Amazon is about to remove a key feature allowing users to download and back up Kindle books to their PCs.
From February 26th, 2025, users will no longer be allowed to manually transfer purchased books to their Kindle devices via USB. Instead, they can download the books to e-readers over Wi-Fi.
This feature has been useful for users who used to back up their purchases or convert books to formats compatible with non-Kindle devices.
It has been particularly useful for those users without Wi-Fi access, as books had to be downloaded one at a time.
The ability to download books to a computer also allows users to maintain offline copies. While on rare occasions, Amazon has occasionally removed books from its online store and Kindles, such as George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “Animal Farm” in 2009.
More recently, updated versions of Roald Dahl’s books replaced the originals on various ebook platforms.
Additionally, downloading books from Amazon’s website allowed for easy conversion to other formats like EPUB, which are compatible with alternative devices such as Kobo.
Older Kindle models store books in the AZW3 format, which can be extracted via USB, while newer models use the KFX format introduced in 2015.
Historically, the download feature was a holdover from when Kindles lacked Wi-Fi, enabling users without Amazon’s cellular Whispernet service to transfer books.
Despite its upcoming removal, users can still access the feature through Amazon’s website by navigating to the “Content Library,” selecting “More actions,” and choosing “Download & transfer via USB.”
When selecting the download option, a warning message notifies users of the impending change.
Once the feature goes away, the users will be able to manually copy the documents and eBook files to Kindles via USB using Amazon Apps or some third-party solutions. You will just not be allowed to download any of the copies of your purchased books on your PC.