Mystery: How to Find the Account Info of Active Kindle

groch · 08-01-2023, 04:47 PM

I cannot find an answer to this by googling or on Amazon.

A friend has an active Kindle she has built a library on for several years. She buys books using the Kindle only. The Kindle is registered to her name with a middle initial: like Jane R. Doe.

She just bought a new kindle and wants to transfer her books, but her current Amazon account, is listed without her middle initial: like Jane Doe. The older Kindle, with her books, is not linked to her account. She does not remember what her previous account info was.

We know just the older Kindle's serial number and the "Jane R. Doe" name. Is there a way to find out from that how to sign the new Kindle into that account? Is there a way to link it to her current account? We do not even know for sure how the books on that Kindle are getting charged. Thanks in advance

Sirtel · 08-01-2023, 07:11 PM

Does she remember the e-mail address used with the old account? I no longer have a Kindle to check, but I think the e-mail address may also be listed somewhere in the settings of the old Kindle.

And if the old Kindle is old enough, it might be possible to get the books off it and remove the DRM from them. Which model is her old Kindle?

Skydog · 08-01-2023, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Does she remember the e-mail address used with the old account? I no longer have a Kindle to check, but I think the e-mail address may also be listed somewhere in the settings of the old Kindle.

And if the old Kindle is old enough, it might be possible to get the books off it and remove the DRM from them. Which model is her old Kindle?

I've looked at my older devices (Oasis 3 & Voyage), with even older firmware and the only info I can find in settings is:

Your Account/Registered User: <name> =>
Device Name
Send-to-Kindle Email

Perhaps with the combination of S/N, name of old account and Send-to-Kindle Email, AMZ could sort it out.

tomsem · 08-02-2023, 12:54 AM

You could create an annotation for one of the books and Export. This will send an email, which (if the email account is still accessible) will give you the email address of the account the Kindle is linked to. If you can recover those credentials, one option would be to link the new and old accounts with Family Sharing and then you would be able to access the books purchased with the previous account.

shamanNS · 08-02-2023, 04:08 AM

Jailbreak the Kindle and check the content of "/var/local/java/prefs/reginfo" to get the email address?

Quoth · 08-02-2023, 04:18 AM

We had this problem with a Paperwhite 1. The notebook with the details was lost. Even an old Kindle Keyboard 3 (FW 3.something) has only the user name.

We had all the email addresses allegedly ever used except maybe one and that didn't help. The one possible unchecked email was using a domain long gone.

As there was a new Kobo Sage rather than a new Kindle we just re-registered it to a new Amazon account, which worked.

I can't see why Amazon would tell you because how can you prove it's your account? Anyone could obtain an old Kindle that's still registered.

groch · 08-02-2023, 04:18 AM

These are all excellent ideas. Thank you so much.

It seems the old email address, if she has access to it is the key. Amazon should be sending purchase notices and probably spamming that address.

If that does not work, I understand that if she deregistered the older device, then re-registered on her current account, it would keep the old books on it but newer books would go to both devices.

Quoth · 08-02-2023, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamanNS

Jailbreak the Kindle and check the content of "/var/local/java/prefs/reginfo" to get the email address?

Won't give the password?
If the associated ISP has stopped doing email or it was long gone hosting the email address is no use without a password.

shamanNS · 08-02-2023, 04:48 AM

@Quoth That is why people should never use ISP-provided email address

HLS · 08-06-2023, 08:57 AM

You are not making any sense. When you log into your kindle all your books transfer over. To change how your kindle name is shown you go to content and devices on your amazon.com account and click edit next to device name.

Sirtel · 08-06-2023, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLS

You are not making any sense. When you log into your kindle all your books transfer over. To change how your kindle name is shown you go to content and devices on your amazon.com account and click edit next to device name.

The problem is they no longer remember the e-mail address or the password, so can't log in to that account anywhere.

Quoth · 08-06-2023, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLS

You are not making any sense. When you log into your kindle all your books transfer over. To change how your kindle name is shown you go to content and devices on your amazon.com account and click edit next to device name.

The page on Amazon for a device requires you can log into that account on Amazon. A new Kindle might be on a different account.
You can only change:
The display name of the Kindle
The Send to Kindle email address to allow people to email your account.
Who is allowed to send email to your Kindle
Or Deregister. You can't register on the site, only on the kindle, though you can deregister on the Kindle.
You can see serial ID (handy to copy/past) or click to view the Content Amazon sent to it (not actually the content on device as stated)

You needed to know the Amazon username or email and the Amazon password already to log in on Amazon and see that info. None of the displayed data is of any use as it's all already visible on the physical Kindle, even the ID and Send to Kindle email.

The problem cited, is that you have a kindle that was either someone else's or your own long ago and you don't know the Amazon account details.

The Send to Kindle Email and the Kindle device are visible on the actual Kindle. The Amazon account name and email for amazon are not, and it would be bonkers if the password was stored anywhere on the device even though the account name and email might be on the internal hidden settings.

