DRM workaround: Kindle for Android

[Ma'am-I-Am]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Sounds like you may have failed to get the 4.16 version working correctly. Go back to your instance that is running 4.16, see if it imports fine and removes DRM, then and only then install 8.51 over it.

I think it's a Calibre issue. It doesn't happen to me if I limit the adding of books to 3 at a time. More than that and I'm likely to get a .prc. Again, just add that book again and Calibre will accept it in it's proper format.

[yuhfrfr]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Workaround to get high resolution image downloads. This is an anomaly with Bluestacks that refuses KFX downloads, for now at least. So I suggest you keep a Bluestacks version that has the old 4.16 app which does not support KFX. To get high res do this:

1. Create a new Nougat VM with the Bluestacks multi-instance manager. (alternatively you can clone your working Kindle 4.16 VM, then skip #2)
2. Follow the instructions in first post to install, login, and backup the Kindle for Android version 4.16.
3. Download Kindle for Android version 8.51.1.0 (oldversion doesn't have it, I used apkpure Kindle for Android version 8.51.1.0 - the arm64-v8a will only work for 64bit Bluestacks and the armeabi-v7a will work for 32bit and 64bit Bluestacks)
4. Install the downloaded APK - if using adb, you need to use "adb install -r XYZ.apk" to update existing app, the builtin APK installer in Bluestacks does that automatically.
5. download and install the AZW6 Image Merge into calibre
6. delete and redownload books that have previously been downloaded with the Kindle 4.16 version, e.g. if you cloned your instance
7. for each book extract the .prc and .ast file (the quick and dirty way is to use "adb pull /sdcard/Android/data/com.amazon.kindle/files" - then traverse the files folder and drag and drop the .prc files into calibre)

This will NOT work on Android Emulator or on a Nexus7 tablet, it probably won't work anywhere else than Bluestacks.

i was so excited to read this, but i just tried and sadly even though i got a prc and ast file, the size does not match what i get from iOS or used to get from comixology API directly. Still the very compressed and unreadable (for comics) ~1200 x 1920. Am i doing something wrong? Would love if you or someone else with this setup could try https://www.amazon.com/Valiant-X-Man.../dp/B072JXR28J. Size should be close to 100 MB which is what i get with my phone in kfx, but i only get 27 MB with Bluestacks 8.51.1.0.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by yuhfrfr

i was so excited to read this, but i just tried and sadly even though i got a prc and ast file, the size does not match what i get from iOS or used to get from comixology API directly. Still the very compressed and unreadable (for comics) ~1200 x 1920. Am i doing something wrong? Would love if you or someone else with this setup could try https://www.amazon.com/Valiant-X-Man.../dp/B072JXR28J. Size should be close to 100 MB which is what i get with my phone in kfx, but i only get 27 MB with Bluestacks 8.51.1.0.

It has been a while. Only tested it for regular novels that come as AZW3 after removing DRM. Not entirely sure what graphic novels come in as or if the ImageMerge plugin even supports them. I didn't write the plugin, just modified it to work for K4A. If I can make some time this weekend, I will play around with the link. It may require the KFX version to be DeDRMed.

[hengyu]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That means it didn't work. Did you get the backup file and added it to the plugin settings? How large was your backup file?

I just cloned a VM that already had the low-res versions working, and reinstalled with the newer version of Kindle on Android

[d4rk]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

It has been a while. Only tested it for regular novels that come as AZW3 after removing DRM. Not entirely sure what graphic novels come in as or if the ImageMerge plugin even supports them. I didn't write the plugin, just modified it to work for K4A. If I can make some time this weekend, I will play around with the link. It may require the KFX version to be DeDRMed.

bro can i download 2021 ebooks from kindle desktop app without this method?

[d4rk]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Unfortunately I can't get it to work. The command prompt returns "No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it."

Edit: ignore the above. The portal was not supposed to be 5555 in my case.

Bro if possible can u give me awz3 file of a kindle book?if i share the account login with u maybe?i just need it for that one book i dont really buy books from kindle and dont wanna go through all of that hassle :/ just for 1 book........

