Dealing with Kindle for PC/Mac 1.19 and KFX in calibre

[eredr]

Thank you DNSB, it no longer was placing my new book in a sub-directory after I successfully reverted to Kindle for PC 1.17. I wasn't getting that KFX error anymore either after I applied JHowell's patch - or actually maybe it was after I successfully reverted to Kindle for PC 1.17.

[lkmiller]

If you're succussfully back on Kindle for PC 1.17 with jhowell's block for updates, you will need to choose skip for now every time (there's no skip forever!). And there's no need to run kfxbegone because 1.17 will never download those. For DRM help you'll need to ask at noDRM's github.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I still haven't received the 1.35 update so can't offer much on what the changes are.

Version 1.35 currently does not show up on the download page for Kindle for PC/Mac. I suspect that I received it as part of an early rollout beta test. (I hope that I wasn't targeted specifically.)

In testing so far I can tell that it still sets the isKRFDRendererSupported registry key at startup, but it no longer reads it back later to control KFX support. It is likely that the code now keeps a copy of it internally to make it immune to outside registry changes.

The change seems to be designed specifically to thwart kfxbegone. It appears that Amazon is paying attention to our efforts here.

[eredr]

Thanks a lot Laura! I was able to get the github plugin and successfully load my new book onto my Kobo, which I'm really looking forward to reading. My Kindle for PC 1.17 is now asking me to update each time (previously it rarely prompted this) - but hey at least it's asking, not assuming!

It is frustrating that Amazon prevents people using other devices from buying their books and putting them on their devices. Fair enough that they would want to prevent piracy. But a closed system doesn't seem sustainable over the long term to me. I want to be able to own the books I buy. Not rely on amazon giving me access for as long as it chooses, as long as it exists etc. Down the track, decades from now, there may be many people who are currently locked in to amazon's system who regret it. The ereader market is likely to further diversity over time. And if other companies offer better systems I imagine many people would vote with their feet

[seatacguy]

I have followed the steps in the original post. I am on a Mac and have downloaded the older version of Kindle for my Mac. I followed these instructions:
Exit the Kindle program.
Open a terminal window (Mac).
Cut and paste the appropriate command for your operating system to disable the renderer-test program.
Mac:
chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test
This prevents the renderer-test program from executing, blocking the use of KFX.

Some of my books that I download and then add to Calibre work and convert just fine, others are displaying a "DRM" warning and will not convert. The books are being stored on my Mac (from Kindle) as azw files. ALL BOOKS ARE Kindle Unlimited books. Please help

[seatacguy]

Originally Posted by seatacguy

I have followed the steps in the original post. I am on a Mac and have downloaded the older version of Kindle for my Mac. I followed these instructions:
Exit the Kindle program.
Open a terminal window (Mac).
Cut and paste the appropriate command for your operating system to disable the renderer-test program.
Mac:
chmod -x /Applications/Kindle.app/Contents/MacOS/renderer-test
This prevents the renderer-test program from executing, blocking the use of KFX.

Some of my books that I download and then add to Calibre work and convert just fine, others are displaying a "DRM" warning and will not convert. The books are being stored on my Mac (from Kindle) as azw files. ALL BOOKS ARE Kindle Unlimited books. Please help

Nevermind, I was able to figure out the problem. I was using an old version of the DeDRM.

[phenomenal11]

So I bought a book on Economics and it refuses to download on Kindle for PC versions older than 1.34.1

I get the error stating PCMAC_126_Delivery_Error_Upgrade_PC whenever I try to download the file on older versions.

1.34.1 downloads an azw file that cannot be cracked using the latest Calibre and latest deDRM tool.

Is there any hope here or Is it finally time to bow down to the Kindle supremacy?

[lkmiller]

@seatacguy Just FYI, when you remove DRM from Kindle Unlimited books, the author does not get paid. Amazon pays them based on how much of the book that you read.

@phenomenal11
That book is one that is only available in the latest KFX format and its DRM cannot be removed.

[phenomenal11]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

@phenomenal11
That book is one that is only available in the latest KFX format and its DRM cannot be removed.

🥺


[edit: fixed quotation tags]

[Katsunami]

Hi,

Long time no see

I've used an Amazon Kindle from 2011 up to and including most of 2016 (Touch, Paperwhite 2012), but I bought most of my books through Kobo and other EPUB-retailers, between 2011 and 2015. At that point I had everything I ever wanted, needed, imagined, or could imagine wanting to have for the future. There where just a few books that seemed to be Amazon-only, so I bought them there.

