Relatedly, I found out just recently that there's a new kindle jailbreak that works on all models. I used it yesterday so I can finally use KOReader on my kindle oasis instead of having to switch...
Exemplary
Relatedly, I found out just recently that there's a new kindle jailbreak that works on all models.
I used it yesterday so I can finally use KOReader on my kindle oasis instead of having to switch to my older kindle paperwhite (jailbroken years ago) when I want to read stuff I didn't buy on amazon or use "send to kindle" with.
KOReader supports many formats, has a ton of customization options, and supports opds so I can download books directly from sources such as Project Gutenber, Standard Ebooks, and my Calibre instance.
"Send to Kindle" works perfectly fine for books sourced outside of Amazon, and I've used KOReader on my phone and a small tablet before and it's great but I also have a Kindle and don't see any...
"Send to Kindle" works perfectly fine for books sourced outside of Amazon, and I've used KOReader on my phone and a small tablet before and it's great but I also have a Kindle and don't see any reason to bother with it there. What is the advantage?
I briefly listed some of the pro's, but I can go into more specifics now that I've had a few days of using it to refresh my memory. Formats Most of the content I consume, in order of frequency, is...
I briefly listed some of the pro's, but I can go into more specifics now that I've had a few days of using it to refresh my memory.
Formats
Most of the content I consume, in order of frequency, is epub, pdf, or cbz/cbr.
For epub I had to either use "send to kindle" or convert to a supported format with Calibre and then sync, both of which were annoying extra steps to me.
Kindles support pdf, but the reading experience is much better with KOReader.
For me, a stock kindle is simply unusable for reading most pdf's.
It has two views: fit the page on the screen (which makes the text too small to read comfortably) or zoom in way too much and require scrolling multiple times to read each line of text.
With KOReader, I have multiple choices for how to fit the page on the screen, it trims the margin whitespaces, it can reflow text, and has a few more things that all add up to something that lets me comfortably read pdf's on my kindle.
Manga comes in cbz/cbr files, which are the images of the pages in a zip or rar file, so now I can read manga on my kindle.
Customization
It has so many customization options that trying to list them all would take forever.
It has toggles/selections for tons of common style tweaks (margin size/line height/word spacing/font size/font weight (granular instead of just ~3 presets), two column layout, paged/continuous view, toggle embedded styling) in the bottom bar that shows when you open the ui overlay, a menu tree has many more in-depth styling tweaks, a few good preset css stylesheets to choose from, and if that's not enough, you can put in your own css styles.
Generally, I just set a few options how I like, set them as default, and that's it.
It's an very nice improvement to me, but not so much that I couldn't stand reading on a stock kindle that doesn't have them.
Sometimes however, I'll open a book with some truly terrible formatting that would be difficult to read on a stock kindle.
With KOReader I can just disable the embedded styles and that usually takes care of it.
The stock kindle content importing requires that I buy from amazon or email one of a few supported file types to a special email.
I don't want to buy from amazon and I don't want to have to download a book, email it, wait a bit, and then download it on my kindle.
The old alternative was to connect my kindle to my computer and sync with Calibre, but I've moved to hosting most of my Calibre library on a remote server rather than locally and having to go to my desktop to physically sync is already annoying enough without having to download and add to my local library first.
With OPDS catalogs, I can browse, download, and read all on my kindle.
Right now I have catalogs for Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, my Calibre server instance, and my friend's Komga instance.
I've been working, very intermittently, on a fanfiction story tracker/reader application.
The plan is to implement OPDS so that I'll be able to browse and download stories and also have "daily/weekly/unread updates" entries that'll be the new chapters for a given period for the stories I follow in one book.
Progress Sync
KOReader has a sync server that lets you sync reading progress.
It's open source, written in easy to understand lua, and is small enough that it can be quickly implemented in other services (I know at least komga implements it, haven't looked for others).
I don't just read on my kindle, I read on my phone, tablet, and desktop (and none of them through the kindle apps because they are not great).
With stock kindle I have to manually move to where I left off reading when changing devices, with this it's synced automatically on all of them.
Fwiw, for others at least, send to Kindle now accepts epub files as their preferred external file type. Changed maybe a year ish ago! Just a helpful update
Fwiw, for others at least, send to Kindle now accepts epub files as their preferred external file type.
As someone still happily using my Kindle 3 Keyboard from 2011 daily, this was the only method remaining to transfer Amazon purchased ebooks to the device. Previously, I could use the 'send to...
As someone still happily using my Kindle 3 Keyboard from 2011 daily, this was the only method remaining to transfer Amazon purchased ebooks to the device. Previously, I could use the 'send to Kindle' option, but Amazon removed this device from my account and as an available selection entirely when it was discontinued.
Ironically, as a result there is no longer any benefit to me purchasing ebooks from their platform, which I still begrudgingly do occasionally for some books I can't find elsewhere... Which I will now likely have to source via piracy if I want a copy on the device I paid for.
I know I'm in the minority here, but if you'll forgive me my old man yells at clouds moment, I just want a device I can repair myself, use entirely offline, filled with books that I own. I won't miss giving Amazon any money, but I do miss the concepts of media ownership and right to repair being the norm and expectation.
There's plenty of e-readers that do that, but you'll have to pay more, since Amazon can subsidize their margin on the device with the cut they get from store sales.
I just want a device I can repair myself, use entirely offline, filled with books that I own.
There's plenty of e-readers that do that, but you'll have to pay more, since Amazon can subsidize their margin on the device with the cut they get from store sales.
Thanks for letting me know, I just double checked with no luck unfortunately. My Kindle 3 was removed around the same time that that model's 3G services were shut down, and I remember thinking it...
Thanks for letting me know, I just double checked with no luck unfortunately.
My Kindle 3 was removed around the same time that that model's 3G services were shut down, and I remember thinking it was odd considering that I assumed I could continue using WiFi without any issues (and the support page on Amazon seems to indicate that also).