To even see the Device settings on Amazon Web page via PC/iOS/Android browser you already have the info the OP wants.

Edit:
I've 3 models of Kindle here and also just checked the website.

Josieb1 · 08-06-2023, 03:40 PM

I don’t understand how she is buying books and she has no idea how they are being paid for. It doesn’t make sense. Unless someone else is paying for her books.

I’d be careful about deregistering her kindle as when I did that with my new paperwhite recently the process removed all the books on my device.

slm · 08-06-2023, 05:12 PM

Actually: each time you a buy a book from Amazon, Amazon send a "delivered" message with a subject line something like:
Amazon.com order of D01-0980553-4643441
(The "D" at the start of the order indicates a digital item)
If the OP is not receiving these emails, it means that the registered email address is one that is no longer being attended.

So: find a cheap book you like and order it on the Kindle.

Quoth · 08-06-2023, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slm

Actually: each time you a buy a book from Amazon, Amazon send a "delivered" message with a subject line something

In this case it would have been his wife's email. No doubt no longer available. Very many people just use a web client.
And also it won't tell you the Amazon account password!

08-01-2023, 04:47 PM	#1
groch Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Kindle	Mystery: How to Find the Account Info of Active Kindle I cannot find an answer to this by googling or on Amazon. A friend has an active Kindle she has built a library on for several years. She buys books using the Kindle only. The Kindle is registered to her name with a middle initial: like Jane R. Doe. She just bought a new kindle and wants to transfer her books, but her current Amazon account, is listed without her middle initial: like Jane Doe. The older Kindle, with her books, is not linked to her account. She does not remember what her previous account info was. We know just the older Kindle's serial number and the "Jane R. Doe" name. Is there a way to find out from that how to sign the new Kindle into that account? Is there a way to link it to her current account? We do not even know for sure how the books on that Kindle are getting charged. Thanks in advance

08-01-2023, 07:11 PM	#2
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,455 Karma: 239219453 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Does she remember the e-mail address used with the old account? I no longer have a Kindle to check, but I think the e-mail address may also be listed somewhere in the settings of the old Kindle. And if the old Kindle is old enough, it might be possible to get the books off it and remove the DRM from them. Which model is her old Kindle? Last edited by Sirtel; 08-01-2023 at 07:15 PM.

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08-02-2023, 12:54 AM	#4
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,939 Karma: 27060151 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	You could create an annotation for one of the books and Export. This will send an email, which (if the email account is still accessible) will give you the email address of the account the Kindle is linked to. If you can recover those credentials, one option would be to link the new and old accounts with Family Sharing and then you would be able to access the books purchased with the previous account.

08-02-2023, 04:08 AM	#5
shamanNS Wizard Posts: 1,114 Karma: 12345678 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Serbia Device: Kindle PW5, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle PW1	Jailbreak the Kindle and check the content of "/var/local/java/prefs/reginfo" to get the email address?

08-02-2023, 04:18 AM	#6
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,007 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	We had this problem with a Paperwhite 1. The notebook with the details was lost. Even an old Kindle Keyboard 3 (FW 3.something) has only the user name. We had all the email addresses allegedly ever used except maybe one and that didn't help. The one possible unchecked email was using a domain long gone. As there was a new Kobo Sage rather than a new Kindle we just re-registered it to a new Amazon account, which worked. I can't see why Amazon would tell you because how can you prove it's your account? Anyone could obtain an old Kindle that's still registered.

08-02-2023, 04:48 AM	#9
shamanNS Wizard Posts: 1,114 Karma: 12345678 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Serbia Device: Kindle PW5, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle PW1	@Quoth That is why people should never use ISP-provided email address

08-06-2023, 08:57 AM	#10
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,132 Karma: 16342480 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	You are not making any sense. When you log into your kindle all your books transfer over. To change how your kindle name is shown you go to content and devices on your amazon.com account and click edit next to device name.

08-06-2023, 03:40 PM	#13
Josieb1 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,086 Karma: 18051062 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Device: Kindle Scribe, Coloursoft, PW SE, Kindle 6, Kobo Libra 2	I don’t understand how she is buying books and she has no idea how they are being paid for. It doesn’t make sense. Unless someone else is paying for her books. I’d be careful about deregistering her kindle as when I did that with my new paperwhite recently the process removed all the books on my device.

08-06-2023, 05:12 PM	#14
slm Fool Posts: 468 Karma: 4113712 Join Date: Feb 2003 Device: Kindle: Voyage,PW1,KOA, Kobo: Clara Colour, Nook GLP, Pocketbook verse	Actually: each time you a buy a book from Amazon, Amazon send a "delivered" message with a subject line something like: Amazon.com order of D01-0980553-4643441 (The "D" at the start of the order indicates a digital item) If the OP is not receiving these emails, it means that the registered email address is one that is no longer being attended. So: find a cheap book you like and order it on the Kindle.

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