Can no longer convert AZW3

WillW · 07-03-2019, 01:39 PM

I'm hoping there's a fix for a problem I've recently encountered with converting Amazon AZW3 to epub (or anything else).

I'm aware that Amazon have some new means of locking their (my) books, but not sure whether Calibre has caught up yet..?

I've always used Kindle 1.17 on my Macbook, but inadvertently upgraded to the latest version. Now Calibre cannot remove DRM from newly purchased ebooks.
I have the newest Apprentice Alf plugin installed.

Is there a fix for this?

I tried uninstalling Kindle and re-installing the old version, but Amazon wont have it.

I'm thinking the party may be over for me and Kindle, and considering buying a Kobo, just to be free of the tyranny of Amazon. My view is that when I buy a book, I'm entitled to share it with friends and family just as I could with an actual book. I'm guessing this is still possible with Kobo books? Or are they also locked?

Any input welcomed. Thanks in anticipation.
Will

WillW · 07-03-2019, 02:34 PM

Oops! I see this post contravenes forum rules. Sorry.
Can't find a way to delete it

stumped · 07-03-2019, 02:39 PM

You can remove k for pc and install the old version. V 1.17 still works
Pretty sure I did it, a while ago ,after making a similar mistake
Just be sure to completely remove all components
A good freeware utility like Revo unnstaller, if it still exists, may help.
Otherwise you may have to manually remove some registry entries.

https://www.revouninstaller.com/revo...free-download/

Another workaround is to note that k for pc is installed as a user specific app. So if you switch to a different windows login, it will not show and you will be able to install the old version for that user. That is not a process I have tested but logically it should work, so that different users can each have access to their own Amazon accounts.

As for finding the old installer, a forum Search may help. I ask unsure of the legality of offering to upload my own backup, which I have in my Dropbox.
PM if desperate.

JSWolf · 07-03-2019, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillW

Oops! I see this post contravenes forum rules. Sorry.
Can't find a way to delete it

But we can talk about how to fix your Kindle for XYZ problem so it can work with the DRM removal tools. We just cannot talk about using the tools.

WillW · 07-03-2019, 03:10 PM

Re-installing Kindle 1.17 on the Mac worked fine, but Amazon wont recognise it since having had the newer one installed & then removed. I think the issue is at their end rather than mine.
If I log on as a different user, I then wont be able to re-download the 2 books in question
The Kindle (device) has upgraded too, and there seems to be no going back from that.

JSWolf · 07-03-2019, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillW

Re-installing Kindle 1.17 on the Mac worked fine, but Amazon wont recognise it since having had the newer one installed & then removed. I think the issue is at their end rather than mine.
The Kindle reader has upgraded too, and there seems to be no going back from that.

Go onto Amazon and remove the Kindle app from your devices and see if you can get 1.17 registered after that.

WillW · 07-03-2019, 03:40 PM

I tried that, but it then wont register the re-installed version.
I've tried all the tricks I know, but Amazon seem to be ahead of me.

WillW · 07-03-2019, 04:10 PM

Ah Ha!

Done it. Kindle 1.17 re-installed and new books added to Calibre. DRM removed.
Don't ask me how, I did what I'd already done, and this time it worked. I did run an app cleaner, so perhaps I'd left some hidden files behind last time I removed Kindle app.
Thanks all, for input. Much appreciated.

(And yes - I have disabled auto updates... ;-) )

stumped · 07-04-2019, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillW

Ah Ha!

... I did run an app cleaner, so perhaps I'd left some hidden files behind last time I removed Kindle app.
...

