Amazon has been on a mission to shut off all of the other ways to get bought Kindle ebooks away from their platform of apps and {hardware} to allow them to hold folks locked in to utilizing their retailer and merchandise solely.
It’s nonetheless attainable to get bought ebooks off of Kindle ereaders to take away the DRM and create backups, however Amazon is now actively trying to shut off that avenue as nicely. A latest software program replace has damaged DRM removing on newer Kindles in order that technique not works on all Kindles.
Some individuals are shopping for older used Kindles so as to have a straightforward option to take away DRM from their bought ebooks shifting ahead. Some are not sure which Kindle to get, so right here’s an inventory of all of the Kindle fashions and their varied states of DRM removing.
It didn’t actually matter which Kindle you owned till not too long ago. However now Amazon is rolling out a brand new hardened DRM to Kindles that hasn’t been cracked but.
If you happen to’re not sure which Kindle mannequin is being referred to beneath, see this Kindle identification web page on Amazon’s web site for an outline of every technology.
Kindles That Nonetheless Assist DRM Removing
The next fashions nonetheless obtain Kindle ebooks in Amazon’s older AZW3 format, which is simpler to take care of than the newer KFX format:
Kindle third gen (aka Kindle Keyboard)
Kindle 4th gen
Kindle fifth gen
Kindle Contact
Kindle Paperwhite 1 (fifth gen)
Kindles with Assist for DRM Removing in KFX Format
Kindle Paperwhite 4 (tenth gen)
Kindle Paperwhite 3 (seventh gen)
Kindle Paperwhite 2 (sixth gen)
Kindle tenth gen
Kindle eighth gen
Kindle Oasis (all variations)
Kindle Voyage
There’s no assure these Kindles will proceed to help DRM removing sooner or later, however they nonetheless do as of October 2025. The tenth gen Kindle and tenth gen Kindle Oasis are nonetheless eligible to obtain software program updates, so they’re the fashions which might be almost definitely to get the brand new hardened DRM sooner or later, however Amazon may add it to all Kindles ultimately.
Kindle Fashions with New Hardened DRM
These fashions with software program 5.18.5 and up not help DRM removing.
Kindle Colorsoft
Kindle Paperwhite eleventh gen
Kindle Paperwhite twelfth gen
Kindle eleventh gen
Kindle Scribe (all variations)
These fashions help DRM removing when operating pre-5.18.5 software program, however until your Kindle is jailbroken it’s not attainable to dam software program updates or to roll again to earlier variations.
Older Kindle Fashions to Keep away from
Kindle 1
Kindle 2
Kindle DX
These Kindle fashions are too outdated at this level to be helpful for DRM removing and backing up Kindle ebooks.
Why is Amazon Locking Down Kindles?
Amazon desires everybody that purchases Kindle ebooks to make use of a Kindle app or a Kindle ereader to learn ebooks, and so they don’t need folks backing up bought ebooks or studying them on different manufacturers of studying units or utilizing non-Kindle apps that they will’t management and observe.
It wouldn’t be such a giant deal if Amazon didn’t have a bunch of ebooks that aren’t out there in any respect on different platforms, however they need to lock in authors and readers to make use of the Kindle platform solely.
My idea is that they’re locking down DRM removing to allow them to attempt to persuade authors and publishers that Kindle ebooks are safer than different platforms that use Adobe DRM that’s simply damaged. They’ll use it as a negotiating tactic to make authors and publishers suppose their ebooks are much less more likely to be pirated in the event that they solely make their ebooks out there as Kindle ebooks. It’s a sham as a result of there are all the time going to be methods to pirate ebooks; they’ll by no means be capable of cease textual content from being scanned and copied irrespective of how exhausting they struggle. All DRM does is create restrictions and limitations for respectable paying prospects.
