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two kindles, one problem: how do I transfer my books? that’s the story of every avid reader who has upgraded a device before. Your Kindle has your purchases from Amazon, as well as the PDFs you’ve downloaded over the years. however, transferring different files requires different methods.
You are reading: How to transfer books from one kindle to another
To transfer books from one kindle to another, you can access both devices using the same amazon account and sync the device. For pdf or non-drm books, you can connect your kindle to a computer and transfer the books. You can also use the caliber app to manually upload books to your kindle.
In this article, you will learn more about each method to transfer books from one kindle to another. You will also find out how to transfer books to and from Kindle Paperwhite and how you can recover books from an old and broken Kindle.
but first, let’s look at the three key methods for transferring books between kindles.
how to transfer kindle books from one device to another?
Actually, there are several different ways to transfer kindle books. However, there are only three different ways to transfer books from one kindle device to another.
method 1: use a usb cable
transferring books from one kindle to another via usb is a reliable method that works in the absence of wifi or in the presence of a slower internet connection. it bypasses the cloud and works great for pdfs and epubs that were purchased outside of the amazon kindle store.
To transfer books from one kindle to another using a usb cable, you need to connect the device to your computer via usb, open the kindle drive through file explorer or kindle manager program on your computer, and copy the files to your computer. finally, you have to use the usb to copy the books to the new kindle.
You can also download kindle books you have purchased using a usb option. just go to the “manage your content and devices” section. then click the “content” tab at the top. then click “action” (3 dots “…”) and in the dropdown menu click “download & transfer via usb“.
then you will be prompted to navigate to the location where you want to save the file. once the file is saved, connect your other kindle device via usb cable and transfer the books you just downloaded to the other device inside the “documents” folder.
Transferring books from a kindle works the same way as transferring documents from your smartphone to your computer. Remember that the Kindle connects using a micro-USB port and not the USB-C port that your phone might be using (at least for some of you).
It is often difficult to manage downloaded kindle files during transfer. That brings us to the question of the optimal way to handle Kindle book transfers. using a kindle cloud account is best for these types of transfers.
method 2: transfer books using kindle cloud account
if you already have books on your kindle and they are books you didn’t download from a web browser but got directly from amazon; then they are probably in .azw format and in a folder that is difficult to navigate to via the computer.
but the good news is that as long as you sign in to the same amazon account on the new kindle, you can get the old books from your kindle cloud.
To transfer books from one kindle to another using the cloud, you must sign in to the new kindle reader on the same amazon account as the old one. then navigate to the library and open the “all” tab. books available in the account’s kindle cloud will be available for download there.
If the books are not visible in your library, make sure your kindle device is connected to the internet and sync is enabled. To do this, open the “settings” option in the notifications section of your kindle. then, click on “advanced options“. make sure “whispersync for books” is enabled. if it isn’t, click it and select “enabled“.
You can also register your kindle to your amazon account and transfer books by signing in to your amazon account. this is how it’s done –
step 1: register your kindle device
first, make sure you have registered your kindle device to the same amazon account that was used on the previous kindle device.
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step 2: open the window “manage your content & device settings
Next, you’ll need to open the “manage your content and devices” settings. you can do so by clicking on this link. Alternatively, you can also open the Amazon home page, hover over your account name, and in the drop-down menu, click “content & devices”.
Doing so will also take you directly to the same page that shows all the ebooks you’ve purchased from amazon.
Step 3: Choose the “deliver to device” option
First, select the books you want to send to your new kindle device. then from the options at the top, click “deliver to device”.
If you want to send just one book, you can click “more actions” and select “deliver to device” from the dropdown menu. Alternatively, you can also choose to simply select a single book and click the “deliver to device” option at the top (as shown in the image above).
step 4: choose the right kindle device
A popup will appear asking you to choose the device you want to send the books to. just choose the kindle device you registered in step 1.
If you haven’t registered your kindle device, you won’t be able to see it here.
once you have selected the correct kindle device here, the books will automatically be sent to the second kindle device. now you can access and read your books on multiple kindle devices.
