Is Amazon deleting side loaded books?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

Apparently, redditors have been complaining about sideloading books running into some weird "ASIN" problem with Amazon requiring sideloaded books to pass an ASIN "sniff test" - and books that don't match up are unable to open.

Apparently, they want you to use their send to kindle feature.

Ye gods. What next?

[KrystalMass]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

Apparently, redditors have been complaining about sideloading books running into some weird "ASIN" problem with Amazon requiring sideloaded books to pass an ASIN "sniff test" - and books that don't match up are unable to open.

Apparently, they want you to use their send to kindle feature.

This is happening on Kindle 5.18.4.0.1. Versions 5.18.3 and earlier don't have this problem. There is a workaround to open your sideloaded books by clicking on the three dots menu (or long press on a book cover thumbnail) and choose "Go To." In my case, it only seems to happen on books sideloaded after the update to 5.18.4.0.1. But that is perhaps because I had already opened the books I had previously sideloaded before my kindle updated to the latest.

It should be noted that Amazon's customer support specifically told me to convert my books to epub with Calibre and then use the Send To Kindle. Another representative told me to reset my Kindle. I may try resetting it. But this update to the kindle firmware is definitely breaking sideloading. I'm going to try to manually copying a book and cover to the Documents/Thumbnails folder on my kindle and see what happens.

[KrystalMass]

Originally Posted by KrystalMass

I'm going to try to manually copying a book and cover to the Documents/Thumbnails folder on my kindle and see what happens.

Quick update. I manually copied a public domain AZW3 ebook and cover from Standard Ebooks into the kindle and that opened just fine. I don't know why that is.

I note that the Standard Ebook I copied just now has a mobi-asin. Of the books that gave me problems, one that I transferred using Calibre had an "amazon:" ID, and another didn't have any Amazon style ASIN but it did have a Goodreads, Google, ISBN and epl in the metadata. Maybe that info will be helpful...?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Ye gods. What next?

Shooting off their feet?

And I thought the Scribe's Amazon stupidity with needing PDFs to go through Amazon twice was mad. Otherwise I'd have bought a Scribe for PDFs.

[JSWolf]

This thread is obsolete. The real thread is over here at Amazon Removed books from my Kindle.

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by KrystalMass

It should be noted that Amazon's customer support specifically told me to convert my books to epub with Calibre and then use the Send To Kindle.

Yup. It's like they are going out of their way to alienate their Kindle users

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Shooting off their feet?

And I thought the Scribe's Amazon stupidity with needing PDFs to go through Amazon twice was mad. Otherwise I'd have bought a Scribe for PDFs.

huh? What is this needing to go through Amazon twice?

I have some .pdf's that I sent, but haven't yet opened, so I am not sure where this is going to apply. I would check now, but my Scribe is out of my vicinity.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Rellwood

huh? What is this needing to go through Amazon twice?

I have some .pdf's that I sent, but haven't yet opened, so I am not sure where this is going to apply. I would check now, but my Scribe is out of my vicinity.

Any not-Scribe (desktop or tablet or eink) that has annotation for PDFs; you just copy the PDF on /off directly. Some applications allow direct export of the annotation.

On the Scribe if you want to do more than simply read the PDF:
1) Send PDF to Amazon
2) WiFi connection and download load KFX version
So that's once, but two connections.

Add annotation
3) Send to Amazon
4) Get back email on PC of the annotation.

So "going through Amazon twice".

Even the reMarkable (1 or 2) is simpler than that. The Elipsa simpler still. Any decent iPad or decent Android tablet with digitiser is simpler. They are all private and need no server nor Internet. I have or had all of those, with suitable pens/stylus, except the iPad (and Pencil), which I have borrowed.

I considered a Scribe but waited for comments by keen users such as Tomsem here and realised it was Amazon control madness for anything other than reading a PDF. I have K3, DGX and Paperwhite 3. I've had a PW1, Basic and Oasis 2. I also used Amazon desktop software till 2017 when I ditched Windows, though still have some on a VM.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by KrystalMass

It should be noted that Amazon's customer support specifically told me to convert my books to epub with Calibre and then use the Send To Kindle. Another representative told me to reset my Kindle. I may try resetting it. But this update to the kindle firmware is definitely breaking sideloading. I'm going to try to manually copying a book and cover to the Documents/Thumbnails folder on my kindle and see what happens.

Ask them why STK doesn't support Amazon Kindle formats!

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Ask them why STK doesn't support Amazon Kindle formats!

Because STK is meant for books acquired elsewhere than Amazon. Amazon assumes that you download Kindle formats directly from them, so no need for STK.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Because STK is meant for books acquired elsewhere than Amazon. Amazon assumes that you download Kindle formats directly from them, so no need for STK.

I know that is the official reason.

By Amazon logic only Amazon supplies Kindle format. However some people find it convenient (email to kindle idea, though it's not really) and I think it used to work. I'm suspicious as to how private anything sent Amazon is.

There is actually no need at all for STK if you have Calibre.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Because STK is meant for books acquired elsewhere than Amazon. Amazon assumes that you download Kindle formats directly from them, so no need for STK.

To go back a couple of years, Amazon supported sending mobi format through StK until late 2023 though originally the EOL was supposed to be in late 2022.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

To go back a couple of years, Amazon supported sending mobi format through StK until late 2023 though originally the EOL was supposed to be in late 2022.

Yes, because mobi was not a proprietary format and was sold by other booksellers besides Amazon. AZW3 and KFX are proprietary and no one else sells them legally (except for dual mobi in some cases).

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes, because mobi was not a proprietary format and was sold by other booksellers besides Amazon. AZW3 and KFX are proprietary and no one else sells them legally (except for dual mobi in some cases).

When Amazon purchased MobiPocket SA, the mobi format they purchased was the subject of many proprietary changes and a few extensions. The mobi code in Kobo ereaders which was based on the MobiPocket version could not read many Amazon supplied mobi files in 2012 which the last time I tested mobi.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

When Amazon purchased MobiPocket SA, the mobi format they purchased was the subject of many proprietary changes and a few extensions. The mobi code in Kobo ereaders which was based on the MobiPocket version could not read many Amazon supplied mobi files in 2012 which the last time I tested mobi.

But mobi was still sold legally by other stores after that. Newer Amazon formats have never been sold by anyone else (unless by pirate sites, of course).