Now I wanted to buy a few books that are Amazon-only, having not bought books there since 2014 (!) and I switched from Windows To Linux as my main operating system in the mean time. Let's say, if you need a Windows-program to run, it can be very hit and miss.

From this thread I gathered that the important K4PC versions are:

1.17: the last version that will never download KFX
1.24: the last version where KFX can be disabled by just disabling the renderer
1.26: the last version which can download KFX and DeDRM can still remove DeDRM
1.34: the last version where KFX can be disabled, by using a BAT-file.

So I went on a testing spree.

Old Kindle for PC versions:
https://filehippo.com/download_kindle-for-pc/history/

(I tested many versions against the SHA-256 keys given in the starting post, and all checked out; so I assume this site does not tamper with files and they are trustworthy. Still, downloads are at your own risk, because they don't come from Amazon.)

I'm not going to describe in detail what I tested and how because that would take me a day and an age; it already took me half a night and 3 hours this evening to get everything figured out, working, and verified. I'll write a short summary.

I used Lutris to make handling Wine a bit easier. Lutris is normally used to install games, but I often use it as a Wine prefix handler. (There's also an application called "Bottles" which can do this; it is easier, but has far less options than Lutris.) The final result was:

Tested versions:
KindleForPC-installer-1.16.44025.exe - not tested (comes with Winetricks)
KindleForPC-installer-1.17.44170.exe - fully working, after installing certificate
KindleForPC-installer-1.17.44183.exe - fully working, after installing certificate
KindleForPC-installer-1.19.46099.exe - installs, runs, can't connect (also certificate?)
KindleForPC-installer-1.20.47037.exe - fail, crash (even after creating the crashdump folder)
KindleForPC-installer-1.21.48017.exe - fail, "screen redraw loop"
KindleForPC-installer-1.23.50133.exe - fail, crash (even after creating the crashdump folder)
KindleForPC-installer-1.24.51068.exe - fail, "screen redraw loop"
KindleForPC-installer-1.26.55076.exe - fully working
KindleForPC-installer-1.34.63103.exe - installs, runs, didn't sign in or test further.

In the end I managed to get the two most important versions running: 1.17 and 1.26. 1.34 also installs and runs but I didn't test it further. I used a 64-bit WinePrefix in Lutris, with lutris-7.2 as runner. (Current latest Wine version.)

1.26 works out of the box. If you manage to extract the K4PC key with DeDRM and then import it into Calibre, KFX is de-DRM-able. (Hint: Calibre and the DeDRM plugin can't do it automatically. You'll need to do this in Wine's command line console, but I can't explain how, because it's against the rules.)

1.17 installs and runs, but then gives you the error that it cannot connect.

The reason is that Amazon uses a certificate for the server which has been revoked by Linux, because this certificate has been compromised. (This means it leaked, and other servers could present themselves as an Amazon server.) On Windows, this certificate seems to be active and if you install K4PC 1.17, it'll work. (I rebooted into my old Windows installation to check.) The solution is to re-install the certificate. I attached it under this post.

I found it through this thread:
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=342186

And this is the certificate, if you want it straight from the source:
https://knowledge.broadcom.com/exter...lic-prima.html

Note that this certificate is NOT what decrypts your downloads: it just makes K4PC 1.17 connect to Amazon when running in Wine in Linux. I can't exactly describe how to install it because it is different for many linux distributions. On Debian Bullseye 11, you do the following:

- download the certificate file (the zip-file)
- extract it. This will give you a kindle117.crt file.
- put the crt-file in:
/usr/share/ca-certificates

- run this command in a terminal
sudo dpkg-reconfigure ca-certificates

Follow the instructions and tick the Kindle certificate for installation.

When you now start K4PC in Lutris/Wine, it should connect. (You also need to extract the K4PC key in Wine's command-line, same as with 1.26, and give it to the DeDRM plugin.)

In addition, I followed all the advice given to prevent updates:
- revoke writing rights for these folders (in your WinePrefix):

/drive_c/users/username/AppData/Local/Amazon/Kindle/
/drive_c/users/username/AppData/Local/Amazon/Kindle/updates (and everything in it)
/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/Amazon/Kindle/ (makes the kindle program folder immutable)

I'm not going to explain all this step by step because I assume a Linux-user knows exactly what to do here. Just make sure that you are IN THE CORRECT FOLDER if you execute "sudo chown -R -w *", because if you do that in the root folder, you'll nuke your installation. So "cd" into the proper Kindle directory/directories first, or give the full path instead of the asterisk. You've been warned.

