in most regions.
+'''If books cannot be purchased from the Kindle store and downloaded, there is no way to get them onto these devices.'''
+==== Removal of USB Book Transfers (February 26, 2025) ====
+* Users will '''no longer be able to download Kindle books to a computer''' for manual transfer to their device via USB.
+* Books already '''downloaded before this date''' can still be transferred manually.
+* Any new purchases will require a '''WiFi-enabled Kindle''' or access to '''Amazon’s Kindle apps''' to read.
+* '''This effectively bricks older Kindles for the use case of reading newly purchased books.'''
+==== Remaining Functionality ====
+* The Kindle 1 and Kindle 2 still support '''USB file transfers''' for '''non-Amazon''' content, including:
+** DRM-free MOBI, PRC, and TXT files.
+** Converted EPUB files using tools like '''Calibre'''.
+** Public domain books from sites such as '''Project Gutenberg'''.
+* Users who backed up their Kindle books before the '''February 26, 2025''' cutoff can still manually transfer them via USB.
+==== Conclusion ====
+With the '''loss of Whispernet access''' due to '''3G shutdowns''' and the upcoming removal of '''USB transfers for Amazon-purchased books''', the '''Kindle 1 and Kindle 2 will no longer be able to receive new Kindle Store purchases''' unless a workaround is found. Owners of these devices may need to rely on '''third-party eBook sources''' and '''manual file transfers''' to continue using them.
 ==References==