Amazon continues to release new Kindle models year after year, with models ranging from entry-level, affordable options to rugged ones, color options, and even the Kindle Scribe, which is like a combination eReader and digital notebook in one. They tend to last a long time, so chances are you might be hanging on to an old model you bought years and years ago. But Amazon recently stopped support for models made before 2012.
What does this mean? You won’t be able to connect to Amazon and buy new books to download to the device. But this doesn’t mean your almost decade-and-a-half-old Kindle is now relegated to being thrown in a drawer, never to be used again. You can still keep reading on the discontinued devices, which include ones like the first-generation Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle 4, Kindle 5, as well as Kindle Fire models introduced in 2012 and earlier.
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10 Amazon Kindle Tips to Get More Out of Your E-Reader
If you haven’t explored beyond the standard Kindle features, here are some Amazon Kindle tips to get more out of your e-reader.
Read eBooks you already have
Enjoy an existing library
If you downloaded a wide selection of books to the device and haven’t gotten around to reading many of them yet, you can still do so. Flip through the titles you downloaded and forgot to read, maybe favorites you love to read again and again. There are classic book titles that never get old, maybe ones you downloaded because of a TV show or movie based on it, with every intention of reading someday. Since it’s already on the device, you can continue to enjoy it.
You can also pass the Kindle, like the popular Kindle Paperwhite, on to a friend or family member who hasn’t read the titlesin your library. It’s akin to lending them a paperback book, except it has tons of titles. Since you can no longer connect to Amazon to download more, someone else can’t make purchases on your account. Just make sure not to deregister or factory reset the device, or your account will be wiped along with the licenses for all those books you already downloaded.
Sideload titles
Find books elsewhere
Even though these older Kindle models will no longer connect to the Amazon Kindle Store, you can still sideload content to them, as long as it doesn’t have Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions. Amazon allows you to download EPUB and PDF, DRM-free books to the devices. There are tons of sources where you can get DRM-free books, like ebook.com and public domain collections. Connect the eReader to your computer via a cable, and it works like an external hard drive. Open the Documents folder and drag and drop your eBooks into it. As long as they’re of a compatible format, you’ll be able to read them.
You may have to use software like Caliber, one of the most useful and free apps for Kindle, to download metadata from an e-book, then transfer it to the Kindle once it’s converted and formatted. This allows you to continue using your out-of-date Kindle indefinitely until the device itself no longer works. The best part? Calibre is totally free and runs on macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or higher, Windows 10 and higher, and Linux. Alternatively, if the device has a dedicated e-mail address, you can send files to it.
Jailbreak it
It’s possible, but risky
Marissa Zupancic/MUO
Remember those old days when we used to talk about jailbreaking phones so we could do what we wanted with them? It was a popular method for techies, though it makes the device far more vulnerable to malware attacks. You can do this with an old Kindle. Though you don’t have to worry about malware since it’s no longer connected, the process still comes with risks. Not to mention, this is technically a grey area in terms of legality. Further, the process is complicated and can brick the eReader, rendering it completely unusable. That said, if your alternative is to drop the old Kindle off at the nearest recycling center anyway, and you’re aware of the risks and digital protection laws and want to try anyway, that’s your call.
If you decide to go this route, and it works, you’ll be removed from the confines of Amazon and can load an open-source eBook viewer, like KOreader. You’d be able to load more eBook formats as well, without the need for software like Calibre to convert the files.
Keep your old Kindle alive
It doesn’t have to be a paperweight
Credit: Amazon
Once you hear the words “discontinued support,” you might automatically think this renders a device useless. But keeping an old Kindle completely disconnected isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That’s part of the charm of an eReader versus a tablet, after all, right? While you can’t easily download new titles from the Kindle Store, there are workarounds to get new content to it. Otherwise, if you have been amassing a huge collection of book titles and haven’t gotten around to reading them all yet, you’ll get tons more use out of the eReader from what you already have before you even need to think about ways to load new content.
The models in question include the first and second-generation Kindles, introduced in 2007 and 2009, respectively, the Kindle DX and DX Graphite (2009 and 2010), Kindle Keyboard (2010), Kindle 4 (2011), Kindle 5 (2012), Kindle Touch (2011), first-gen Kindle Paperwhite (2012), first and second-gen Kindle Fire (2011 and 2012), Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012), and Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2012). If you have one of these, don’t panic: they still have lots of life left. That said, the news is a great reminder to upgrade soon, especially with so many great new Kindles available for affordable prices and often on sale.