So, it can be made to work. I have verified that:
- K4PC 1.17 runs, signs in, downloads books as AZW/KF8, and they are de-DRM-ed by the DeDRM plugin (after I gave it the key)
- K4PC 1.26 runs, signs in, and downloads in either KF8 or KFX depending on the book, but both are de-DRM-ed when imported into calibre (after you give DeDRM the key)

Good luck.

edit: In case people are questioning if it is actually possible to run two versions of K4PC next to one another on the same system: you can, on Linux, because both versions are sandboxed in their own Wine prefix. I added a screenshot showing both versions running side by side with the same books loaded. And yes, I only ever bought 13 books at Amazon... and over a thousand at Kobo and stores that don't even exist anymore.

Granted, installation on Windows is A LOT easier: you just install K4PC, Calibre, DeDRM, and if you have the right versions of each, you're good. This thing was a bear to set up, but at least both versions are, AFAIK, bullet-proof now. The Kindle app actually can't write anywhere else but the Cache directory and "My Kindle Content".

Now I just need to re-instate my credit card at Amazon (removed it when they got iDeal in the Netherlands and Germany), because apparently, I can't pay for books without one. Not even when I set my store to Netherlands. Zjeesz. I just want to buy 5 books. Welcome to digital reading if you want to _keep_ what you pay for...)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Apparently stronger DRM is more important to the publisher than flexibility of use by customers. Hopefully other publishers will not follow this lead.

It is the reason why I bought over a thousand books back in the time when Kobo tried to break into the market with those 60-70-80%+ coupons that could be used multiple times; between 2011 and 2015. I bought every book I had in paper (where possible), everything I wanted, might want, and could possibly want for the future, and de-DRM'd it. Then I added 60+ Delphi Classic books for every writer I knew about and was remotely interested in.

Everything is de-DRM'd, converted to EPUB, cleaned up and fixed (one book at a time... and yes, that took YEARS), so even if I don't buy another book, ever, I can read until the day I die and beyond, without reading anything twice.

(If I'd read one book per week, I could conceivably read my entire library in +/- 30 years. So I could achieve to read everything before I die, but I have too many other hobbies to read one book 350+ page per week.)

If I can't buy books without de-DRM-ing them, I just stop buying books. I did so with games. If it doesn't appear DRM-free on GOG.com, I don't buy it. Same with software: if I can't just buy it, install it with a serial and be done with it, I won't buy it.

If I'd want to rent books (and read enough to do so), I'd have a Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus account.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

It is the reason why I bought over a thousand books back in the time when Kobo tried to break into the market with those 60-70-80%+ coupons that could be used multiple times; between 2011 and 2015. I bought every book I had in paper (where possible), everything I wanted, might want, and could possibly want for the future, and de-DRM'd it. Then I added 60+ Delphi Classic books for every writer I knew about and was remotely interested in.

Everything is de-DRM'd, converted to EPUB, cleaned up and fixed (one book at a time... and yes, that took YEARS), so even if I don't buy another book, ever, I can read until the day I die and beyond, without reading anything twice.

(If I'd read one book per week, I could conceivably read my entire library in +/- 30 years. So I could achieve to read everything before I die, but I have too many other hobbies to read one book 350+ page per week.)

If I can't buy books without de-DRM-ing them, I just stop buying books. I did so with games. If it doesn't appear DRM-free on GOG.com, I don't buy it. Same with software: if I can't just buy it, install it with a serial and be done with it, I won't buy it.

If I'd want to rent books (and read enough to do so), I'd have a Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus account.

If you still have your Kindle then you can just download your books from the Content and Devices page...no reason to use Kindle for PC at all.

Shari

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by shalym

If you still have your Kindle then you can just download your books from the Content and Devices page...no reason to use Kindle for PC at all.

Shari

I know. But I want to have as many options as possible. I don't want to rely on a single 10 year old device that could die at any moment for whatever reason. Normally I don't buy books at Amazon because I prefer my origin format to be EPUB, but now I want to read a series that is only sold at Amazon for some reason. (That author does have other series that are sold at Kobo and others...)

[Lief]

I am really worried.
The KFX format now also adds DRM to ebooks that should be drm-free (my book on amazon that I had published without drm with KFX has forced drm, so much so that in the description on amazon I put the link to the drm-free ebook).
From version 1.35 onwards it is no longer possible to disable KFX from the windows registry.
The only ways to remove it remained the older versions of 1.34 and the old kindle e-ink for those like me who have them (even by downloading via usb from the site).
Both KFX and the latest adobe drm have never been cracked.
In a few years if this continues ebooks will be completely locked behind draconian drm ... The only way to eliminate them will be to take manual screenshots.

[Lief]

PS. DeDRM Obok last version is also not working right now for kobo ebooks (ADE 2 epub drm removal still works).