Dealing with Kindle ebooks in calibre

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by jhowell

It is possible that might not last much longer either. Amazon has started referring to that as the “Legacy Kindle for PC” app. No sign yet of what, if anything, will be replacing it.

Yes, that's why I said "at this moment". They could bring back a Microsoft store app or just have the Android/iOS mobile apps like B&N.

[Apache]

This is another reason for buying from Kobo. I stopped buying books from Amazon when they stopped allowing downloads without a kindle.
Apache

[quiller1024]

New here. I have been using a 1st gen kindle for well over a decade. I read a ton of Amazon books I’ve purchased over the years. We are talking plus 30 easy a month …. I use calibre to help facilitate that to read them on my puter had the time.
Question is as I understand it buying a new kindle 10th gen or a new gen kindle will not do me any good as currently you can not download books into calibre with any “newer” kindle

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by jhowell

It is possible that might not last much longer either. Amazon has started referring to that as the “Legacy Kindle for PC” app. No sign yet of what, if anything, will be replacing it.

"Legacy Kindle for PC" does not sound good. If I recall correctly, "Legacy" is what they started calling the last version of Kindle for Mac that worked with calibre, before killing it and introducing a hardened K4Mac that is basically dead as a source of calibre-friendly books.

Originally Posted by quiller1024

New here. I have been using a 1st gen kindle for well over a decade. I read a ton of Amazon books I’ve purchased over the years. We are talking plus 30 easy a month …. I use calibre to help facilitate that to read them on my puter had the time.
Question is as I understand it buying a new kindle 10th gen or a new gen kindle will not do me any good as currently you can not download books into calibre with any “newer” kindle

Buying a new Kindle won't work with calibre. At the moment, 10th gen Kindles seem to still work, but we expect that will change soon, so wouldn't recommend spending the money

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Apache

This is another reason for buying from Kobo. I stopped buying books from Amazon when they stopped allowing downloads without a kindle.
Apache

When did they ever allow downloads without a Kindle? Or are you talking about not needing to physically use the Kindle to download -- download & transfer?

@quiller1024
I assume by the time the older Kindles are cut off on May 20 that they will be sending hardened DRM to the few remaining Kindles that are currently still working with DeDRM.

@odamizu
I believe it was Classic Kindle for Mac. Legacy Kindle for PC sounds even more dire to me. I'm guessing that there won't be a PC app.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

When did they ever allow downloads without a Kindle? Or are you talking about not needing to physically use the Kindle to download -- download & transfer?

@quiller1024
I assume by the time the older Kindles are cut off on May 20 that they will be sending hardened DRM to the few remaining Kindles that are currently still working with DeDRM.

@odamizu
I believe it was Classic Kindle for Mac. Legacy Kindle for PC sounds even more dire to me. I'm guessing that there won't be a PC app.

Sorry, I meant download and transfer.
Apache

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

@odamizu
I believe it was Classic Kindle for Mac. Legacy Kindle for PC sounds even more dire to me. I'm guessing that there won't be a PC app.

Ack! You're right. It was called Classic Kindle for Mac.

I was thinking of OverDrive for Mac, which was referred to as "Legacy OverDrive for Mac" during the sunsetting phase before it was killed altogether in favor of Libby.

So you think PC users' only option for Kindle on a computer will be Kindle Cloud Reader?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by quiller1024

New here. I have been using a 1st gen kindle for well over a decade. I read a ton of Amazon books I’ve purchased over the years. We are talking plus 30 easy a month …. I use calibre to help facilitate that to read them on my puter had the time.
Question is as I understand it buying a new kindle 10th gen or a new gen kindle will not do me any good as currently you can not download books into calibre with any “newer” kindle

Once the older Kindles can no longer download eBooks from Amazon, there will be no Kindle left that you can use to download eBooks that can have the DRM removed.

[odamizu]

A Reddit user reports:

"The latest update for my Kindle Windows PC reader app just changed the name of it to 'Kindle Legacy Reader,' and the reading kid logo is now black instead of blue."

[shalym]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Once the older Kindles can no longer download eBooks from Amazon, there will be no Kindle left that you can use to download eBooks that can have the DRM removed.

I hadn't heard that the Oasis 3 was blocked? When did that happen? I was able to use it to transfer books to Calibre and have the DRM removed last week.

Shari

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by shalym

I hadn't heard that the Oasis 3 was blocked? When did that happen? I was able to use it to transfer books to Calibre and have the DRM removed last week.

Shari

It isn't blocked yet. Neither is the Voyage or Paperwhite 2. OTOH, they almost certainly will be at some point.

[Forge]

So I'll attempt a summary for new readers/inquirers, please correct me if I get anything wrong:

Amazon used to deliver books in azw3 to all their devices, the DRM got properly and widely compromised, and this was a golden age for DeDRMing your books and keeping a safe copy, in hindsight.

