Here’s something that’s going to set off some conspiracy theories. As people are getting the new Kindles that were released last week, they are finding out that the new models are mysteriously missing the download and transfer via USB option for purchased ebooks from the content page at Amazon.
So now people are jumping to the conclusion that Amazon is in the process of phasing out the download and transfer option entirely moving forward, and that might very well be the case.
Considering the new Kindles were just released four days ago, it could also just be a glitch or a bug that needs to be fixed. But there are some signs that they were intentionally omitted from the download and transfer list.
First off, the new Kindles do show up on the “deliver to” list, which is essentially the same generated list on the same page as the transfer via USB option.
There’s also the fact that the “new” basic Kindle isn’t really new, not in the usual sense. Amazon still lists it as an 11th gen model, the same as the 2022 Kindle, and it still uses the same ID number, so as far as Amazon’s system is concerned it’s the same Kindle. It just has some minor hardware revisions, including a new screen, and it does look better so at least there’s that. But the fact is the 2022 11th gen Kindle shows up on the list and the 2024 11th gen Kindle does not.
I have both the new Kindle for 2024 and a new Kindle Paperwhite 6, and I can confirm that neither are showing up on the list of devices to download and transfer ebooks via USB.
Granted, this isn’t going to affect that vast majority of Kindle users, but there’s a subset of people that like to download their purchased ebooks to make backups and to remove the DRM to read the ebooks on other non-Kindle devices.
If Amazon phases out the download and transfer option, it’s going to create problems for those that like to do that. Amazon already made it more difficult to download books using the Kindle for PC app last year to dissuade people from backing up their purchased ebooks, and they also removed the download option for Kindle Unlimited books last year.
From Amazon’s perspective, I can see why they’d want to eliminate the download and transfer option altogether, but it’s going to tick off a lot of people if they do it.
The download and transfer option goes way back to the early days of Kindles when internet access wasn’t as widespread and WiFi wasn’t available just about everywhere. People without WiFi or a reliable internet connection needed a way to download and transfer purchased ebooks to Kindles using a USB cable.
Now most people just download their purchased ebooks over WiFi and don’t ever use the download and transfer option, but for those that do it’s going to cause some problems if Amazon is indeed removing that option on newer Kindles, and it also creates more of a walled garden where people can’t take their purchased ebooks and leave for another platform.
So far older Kindles still have the download and transfer option so it’s only an issue with the new Kindles. Hopefully it’s just a glitch that will get fixed soon, but at this point it looks like an intended change for the future of Kindles.
fx says
Well, from what I read people with Mac can’t connect new Kindles at all, they just won’t appear as a drive like they used to. Amazon is clearly trying to make people stop sideloading.
Nathan says
The new Kindles now use MTP like the Kindle Scribe so most Mac users will need to use 3rd party software to transfer files using Macs. That’s more of an Apple problem than a Kindle problem; it’s the same story as connecting Android devices to Macs.
fx says
Yeah, I know it’s about MTP. But the result is the same. I tried all the possible MTP software and none worked properly, giving me errors and disconnecting all the time both with my Boox Page and an Android phone I was testing. So this means no connecting of Kindle to computer anymore. And no, it’s definitely Amazon’s problem. When you have a working solution, you don’t just switch to something that doesn’t work.
Helen L. says
Please keep us updated! If they remove this option from their website, I’m out. But many books I buy are only available on Amazon. All other companies, that I am aware of, allows you to downloaded your ebook. But I have been having a feeling of this for a couple of years already. And those feelings normally proves to be true. I wish they do keep the download option.
Don says
Leaving aside DRM removal issues, I don’t want my kindle connected to WiFi. For one, it’s a privacy issue. I don’t want Amazon collecting stats on my reading, highlights, notes, etc.
Also, back when I did connect to WiFi to download, it would often mess up my collections, deleting multiple collections.
And finally, I wanted to be able to control firmware updates. Their major UI overhaul from a few years ago sucks, and lately it seems smaller updates break things. So I want to be able to avoid that until an update is vetted.
Removing the ability to download and transfer via usb makes these things an issue again.
Hopefully it is a bug that will be fixed, otherwise I’ll be moving on from kindle.
Unrelated: I’ve also noticed that the latest kindles do not show up on the Amazon kindle firmware page. My 2024 basic is on version 5.16.20.0.1 and says it’s on the latest version. The software update website show the 2022 basic latest firmware as 5.16.21. I’m guessing the page will be updated, but weird if the newer kindle’s latest software is older than the previous model.
Also unrelated, I don’t understand the switch to MTP. Does it confer benefit somehow? Otherwise it seems like it just makes Mac users at a disadvantage for no reason. I’ve used kindle with Mac with no issues for years, now suddenly it’s a thing. Sigh. I’m using openMTP as a work around, but it messes up page numbers, now I only have the location in book.
Claude says
With so many issues, why don’t you change to another ereader brand ?
Kelin says
The day it’s no longer possible to remove the DRM from a Kindle book is the day I buy my last Kindle book. I’m never going to buy any book with an unremovable DRM.
Brian says
Same.
Steve H. says
Probably just a matter of time. Almost every focus of Amazon is to lock users in to the most controllable systems possible.
Stas says
Seeing as some manga and graphic novel are really big (file size) and sometimes Kindles have problems downloading these…
And even some ordinary books give download errors on Kindles…
It would be really weird for Amazon to remove option to download purchased books.
Who knows, really.
Fingers crossed for some internal errors on Amazon’s part.
Norval says
I wasn’t interested in these kindles at all more so with this news. I don’t want to have a wifi connected Kindle for reasons so D&T was essential. Then I learned what DRM was and how to remove it so I liberated my purchased books. D&T is the simplest way for me to do so. I use a K3 and it’s still supported so I’ll stick with Kindle e books but once the K3 doesn’t have access to D&T I’m jumping ship.