Transfer from Several Kindle PC accounts

ijbrewst · 02-14-2011, 08:12 PM

For various reasons I have finished up with 3 separate Amazon accounts and have bought e-books for use in Kindle PC on all three accounts.

When I get my Kindle, will I be able to download all these books to the Kindle?

Tiersten · 02-14-2011, 08:13 PM

You can't merge accounts together as Kindle CS won't transfer purchased items to other accounts.

DiapDealer · 02-14-2011, 08:24 PM

Quote:

When I get my Kindle, will I be able to download all these books to the Kindle?

Not without removing the DRM, no.

The Kindle can only be registered to one account. The ebooks purchased with that account will be the only one's available to the Kindle. Sounds like you have a tough decision ahead (unless you decide to remove the DRM).

DMSmillie · 02-14-2011, 08:50 PM

There is one other option, though it might be fiddly - if you register the Kindle to one account, you can download the books on that account to the Kindle. You could then unregister the Kindle from that account, register it to the second account, and download the books on that account. Then repeat with the third account.

At any point in time, you'll only have access to the archived books for the account your Kindle is currently registered with, and wireless synchronisation will only be operational for the books on the currently registered account. So not a perfect solution, but it would be one way of being able to get all of the books onto your Kindle.

If you wanted to get rid of two of the accounts and consolidate all of the books into one account, you could try contacting Amazon customer services and ask if it would be possible for them to do that - it's not something you could do by yourself. But I don't know if that's something they do. Worst they can do is say no, though.

chyron8472 · 02-14-2011, 08:55 PM

I've personally asked Amazon about this.

My wife got her Kindle before I got mine, so our ebooks are all on her account... except for one. For some reason or another, at one point I bought an ebook (NIV Bible) using my own account (which I had K4PC set up for) instead of my wife's account.

2 weeks ago, I called Amazon and asked the CSR I talked to if I could transfer that one ebook from my account to hers, seeing how all our other ebooks are associate with hers already.

He said no, that you can't move ebooks between accounts.

You can have multiple ebook readers associated with the same account and use those various devices to read that account's ebooks, but you can't combine or transfer ebooks from one account to another (with the exception of gifting an ebook, but that's different so it doesn't really count.)

...so, I broke the DRM on said ebook and maintain a copy in Calibre.

ijbrewst · 02-15-2011, 01:35 AM

Thanks for all the good advice; lucky I asked as I could have been somewhat disappointed.

I would appreciate some more education on how the Kindle books actually work. When you buy them, the files seem to be stored in a folder. Is it the DRM that links the file to the current account on the Kindle and thus allows access to the file? Or are the files actually at Amazon and must I then be in WiFi or 3G range to be able to open them? (I was intending to only buy the WiFi Kindle as I would only need to download my purchases via the Home wireless network. But if I can't access the files unless in range of either system, I would then HAVE to have 3G too).

Any advice would be very welcome.

Thanks

ATDrake · 02-15-2011, 02:11 AM

No need for any wireless to read your books once the files have been copied into the Kindle's "documents" folder.

Books listed as being in the "Archives" exist in your account, but not on your Kindle, and you have the option of downloading them directly via WiFi/3G if connected, or downloading a copy from the Amazon website via your computer's browser and "sideloading" the file onto your Kindle via USB.

The DRM links the files to a particular device, and a copy is also kept at Amazon for you to re-download at any time.

Books downloaded for your hardware Kindle will not work for your Kindle for PC/Mac app and vice versa (unless they're one of the rare DRM-free books) for this reason, so you can't just drag and drop your books from one to the other and will have to download a separate copy for each (unless you strip the DRM).

Hope this helps.

cybmole · 02-15-2011, 02:30 AM

set up calibre plugin so that it strips amazon drm whenever you copy a kindle book from kindles documents folder and add to to calibre library. A pain to set up and we cannot give advice or links here, but only has to be setup once then it will work invisibly in the background. creative googling will tell you how.

essentially you tell the plug in your Kindle serial number(s), and that is all it needs to do its thing.
it is serial number driven so will only de-drm books that you have bought & registered to your kindle(s)

Piper_ · 02-15-2011, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMSmillie

There is one other option, though it might be fiddly - if you register the Kindle to one account, you can download the books on that account to the Kindle. You could then unregister the Kindle from that account, register it to the second account, and download the books on that account. Then repeat with the third account.

