PLEASE HELP -- cannot convert KFX any longer

[Crucis]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

BookFab no longer works for eBooks published on April 22, 2025 or later. They used a loophole that Amazon closed and now they have no idea how to fix the problem.

The best solution at present is to use a Kindle to download eBooks and then calibre with DeDRM and KFX Input to remove the DRM.

I use Kindle for PC to download the book files to a shared folder. Up until miod April 2025, Calibre would read and load the ebooks. The books were stored by Kindle for PC as KFX formats. Since that date, the books are in KFX-ZIP format. Calibre can add the books to its database for when opened the Calibre says the books are encrypted. I would guess the issue is with DeDRM, but I'm not sure. I have the latest versions of Calibre and DeDRM.

[DNSB]

Removing the DRM from K4PC versions that will download current books is a bit of ongoing work. As mentioned, using an eInk Kindle works though you will not be able to download any books (mostly textbooks and Indian language books) that have Amazon's hardened DRM. Those books are only available to read on K4Mac, newer iOS, Android and Fire apps.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Crucis

I use Kindle for PC to download the book files to a shared folder. Up until miod April 2025, Calibre would read and load the ebooks. The books were stored by Kindle for PC as KFX formats. Since that date, the books are in KFX-ZIP format. Calibre can add the books to its database for when opened the Calibre says the books are encrypted. I would guess the issue is with DeDRM, but I'm not sure. I have the latest versions of Calibre and DeDRM.

I'm guessing you updated your Kindle for PC. The usual method and deDRM don't work with newer versions of the app. There is a fork that does, but it's more complicated and time-consuming than the old method. The physical eink Kindle method is the simplest way at the moment.

[Crucis]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

How are you getting those KFX-ZIP files? Eink Kindle? Kindle app? Which version?

Kindle for PC Win app.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by Crucis

Kindle for PC Win app.

Now I'm old and curmudgeonly enough to proclaim that "apps are, grudgingly, for phones; if it's on a real machine with a full keyboard, it's a program," but that's probably not helpful. "Which version" is important, though, because:

* For books first published at Amazon on or after April 22, 2025 (including "first Kindle editions" of some really old books), Kindle for PC will not properly download them unless the Kindle for PC version is 2.7 or later. If you try with an earlier version of Kindle for PC, the program will halt then tell you that you need to update it because your old version doesn't support certain "features" of the e-book. But...

* The various methods publicly discussed here for importing Kindle books into Calibre will fail after Kindle for PC version 2.4 (or 2.41 depending on how lucky you are).

And it's actually annoyingly hard to keep Kindle for PC from automatically updating to a "current" version, even when you uncheck "automatic updates" inside of Kindle for PC; there are various messages elsewhere on this forum on that problem. The only method that's been consistently successful for me is running Kindle for PC from a batch file that keeps deleting the temporary update folder during program start; YMMV.

[Crucis]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

How are you getting those KFX-ZIP files? Eink Kindle? Kindle app? Which version?

From Amazon using Kindle for PC. When downloaded, the ebooks are stored on my Calibre PC.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Crucis

From Amazon using Kindle for PC. When downloaded, the ebooks are stored on my Calibre PC.

What version K4PC are you using?

[Crucis]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

How are you getting those KFX-ZIP files? Eink Kindle? Kindle app? Which version?

I download the Kindle files using Kindle for PC. I have a couple of K4PC versions including the latest. I then use Calibre to convert the ebooks to .epub or .mobi and add the book to my Calibre library.

The problem may become mute. I've heard rumors Amazon will cease using K4PC making former users use a browser to read kindle books directly from the Amazon website. Don't know if the rumors.

[DNSB]

The current K4PC version is being discontinued in favour of a version that will only be available from the Microsoft Windows store. From what I read into Amazon's comments, as of 2026-Jun-30, the store version will be the only version that will be able to download ebooks from Amazon.

[jhowell]

This is the message shown in the lower lefthand corner when running the latest version (2.9.1) of the Kindle for PC app:

Announcing a new Kindle app!

A new and improved Kindle app for Windows 11 will be available in the Microsoft Store soon.

This app will no longer be available after June 30, 2026.

Users of older Windows versions are likely to be out of luck and the possibility of DRM removal for the new app is currently unknown.

[slm]

I'm still running 2.7.1 and as of this moment, no message has appeared.
Of course that it may only be a matter of time until a similar message does appear.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by slm

I'm still running 2.7.1 and as of this moment, no message has appeared.
Of course that it may only be a matter of time until a similar message does appear.

Same here.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by slm

I'm still running 2.7.1 and as of this moment, no message has appeared.
Of course that it may only be a matter of time until a similar message does appear.

The message about the app being discontinued is built into version 2.9.1.

It is likely that older app versions will just stop being able to download books once the June 30 deadline is reached.

[Crucis]

Originally Posted by slm

I'm still running 2.7.1 and as of this moment, no message has appeared.
Of course that it may only be a matter of time until a similar message does appear.

I believe the message only appears on the current version of K4PC. I don't believe anyone using an older version will see it.