Amazon shut down the "download and copy to Kindle" options, since they used azw3. Amazon also rolled out original kfx, which took a long while to get properly compromised and added to the DeDRM solutions, and this was the most common format until recently.

Now if your Kindle is running 5.18.5+, you get a gen 2 kfx, which is once again difficult to DeDRM. They are also either killing off or shutting down or replacing the oldest options to close the last remnants of the azw3 path. Books are also being provided in gen 2 kfx and "legacy" kfx downloads sometimes fail or show unavailable on pre-5.18.5 devices.

If Amazon rolls out a new PC/Mac app, it'll likely be locked to kfx gen 2 only, all the non-EOLed Kindles are supposed to have or be moving to gen 2 kfx.

Certainly sounds like Amazon is confident in the long term security of the new gen kfx, and want to kill off anything that has a good reason not to be gen 2 kfx compatible (all Kindles without current firmware as an option, the older PC/Mac apps, etc).

Makes me wonder how long my Colorsoft and PW12 on 5.18.4 and jbed will last, before I get errors on all downloads. Not a good time to be an Amazon customer and pro-user-rights!

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Ack! You're right. It was called Classic Kindle for Mac.

I was thinking of OverDrive for Mac, which was referred to as "Legacy OverDrive for Mac" during the sunsetting phase before it was killed altogether in favor of Libby.

So you think PC users' only option for Kindle on a computer will be Kindle Cloud Reader?

I don't know, but I think there's a fair chance that there would continue to be workarounds for any Kindle PC app. That's why I think they may just kill it.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by Forge

So I'll attempt a summary for new readers/inquirers, please correct me if I get anything wrong:

Amazon used to deliver books in azw3 to all their devices, the DRM got properly and widely compromised, and this was a golden age for DeDRMing your books and keeping a safe copy, in hindsight.

Before azw3/kf8 there was mobi. So the oldest Kindles can't handle azw3 either. And of course it was a while before kf8 DRM was figured out.

Amazon shut down the "download and copy to Kindle" options, since they used azw3. Amazon also rolled out original kfx, which took a long while to get properly compromised and added to the DeDRM solutions, and this was the most common format until recently.

Now if your Kindle is running 5.18.5+, you get a gen 2 kfx, which is once again difficult to DeDRM. They are also either killing off or shutting down or replacing the oldest options to close the last remnants of the azw3 path. Books are also being provided in gen 2 kfx and "legacy" kfx downloads sometimes fail or show unavailable on pre-5.18.5 devices.

You cannot currently decrypt books from Kindles with firmware 5.18.5 and higher or new downloads to firmware 5.16.2.1.1. The DRM being delivered to newer Kindles has additional per book keys which are stored in a user inaccessible location. So would probably require jailbreaking even if someone had made a tool to remove this DRM. The new DRM going to the older Kindles is no longer tied to the serial number, but as far as I'm aware doesn't have the additional per book keys. I don't know if there is anyone working on either one of these. The person who has been keeping things going for Kindle for PC doesn't have a Kindle.

If Amazon rolls out a new PC/Mac app, it'll likely be locked to kfx gen 2 only, all the non-EOLed Kindles are supposed to have or be moving to gen 2 kfx.

The newest versions of Kindle of PC/Mac are both already using "gen 2 kfx". There are still free DeDRMing tools for Kindle for PC. I could see Amazon dropping Kindle for PC altogether to shut off that avenue. The person behind those tools has said there are concerns which make them unwilling to do a Mac version. Apparently Epubor is nonetheless selling one anyway.

Yes, the remaining Kindles which are not getting cut off will probably get a patch like the other older Kindles got for a different DRM, but I don't think this is the same "gen 2 kfx" as those on firmware 5.18.5 and higher are getting.

Certainly sounds like Amazon is confident in the long term security of the new gen kfx, and want to kill off anything that has a good reason not to be gen 2 kfx compatible (all Kindles without current firmware as an option, the older PC/Mac apps, etc).

Makes me wonder how long my Colorsoft and PW12 on 5.18.4 and jbed will last, before I get errors on all downloads. Not a good time to be an Amazon customer and pro-user-rights!

They could prevent downloads of books published after a certain date like they have with older Kindle for PC. Or they could do something like what they've done (or probably soon will be doing) to the rest of the Kindles on previous firmware. Maybe not "gen 2 kfx", but something that hasn't been figured out.

ETA: The books which Amazon really wants to keep locked down (probably the publisher's requirement) like expensive etextbooks aren't available to apps/devices where they can easily be decrypted. Only to Fire tablets, Android/iOS apps, and Kindle for Mac.

[xyzzy_foo]

@odamizu

The OP needs to be updated. K4PC 1.17.1 (44183) can no longer be used. New registration attempts are blocked. 2.3.0 (70673) is still fine, but this is the last version that allows downloading Japanese Kindle books in KF8 (AZW3); for English Kindle books, it switched to KFX in a much earlier version.