[issybird]

Originally Posted by d4rk

Bro if possible can u give me awz3 file of a kindle book?if i share the account login with u maybe?i just need it for that one book i dont really buy books from kindle and dont wanna go through all of that hassle :/ just for 1 book........

Absolutely not. Don't ask for any help involving transfers of copyrighted material again. And... not a good idea to share a login!

[d4rk]

Originally Posted by issybird

Absolutely not. Don't ask for any help involving transfers of copyrighted material again. And... not a good idea to share a login!

Bro i am trying to login on 1.17 desktop app but cant anymore could u help me with it?i have that kindle installed on my PC did it long ago but its asking for login and its asking me to solve a captcha which it never shows :/ only a question mark i think my kindle book is older it will just work normally with that method maybe but why cant i login actually?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by d4rk

Bro i am trying to login on 1.17 desktop app but cant anymore could u help me with it?

Perhaps you should take the time to search for and read a few of the older threads about K4PC?

Not to mention that starting your messages with bro is rather silly especially considering the way the meaning of bro changed over the decades. You gotta be sensitive, sistah! Some people don't like being referred to as beer-chugging frat boys in A&F cargo shorts.

[ksa]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

The easiest is to copy the whole files folder to your computer, then search under that folder for all *.prc files, then select all and copy into a new books folder. Then delete the original files folder. You should not move and delete files on Bluestacks, let the Kindle app do that, so it doesn't get confused.

Unfortunately the Kindle App doesn't remove the folders after removing the content. As I don't really read the books on Bluestack's Kindle App the following batch script, which I created in my platform-tools folder, works fine:

setlocal
set DLDIR=.\files
set OUTPUTDIR=C:\Users\xxx\Documents\EBookDownload
adb pull /sdcard/Android/data/com.amazon.kindle/files
for /R %DLDIR% %%a in (*.prc) do xcopy "%%a" "%OUTPUTDIR%" /q
rmdir /s/q DLDIR
adb shell rm -r /sdcard/Android/data/com.amazon.kindle/files/B*

The script transfers all .prc files from bluestacks to OUTPUTDIR and cleans up afterwards.

[ksa]

Sorry for typo...
It should be:

rmdir /s/q %DLDIR%

[mdeaplausos]

Hi! I am using Bluestacks 5 and I succesfully installed Kindle 4.16 and the ADB Bridge tools.

However whenever I try to create an adb backup the screen in Bluestacks never flashes and I cannot get a valid adb backup file for Calibre.

Please help me. Thanks in advance

[Jacques Q.]

Hello.
Sorry to bug you with what is probably a newbie's issue, but following the otherwise excellently-crafted step-by-step process as described in OP, I stumble upon a problem in the first part thereof, which is as follows :
When I do as is explained in the YouTube video (steps 5/6), the "path" that is created is named C:\Android\platform-tools, as is also briefly shown on the screen of the guy doing the YT video, so I guessed that should be correct.
BUT when I reach steps 9-10 things go wrong because here it is supposed to be called (as is visible in figure 1) C:\Android\SDKPlatformTools\platform-tools (while on my PC the "SDKPlatformTools bit isn't there). So from there on I cannot move forward, because any command I try using, be it with or without the "SDKPlatformTools" (whether I do as indicated in step 11 or go directly to step 13) will be refused.
Maybe I should add that I downloaded and used Bluestacks 5 because Bluestacks 10 didn't show the required "Advanced settings" line.
If someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong, I would be grateful !

[meghane_e]

I'm using this mobileread.com PDF to load K4A. Just starting this process tonight.

I just now tried downloading the K4A package at http://www.oldversion.com/android/co...-75-1145045067
I clicked on the red circled graphic to Download but nothing downloads.

Does the APK still exist here? If it does, do I need to have a login to do so?

Thanks!

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by meghane_e

I'm using this mobileread.com PDF to load K4A. Just starting this process tonight.

I just now tried downloading the K4A package at http://www.oldversion.com/android/co...-75-1145045067
I clicked on the red circled graphic to Download but nothing downloads.

Does the APK still exist here? If it does, do I need to have a login to do so?

Thanks!

The download works just fine when I tried it just now. It doesn't have https security, so you have to bypass that on your browser.