Dealing with Kindle ebooks in calibre

[Sirtel]

Personally, I'd just stop buying any more books if there was no way to remove DRM. I will never buy a book with an unremovable DRM. I have enough books in my calibre library to last for several lifetimes, so I don't exactly need to buy more.

But I think this scenario is not very likely. Someone would invent a way to break those stronger DRM measures.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by manicotti

Hello, is there no way to to download ebooks from Amazon if you use Linux? I just bought my first book, and I want to load it into Calibre. The only e-reader I own is an old Nook. Really sad that consumers constantly get pushed around like this.

You need an old Kindle eink.
The K3 is oldest that is workable, and has azw3 files . That's FW 3.4.3
Technically the DXG is slightly younger, but it's really an updated DX, so won't get other than Mobi. FW 2.5.8. It can't connect to Amazon now anyway.

All later Kindles are currenlty 5.x FW
A PW3 (Paperwhite 7th) or Oasis2 (Kindle 9th) both seem to be 5.16.x so may be OK with KFX. Certainly 5.16.2.1.1 works and may be last ever on a PW3.

Newer Kindles get updates, currently 5.17.x, so may fail to deDRM.

See here
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...MQC26VQQMM8XSW

[Quoth]

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.

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.

The PW3 & Oasis2 seem to have stopped getting FW updates. The KFX files direct via whispernet do work if KFX input (and tick checkbox for copy from Kindle) is installed and deDRM 10.0.9 has it's ID (can copy paste from Amazon My Devices). The 10.0.3 doesn't work.

There is a suggestion Download and Transfer for USB is ending.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4488600

[DNSB]

To continue with what Quoth was mentioning, several people have seen that addition to the Download & Transfer via USB popup stating the D&T drops dead on 2025-Feb-26. I'm not sure if this is tied to the age of the device but my PW4 (10th gen) is on the list.

[Kaetrin]

With the news that download and transfer via USB will no longer be available from Feb 26 2025, what is the best way to get kindle books into Calibre for conversion to epub for reading on a Kobo? I have a kindle 5th gen, which is the first paperwhite and have been using the download/transfer to USB function til now. I prefer to read on a Kobo. I got a new colour one for Christmas so I want to actually use it. I'm on a Windows PC.

[Quoth]

It's possible to add plug ins to Calibre and read mob, azw3 or kfx from the Kindle. I'd think only Kindles with less than 5.17 FW are safe in the future, so up to a PW3 / Oasis 2. I don't know if a PW1 gets azw3 or kfx, but either way it would be fine. The mobi format is very poor.

[Kaetrin]

Does anyone know why some books import into Calibre from a 5th gen eInk Kindle (Paperwhite 1) in KFX and others come in as KFX-ZIP? And, is there any way to get the KFX-ZIP to KFX? I have all the latest plugins installed.

[Quoth]

Did you tick "Import from Kindle" in the KFX input plug-in properties/settings?

[lkmiller]

I thought the Paperwhite 1 was the last kf8/azw3 and Paperwhite 2 was the generation where kfx came in.

At any rate, a kfx in calibre would mean it either never had drm or successful removal. Kfx-zip means drm was not removed. Do you have the serial number entered correctly?

eta: all kfx has drm, but some are not tied to a specific device.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by lkmiller

I thought the Paperwhite 1 was the last kf8/azw3 and Paperwhite 2 was the generation where kfx came in.

That is true. If Amazon has delivered KFX files to the device then it is not a 5th generate Paperwhite 1.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

You need an old Kindle eink.
The K3 is oldest that is workable, and has azw3 files . That's FW 3.4.3
Technically the DXG is slightly younger, but it's really an updated DX, so won't get other than Mobi. FW 2.5.8. It can't connect to Amazon now anyway.

All later Kindles are currenlty 5.x FW
A PW3 (Paperwhite 7th) or Oasis2 (Kindle 9th) both seem to be 5.16.x so may be OK with KFX. Certainly 5.16.2.1.1 works and may be last ever on a PW3.

Newer Kindles get updates, currently 5.17.x, so may fail to deDRM.

See here
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...MQC26VQQMM8XSW

The best Kindle is the Kindle Touch as it has no KFX support. Most K3/KK out there have been updated to support KFX.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jhowell

That is true. If Amazon has delivered KFX files to the device then it is not a 5th generate Paperwhite 1.

Given that Amazon has added KFX to a K3/KK, maybe they've also been able to add KFX to a PW1.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The best Kindle is the Kindle Touch as it has no KFX support. Most K3/KK out there have been updated to support KFX.

What? Given that K3 is older than the Kindle Touch, that's very unlikely.

[Quoth]

The Kindle 3 / Keyboard doesn't do KFX? It's the earliest model with azw3 backport. The Kindle Touch is much later.

KFX isn't a problem on older Kindles not getting updates (Paperwhite 3, Oasis 2 etc among the last), because the KFX deDRM 10.0.9 + KFX import (with copy from Kindle set) works.

[Quoth]

These are all the models less than 5.17.x (which has currently 3 versions) that do azw3. The azw3/KF8 was initially in late 2011 on the app on the Fire Tablet.

I don't think the Paperwhite (6th gen) PW1 does KFX.

KFX seems to be about 2019? It was certainly backported to the Paperwhite gen7 (PW3)

Models

2017 Kindle Oasis (9th Generation) 5.16.2.1.1 [AKA Oasis 2, 7 " screen]

2016 Kindle (8th Generation) 5.16.2.1.1 [A Kindle Basic, but with BT]

2016 Kindle Oasis (8th Generation) 5.16.2.1.1 [AKA Oasis 1, really mythical Voyage 2, only 6"]

2016 Kindle Paperwhite Manga (7th Generation) 5.16.2.1.1 [32G Flash]

2015 Kindle Paperwhite (7th Generation) 5.16.2.1.1 [AKA PW3, 300 dpi]

2014 Kindle Voyage (7th Generation) 5.13.6 [first 300 dpi]

2014 Kindle (7th Generation) 5.12.2.2 [AKA Basic 1?]

2013 Kindle Paperwhite (6th Generation) 5.12.2.2 [AKA PW3] Early models 2G, later 4G

2012 Kindle Paperwhite (5th Generation) 5.6.1.1 [AKA PW1]

2012 Kindle (5th Generation) 4.1.4 [Upgrade in stages. Not touch]

2011 Kindle Touch (4th Generation) 5.3.7.3

2011 Kindle (4th Generation) 4.1.4 [Upgrade in stages. Not touch]

2010 Kindle Keyboard (3rd Generation) 3.4.3 [Upgrade in stages. AKA K3, KK3]

The K1, K2, DX and DXG also have keyboards but never got backported azw3/KF8, they are mobi/azw/KF7. Variously 2007 to 2009 with DXG in 2010.

The K1 didn't have PDF. The Kindle 2 added native PDF capability with the version 2.3 firmware upgrade. Active Content support was introduced in 2010 only to be dropped from new Kindle devices in late 2014.

The AZW3/KF8 was backported in 2015

In August 2015, all the Kindle e-readers released within the previous two years were updated

Model years from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_devices
Table here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle


KFX is on 2014 and later models (though it must have been backported in 2018 or 2019)

The Kindle (7, 8 & 9), Kindle Paperwhite (2, 3, 4 & 5), Voyage and Oasis (1, 2 & 3) can display KFX files natively. KFX is Amazon's successor to the AZW3 format.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon...port_by_device

This has the serial IDs of the Kindle models. The actual official Amazon naming is rubbish.