Libreture
On April 7, 2026, The Verge reported that:
Starting May 20th, Kindle and Kindle Fire devices released in 2012 and earlier won’t have access to the Kindle Store.
The full list of affected devices includes:
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Kindle 1st Generation (2007)
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Kindle DX and DX Graphite (2009 and 2010)
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Kindle Keyboard (2010)
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Kindle 4 (2011)
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Kindle Touch (2011)
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Kindle 5 (2012)
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Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation (2012)
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Kindle Fire 1st Gen (2011)
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Kindle Fire 2nd Gen (2012)
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Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012)
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Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2012)
It’s a bigger cut-off than just the Kindle store though, and affects more than simply buying ebooks.
Any feature that requires access to Amazon’s ebook ecosystem is impacted by the change. Its ebook delivery feature, Send to Kindle, is the obvious example. From May 20, owners of older devices will no longer be able to email ebooks or documents to read on their device.
Amazon shared a statement with ZDNet on the change:
"These models have been supported for at least 14 years -- some as long as 18 years -- but technology has come a long way in that time, and these devices will no longer be supported moving forward. We are notifying those still actively using them and offering promotions to help with the transition to newer devices."
And if this was from any other company, the cut-off would seem fair.
Nintendo always cuts-off its older consoles, regardless of usage, a little before launching a newer gaming machine. Kobo regularly stop supporting their older devices. My own Sony Reader hasn’t been supported by Sony for years – so much so that it won’t load many websites in its browser without throwing a certificate warning (it simply isn’t aware of the newer certificate authorities, bless it).
But after a long list of not only anti-consumer, but also anti-user changes, Amazon are showing their true intent.
Android Authority’s article on the impact of this change on older Kindles, describes the device’s “stagnant and ad-driven interface”.
The author highlights how Amazon has consistently taken a “lazy approach” to Kindle development:
“If you look at a Kindle from 2018 and a Kindle from 2026, the user interface is nearly identical. We are still dealing with a home screen that prioritizes advertisements and promoted recommendations over your actual library.”
We can easily see Amazon’s intention here.
Kindle devices are Amazon’s closed, vertically-integrated, ad-delivery mechanisms. Just like other technology companies, the promoted tools, products, software, features, and bells & whistles are just the acceptable window-dressing for selling ads.
Your Kindle is not obsolete
As I mentioned earlier, I read ebooks on my Sony Reader (circa 2013). I download them from my Libreture library to my PC and then drag & drop them to the device over USB.
Without Amazon’s ecosystem, older Kindles work in just the same way. It can be inconvenient, but you own and control the process.
You can also jailbreak your Kindle to replace missing features, and give your old e-reader a lease of life. Other e-reader retailers have taken a different approach – avoiding obsolescence.
Kobo have partnered with the self-repair organisation iFixit to promote the repairability of Kobo e-readers. Kobo’s latest devices have been designed with sustainability in mind from the start, with exteriors made with more than 85% recycled plastic and including 10% ocean-bound plastic.
Readers and authors are clearly fed-up with the constant decline in Amazon’s support for books, reading, and their own e-readers.
Authors are removing their ebooks from sale at Kindle and Amazon.
Readers are looking for ways to buy ebooks from alternative shops.
Amazon’s very interest in reading and books has been in question for years, which is why these constant changes have piled up and generated such a strong response.
Now is the time to consider alternatives.
Fewer eggs in a single corporate basket
I have one warning against jumping ship from one corporate ebook retailer to another. The fact your ebooks and ability to read them could still be impacted by a single change or policy.
The only way to truly own, not only your ebooks, but your ability to read them, is to buy DRM-free.
First, try buying from bookshops that sell DRM-free ebooks. Buy wide and read wider!
Here’s my Ultimate List of DRM-free Bookshops. It includes over 500 ebook, digital comic, magazine, and RPG shops that sell in formats you actually own. Many are from independent authors or small publishers selling direct from their own websites.
Next, consider how you manage your ebooks. If they’re yours to own and keep, then keep them safe. Your free Libreture account provides plenty of storage space for hundreds of ebooks. And you can expand it with Extra storage.
But the big problem is always DISCOVERY!
How do you find all these ebooks and bookshops, if not from one monolithic shopfront that recommends exactly the same ebook you just bought…
Well, Libreture can help there too. Display your library publicly. Not the book files (they’re private and yours only to download), but the information about what you’re reading and where you bought your books.
Help others buy their ebooks direct from authors, small publishers, or even larger imprints that get that owning your ebooks is important.
There are plenty of options – it’s just a choice to actually do something.
So here’s a little gift:
Save on your Extra ebook storage!
To celebrate how absolutely crap Amazon are being, here’s a coupon to save money on any Libreture Extra subscription. Letting you expand your storage capacity and keep all your DRM-free ebooks, digital comics, magazines, RPGs and more safe for years to come – no matter what device you use to read them one.
Get 50% off any Extra subscription for a whole year!
Use coupon code:
AMAZONSUCKS
when paying for your subscription to get any Extra storage plan for half-price.
Happy Reading,
Kevin
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