As it stands, I'm unable to access the kindle store and attempting to register the device results in an invalid username/password error despite double-checking I had the credentials correct and using them to log in on a browser.
Also worth keeping in mind I'm an Australian customer, so I'm not sure if that changes anything. I'll do some more experimenting, but for now it's an entirely offline device - Which, to be fair, I'm not overly upset about.
From what I read, logging in on that device is "weird" now. I'll quote the necessary bits below and provide the link as a source citation only. If you follow the steps below, it should work......
As it stands, I'm unable to access the kindle store and attempting to register the device results in an invalid username/password error despite double-checking I had the credentials correct and using them to log in on a browser.
From what I read, logging in on that device is "weird" now. I'll quote the necessary bits below and provide the link as a source citation only. If you follow the steps below, it should work...
Victoria7500
3y ago
Do you have two factor authentication on your Amazon account? I ran into this issue when I reset an old Kindle a while ago, following these instructions from the Amazon website did the trick.
To log in with Alternate Sign-In for Two-Step Verification:
Enter your sign-in information and click Submit.
You'll receive an error message saying that your email and password combination is incorrect.
You'll receive a security code through text message, voice call, or authenticator app.
Enter the security code at the end of your account password and click Submit. For example, if password is "abcdef" and the security code received is "12345," enter "abcdef12345" as your password.
From another link, for accounts without 2 factor authentication you would still be sent a code anyway. You use that code instead of your password when asked for the password.
Apologies for the very delayed response, thanks to an unexpected illness (and subsequent ill child) I haven't had an opportunity to try this for myself. If that method works for me this will be...
Apologies for the very delayed response, thanks to an unexpected illness (and subsequent ill child) I haven't had an opportunity to try this for myself. If that method works for me this will be fantastic for downloading book samples (something I wasn't able to do with the download & transfer via USB functionality even before it was removed). Thank you very much for taking the time to share and provide those links.
Speaking of which, since this post I have definitely come to terms with not being able to use the kindle store moving forward. The convenience that the storefront provided resulted in a few too many impluse purchases (instead of, say, checking my local library or bookstore), and I definitely have more than enough books on my backlog to satisfy me for plenty of years to come. As mentioned I'll definitely explore the workarounds you have linked to download book samples, which will hopefully assist me in making some thoughtful, informed purchasing decisions... And when I do so, that money can go to a local small business instead.
Check out the SuperNote Nomad. Built for repairability, you can run arbitrary Android apps on it, and you can buy ebooks from whatever source you want. KOReader is a FOSS Android app built...
Check out the SuperNote Nomad. Built for repairability, you can run arbitrary Android apps on it, and you can buy ebooks from whatever source you want. KOReader is a FOSS Android app built specifically for reading epubs, mobis, etc, and you can either transfer the files raw or manage your library with Calibre.
I currently use an Onyx Boox device that's very similar, but wasn't really built with repairability in mind, and it's so much better than my old Kindle. Though I do sometimes wish it had no touchscreen, and instead included page turn buttons and a sliding keyboard to reduce accidental page turns!
Thank you very much for the recommendation! I share your thoughts when it comes to the touchscreen and page turn buttons but otherwise the Nomad seems to tick all of the boxes and KOReader also...
Thank you very much for the recommendation! I share your thoughts when it comes to the touchscreen and page turn buttons but otherwise the Nomad seems to tick all of the boxes and KOReader also looks fantastic.
With your Boox, do you find yourself using it for purposes other than reading? I'm unfortunately not a great illustrator but I could definitely imagine using something similar for journaling.
(As mentioned in another reply in this thread - my apologies for the very delayed response, I've been quite unwell. I appreciate you sharing those devices!)
I hope you're feeling better! To answer your question: I use my Boox for journaling and notetaking constantly. My partner has a 10" Boox device and she even uses hers for artistic stuff. And...
I hope you're feeling better!
To answer your question: I use my Boox for journaling and notetaking constantly. My partner has a 10" Boox device and she even uses hers for artistic stuff. And knitting patterns, where e-ink's low power (but always visible) nature is especially helpful.
I am a massive fan of the Boox, and strongly recommend it if you're willing to do some tweaking yourself to get everything where you want it. KOReader is the same; a bit of a learning curve, but settings for essentially anything you might want to tweak. The Nomad seems a little better out of the box than the Boox (which has a lot of bad UI translations from Chinese to English), but likely has more of a learning curve than a Kobo or Kindle.
Think of these Android ereaders as a bit like Linux: great if you want full control over every setting, but also a bit of a nerd trap if that configuration will distract you too much. The Remarkable, Kindle, and Kobo are more like macOS: they hold your hand enough that you don't have to sweat the finer details... but they also hide away some of those details such that you can't touch them!
Yeah i'm not shocked. I really can't recommend enough getting away from kindle and amazon for ebooks. I do get that can be both more expensive (kobo/pocketbook are not as cheap) and limiting (some...
Yeah i'm not shocked. I really can't recommend enough getting away from kindle and amazon for ebooks. I do get that can be both more expensive (kobo/pocketbook are not as cheap) and limiting (some books are harder to find on other sites, and even then might just come with some other dumb form of drm), but if you can afford to do it, this strikes me as an issue where there's a really good reason to "vote with your wallet".
The competition is out there, but people just stick with kindle because of convince, and it's only helping lock down digital books more and more.
Currently I get the files directly from my Kindle device. In theory, this will still be possible even after they shut down Download and Transfer (though who knows?). That method simply allowed you...
Currently I get the files directly from my Kindle device. In theory, this will still be possible even after they shut down Download and Transfer (though who knows?).
That method simply allowed you to remove DRM without downloading it to the Kindle first. Notably, you still had to have a registered eink Kindle for this to work, as the plugin relies on the serial number to crack the DRM.
