Migrating highlights & notes from manually uploaded content to a new Kindle device

[Analoggab]

I recently switched from a Sony Reader to a Kindle and filled my new Kindle with book using Calibre which I like to use to manage my content. Now I need to change my Kindle to a new device because it’s defective but I can’t for the world of me figure out how to migrate my notes and highlights from a Kindle device to a new one.

Of course since I was using Calibre I wasn’t uploading books to the device using Amazon or using the “send to Kindle” app/feature.

I tried to clone the content of my previous Kindle to the new device but it didn’t work. I thought the notes and highlights were stored in the mbp file, which is in the “documents” folder. I migrated that folder to the new Kindle. Nope. I see the books in the new Kindle but no notes, highlights or last location. Oh and no covers. I even uncovered the system hidden folder and copied that.

I spent WAY too much time on the phone with clueless and rude support from the Philippines and then managed to reach someone in the US who was almost as clueless but a nice guy though. Basically they were telling me there was no way.

Any ideas how to do it? There must be a way.
Thanks guys!

[eschwartz]

All annotations are indeed stored in the .mbp1 (for MOBI books) and .azw3(f|r) (for AZW3) files. On the Kindle Touch and newer, these will be stored in the {book_filename_minus_ext}.sdr/ folder, right next to the corresponding book file.

Assuming you move both of them together, all annotations should transfer. The filenames MUST match (except for the extensions obviously).

One thing that might trip you up is that the older devices put the annotations files in the actual documents/ folder, not in the *.sdr/ subfolders. Older/newer models look for the annotations in different places...

[Analoggab]

Hi eschwartz
Thank you so much so for your answer.

Well I had the latest Paperwhite and now I'm trying to migrate everything to the Voyage. Are they supposed to handle files the same way?

I simply copied the "documents" folder so all the sub files and hierarchy should be intact. Everything was in the .sdr folder as it should and I didn't touch that.

Any ideas?

[eschwartz]

AFAIK, yes they do. Everything *should* have worked. Not having a Voyage, I cannot say with 100% accuracy, but I am fairly confident nothing changed?

I do know apparently X-Ray generators had to be updated to work with fw5.6.x, I suppose it is *possible* that other data changed as well (since Amazon is apparently in the mood to change little things here and there) but I haven't heard anything.

In short -- you got me.

If you have any Amazon books: I assume the data for that book looks just the same (file structure-wise) as the data from the PW2?

[Analoggab]

Then I may be the first one to report that something has changed with the Voyage as this apparently straightforward process doesn't work.

And what do you mean Amazon books? You mean like mobi books or azw1/2/3 ?
Yes I have some of them. The Voyage seems to be handling them the same as the PW2, but perhaps there's something underneath going on.

[eschwartz]

Amazon books -- purchased from Amazon. Really, anything just so long as it was first loaded and annotated on the Voyage, so you can see what its annotations datafiles look like.

Hopefully someone else has an idea why copy-pasting a documents folder with non-DRMed books wouldn't transfer annotations.

[Analoggab]

OK I'll get a book from amazon and see how it looks.

Yes getting getting the input of someone with the Voyage and a PW as well would be nice. I wonder how we can get them here!

Thanks for your help!