How to back up Kindle books to a computer

YOU ARE READING: How to back up Kindle books to a computer – step-by-step guides AT PhebinhvanhocEN

If you purchase an item through this listing, we may collect a small affiliate fee. details.

You are reading: Download kindle books to pc

Having kindle books stored in the cloud is very convenient. Allows you to sync reading progress between devices registered to the same account. It’s also a way to back up books you don’t currently read.

well, sometimes it’s good to back up books upside down. In this post, we’ll show you how to do it, using:

the kindle e-reader,
the kindle app for mac/pc.

ebook stores have much more control over users’ kindle accounts than anyone could imagine. this e-reader privacy box explains it in detail.

In other words, someone else has access to your kindle library and it’s not 100% up to you what and when you will change. this is how cloud storage works, we either deny it or live with it.

While deleting user account content is an exception, you may see changes to books you’ve purchased. happens when a publisher updates the file associated with the book. it could just be a formatting, or it could be a new edition that differs from the one you had before.

Before moving on to the guides, please note that Amazon eBooks are DRMed. you will not be able to read them in any other app or device. or, to put it another way, you will be able to after you get rid of the drm layer.

The tips shared below will allow you to get the books you bought from the amazon kindle store back to your computer, in case something bad happens on the other side.

back up kindle books with kindle e-reader

This tip works for anyone with a kindle e-reader. It’s a pretty useful idea to have access to your ebook library even when you don’t have internet access.

Also, it’s nice if you want to add to your kindle, and thus the kindle cloud library, the books you’ve purchased from other sites. we have the extended list of sites that offer free public domain kindle ebooks.

There are two steps to backup kindle ebooks via kindle e-reader:

connect the kindle to your computer using a usb cable.
find the folder that contains the books and copy it to the disk.

1. connect the kindle to your computer with a usb cable

when you connect the kindle to your computer, be it pc or mac, it will appear as an external drive. open the drive icon and locate the folder called “documents”.

Among other types of files, the folder contains files in .azw format. it’s a .mobi file, protected with amazon’s own drm.

2. copy the folder to a desired destination

drag the “documents” folder to the desired location on your drive. you can also copy it to any cloud service you use, like dropbox or google drive.

These cloud services are different from the Amazon serviced cloud. the files there are yours, and no one will change or update them if you don’t allow them.

things to remember

Please note that it will only copy files stored on the kindle e-reader and not those archived in the cloud.

To back up all the books in your Kindle library, you’ll need to download them to your Kindle e-reader first, which may take some time.

back up kindle books using kindle desktop app

Using the kindle desktop app is convenient for kindle users who don’t have an e-reader and use mobile apps (ios, android) to read the e-books.

also good for kindle e-reader owners who keep most of their books not on the e-reader but in the cloud.

There are four steps to backup kindle books via kindle desktop app:

download the kindle desktop app (there are versions for pc and mac).
download the books from the cloud to the app.
locate the folder with kindle books on your computer.
copy it to a disk.

1. download the kindle desktop app

kindle app allows you to not only manage but also read kindle books on computer. is available for the following systems:

kindle for windows 7, xp and vista
kindle for windows 8
kindle for mac

When you go to the free kindle apps page on amazon and click the download button, the version that fits your computer’s operating system will start downloading immediately.

after installing the app, open it and sign in with your amazon credentials.

2. download the books from the cloud

In the app, in the library view on the left, you’ll see how many books you have in your Kindle Cloud Library. there are three sections:

all items: how many total books do you have in your kindle account,
downloaded items: how many books do you have in your your pc or mac computer disk,
archived items: these books are stored in the kindle cloud and are not downloaded to your computer.

every book that is not on your computer has a cloud icon in the bottom right corner.

to download the book (on mac), double click on the book cover or select “download” from a ctrl+click menu.

there is no option to bulk download kindle books. you’ll have to do it title by title, but double-clicking is pretty quick.

Note that, as with the Kindle e-reader, you’ll need to download all the books in the archive to the Kindle app, if you want to back them all up.

3. locate the folder with the downloaded books

During installation, the Kindle desktop app creates a folder where all future downloads will be stored.

Below are paths to find that folder:

mac ⇢ ~/library/containers/com.amazon.kindle/data/library/application support/kindle/my kindle content
windows 7, xp, vista ⇢ c: /users/your user id/documents/my kindle content
windows 8 ⇢ c:/users/your id user/ appdata / local / amazon / kindle / app / content

I tried the directory on the mac computer. To learn more about windows, read this kindle forum.

useful links

here are a couple of reference links, in case you need more help:

free kindle apps: the kindle app download page, not only for pc or mac, but also for ios and android.
kindle for mac on app store: this it is a download link for mac users who prefer to get the kindle app from the mac app store.
kindle for pc installation instructions: if you are having trouble installing the kindle app on your pc, please refer to your amazon help pages section.
kindle for mac compatibility: assistance with installing and managing the kindle for mac app.

• • •

for more posts like this please subscribe via rss or email. Let’s also connect on facebook, twitter and pinterest.

Other content

How to back up Kindle books to a computer – step-by-step guides