So, they’re taking out one method of removing DRM, but it’s, as of yet, not impossible. They have made other moves recently to try and quash deDRMing as well, which is a bad sign — especially as they try to have a lot of content exclusive to their platform. For example, I can’t deDRM my comics on Amazon, and their comics digital library far exceeds that of others. I also think all regular ebooks published after a recent date cutoff are not deDRMable (but I could be wrong wrong on that).
Currently the only ebooks I buy on Amazon are the ones I can’t get on Kobo or direct from the author/publisher, so it won’t be a huge personal loss for me if Amazon cuts me off entirely. It’s mostly just frustrating that they spend so much time and effort on frustrating attempts at lock-in that mess with people like me who want to spend money on those items. I’d genuinely rather buy a book than pirate it!
You can still save ebooks from the Kindle to a friendly format using Calibre, but even Calibre will direct you to download them directly from Amazon sometimes. I guess some books have DRM and...
You can still save ebooks from the Kindle to a friendly format using Calibre, but even Calibre will direct you to download them directly from Amazon sometimes. I guess some books have DRM and others do not.
There probably is a way to get most DRMed books from Calibre as well with a plugin, but it is not straightforward so I never learned how to do it.
I think even after this feature is discontinued there are still ways to strip DRM using an actual Kindle device (or Kindle for PC) along with various Calibre plugins. Or at least there were some...
I think even after this feature is discontinued there are still ways to strip DRM using an actual Kindle device (or Kindle for PC) along with various Calibre plugins. Or at least there were some number of years ago the last time I bought an eBook off Amazon with the intention to read it on my Kobo.
I can't make promises on the longetivity of any specific method due to Amazon's constant changes, but the following was working at least up to my most recent Amazon book purchase (Threshold:...
Exemplary
I can't make promises on the longetivity of any specific method due to Amazon's constant changes, but the following was working at least up to my most recent Amazon book purchase (Threshold: Stories from Cradle, released about a month ago). It requires access to a rooted Android device or the ability to use a rooted emulator, but does not require an actual Kindle. I'm making some assumptions on the average Tilderson's tech literacy and glossing over some of the less specialized knowledge required (which should be easily searchable if needed.)
If you're modifying v10.0.9 (not needed with autorelease)
Extract DeDRM_plugin.zip
Open kfxdedrm.py
Edit the following line for dsn_len,secret_len in [(0,0), (16,0), (16,40), (32,40), (40,0), (40,40)]: --> for dsn_len,secret_len in [(0,0), (16,0), (16,40), (32,0), (32,40), (40,0), (40,40)]:
i.e., add (32,0) to the list
Save and rezip the files (replacing the original zip)
Import the plugin to Calibre as you normally would
First time setup
Get your Kindle for Android key
Open the following file on your device /data/data/com.amazon.kindle/shared_prefs/Notifications.pref.xml
Grab the 32 character DSN listed in the file, it will look like this <string name="serializedDeviceAttributes">{"dsn":"21da41a236a42fg2a9292a2cb24af43c","
Convert that to hexadecimal (e.g., 3231646134316132333661343266673261393239326132636232346166343363)
Create a text file formatted as follows {"DSN": "3231646134316132333661343266673261393239326132636232346166343363"}
Save the file as a .k4i (e.g., kfa-key.k4i)
Import your key in DeDRM_tools
In Calibre: Preferences -> Plugins -> DeDRM -> Customize plugin -> Kindle for Mac/PC ebooks -> Import Existing Keyfiles
DeDRMing your books
Get your downloaded books from your device
books are saved in sdcard/Android/data/com.amazon.kindle/files
copy this folder or the book folders within to your computer
each book is its own folder titled with the book's ASIN
Import your books to Calibre
Importing any of the .kfx files in a book's folder should work
This should also address your issue with comics and recent books, @kfwyre. Be sure you're using a high DPI device so you're served HD files where available.
The relative complexity of setting this up makes it less likely to become widely adopted, but popularizing any method makes it a more likely target for breaking changes. I'd suggest liberating your Kindle library as soon as possible, supporting DRM free products and storefronts when available, and (politely) bugging your favorite authors about selling their work on alternative platforms.
Bonus material, since you're likely to encounter them if using other platforms:
Some options for dealing with ACSMs
Open in ADE, download DRM protected book, import to Calibre (+ DeDRM_tools)
Interesting! I didn’t know that KFX files were crackable at all. I might have to try this on an old phone or an emulator. I appreciate your detailed and follow-able instructions. Thanks 3WolfMoon!
Interesting! I didn’t know that KFX files were crackable at all. I might have to try this on an old phone or an emulator.
I appreciate your detailed and follow-able instructions. Thanks 3WolfMoon!
If you have an eink Kindle device, you should be able to download them to the device directly, then plug the device into your computer, and use the deDRM plugin in Calibre to get your books (this...
If you have an eink Kindle device, you should be able to download them to the device directly, then plug the device into your computer, and use the deDRM plugin in Calibre to get your books (this is how I do it).
If you don’t have an eink Kindle device, I highly recommend getting a cheap old used one off of Backmarket or eBay or whatnot in order to do this. I think mine cost $20?
I will caution that I’m pretty sure this doesn’t work for books published after a certain date (I think some time in 2024?). I don’t buy a lot of current books though, so I’m not sure on this (or if there’s a workaround). It also won’t work for comics/graphic novels.
Also there’s no guarantee this will keep working past the 28th. I sure hope it does though.
There’s some guides online which link to really old versions of the desktop kindle app. These are from before kfx file type, breaking the drm is trivial through the calibre extension. Can’t link...
There’s some guides online which link to really old versions of the desktop kindle app. These are from before kfx file type, breaking the drm is trivial through the calibre extension.
Can’t link to any because it’s been a while since I did this.
Honestly though, I don’t understand why Amazon is still supporting these versions lol.
Just went full paranoid and used this method to archive my kindle library. I also jailbroke my kindle in the expectation that a kindle-based solution will eventually become the only way to rescue...
