Amazon Kindle users are going to lose this popular PC feature very soon – Android Central
The company informs Kindle users about removing a useful USB feature.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Amazon has started suggesting that it is removing the ability to download and back up Kindle books to its PCs.The feature widely dubbed “Download & Transfer via USB” will be removed starting February 26 (via Android Police). Amazon has started showing pop-up messages to many Kindle users on the web. Until then, the ability to download books on a PC and transfer them to Kindle devices via USB transfer should work flawlessly for consumers.Amazon notes that users would still be able to send downloaded Kindle books to their respective devices, provided they have Wi-Fi-enabled ones and by “selecting the ‘Deliver or Remove from Device’ option.”The company; however, doesn’t mention why it is removing the feature but as How-to Geek points out, it appears it is to lock consumers in the Kindle ecosystem of devices and not allow side loading of books.The popular “Download & Transfer via USB” feature is believed to be often used for downloading older purchased books removing their DRM (Digital Rights Management), and converting them to a more universal ePUB format so that they can be imported to other rival book apps similar to Kindle.The initial purpose of the feature was to import purchased books to Kindle devices that didn’t feature Wi-Fi connectivity and relied on cellular — but that applied to devices released before 2011.The new move; however, would likely save from making pirated copies of the books, which seems hassle-free to an extent with the aforementioned functionality. Regardless, it appears to be an encouraging move from Amazon to keep its users glued to its devices’ ecosystem.Get the latest news from Android Central, your trusted companion in the world of AndroidAccording to a recent Reddit post, users who bought the books through the Kindle store and downloaded them to their Kindle device through Wi-Fi or a cellular network are not affected by the removal of this tool. Similarly, users who have side-loaded books through USB are not affected. Kindle app users on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android are also not affected.Vishnu is a freelance news writer for Android Central. Since 2018, he has written about consumer technology, especially smartphones, computers, and every other gizmo connected to the internet. When he is not at the keyboard, you can find him on a long drive or lounging on the couch binge-watching a crime series.How to use AI Drawing Assist on the Samsung Galaxy S25Google shuts down its earthquake alerts in Brazil after a warning failureHow to use AI Drawing Assist on the Samsung Galaxy S25
Android Central is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
©
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,
New York,
NY 10036.