(And yes - I have disabled auto updates... ;-) )

that will be why
many apps will not allow install old over new, so new has to be completely wiped
it cannot be the server at amazon. that cannot see what you are doing during an install. 1st thing it sees is a registration request, which you can only generate AFTER an install

as well as turning of update, make a backup of the 1.17 installer for future use- copies of those will only become harder and harder to find

PS i know discussions on this are limited, but I thought that there were plug-ins and solutions for importing and de drm- ing KFX files from the latest version of K for PC. Perhaps someone will confirm , or not - assuming a yes/no response is allowed

PPS A kobo book bought from their store is also " locked" - either to a device or to an account - I am not an expert on Kobo DRM. Possibly there are 2 types of "locks", one for epub, one for kepub

WillW · 07-04-2019, 02:56 AM

The old kindle app installed fine even at the first try, before I used the app cleaner, but Amazon wouldn't have any of it. I needed to de-register all my kindle devices from Amazon devices management page - kindle for mac, kindle for windows, and my kindle device, and second versions of these! Then it registered kindle 1.17 fine. I also deleted all Amazon ebook content from the devices management page, also from the cloud. All my books are backed up, twice, so nothing was lost. A clean slate.
I've kept the 1.17 dmg file of course. I already had it somewhere in the bowels of some back-up somewhere...

PS - No, Calibre can't do it even with newest Alf plugins. The kindle version has to be pre 1.19 I think. May be different on Windows (I'm on Mac) but I doubt it.

PPS - I'd assumed so, but also assumed Kobo store not as paranoid as Amazon so epub format not constantly updated to prevent moving books around with Calibre.

JSWolf · 07-04-2019, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

PPS A kobo book bought from their store is also " locked" - either to a device or to an account - I am not an expert on Kobo DRM. Possibly there are 2 types of "locks", one for epub, one for kepub

When you by an eBook from Kobo, you can get it in one of two ways. One is ePub and the other is kepub. You get kepub from downloading with Kobo Desktop, Kobo app, or a Kobo Reader. ePub is gotten the normal way. ePub is what you should download as it's what's easiest to remove the DRM from.

davidfor · 07-04-2019, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

PPS A kobo book bought from their store is also " locked" - either to a device or to an account - I am not an expert on Kobo DRM. Possibly there are 2 types of "locks", one for epub, one for kepub

Both are account related. ePubs use Adobe DRM. You need to download from the Kobo store using ADE and sideload using ADE. Kepubs use Kobo's own DRM and have to be downloaded using the device or one of their apps. And then read on the device or in the app.

And there are of course DRM removal tools for both types.

stumped · 07-04-2019, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillW

The old kindle app installed fine even at the first try, before I used the app cleaner, but Amazon wouldn't have any of it. I needed to de-register all my kindle devices from Amazon devices management page - kindle for mac, kindle for windows, and my kindle device, and second versions of these! Then it registered kindle 1.17 fine....

that is interesting. could be you did not need to de-register "all" but it would be a hassle to figure out the exact rules
it should be sufficient to only de-register the device you are trying to roll back on. it may set some flag , linked to device MAC? to say this device is able to run v 1.whatever so don't allow it to register with anything older than...

and possibly there are different rules for windows vs for mac

I guess they will force us all off of 1.17 - 1.19 eventually

WillW · 07-04-2019, 04:45 AM

Yes it could be that I was hasty in de-registering everything, but it was worth it for the "clean slate".
Re-loading (a lot) of books via Calibre was simple enough, but sorting them all back into collections on the device was a bit of a chore.
Yes I'm surprised Amazon haven't yet forced the issue with earlier Kindle versons, but I daresay they will.
That'll be when I switch to Kobo (assuming Kobo aren't as uptight as Amazon with regard to controlling what we do or don't do with books we've bought. Is it so?)

Sirtel · 07-04-2019, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillW

Yes I'm surprised Amazon haven't yet forced the issue with earlier Kindle versons, but I daresay they will.

Possibly it's because the Windows XP users cannot install later Kindle for PC versions? At least that's what I've heard.

There is also the option to buy a cheap low-end used Kindle from Ebay or somewhere and register it to your Amazon account. Then you can use the USB download option, which is only available to those who own a physical Kindle device.