Just went full paranoid and used this method to archive my kindle library. I also jailbroke my kindle in the expectation that a kindle-based solution will eventually become the only way to rescue an ebook bought from them. I guess next I'll prioritize getting a kobo and directly annoy authors about selling outside amazon.
My experience with emailing a file has been consistently worsening over the past few years. Recently, I use it only when I’ve misplaced the Kindle’s cable and I’m in a rush to throw a new book on...
My experience with emailing a file has been consistently worsening over the past few years. Recently, I use it only when I’ve misplaced the Kindle’s cable and I’m in a rush to throw a new book on it via Calibre.
This is not really surprising as they have been increasing their lock in for a long time and closing legacy hw a sw that is less compatible with that. This change could among other effects mean:...
This is not really surprising as they have been increasing their lock in for a long time and closing legacy hw a sw that is less compatible with that.
This change could among other effects mean:
inability to keep the device offline and still get new books
straight up not being able to get new purchases on the oldest devices
further locking down the filesystem on their hw as the DaT is no longer supported
Its about comtrol and keeping the user inside. They are also the effectively default and sometimes only option for self published books and they are pretty aggresive about having exclusivity.
I used to consider the piecemeal purchase, subscription, gamified mobile app I won't mention as really bad but it no longer seems as unlikely that the more widespread options will close that gap.
On a very-obviously-related unrelated note, what's this site's policy on discussing piracy? I know a lot of places are (understandably) against people saying "just pirate it lmao" under everything...
On a very-obviously-related unrelated note, what's this site's policy on discussing piracy? I know a lot of places are (understandably) against people saying "just pirate it lmao" under everything related to obtaining media and I'd rather not be that guy.
In the event that we're cool with it... Well, yeah, fuck DRM restricting your ability to do things with the products you own. Ebooks are one of the few things I am 100% okay with downloading for free (along with research papers) since basically every ebook store is shitty. I'll normally only read the first chapter or two of an ebook to see if I'm interested in it before buying the book second-hand, then I'll keep the ebook version as a backup.
If we're not cool with piracy then something something laws something something stealing you get it admins sorry if this is rule breaking i wasn't sure
We're in this weird limbo right now where the services that broke the popularity of piracy are going away, but people haven't yet reverted to piracy, seemingly out of habit or inertia. Despite the...
We're in this weird limbo right now where the services that broke the popularity of piracy are going away, but people haven't yet reverted to piracy, seemingly out of habit or inertia. Despite the know-how still being widespread. I think these companies have wound up the catapult for a record-breaking flip in consumer habits, and once the trust thermocline is broken there'll be no going back.
I suspect any restrictions on discussing piracy would be based on what can cause Tildes itself to have legal liability, so I doubt saying "go ahead and pirate it" without any details of how one...
I suspect any restrictions on discussing piracy would be based on what can cause Tildes itself to have legal liability, so I doubt saying "go ahead and pirate it" without any details of how one pirates anything would be a problem. Of course, it's all up to Deimos ultimately.
If you're looking to download all of your books, there are luckily a number of scripts that have been created to make this process easier. A fair number have been updated within the last couple of...
If you're looking to download all of your books, there are luckily a number of scripts that have been created to make this process easier.
A fair number have been updated within the last couple of days to bring them up-to-date. Some are a bit more complex to run than others, but if you're looking for something simple that you just want to run in your browser as a Userscript (using Tampermonkey or similar), I found this one. It works one page at a time, so you'll be doing some of this manually.
Here are some things I would recommend if using this particular userscript.
If you have multiple Kindles, aim for the download for your particular device (at least, if you decide not to strip the DRM from the files -- I'm not sure that the DRM can be stripped from newer books published in the last couple years). You can test whether there are multiple devices registered to your account for downloading, by heading to your Manage Content page, and choosing an ebook. Click the More Actions dropdown, then click Download & Transfer via USB. If you have multiple devices, you should see a list of different choices. Make note of the number (location) of the device in the menu (e.g. three down from the top).
Comment out line 78 (add // before), and uncomment line 80 (remove the // before the code. Replace the number at the end of the line: [1].click() to the index of your device in that list (minus 1). So if your Kindle is in the third place, change this to [2].click().
At line 96, this timeout period is far too long. I've found that changing this to: (resolve, 1000)); instead of 5000 is more than enough.
Save the changes to the script in Tampermonkey (or your userscript manager of choice) and head back to the Manage Content page. You should see a button in the upper-right corner to trigger downloads. You can start this here. If something isn't right, just refresh the page, and the script will stop.
After downloads stop for that page, manually navigate to the next, and repeat.
NOTE: Sometimes the index of the device in the menu moves around (for items like comics, which may not be compatible with all devices on your account). Instead, you'll want to grab those manually (or if you have a lot of them, you can change the index in the userscript for them).
I also recommend letting your browser automatically save to your Downloads folder while you're doing this, instead of opening up a dialog to ask you where you'd like to save the file. This will save a lot of time and extra clicks.
WARNING: This userscript doesn't play well with certain book entries in your content list. If a book doesn't have a download (Prime Reading Library, Books previously borrowed using Libby/Overdrive), it will likely get stuck on those, and this will stall the script. You'll need to manually grab the rest of the books from the page. Before moving to the next page, ensure that the last book on that page finished downloading.
There are way more complete and robust scripts that can do this for you, like this, and this. However, there will probably be some additional setup (not a lot) to set these up. The process also requires logging into your Amazon account through these scripts, which may not be comfortable for everyone (code should be fairly straight-forward to poke around), but if you're just not sure, the solution above is just a userscript injecting itself into your already logged-in session, and I see no nasties in the userscript.
Yes. It also means that older readers that require using a cable upload will not be able to get any more books from the amazon store. I see this effectively driving users to using other readers...
Yes. It also means that older readers that require using a cable upload will not be able to get any more books from the amazon store.
I see this effectively driving users to using other readers like kobo or boox. I also see this driving people back to piracy.
Update (maybe?): I have a (very old) Kindle 4, and to deDRM my books, I go to my Amazon Content Library page, and click Deliver and then select my Kindle. (Note: this is different than the...