At any point in time, you'll only have access to the archived books for the account your Kindle is currently registered with, and wireless synchronisation will only be operational for the books on the currently registered account. So not a perfect solution, but it would be one way of being able to get all of the books onto your Kindle.

This is what my family members and I do, because we have personal accounts and another account we share.

It's actually pretty simple to log in and out between accounts to download the books we want from the archives, then log back in to our main account.

The only two restrictions i've come across are:

1) In K4PC, you can always see the covers of all the books you have downloaded, but can only open one while you're logged into the account you downloaded it from. (On Kindle devices, you can read any book once downloaded to them.)

2) When you deregister from your main account, your collections disappear. The books themselves remain, but the collection data is tied to the account itself.

ijbrewst · 02-15-2011, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATDrake

so you can't just drag and drop your books from one to the other and will have to download a separate copy for each (unless you strip the DRM).

Hope this helps.

Certainly very helpful, but does this mean I have to BUY another copy just for the Kindle?

pdurrant · 02-15-2011, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ijbrewst

Certainly very helpful, but does this mean I have to BUY another copy just for the Kindle?

No. You can download to several different devices from one account — usually up to six. No need to buy the book again.

Personally I just strip the DRM from all my purchases. and avoid this hassle.

chyron8472 · 02-15-2011, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ijbrewst

Certainly very helpful, but does this mean I have to BUY another copy just for the Kindle?

No, what this means is: When you download a DRM'd ebook from Amazon, the DRM on the ebook is modified to associate with the device for which you're downloading the book. If you browse to your Amazon account on the web and attempt to download an ebook to your computer, Amazon will ask you which device you're using the book for.

What this also means is that you cannot merely copy DRM'd ebook files from one device to the other. You must instead go through Amazon to redownload the file so that it can be configured for the device you're using it on.

Amazon also says that you can have each ebook installed on up to six Kindle-related devices simultaneously, though you can have unlimited devices registered to the same Amazon account.

The only way that you can copy books from one device directly to another without going through Amazon is to not have DRM on your books.

ijbrewst · 02-15-2011, 05:48 AM

Thanks to you all for your time and great help.

Ian

stargazir · 02-17-2011, 07:44 PM

If I had K4PC set up with one Amazon account, and my actual Kindle set up with a different Amazon account can I look at books from both accounts in Calibre?

I have tried to add the K4PC books to my Calibre library however i'm getting the DRM message even though this shouldn't be a problem for my PC. The posts here are making me think that I can cut-and-paste the books from the Kindle folder to the Calibre folder and they will work. Is this right?

ATDrake · 02-17-2011, 07:56 PM

If by "work" you mean be able to view and change the metadata, yes.

If you want to read them within Calibre's built-in Mobi viewer, a propitiatory dance of DRM-stripping will have to be done first, I'm afraid.

02-14-2011, 08:12 PM	#1
ijbrewst Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Transfer from Several Kindle PC accounts For various reasons I have finished up with 3 separate Amazon accounts and have bought e-books for use in Kindle PC on all three accounts. When I get my Kindle, will I be able to download all these books to the Kindle?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Multiple "Kindle for PC" accounts. Why?	Harveytex	Amazon Kindle	27	11-21-2011 08:01 AM
Kindle and sharing accounts	amboman52	Amazon Kindle	4	01-12-2011 02:14 PM
Kindle book prices compared..... US & UK accounts	Noosahead	Amazon Kindle	13	08-03-2010 08:21 PM
Changing accounts the Kindle is registered to...	Akd44145	Amazon Kindle	2	11-17-2009 08:46 PM
Free Kindle SF: Harry TurtleDove Settling Accounts Return Engagement	snipenekkid	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	3	03-13-2009 02:10 PM

02-14-2011, 08:13 PM	#2
Tiersten Guru Posts: 987 Karma: 8641 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3G+WiFi	You can't merge accounts together as Kindle CS won't transfer purchased items to other accounts.

