DRM workaround: Kindle for Android

[Ma'am-I-Am]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've just been exporting the entire file set for an ebook. Every now and then, I am pleasantly surprised when the higher resolution covers and images show up.

I never thought of this. I just use Calibre to seek high-res covers.

[briannicolas]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Note: Please don't PM me with questions! Better to ask in this thread (we'll redirect you to the NoDRM Github if needed).

If you are affected by the changes to Kindle downloads and yet don't have a Kindle device, there's now another solution: Kindle for Android.

You don't need an Android device, thanks to Bluestacks.

As I do not have a Prime account, I've only tested this for purchased books and samples.

Note that reading a book via KU loan pays the author per page, which cannot be tracked if the book is read outside Kindle.

A brief set of instructions. If you need something more step-by-step, this post will help more.

1. Acquire SDK Platform Tools to get adb.exe (Android Debug Bridge) and an APK for an older version of Kindle for Android, 4.17 and below.. I used 4.16.0.75.

If OldVersion.com isn't working, I don't know of the legitimacy of other websites. An APK of version 4.16.0.75 should have an MD5 hash of 1ebe31041db4824c9f83a43d04d74668 (not case-sensitive). If you have nothing to check, this website will do it.

Note that there are reports that the apk won't work for Android 11, and that at least on Android 10 the app may attempt to force the user to upgrade to download books. 32-bit Nougat on Bluestacks is confirmed to work.

If you don't have an Android device and Bluestacks is not available for your system (Linux or M1 Macs), one user reports success using 4.16.0.75 in Android Emulator (part of Android Studio), albeit with severe performance penalties.

2. Follow these instructions to extract your Kindle key and import to DeDRM.

If your adb file is very small (0-1 kb), the backup most likely failed. Try running through the instructions again. One possible error is using newer version of Kindle for Android, which doesn't support backup.

One user reports that using adb backup -all also works, but expect a large file!

(Note that if using Bluestacks, you need to enable the option in its advanced settings, check the port number—most times its 5555—and use adb connect localhost:{portnumber} or 127.0.0.1:{portnumber})

3. After downloading your book, look in /Android/data/com.amazon.kindle/files/ for PRC files inside ASIN-labelled subfolders. Copy it out and DeDRM it.

(Bluestacks has a preinstalled "Media Manager" app that allows you to export the file to the OS.)

Notes:

- There was no attempts from the app to update itself. Still, I would suggest keeping the APK for backup.

- I suspect Amazon may be monitoring MobileRead. If this method gets blocked, I'll know for sure.

- There's been several reports of this method failing on physical devices and the app demanding an upgrade to download. It continues to work on Bluestacks for now, so try that.

- For high-resolution images:

How do I crack the DRM of e-books purchased from January of this year? I have Kindle Paperwhite device.

With Kindle device how do I crack?

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by briannicolas

How do I crack the DRM of e-books purchased from January of this year? I have Kindle Paperwhite device.

With Kindle device how do I crack?

You can use the download and transfer via USB and get a AZW3 file that you can remove DRM with the serial number entered into the dedrm plugin in calibre. This only works for purchased book (not for KU borrows). Also it only works ifthe book is not KFX only.

[briannicolas]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

You can use the download and transfer via USB and get a AZW3 file that you can remove DRM with the serial number entered into the dedrm plugin in calibre. This only works for purchased book (not for KU borrows). Also it only works ifthe book is not KFX only.

How do I know if the book is KFX only?

[Ma'am-I-Am]

Passing on some info:

Epubor now claims to be able to remove DRM for books published in 2023. Has anyone tried it? https://www.epubor.com/kindle-conver...-guide.html#P3

A user on another site suggested LDPlayer. I chose LDP 3 because I don't game. I like it better than BS. Loads faster, files display in list mode, and by setting up a shared folder, I can move files easily. It's just another option out there.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by briannicolas

How do I know if the book is KFX only?

Buy it, if it doesn't download and transfer, return it and give DRM as reason.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

Passing on some info:

Epubor now claims to be able to remove DRM for books published in 2023. Has anyone tried it? I removed the link

Epubor is kinda... sleazy. They take open-source code (DeDRM, Calibre, and jhowell's KFX Input), repackage it, and charge a bundle. This isnt so bad on its own, but then they go and break GPL by not providing any attribution. So yeah, stolen code. Not good.

Here they just bundled it with an emulator (er, "simulator") to do the same thing as my free Bluestacks method. Admittedly probably a bit more streamlined.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Ausbandicoot

I was having trouble creating backup.ab at "Command prompt", as every attempt came up with a file size of 0 kb. I also redownloaded the problem ebook into Bluestacks 5 Kindle for Android. Finally I got a backup.ab file with a sensible amount of data in it, but could not add it to the plugin in Calibre.

I then decided to uninstall Calibre 6.17 and reinstall it. I then added the DeDRM 7.2.1 plugin for Calibre again. I had a bit of trouble working out where to add the backup.ab file in Calibre, but finally worked out I needed to only show the list of user-added plugins. The "file type" plugin was the one that contained DeDRM 7.2.1, so I was then able to add the newly created backup.ab file, and Calibre is now working as expected to deDRM an Amzon .prc format ebook (as azw3 in Calibre), and convert to ePUB and other formats as expected.

Thank you for the advice.