Update (maybe?):
I have a (very old) Kindle 4, and to deDRM my books, I go to my Amazon Content Library page, and click Deliver and then select my Kindle. (Note: this is different than the Download & Transfer option that they are removing -- also they haven't removed it yet). The book then downloads to the Kindle, and then I can plug it in to computer and run Calibre to remove the DRM.
Historically, this has worked just fine.
Today, I tried to use the Deliver feature multiple times and the books wouldn't download. I made multiple attempts, rebooted the device multiple times, and tried delivering them individually and as a batch. Nothing worked.
I was still able to download the books directly on the device, so I was able to deDRM them, but this is the first time I've had issues with the Deliver feature. Not sure if Amazon is changing things on the backend, if this was just a freak coincidence, or a foreboding sign of things to come.
Someone posted a good rundown on r/calibre of the current methods to deDRM Kindle books now that Download & Transfer has been shut down. Also, for anyone concerned about Amazon's steps towards...
Someone posted a good rundown on r/calibre of the current methods to deDRM Kindle books now that Download & Transfer has been shut down.
Also, for anyone concerned about Amazon's steps towards locking down their platform, I recommend moving over to Kobo. The only books I get off of Amazon anymore are the ones that I can't get from Kobo.
Has Amazon also made harder to get books from a Kindle device via USB? I'm sure I could do that before, I even tried with a book that I previously copied from the same Kindle. Calibre won't get...
Has Amazon also made harder to get books from a Kindle device via USB? I'm sure I could do that before, I even tried with a book that I previously copied from the same Kindle. Calibre won't get them (will tell me to download from Amazon which I cannot do anymore) and the files are encrypted if I copy them. That includes pirated ebooks that I sent to my Kindle via my Kindle's email.
Replying again to let you know that I tested it out and was able to successfully remove DRM from a Kindle book (one I hadn’t previously processed, just to make sure it really worked). Hardware:...
Replying again to let you know that I tested it out and was able to successfully remove DRM from a Kindle book (one I hadn’t previously processed, just to make sure it really worked).
I already had the deDRM plugin set up, so doing the above steps removed the DRM (like normal, nothing changed from my usual process) and added the unrestricted file to my library.
I don't own a Kindle device, so I can't answer your question definitively. Are the files in KFX format? If so, do you have the KFX Input plugin for Calibre?
I don't own a Kindle device, so I can't answer your question definitively. Are the files in KFX format? If so, do you have the KFX Input plugin for Calibre?
Nothing had changed for me as of a few days ago when I last tested it. I can try it out again later and report my findings. Which model Kindle do you have?
Nothing had changed for me as of a few days ago when I last tested it. I can try it out again later and report my findings. Which model Kindle do you have?
Relatedly, I found out just recently that there's a new kindle jailbreak that works on all models.
I used it yesterday so I can finally use KOReader on my kindle oasis instead of having to switch to my older kindle paperwhite (jailbroken years ago) when I want to read stuff I didn't buy on amazon or use "send to kindle" with.
KOReader supports many formats, has a ton of customization options, and supports opds so I can download books directly from sources such as Project Gutenber, Standard Ebooks, and my Calibre instance.
https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/
"Send to Kindle" works perfectly fine for books sourced outside of Amazon, and I've used KOReader on my phone and a small tablet before and it's great but I also have a Kindle and don't see any reason to bother with it there. What is the advantage?
I briefly listed some of the pro's, but I can go into more specifics now that I've had a few days of using it to refresh my memory.
Formats
Most of the content I consume, in order of frequency, is epub, pdf, or cbz/cbr.
For epub I had to either use "send to kindle" or convert to a supported format with Calibre and then sync, both of which were annoying extra steps to me.
Kindles support pdf, but the reading experience is much better with KOReader.
For me, a stock kindle is simply unusable for reading most pdf's.
It has two views: fit the page on the screen (which makes the text too small to read comfortably) or zoom in way too much and require scrolling multiple times to read each line of text.
With KOReader, I have multiple choices for how to fit the page on the screen, it trims the margin whitespaces, it can reflow text, and has a few more things that all add up to something that lets me comfortably read pdf's on my kindle.
Manga comes in cbz/cbr files, which are the images of the pages in a zip or rar file, so now I can read manga on my kindle.
Customization
It has so many customization options that trying to list them all would take forever.
It has toggles/selections for tons of common style tweaks (margin size/line height/word spacing/font size/font weight (granular instead of just ~3 presets), two column layout, paged/continuous view, toggle embedded styling) in the bottom bar that shows when you open the ui overlay, a menu tree has many more in-depth styling tweaks, a few good preset css stylesheets to choose from, and if that's not enough, you can put in your own css styles.
Generally, I just set a few options how I like, set them as default, and that's it.
It's an very nice improvement to me, but not so much that I couldn't stand reading on a stock kindle that doesn't have them.
Sometimes however, I'll open a book with some truly terrible formatting that would be difficult to read on a stock kindle.
With KOReader I can just disable the embedded styles and that usually takes care of it.
OPDS
The Open Publication Distribution System (OPDS) is a catalog format based on Atom that lets you browse and download content.
The stock kindle content importing requires that I buy from amazon or email one of a few supported file types to a special email.
I don't want to buy from amazon and I don't want to have to download a book, email it, wait a bit, and then download it on my kindle.
The old alternative was to connect my kindle to my computer and sync with Calibre, but I've moved to hosting most of my Calibre library on a remote server rather than locally and having to go to my desktop to physically sync is already annoying enough without having to download and add to my local library first.
With OPDS catalogs, I can browse, download, and read all on my kindle.
Right now I have catalogs for Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, my Calibre server instance, and my friend's Komga instance.
I've been working, very intermittently, on a fanfiction story tracker/reader application.
The plan is to implement OPDS so that I'll be able to browse and download stories and also have "daily/weekly/unread updates" entries that'll be the new chapters for a given period for the stories I follow in one book.
