Dealing with Kindle ebooks in calibre

[metatech]

Originally Posted by odamizu

Method 3: Old eink Kindle
If you have an old eink Kindle (released in 2012 or earlier) running firmware older than v5.6.5, you can download ebooks directly to your Kindle ereader, then connect your Kindle to your computer via USB, copy ebooks directly from Kindle to computer, then import into calibre. (This does NOT work with Kindles released in 2013 or later running firmware v5.6.5 or newer.)

Hello,

I tried this method and it works well, thanks for the clear instructions.
But with a "hidden" limitation : some books with colour images cannot be downloaded (excluding the cover of course) on a Kindle 4 Non Touch, with latest firmware version 4.1.4, and display the following error message (even for purchased books) :

Unavailable for download : The item is not compatible with this device.

You can check with this free ebook : ASIN B09V37MRY2

Anyway, thanks a lot for all your efforts !
Hope it helps,

metatech

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

And I've used Dropbox for many years without a problem.

On an active library?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I am not sure what you mean by that. Kindles that do not support KFX are a good option for obtaining files that work with DeDRM.

Even the newest Kindles that do not allow Download and Transfer can provide usable books though the results are generally not as good other methods can provide.

How can the 2024 Kindles provide usable eBooks unless they are downloaded as Mobi or KF8?

I do have a Kindle Touch I bought from Goodwill.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

On an active library?

Yes. Not on my main library, that's on a local drive, just in case (with a backup in Dropbox). Smaller libraries are in Dropbox folders. No issues. I currently use Calibre on one computer only, though. Conflicts can and usually do arise when using the same Dropbox library on multiple computers.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't recommend keeping an active library either in Dropbox or on a networked drive to newbies, non-technophiles or people not extremely familiar with calibre. It's not 100% safe.

[metatech]

Originally Posted by metatech

Unavailable for download : The item is not compatible with this device.

You can check with this free ebook : ASIN B09V37MRY2

I found other examples, and, on second thought, the common factor might be the size. Nevertheless, none of the 15 comic strips books I have bought was downloadable on my K4NT.

Non downloadable examples (free):
B09V37MRY2 ‎8938 KB
B07DSCXWN5 8018 KB
B06VT2V4QX 5223 KB
B07P6GVWFJ 21286 KB
B087K1GTBF 39982 KB
B01EBEMYRC 21665 KB

Non downloadable examples (non-free) :
B00LEW8MKI 41906 KB
B079ZBR63D 44807 KB
B0C1TQSB9R 66397 KB
B07D14QSFB 20625 KB
B014TP7EB4 132288 KB
B01LX13YOZ 119366 KB
B06XJCW3C2 115572 KB
B00NV1PO1A 106125 KB

metatech

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've been using a networked drive for many years without a problem. What I will not use is a NAS.

I'm kind of confused here. What on earth is the difference between a networked drive and a NAS which is short for network attached storage .

Sent from my Pixel 7a using Tapatalk

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've been using a networked drive for many years without a problem. What I will not use is a NAS.

Which only proves you have been lucky up to now. A 'networked drive' is exactly the same as a NAS, from a protocol point of view. Both use SMB (assuming we're talking Windows).

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I'm kind of confused here. What on earth is the difference between a networked drive and a NAS which is short for network attached storage

You just ninja-ed me. There is no difference. None.

[odamizu]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One acquaintance has complained about DeDRM not working anymore since he updated calibre to the latest preview version and the latest alpha version of DeDRM. This is on a Mac Mini. Has anyone else run into this as an issue?

Originally Posted by lkmiller

If the books are from the Mac app, that's probably the issue.

@DNSB: How are they getting their books? D&T? Kindle for Mac 7.x? Kindle for Mac 1.40.x? some other way?

(I am still on calibre 7.19.0 and using DeDRM 10.0.9. I am not particularly interested in updating/testing newer versions on my Mac, especially with calibre preview version, unless this is clearly a new calibre/DeDRM issue for Macs that needs addressing and not user error.)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes. Not on my main library, that's on a local drive, just in case (with a backup in Dropbox). Smaller libraries are in Dropbox folders. No issues. I currently use Calibre on one computer only, though. Conflicts can and usually do arise when using the same Dropbox library on multiple computers.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't recommend keeping an active library either in Dropbox or on a networked drive to newbies, non-technophiles or people not extremely familiar with calibre. It's not 100% safe.

And keep backups and often.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

DeDRM still works on Windows just fine. But on a MAC, it won't work with the latest Kindle.

Sadly incorrect. The latest version of K4PC downloads KFX files that DeDRM can not deal with. Hence, the suggestions to use 2.4.0 (70904). The installer filename is KindleForPC-installer-2.4.70904.exe (accept no imitations).

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by odamizu

@DNSB: How are they getting their books? D&T? Kindle for Mac 7.x? Kindle for Mac 1.40.x? some other way?

They are using D&T. My suggestion was that they were using the incorrect device/serial number since they do have 2 or 3 Kindle ereaders. The problem is that they claim that it worked a few months ago.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

They are using D&T. My suggestion was that they were using the incorrect device/serial number since they do have 2 or 3 Kindle ereaders. The problem is that they claim that it worked a few months ago.

Some books may not have had DRM at all, hence their claim that it worked before. Such a claim, for the same reason, has been made here by several people over the years.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

How can the 2024 Kindles provide usable eBooks unless they are downloaded as Mobi or KF8?

Almost all books on e-ink Kindles in KFX format can be processed using the latest DeDRM plugin. The text converts properly however images are often lower resolution and without color.

For those devices that use MTP the files must first be copied to a local drive before being imported into calibre. I created a pull request to avoid the need for that but it was rejected by Kovid because it significantly slowed down the detection of those devices.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Almost all books on e-ink Kindles in KFX format can be processed using the latest DeDRM plugin. The text converts properly however images are often lower resolution and without color.

Thank you, I didn't know that. Not that I currently even have a KFX-capable eink Kindle in my possession, but good to know.