Downloading, backing up Kindle books on PCs not allowed anymore
What's the story
Amazon has announced plans to kill a feature that lets users download purchased books on their computers, and then transfer them to their Kindle devices manually via USB. The change will come into effect from February 26. The feature isn't widely known among Kindle users as most prefer sending books directly to their devices over Wi-Fi. However, it does offer benefits like enabling backups of purchases and conversion into other formats compatible with non-Kindle e-readers.
User impact
Removal may impact users without Wi-Fi access
The removal of this feature could impact users without access to a Wi-Fi network. Although it is a time-consuming process (as books can only be downloaded one at a time), it ensures you have offline copies. This change comes after cases where Amazon removed books from its online shop and remotely deleted them from Kindles or edited titles and re-uploaded new versions to its e-readers.
Format conversion
Feature also facilitates book format conversion
The soon-to-be-discontinued feature also makes it easier to convert books purchased from Amazon into other formats like EPUB, which work with other devices like Kobo. Books downloaded from Amazon's website are delivered in the older AZW3 format, which makes it easier to remove DRM using various software tools. A warning now appears on Amazon's website while downloading eBooks, alerting users about this upcoming change.
Official statement
Amazon confirms removal of book download feature
Amazon confirmed the discontinuation of the book download facility in a statement to The Verge. "Customers can continue reading books previously downloaded on their Kindle device, and access new content through the Kindle app, Kindle for web, as well as directly through Kindle devices with Wi-Fi capability," said Amazon spokesperson Jackie Burke. Despite the change, users will still be able to manually copy eBook files and other documents to Kindles over USB using third-party solutions like Calibre.