Progress Sync
KOReader has a sync server that lets you sync reading progress.
It's open source, written in easy to understand lua, and is small enough that it can be quickly implemented in other services (I know at least komga implements it, haven't looked for others).
I don't just read on my kindle, I read on my phone, tablet, and desktop (and none of them through the kindle apps because they are not great).
With stock kindle I have to manually move to where I left off reading when changing devices, with this it's synced automatically on all of them.
Fwiw, for others at least, send to Kindle now accepts epub files as their preferred external file type.
Changed maybe a year ish ago!
Just a helpful update
As someone still happily using my Kindle 3 Keyboard from 2011 daily, this was the only method remaining to transfer Amazon purchased ebooks to the device. Previously, I could use the 'send to Kindle' option, but Amazon removed this device from my account and as an available selection entirely when it was discontinued.
Ironically, as a result there is no longer any benefit to me purchasing ebooks from their platform, which I still begrudgingly do occasionally for some books I can't find elsewhere... Which I will now likely have to source via piracy if I want a copy on the device I paid for.
I know I'm in the minority here, but if you'll forgive me my old man yells at clouds moment, I just want a device I can repair myself, use entirely offline, filled with books that I own. I won't miss giving Amazon any money, but I do miss the concepts of media ownership and right to repair being the norm and expectation.
There's plenty of e-readers that do that, but you'll have to pay more, since Amazon can subsidize their margin on the device with the cut they get from store sales.
Ok, that's weird. My Gen 1 Kindle is still a listed device on my account. I wonder if you could re-add it.
Thanks for letting me know, I just double checked with no luck unfortunately.
My Kindle 3 was removed around the same time that that model's 3G services were shut down, and I remember thinking it was odd considering that I assumed I could continue using WiFi without any issues (and the support page on Amazon seems to indicate that also).
As it stands, I'm unable to access the kindle store and attempting to register the device results in an invalid username/password error despite double-checking I had the credentials correct and using them to log in on a browser.
Also worth keeping in mind I'm an Australian customer, so I'm not sure if that changes anything. I'll do some more experimenting, but for now it's an entirely offline device - Which, to be fair, I'm not overly upset about.
From what I read, logging in on that device is "weird" now. I'll quote the necessary bits below and provide the link as a source citation only. If you follow the steps below, it should work...
From another link, for accounts without 2 factor authentication you would still be sent a code anyway. You use that code instead of your password when asked for the password.
Source Reddit link for that
Apologies for the very delayed response, thanks to an unexpected illness (and subsequent ill child) I haven't had an opportunity to try this for myself. If that method works for me this will be fantastic for downloading book samples (something I wasn't able to do with the download & transfer via USB functionality even before it was removed). Thank you very much for taking the time to share and provide those links.
Speaking of which, since this post I have definitely come to terms with not being able to use the kindle store moving forward. The convenience that the storefront provided resulted in a few too many impluse purchases (instead of, say, checking my local library or bookstore), and I definitely have more than enough books on my backlog to satisfy me for plenty of years to come. As mentioned I'll definitely explore the workarounds you have linked to download book samples, which will hopefully assist me in making some thoughtful, informed purchasing decisions... And when I do so, that money can go to a local small business instead.
I appreciate your help!
Well that’s frustrating. Mine is WiFi only, that may also be the difference.
Check out the SuperNote Nomad. Built for repairability, you can run arbitrary Android apps on it, and you can buy ebooks from whatever source you want. KOReader is a FOSS Android app built specifically for reading epubs, mobis, etc, and you can either transfer the files raw or manage your library with Calibre.
I currently use an Onyx Boox device that's very similar, but wasn't really built with repairability in mind, and it's so much better than my old Kindle. Though I do sometimes wish it had no touchscreen, and instead included page turn buttons and a sliding keyboard to reduce accidental page turns!
Thank you very much for the recommendation! I share your thoughts when it comes to the touchscreen and page turn buttons but otherwise the Nomad seems to tick all of the boxes and KOReader also looks fantastic.
With your Boox, do you find yourself using it for purposes other than reading? I'm unfortunately not a great illustrator but I could definitely imagine using something similar for journaling.
(As mentioned in another reply in this thread - my apologies for the very delayed response, I've been quite unwell. I appreciate you sharing those devices!)
I hope you're feeling better!
To answer your question: I use my Boox for journaling and notetaking constantly. My partner has a 10" Boox device and she even uses hers for artistic stuff. And knitting patterns, where e-ink's low power (but always visible) nature is especially helpful.
I am a massive fan of the Boox, and strongly recommend it if you're willing to do some tweaking yourself to get everything where you want it. KOReader is the same; a bit of a learning curve, but settings for essentially anything you might want to tweak. The Nomad seems a little better out of the box than the Boox (which has a lot of bad UI translations from Chinese to English), but likely has more of a learning curve than a Kobo or Kindle.
Think of these Android ereaders as a bit like Linux: great if you want full control over every setting, but also a bit of a nerd trap if that configuration will distract you too much. The Remarkable, Kindle, and Kobo are more like macOS: they hold your hand enough that you don't have to sweat the finer details... but they also hide away some of those details such that you can't touch them!
You can go a step further and install postmarketOS on some of them
Yeah i'm not shocked. I really can't recommend enough getting away from kindle and amazon for ebooks. I do get that can be both more expensive (kobo/pocketbook are not as cheap) and limiting (some books are harder to find on other sites, and even then might just come with some other dumb form of drm), but if you can afford to do it, this strikes me as an issue where there's a really good reason to "vote with your wallet".
The competition is out there, but people just stick with kindle because of convince, and it's only helping lock down digital books more and more.
I've been super pleased with my Kobo. It's exactly the same but not Amazon.
I think it was @kfwyre that mentioned using this to remove DRM on Kindle books before?
Currently I get the files directly from my Kindle device. In theory, this will still be possible even after they shut down Download and Transfer (though who knows?).
