If you’re still using a Kindle Oasis 3 (the 10th generation model from 2019), Amazon has a surprise for you. They just released a new software update for it, but it’s not the kind of update that adds any shiny new features.
The new software version is 5.18.2.1.1, and the release notes don’t acknowledge its existence. The Kindle Oasis 3 had been on 5.18.2 since April of 2025; this is the first update in over a year.
According to reports, the update adds the new hardened DRM to Kindle ebooks so that DRM-removal tools will no longer work with ebooks downloaded to the Kindle Oasis.
Amazon already locked down several older Kindles earlier this year using the same method, and of course they stopped supporting the first five generations of Kindles back in May, and now the Kindle Oasis has been added to the list of Kindles getting the new DRM as well.
Now the Kindle Voyage is the only (supported) Kindle that doesn’t get ebooks delivered with the new unbreakable (for now) DRM. It’s the best Kindle ever for multiple reasons.
It’s still possible to remove the DRM from Kindle ebooks downloaded to jailbroken Kindles and using the new Windows 11 app, but the options are dwindling.
Amazon is on a quest to lockdown Kindles and Kindle ebooks so purchases are forever tied to them. I think Kindle Unlimited is Amazon’s main motivation behind this. They are more obligated to make KU titles secure since authors get paid per page read. If authors aren’t getting paid, they won’t use KU, and then the KU platform dissolves and Amazon won’t be able to charge people $11.99 per month for a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Simple as that.
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