07-03-2019, 01:39 PM	#1
WillW Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Can no longer convert AZW3 I'm hoping there's a fix for a problem I've recently encountered with converting Amazon AZW3 to epub (or anything else). I'm aware that Amazon have some new means of locking their (my) books, but not sure whether Calibre has caught up yet..? I've always used Kindle 1.17 on my Macbook, but inadvertently upgraded to the latest version. Now Calibre cannot remove DRM from newly purchased ebooks. I have the newest Apprentice Alf plugin installed. Is there a fix for this? I tried uninstalling Kindle and re-installing the old version, but Amazon wont have it. I'm thinking the party may be over for me and Kindle, and considering buying a Kobo, just to be free of the tyranny of Amazon. My view is that when I buy a book, I'm entitled to share it with friends and family just as I could with an actual book. I'm guessing this is still possible with Kobo books? Or are they also locked? Any input welcomed. Thanks in anticipation. Will Last edited by WillW; 07-03-2019 at 01:43 PM.

07-03-2019, 02:39 PM	#3
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	You can remove k for pc and install the old version. V 1.17 still works Pretty sure I did it, a while ago ,after making a similar mistake Just be sure to completely remove all components A good freeware utility like Revo unnstaller, if it still exists, may help. Otherwise you may have to manually remove some registry entries. https://www.revouninstaller.com/revo...free-download/ Another workaround is to note that k for pc is installed as a user specific app. So if you switch to a different windows login, it will not show and you will be able to install the old version for that user. That is not a process I have tested but logically it should work, so that different users can each have access to their own Amazon accounts. As for finding the old installer, a forum Search may help. I ask unsure of the legality of offering to upload my own backup, which I have in my Dropbox. PM if desperate. Last edited by stumped; 07-03-2019 at 02:46 PM.

07-03-2019, 03:10 PM	#5
WillW Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Re-installing Kindle 1.17 on the Mac worked fine, but Amazon wont recognise it since having had the newer one installed & then removed. I think the issue is at their end rather than mine. If I log on as a different user, I then wont be able to re-download the 2 books in question The Kindle (device) has upgraded too, and there seems to be no going back from that. Last edited by WillW; 07-03-2019 at 03:12 PM.

07-04-2019, 02:56 AM	#10
WillW Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle paperwhite	The old kindle app installed fine even at the first try, before I used the app cleaner, but Amazon wouldn't have any of it. I needed to de-register all my kindle devices from Amazon devices management page - kindle for mac, kindle for windows, and my kindle device, and second versions of these! Then it registered kindle 1.17 fine. I also deleted all Amazon ebook content from the devices management page, also from the cloud. All my books are backed up, twice, so nothing was lost. A clean slate. I've kept the 1.17 dmg file of course. I already had it somewhere in the bowels of some back-up somewhere... PS - No, Calibre can't do it even with newest Alf plugins. The kindle version has to be pre 1.19 I think. May be different on Windows (I'm on Mac) but I doubt it. PPS - I'd assumed so, but also assumed Kobo store not as paranoid as Amazon so epub format not constantly updated to prevent moving books around with Calibre. Last edited by WillW; 07-04-2019 at 02:59 AM.

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07-03-2019, 02:34 PM	#2
WillW Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Oops! I see this post contravenes forum rules. Sorry. Can't find a way to delete it

07-03-2019, 03:40 PM	#7
WillW Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle paperwhite	I tried that, but it then wont register the re-installed version. I've tried all the tricks I know, but Amazon seem to be ahead of me.

07-03-2019, 04:10 PM	#8
WillW Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Ah Ha! Done it. Kindle 1.17 re-installed and new books added to Calibre. DRM removed. Don't ask me how, I did what I'd already done, and this time it worked. I did run an app cleaner, so perhaps I'd left some hidden files behind last time I removed Kindle app. Thanks all, for input. Much appreciated. (And yes - I have disabled auto updates... ;-) )

07-04-2019, 04:45 AM	#14
WillW Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Yes it could be that I was hasty in de-registering everything, but it was worth it for the "clean slate". Re-loading (a lot) of books via Calibre was simple enough, but sorting them all back into collections on the device was a bit of a chore. Yes I'm surprised Amazon haven't yet forced the issue with earlier Kindle versons, but I daresay they will. That'll be when I switch to Kobo (assuming Kobo aren't as uptight as Amazon with regard to controlling what we do or don't do with books we've bought. Is it so?)

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