That method simply allowed you to remove DRM without downloading it to the Kindle first. Notably, you still had to have a registered eink Kindle for this to work, as the plugin relies on the serial number to crack the DRM.
So, they’re taking out one method of removing DRM, but it’s, as of yet, not impossible. They have made other moves recently to try and quash deDRMing as well, which is a bad sign — especially as they try to have a lot of content exclusive to their platform. For example, I can’t deDRM my comics on Amazon, and their comics digital library far exceeds that of others. I also think all regular ebooks published after a recent date cutoff are not deDRMable (but I could be wrong wrong on that).
Currently the only ebooks I buy on Amazon are the ones I can’t get on Kobo or direct from the author/publisher, so it won’t be a huge personal loss for me if Amazon cuts me off entirely. It’s mostly just frustrating that they spend so much time and effort on frustrating attempts at lock-in that mess with people like me who want to spend money on those items. I’d genuinely rather buy a book than pirate it!
I can absolutely see that change driving some folks to Anna's Archive and the like.
You can still save ebooks from the Kindle to a friendly format using Calibre, but even Calibre will direct you to download them directly from Amazon sometimes. I guess some books have DRM and others do not.
There probably is a way to get most DRMed books from Calibre as well with a plugin, but it is not straightforward so I never learned how to do it.
I think even after this feature is discontinued there are still ways to strip DRM using an actual Kindle device (or Kindle for PC) along with various Calibre plugins. Or at least there were some number of years ago the last time I bought an eBook off Amazon with the intention to read it on my Kobo.
I can't make promises on the longetivity of any specific method due to Amazon's constant changes, but the following was working at least up to my most recent Amazon book purchase (Threshold: Stories from Cradle, released about a month ago). It requires access to a rooted Android device or the ability to use a rooted emulator, but does not require an actual Kindle. I'm making some assumptions on the average Tilderson's tech literacy and glossing over some of the less specialized knowledge required (which should be easily searchable if needed.)
Requirements
If you're modifying v10.0.9 (not needed with autorelease)
DeDRM_plugin.zipkfxdedrm.pyfor dsn_len,secret_len in [(0,0), (16,0), (16,40), (32,40), (40,0), (40,40)]:-->for dsn_len,secret_len in [(0,0), (16,0), (16,40), (32,0), (32,40), (40,0), (40,40)]:(32,0)to the listFirst time setup
/data/data/com.amazon.kindle/shared_prefs/Notifications.pref.xml<string name="serializedDeviceAttributes">{"dsn":"21da41a236a42fg2a9292a2cb24af43c","3231646134316132333661343266673261393239326132636232346166343363){"DSN": "3231646134316132333661343266673261393239326132636232346166343363"}.k4i(e.g.,kfa-key.k4i)DeDRMing your books
sdcard/Android/data/com.amazon.kindle/files.kfxfiles in a book's folder should workThis should also address your issue with comics and recent books, @kfwyre. Be sure you're using a high DPI device so you're served HD files where available.
The relative complexity of setting this up makes it less likely to become widely adopted, but popularizing any method makes it a more likely target for breaking changes. I'd suggest liberating your Kindle library as soon as possible, supporting DRM free products and storefronts when available, and (politely) bugging your favorite authors about selling their work on alternative platforms.
Bonus material, since you're likely to encounter them if using other platforms:
Some options for dealing with ACSMs
source (+ the domepiece)
Interesting! I didn’t know that KFX files were crackable at all. I might have to try this on an old phone or an emulator.
I appreciate your detailed and follow-able instructions. Thanks 3WolfMoon!
If you have an eink Kindle device, you should be able to download them to the device directly, then plug the device into your computer, and use the deDRM plugin in Calibre to get your books (this is how I do it).
If you don’t have an eink Kindle device, I highly recommend getting a cheap old used one off of Backmarket or eBay or whatnot in order to do this. I think mine cost $20?
I will caution that I’m pretty sure this doesn’t work for books published after a certain date (I think some time in 2024?). I don’t buy a lot of current books though, so I’m not sure on this (or if there’s a workaround). It also won’t work for comics/graphic novels.
Also there’s no guarantee this will keep working past the 28th. I sure hope it does though.
There’s some guides online which link to really old versions of the desktop kindle app. These are from before kfx file type, breaking the drm is trivial through the calibre extension.
Can’t link to any because it’s been a while since I did this.
Honestly though, I don’t understand why Amazon is still supporting these versions lol.
Just went full paranoid and used this method to archive my kindle library. I also jailbroke my kindle in the expectation that a kindle-based solution will eventually become the only way to rescue an ebook bought from them. I guess next I'll prioritize getting a kobo and directly annoy authors about selling outside amazon.
I've only ever used "send to Kindle" via emailing the file. Obviously this change won't stop sites like z library from working. So why I wonder
My experience with emailing a file has been consistently worsening over the past few years. Recently, I use it only when I’ve misplaced the Kindle’s cable and I’m in a rush to throw a new book on it via Calibre.
This is not really surprising as they have been increasing their lock in for a long time and closing legacy hw a sw that is less compatible with that.
This change could among other effects mean:
Its about comtrol and keeping the user inside. They are also the effectively default and sometimes only option for self published books and they are pretty aggresive about having exclusivity.
I used to consider the piecemeal purchase, subscription, gamified mobile app I won't mention as really bad but it no longer seems as unlikely that the more widespread options will close that gap.
Well shit. I guess I'll have to speed up my plan to backup my library.
On a very-obviously-related unrelated note, what's this site's policy on discussing piracy? I know a lot of places are (understandably) against people saying "just pirate it lmao" under everything related to obtaining media and I'd rather not be that guy.
In the event that we're cool with it... Well, yeah, fuck DRM restricting your ability to do things with the products you own. Ebooks are one of the few things I am 100% okay with downloading for free (along with research papers) since basically every ebook store is shitty. I'll normally only read the first chapter or two of an ebook to see if I'm interested in it before buying the book second-hand, then I'll keep the ebook version as a backup.