02-14-2011, 08:50 PM	#4
DMSmillie Enquiring Mind Posts: 562 Karma: 42350 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: London, UK Device: Kindle 3 (WiFi)	There is one other option, though it might be fiddly - if you register the Kindle to one account, you can download the books on that account to the Kindle. You could then unregister the Kindle from that account, register it to the second account, and download the books on that account. Then repeat with the third account. At any point in time, you'll only have access to the archived books for the account your Kindle is currently registered with, and wireless synchronisation will only be operational for the books on the currently registered account. So not a perfect solution, but it would be one way of being able to get all of the books onto your Kindle. If you wanted to get rid of two of the accounts and consolidate all of the books into one account, you could try contacting Amazon customer services and ask if it would be possible for them to do that - it's not something you could do by yourself. But I don't know if that's something they do. Worst they can do is say no, though.

02-14-2011, 08:55 PM	#5
chyron8472 Groupie Posts: 180 Karma: 558490 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle 5, Amazon Fire 5th Gen, Moto Z Play Droid	I've personally asked Amazon about this. My wife got her Kindle before I got mine, so our ebooks are all on her account... except for one. For some reason or another, at one point I bought an ebook (NIV Bible) using my own account (which I had K4PC set up for) instead of my wife's account. 2 weeks ago, I called Amazon and asked the CSR I talked to if I could transfer that one ebook from my account to hers, seeing how all our other ebooks are associate with hers already. He said no, that you can't move ebooks between accounts. You can have multiple ebook readers associated with the same account and use those various devices to read that account's ebooks, but you can't combine or transfer ebooks from one account to another (with the exception of gifting an ebook, but that's different so it doesn't really count.) ...so, I broke the DRM on said ebook and maintain a copy in Calibre.

02-15-2011, 01:35 AM	#6
ijbrewst Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Thanks for all the good advice; lucky I asked as I could have been somewhat disappointed. I would appreciate some more education on how the Kindle books actually work. When you buy them, the files seem to be stored in a folder. Is it the DRM that links the file to the current account on the Kindle and thus allows access to the file? Or are the files actually at Amazon and must I then be in WiFi or 3G range to be able to open them? (I was intending to only buy the WiFi Kindle as I would only need to download my purchases via the Home wireless network. But if I can't access the files unless in range of either system, I would then HAVE to have 3G too). Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks

02-15-2011, 02:11 AM	#7
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	No need for any wireless to read your books once the files have been copied into the Kindle's "documents" folder. Books listed as being in the "Archives" exist in your account, but not on your Kindle, and you have the option of downloading them directly via WiFi/3G if connected, or downloading a copy from the Amazon website via your computer's browser and "sideloading" the file onto your Kindle via USB. The DRM links the files to a particular device, and a copy is also kept at Amazon for you to re-download at any time. Books downloaded for your hardware Kindle will not work for your Kindle for PC/Mac app and vice versa (unless they're one of the rare DRM-free books) for this reason, so you can't just drag and drop your books from one to the other and will have to download a separate copy for each (unless you strip the DRM). Hope this helps.

02-15-2011, 02:30 AM	#8
cybmole Wizard Posts: 3,720 Karma: 1759970 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	set up calibre plugin so that it strips amazon drm whenever you copy a kindle book from kindles documents folder and add to to calibre library. A pain to set up and we cannot give advice or links here, but only has to be setup once then it will work invisibly in the background. creative googling will tell you how. essentially you tell the plug in your Kindle serial number(s), and that is all it needs to do its thing. it is serial number driven so will only de-drm books that you have bought & registered to your kindle(s)

02-15-2011, 05:48 AM	#13
ijbrewst Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Thanks to you all for your time and great help. Ian

02-17-2011, 07:44 PM	#14
stargazir Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 78 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kindle 3	If I had K4PC set up with one Amazon account, and my actual Kindle set up with a different Amazon account can I look at books from both accounts in Calibre? I have tried to add the K4PC books to my Calibre library however i'm getting the DRM message even though this shouldn't be a problem for my PC. The posts here are making me think that I can cut-and-paste the books from the Kindle folder to the Calibre folder and they will work. Is this right?

02-17-2011, 07:56 PM	#15
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	If by "work" you mean be able to view and change the metadata, yes. If you want to read them within Calibre's built-in Mobi viewer, a propitiatory dance of DRM-stripping will have to be done first, I'm afraid.

Advert

Advert