Why not install the current version of calibre?

[Montana Harper]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Having a working ADB makes it possible to have a one click solution to pull books out. Bluestacks, at least on my computer, has the bad habit of losing the adb connection (says it is on, but refuses to connect when you closed and reopened BS). Disconnecting and reconnecting works fine, so I made a batch file that will connect, pull, disconnect.

I haven't run into that problem, but I have found that the port changes every time I close and re-open BS. Any thoughts on why that's happening and/or how I can force it to use a static port so I don't have to check the port number every time and can make myself a batch file?

[Alderon57]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Note: Please don't PM me with questions! Better to ask in this thread (we'll redirect you to the NoDRM Github if needed).

If you are affected by the changes to Kindle downloads and yet don't have a Kindle device, there's now another solution: Kindle for Android.

You don't need an Android device, thanks to Bluestacks.

As I do not have a Prime account, I've only tested this for purchased books and samples.

Note that reading a book via KU loan pays the author per page, which cannot be tracked if the book is read outside Kindle.

A brief set of instructions. If you need something more step-by-step, this post will help more.

1. Acquire SDK Platform Tools to get adb.exe (Android Debug Bridge) and an APK for an older version of Kindle for Android, 4.17 and below.. I used 4.16.0.75.

If OldVersion.com isn't working, I don't know of the legitimacy of other websites. An APK of version 4.16.0.75 should have an MD5 hash of 1ebe31041db4824c9f83a43d04d74668 (not case-sensitive). If you have nothing to check, this website will do it.

Note that there are reports that the apk won't work for Android 11, and that at least on Android 10 the app may attempt to force the user to upgrade to download books. 32-bit Nougat on Bluestacks is confirmed to work.

If you don't have an Android device and Bluestacks is not available for your system (Linux or M1 Macs), one user reports success using 4.16.0.75 in Android Emulator (part of Android Studio), albeit with severe performance penalties.

2. Follow these instructions to extract your Kindle key and import to DeDRM.

If your adb file is very small (0-1 kb), the backup most likely failed. Try running through the instructions again. One possible error is using newer version of Kindle for Android, which doesn't support backup.

One user reports that using adb backup -all also works, but expect a large file!

(Note that if using Bluestacks, you need to enable the option in its advanced settings, check the port number—most times its 5555—and use adb connect localhost:{portnumber} or 127.0.0.1:{portnumber})

3. After downloading your book, look in /Android/data/com.amazon.kindle/files/ for PRC files inside ASIN-labelled subfolders. Copy it out and DeDRM it.

(Bluestacks has a preinstalled "Media Manager" app that allows you to export the file to the OS.)

Notes:

- There was no attempts from the app to update itself. Still, I would suggest keeping the APK for backup.

- I suspect Amazon may be monitoring MobileRead. If this method gets blocked, I'll know for sure.

- There's been several reports of this method failing on physical devices and the app demanding an upgrade to download. It continues to work on Bluestacks for now, so try that.

- For high-resolution images:

I followed these instructions, and have been partially successful. Out of 10 new book downloads, I was able to de-DRM and convert 7 of them. 3 of them refuse to work, despite several different methods tried.
I will keep researching and trying. We should be able to archive and use books that we legally purchase.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Alderon57

I followed these instructions, and have been partially successful. Out of 10 new book downloads, I was able to de-DRM and convert 7 of them. 3 of them refuse to work, despite several different methods tried.
I will keep researching and trying. We should be able to archive and use books that we legally purchase.

Usually this means those 7 books had no DRM to start with. DeDRM either works or not; it doesn't work partially.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by Montana Harper

I haven't run into that problem, but I have found that the port changes every time I close and re-open BS. Any thoughts on why that's happening and/or how I can force it to use a static port so I don't have to check the port number every time and can make myself a batch file?

I haven't found a way to fix the port number. My batch file asks for the port number to connect to.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Usually this means those 7 books had no DRM to start with. DeDRM either works or not; it doesn't work partially.

yes, this. If I understood right the "DRM-free" ones are handled by a built-in universal key.

[Alderon57]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

yes, this. If I understood right the "DRM-free" ones are handled by a built-in universal key.

Are other people having this issue? Or have I done something wrong in the procedure? I have checked online every month since January looking for a solution. Thanks.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Montana Harper

I haven't run into that problem, but I have found that the port changes every time I close and re-open BS. Any thoughts on why that's happening and/or how I can force it to use a static port so I don't have to check the port number every time and can make myself a batch file?

Not sure what to tell you. My Bluestacks never changes port numbers on the same virtual machine. Opening and closing, enabling and disabling doesn't change anything. Though I haven't tried to close the instance with ADB disabled and reopen to see if the port changes. Two different BS will have different port numbers (for me). Try to enable the connection andleave it on when closing BS. Then reopen, see if the port stayed the same.

ETA: I never restart a VM either. It may happen for port numbers to change if you cold reboot an instance.

ETA2: I have managed to temporarily get the port number changed by stopping and starting the instance from the multi instance manager. After closing everything, it reverted back to the normal static port behavior once I went back to using the shortcut for the instance, which I usually use. But I couldn't reproduce the port number change in a different attempt. I suggest you try to create a shortcut to your instance, and start and stop from there (the multi instance manager has an option to create a shortcut for you).