If we're not cool with piracy then something something laws something something stealing you get it admins sorry if this is rule breaking i wasn't sure
We're in this weird limbo right now where the services that broke the popularity of piracy are going away, but people haven't yet reverted to piracy, seemingly out of habit or inertia. Despite the know-how still being widespread. I think these companies have wound up the catapult for a record-breaking flip in consumer habits, and once the trust thermocline is broken there'll be no going back.
I suspect any restrictions on discussing piracy would be based on what can cause Tildes itself to have legal liability, so I doubt saying "go ahead and pirate it" without any details of how one pirates anything would be a problem. Of course, it's all up to Deimos ultimately.
If you're looking to download all of your books, there are luckily a number of scripts that have been created to make this process easier.
A fair number have been updated within the last couple of days to bring them up-to-date. Some are a bit more complex to run than others, but if you're looking for something simple that you just want to run in your browser as a Userscript (using Tampermonkey or similar), I found this one. It works one page at a time, so you'll be doing some of this manually.
Here are some things I would recommend if using this particular userscript.
If you have multiple Kindles, aim for the download for your particular device (at least, if you decide not to strip the DRM from the files -- I'm not sure that the DRM can be stripped from newer books published in the last couple years). You can test whether there are multiple devices registered to your account for downloading, by heading to your Manage Content page, and choosing an ebook. Click the More Actions dropdown, then click Download & Transfer via USB. If you have multiple devices, you should see a list of different choices. Make note of the number (location) of the device in the menu (e.g. three down from the top).
Comment out line 78 (add
//before), and uncomment line 80 (remove the//before the code. Replace the number at the end of the line:[1].click()to the index of your device in that list (minus 1). So if your Kindle is in the third place, change this to[2].click().At line 96, this timeout period is far too long. I've found that changing this to:
(resolve, 1000));instead of 5000 is more than enough.Save the changes to the script in Tampermonkey (or your userscript manager of choice) and head back to the Manage Content page. You should see a button in the upper-right corner to trigger downloads. You can start this here. If something isn't right, just refresh the page, and the script will stop.
After downloads stop for that page, manually navigate to the next, and repeat.
NOTE: Sometimes the index of the device in the menu moves around (for items like comics, which may not be compatible with all devices on your account). Instead, you'll want to grab those manually (or if you have a lot of them, you can change the index in the userscript for them).
I also recommend letting your browser automatically save to your Downloads folder while you're doing this, instead of opening up a dialog to ask you where you'd like to save the file. This will save a lot of time and extra clicks.
WARNING: This userscript doesn't play well with certain book entries in your content list. If a book doesn't have a download (Prime Reading Library, Books previously borrowed using Libby/Overdrive), it will likely get stuck on those, and this will stall the script. You'll need to manually grab the rest of the books from the page. Before moving to the next page, ensure that the last book on that page finished downloading.
There are way more complete and robust scripts that can do this for you, like this, and this. However, there will probably be some additional setup (not a lot) to set these up. The process also requires logging into your Amazon account through these scripts, which may not be comfortable for everyone (code should be fairly straight-forward to poke around), but if you're just not sure, the solution above is just a userscript injecting itself into your already logged-in session, and I see no nasties in the userscript.
I'm not entirely sure I understand. Does this mean it will no longer be possible to buy an ebook on Amazon and read it using a non-kindle reader?
Yes. It also means that older readers that require using a cable upload will not be able to get any more books from the amazon store.
I see this effectively driving users to using other readers like kobo or boox. I also see this driving people back to piracy.
Update (maybe?):
I have a (very old) Kindle 4, and to deDRM my books, I go to my Amazon Content Library page, and click
Deliverand then select my Kindle. (Note: this is different than theDownload & Transferoption that they are removing -- also they haven't removed it yet). The book then downloads to the Kindle, and then I can plug it in to computer and run Calibre to remove the DRM.Historically, this has worked just fine.
Today, I tried to use the
Deliverfeature multiple times and the books wouldn't download. I made multiple attempts, rebooted the device multiple times, and tried delivering them individually and as a batch. Nothing worked.I was still able to download the books directly on the device, so I was able to deDRM them, but this is the first time I've had issues with the
Deliverfeature. Not sure if Amazon is changing things on the backend, if this was just a freak coincidence, or a foreboding sign of things to come.Someone posted a good rundown on r/calibre of the current methods to deDRM Kindle books now that Download & Transfer has been shut down.
Also, for anyone concerned about Amazon's steps towards locking down their platform, I recommend moving over to Kobo. The only books I get off of Amazon anymore are the ones that I can't get from Kobo.
Has Amazon also made harder to get books from a Kindle device via USB? I'm sure I could do that before, I even tried with a book that I previously copied from the same Kindle. Calibre won't get them (will tell me to download from Amazon which I cannot do anymore) and the files are encrypted if I copy them. That includes pirated ebooks that I sent to my Kindle via my Kindle's email.
Replying again to let you know that I tested it out and was able to successfully remove DRM from a Kindle book (one I hadn’t previously processed, just to make sure it really worked).
Hardware: Kindle 4
Calibre Plugin: deDRM 10.0.3 (from noDRM)
Process:
Deliver to Kindleoption for the book via my Amazon Content LibraryAdd book to libraryI already had the deDRM plugin set up, so doing the above steps removed the DRM (like normal, nothing changed from my usual process) and added the unrestricted file to my library.
Yeah, I could previously do it with barebones Calibre, no plug-ins. Looks like I'll have to learn how to use plug-ins on Calibre now. Thanks ;)
If you have any questions, let me know! I’m happy to help.
I don't own a Kindle device, so I can't answer your question definitively. Are the files in KFX format? If so, do you have the KFX Input plugin for Calibre?
Nothing had changed for me as of a few days ago when I last tested it. I can try it out again later and report my findings. Which model Kindle do you have?
I hope Calibre still works after this.