Amazon discontinuing support for older Kindles in May

[Bermudagirl]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Removing the DRM so you can convert them.

Thanks. I have already done that with all the Kindle ebooks that I have purchased up to date. It's how to do it after 20th May and if there's a Kindle that I can do it with.

[Julius Caesar]

Most kindle ebooks can be downloaded to up to 6 devices. If you download an ebook to PW1, it means one slot has been taken and you can download the ebook to up to 5 other devices.

After May 20th, 2026, what if you want to download the ebook to 6 other devices? You would need to delete the one from PW1. You can delete it but Amazon can no longer confirm that you have deleted it because the device is no longer connected to your account.

Does it mean one slot would be permanently taken by the PW1 and there is no way to free up the slot?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Bermudagirl

Thanks. I have already done that with all the Kindle ebooks that I have purchased up to date. It's how to do it after 20th May and if there's a Kindle that I can do it with.

There probably won't be a Kindle you can do it with in the near future. Whether the new DRM will be broken or not remains to be seen.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Julius Caesar

Most kindle ebooks can be downloaded to up to 6 devices. If you download an ebook to PW1, it means one slot has been taken and you can download the ebook to up to 5 other devices.

After May 20th, 2026, what if you want to download the ebook to 6 other devices? You would need to delete the one from PW1. You can delete it but Amazon can no longer confirm that you have deleted it because the device is no longer connected to your account.

Does it mean one slot would be permanently taken by the PW1 and there is no way to free up the slot?

You can de-register your PW1, I believe. Then it no longer counts as a slot.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Julius Caesar

Does it mean one slot would be permanently taken by the PW1 and there is no way to free up the slot?

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You can de-register your PW1, I believe. Then it no longer counts as a slot.

You can delete it on the PW1 while signed in to your amazon acount on your PW1 or you can go to the content part of content and devices (while signed in to your amazon account on the web page). At the bottom of the listing for each book is an "In N Device(s)" drop down menu that will let you delete it from the device. I assume it won't count unless you are also logged in on the PW1 or until you do. I don't know if you also have to sync.

[Julius Caesar]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

…I assume it won't count unless you are also logged in on the PW1 or until you do. …

But after May 20th 2026, can you still log-in with a PW1?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Julius Caesar

But after May 20th 2026, can you still log-in with a PW1?

Probably not, but it also won't be able to take up a slot for new books.

[Julius Caesar]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Probably not, but it also won't be able to take up a slot for new books.

But it also means if I download an old book to my PW1 prior to May 20th and keep it, one slot would be permanently taken by PW1 ?

I can not free the slot after May 20th even if I delete it from my PW1?

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Julius Caesar

But it also means if I download an old book to my PW1 prior to May 20th and keep it, one slot would be permanently taken by PW1 ?

I can not free the slot after May 20th even if I delete it from my PW1?

It is far more likely that the devices being retired will disappear from your account along with any indication of the books they had on them, freeing those books up for future downloads.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Bermudagirl

Thanks. I have already done that with all the Kindle ebooks that I have purchased up to date. It's how to do it after 20th May and if there's a Kindle that I can do it with.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

There probably won't be a Kindle you can do it with in the near future. Whether the new DRM will be broken or not remains to be seen.

Amazon has changed the DRM multiple times (as I recall), and each time it has been defeated. I'm of the mind that DRM will continue to be defeated.

For example (this is from memory, so may be a little off)... kfx came out with new DRM. It was defeated. The DRM changed again, and this time it had 43? variations. Some number of them got defeated (9?) as Amazon started using them one by one, and each one had to be defeated after it was used by Amazon. There was a lot of hand wringing that a new solution was needed every time a new DRM was used. Then there was a solution that defeated all the different methods.

My memory may be a little spotty and may be mixing PC vs Kindle DRM solutions.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by John F

Amazon has changed the DRM multiple times (as I recall), and each time it has been defeated. I'm of the mind that DRM will continue to be defeated.

For example (this is from memory, so may be a little off)... kfx came out with new DRM. It was defeated. The DRM changed again, and this time it had 43? variations. Some number of them got defeated (9?) as Amazon started using them one by one, and each one had to be defeated after it was used by Amazon. There was a lot of hand wringing that a new solution was needed every time a new DRM was used. Then there was a solution that defeated all the different methods.

My memory may be a little spotty and may be mixing PC vs Kindle DRM solutions.

That it has been defeated so far doesn't necessarily mean it always will be.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That it has been defeated so far doesn't necessarily mean it always will be.

Sure. Which is why I said "I'm of the mind...".

Providing a little background provides more background to "Whether the new DRM will be broken or not remains to be seen."

As far as it being broken I would guess within 1 year; that is near future to me. What do you guess? What's the longest wait there's been for DRM to be defeated on a Kindle?

And FWIW, I'm in no rush for it to be defeated. I can use K4PC for now, and when that goes, I'll just put Amazon exclusives in my wishlist and wait. I have plenty to read.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by John F

Sure. Which is why I said "I'm of the mind...".

Providing a little background provides more background to "Whether the new DRM will be broken or not remains to be seen."

As far as it being broken I would guess within 1 year; that is near future to me. What do you guess? What's the longest wait there's been for DRM to be defeated on a Kindle?

And FWIW, I'm in no rush for it to be defeated. I can use K4PC for now, and when that goes, I'll just put Amazon exclusives in my wishlist and wait. I have plenty to read.

I don't guess anything. Frankly, I don't really care all that much anymore. If it will be defeated, fine; if not, I already have more unread books than I could read in several lifetimes.

But I'm not telling people that Amazon's attempts to lock their users in will always be defeated, that it's something guaranteed to happen until the end of days. It's not.

[DiapDealer]

If they continue to allow people to read offline, then the key necessary to decrypt the DRM has to be able to be derived from pieces that are available (locally) to the device. Someone, somewhere, sometime will break it. How quickly Amazon plugs the hole after that is the only question.

People can make up their own mind if they're willing to stockpile DRMed purchases in the interim.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

If they continue to allow people to read offline, then the key necessary to decrypt the DRM has to be able to be derived from pieces that are available (locally) to the device. Someone, somewhere, sometime will break it. How quickly Amazon plugs the hole after that is the only question.

People can make up their own mind if they're willing to stockpile DRMed purchases in the interim.

It may be that it will only be possible to retrieve the key on jailbroken Kindles. And I'm certainly not going to buy a Kindle and jailbreak it just to remove the DRM. I'm just not going to buy any more Kindle books in that case. And stockpiling DRMed books without knowing if and when they can be decrypted is by no means acceptable for me, either.

Of course YMMV (rhetorical you), as always.