Dealing with Kindle ebooks in calibre

[rebeltaz]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One acquaintance of mine is using a Windows 11 virtual machine on their Linux box to download and remove DRM from Amazon ebooks. Once the books have been downloaded and DRMmed, they are transferred to the Linux side and imported into calibre.

I used to have VirtualBox installed. I'll try that and see how it goes. I appreciate it.

[lkmiller]

You can also use a jailbroken Kindle, but the Windows app might still be the easier option. I don't know.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rebeltaz

I used to have VirtualBox installed. I'll try that and see how it goes. I appreciate it.

VirtualBox does allow you to emulate a TPM 2.0 so you can install Windows 11.

[daddyjones]

I use Linux on my machine and it's possible to dedrm by jailbreaking your paperwhite and downgrading it. After that the dedrm plugin works as it ever did. Until Amazon find a way to break that - assuming they haven't already.

[lkmiller]

Originally Posted by daddyjones

I use Linux on my machine and it's possible to dedrm by jailbreaking your paperwhite and downgrading it. After that the dedrm plugin works as it ever did. Until Amazon find a way to break that - assuming they haven't already.

With a jailbroken Kindle, there's also Satsuoni's on-device kfx archiver.

[Jacques Q.]

Just my two cents : I think it would be a good idea, one way or another, in addition to linking to Satsuoni's Github page, to include a link in the initial post of this thread to Jadehawk's page (on techy-notes.com), regularly updated too, that gives a perfect step-by-step method AND a tool in working order to more or less "automatize" the whole deDRMing process and the inclusion of any e-book thus "liberated" in one's Calibre library.
I for one, not being good at all with anything technical, have been relying on it with full success for a while.

[reise]

FYI, Yesterday, I was able to download some of my Amazon books to my Oasis 3 (10th generation) e-reader. Firmware 15.18.2. Files are still kfx format.

No issues converting them to epub on my older Mac laptop (OS Monterey 12.7.6). I am using Calibre 6.29; kfx input, noDRM (10.0.9) with the serial nos for my devices.

Most of the books were purchased in 2004-05 and I had a few from 2026. Glad it worked as I was not interested in VM nor jailbreaking.

[texasnightowl]

Good to know. I haven't tried my Oasis 3 lately as my mom is reading on it. But as far as I know, the Oasis 3 and the Voyage are the only 2 that haven't been "touched" so far.

[DNSB]

One of my PW,s (10th gen PW4) still downloads from Amazon and allows me to transfer the books to calibre as KFX. However it is still on firmware 5.18.1 since I blocked OTA updates when I jailbroke it.

[texasnightowl]

I mean, same. That is, my 11th gen PW5 still works but only because I jailbroke it while it was on 5.18.3 and blocked updates. If not for that it would have updated to 5.19.whatever and would no longer work the old way. But as far as I know only the Voyage and Oasis 3 have not received firmware updates or sideloaded code so far that break the older drm method of just being able to use the serial number.

[odamizu]

Just want to make sure OP is accurate.

5.18.1.1.1 has hardened DRM that cannot be broken (without jailbreak), yes?

But 5.18.1, 5.18.2 and 5.18.3 do NOT have hardened DRM and can still be DeDRM'd (without jailbreak)?

Is that all correct?

Thank you

[texasnightowl]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Just want to make sure OP is accurate.

5.18.1.1.1 has hardened DRM that cannot be broken (without jailbreak), yes?

Correct

But 5.18.1, 5.18.2 and 5.18.3 do NOT have hardened DRM and can still be DeDRM'd (without jailbreak)?

Is that all correct?

For any books currently already on the device. Yes.

But, for any books that you need to send from Amazon to the device, I'm going to say NO because of your "(without jailbreak)".

Technically a device on 5.18.1 has the old drm BUT as soon as you take it off airplane mode and send books to it, Amazon is going to send the firmware update that puts it on 5.18.1.1.1 which then has the hardened drm. So the only way to prevent getting it updated to 5.18.1.1.1 is to jailbreak it and do the renameotabin to prevent updates.

Same goes for a device on 5.18.3. As soon as you put it online, unless it has been jailbroken and renameotabin run, Amazon will send an update for it, to 5.19.x for example.

As for 5.18.2, IF the device is an Oasis 3, then there is no current update for that model so yes, drm can be removed without jailbreak. For now. But if the device is something other than the Oasis 3, like an 11th gen PW5, then it would receive an update unless jailbroken.

All that said, there is a method by which you fill your kindle storage up, leaving only a small amount of space free which supposedly also prevents firmware updates from occurring. That does not require a jailbreak. I have not done that method.

[odamizu]

Thanks @texasnightowl. Interesting that Amazon has left Oasis 3 (and Voyage alone. Wondering how long that will last ...)

[texasnightowl]

NEW

Previously the Oasis 3 (10th gen) could still dedrm the old way as a new firmware update had not been released unlike many of the other models. But there is now a 5.18.2.1.1 listed on the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...MQC26VQQMM8XSW

I personally won't be testing it since I jailbroke and did the renameotabin to prevent updates. But I'm assuming this means drm is touched now.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Thanks @texasnightowl. Interesting that Amazon has left Oasis 3 (and Voyage alone. Wondering how long that will last ...)

Originally Posted by texasnightowl

Previously the Oasis 3 (10th gen) could still dedrm the old way as a new firmware update had not been released unlike many of the other models. But there is now a 5.18.2.1.1 listed on the Amazon page...

I took a look at the new firmware for the Oasis 3 and it has added the same new DRM that is present in version 5.18.5 (and newer) and was included in the recently released version 5.18.1.1.1 for other Kindles of a similar age.

(The only other significant change I noticed in the firmware is an update to the registration logic that includes informing the user if the device has been marked as lost or stolen.)

That leaves the Voyage as the only supported model currently without new DRM when running its latest firmware.