Amazon’s killing a feature that let you download and backup Kindle books

Amazon is making it harder to download purchased books to a machine successful older formats. | Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge

Starting connected February 26th, 2025, Amazon is removing a diagnostic from its website allowing you to download purchased books to a machine and past transcript them manually to a Kindle implicit USB. It’s a diagnostic that a batch of Kindle users are astir apt not alert of, fixed books tin beryllium much easy sent to devices implicit Wi-Fi, but it’s particularly utile for backing up purchases oregon converting them to different formats compatible with non-Kindle e-readers.

There are a fewer reasons wherefore immoderate Kindle users mightiness miss this feature. It’s utile if you don’t person entree to a Wi-Fi network, and though it’s a tedious process since purchased books tin lone beryllium downloaded 1 astatine a time, there’s immoderate bid of caput successful knowing you person offline copies of each your books.

It doesn’t hap frequently, but arsenic Good e-Reader points out, Amazon has occasionally removed books from its online store and remotely deleted them from Kindles oregon edited titles and re-uploaded caller copies to its e-readers. In 2009, the institution removed copies of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, explaining the books had been mistakenly published. More recently, many of Roald Dahl’s books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, were replaced with updated copies featuring modified connection connected assorted ebook platforms. It’s a reminder that you don’t really ain overmuch of the integer contented you consume, and without the quality to backmost up copies of ebooks, you could suffer them wholly if they’re banned and removed.

The diagnostic is besides the easiest mode to person books purchased from Amazon to different formats similar EPUB that tin beryllium utilized connected alternate devices specified arsenic a Kobo. Books downloaded done Amazon’s website are delivered successful the older AZW3 format which allows DRM to beryllium easy removed utilizing assorted bundle tools.

Older Kindle models besides store books successful the AZW3 format, and they tin beryllium extracted by connecting the instrumentality to a machine with a USB cable. But modern Kindles usage the newer KFX format (first rolled retired successful 2015) which introduced improved font rendering, amended layout capabilities, and DRM that’s astir intolerable to circumvent.

The download diagnostic is simply a carryover from the days erstwhile Kindles didn’t travel with Wi-Fi, allowing users who besides weren’t capable to instrumentality vantage of Amazon’s cellular Whispernet work to get purchased books onto their e-readers. It’s inactive accessible done Amazon’s website by accessing your “Content Library” portion logged into your account. For purchased books you prime the “More actions” menu, take “Download & transportation via USB,” prime a Kindle instrumentality you person registered, and a transcript of the publication volition beryllium downloaded to your computer.

But the pop-up that appears erstwhile selecting the download enactment present includes an further warning. “Starting February 26, 2025, the ‘Download & Transfer via USB’ enactment volition nary longer beryllium available. You tin inactive nonstop Kindle books to your Wi-Fi enabled devices by selecting the ‘Deliver oregon Remove from Device’ option.“

Once this diagnostic goes away, you’ll inactive beryllium capable to manually transcript ebook files and different documents to Kindles implicit USB utilizing Amazon’s apps oregon third-party solutions similar Calibre. You conscionable won’t beryllium capable to download copies of your purchased books to a computer.

The Verge reached retired to Amazon with a petition for remark connected wherefore this diagnostic is being removed but didn’t instantly perceive back.