Remember: Two different amazon accounts cannot access the same cloud, so it is difficult to transfer books from one kindle to another if both devices have separate amazon accounts.
since e-books are so cheap, it’s not even piracy.
Most people want to transfer books from one kindle to another because they are logged into different accounts on their computers and phones, leading to some books being added to one library and others to a different one. the caliber app is the best way to consolidate your ebooks.
method 3: use caliber application
For this method, you will need to download the caliber application on your computer. Even if you don’t have the eBooks on your computer yet, this step is a prerequisite. however, if you don’t have a computer, this process becomes a bit tricky.
if you have a pc, mac or a linux computer, you can follow the steps below.
- download the caliber program from your publisher’s website and open the installation wizard.
- after the installation process, the setup/welcome wizard will ask you to choose the caliber model. your device. select your kindle version.
- add your new kindle/amazon email and click ‘finish’ to start the program.
- connect your old kindle to the computer and let caliber program to recognize the device.
- click the “on device” button to see the books present on your kindle device.
- right-click on the book titles with “on device” status and click “move to library”. This will move the book to your caliber library where you can better manage all your books.
- You can also choose for sending a copy to your desktop from your library.
- connect the new kindle device and right-click the same books, which will now be missing the “on device” status.
- click “send to device” to send the ebooks to your new kindle.
I intend to write a detailed article on how to use caliber e-book management software to transfer and manage your e-books. I’ll leave a link to that article here once it’s published.
how to transfer books from kindle paperwhite?
kindle paperwhite is an ebook reader without the restrictions of a paranoid piracy conglomerate. connecting it to the computer is as simple as connecting a usb.
The device drive opens with the click of a button, and files dragged into the documents folder can be opened in the kindle paperwhite, as long as the book format is supported.
To transfer books from kindle paperwhite, you need to connect the device to a computer via usb cable. then open the documents folder and copy the files you want from there to your computer. These files can be converted to read on PC or transferred to another Kindle device via USB cable.
Once the files are on your computer, you can also run the caliber program and enter your kindle email in the device settings.
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the books will be detected as “off device” and you can send them to the new kindle by right clicking and selecting the “send to kindle” option after connecting the device to the computer using a usb.
You can also just download the kindle books from your kindle paperwhite using method 1 above. just open the “documents” folder on your kindle device and copy the books from that folder to a folder on your computer.
Similarly, to transfer the books to another kindle paperwhite, simply copy the books from your computer and place them in the documents folder of your other kindle.
Remember: You will only be able to access the books you transfer from one kindle to another as long as both devices are registered to the same amazon account, even if you transfer the books via usb cable.
how to transfer books from old kindle to new device?
You can transfer books from an old kindle to a new device using your cloud account. You can also use a USB cable to transfer books to your computer by connecting your old Kindle first. then transfer books from your computer to your new device. this is especially useful for non-drm books.
When you buy a new device, one of the most anticipated things to do is transfer books to your new kindle device. Fortunately, there are several ways to do this.
Transferring non-kindle books (pdf) or non-drm books from an older kindle to a newer device requires a simple extract and download process.
getting books from an old kindle is as easy as plugging in a usb and copying the files. you can use any of the methods described earlier in this article.
However, if your device’s usb port is inaccessible or damaged or the device just won’t turn on, you probably won’t be able to recover any of your non-drm books, and other books you may have downloaded from sources other than amazon.
how to transfer books from an old kindle device that is broken?
To transfer books from an old kindle device that is broken, you must sign in to the same amazon account on your new kindle that was used for your old kindle device. after that, just sync the device, open the library folder and download the books to your new device.
then you can download the books to your new kindle device. No matter how old or new your Kindle is, or how many devices you have, as long as your books are purchased from the same Amazon account, you’ll be able to access them on any device you sign in to with the same Amazon account.
how to transfer books from one kindle to another with a different account?
The above method works fine for books that belong to the same account. If you have purchased different books on different Amazon accounts and want to consolidate your library, this can be difficult.
There is currently no legal method to transfer books from one Amazon account to another. however, you can loan the book, share it with a family member, or use other unauthorized methods to convert the kindle books to other formats and transfer the books to a different account.
However, there are ways around this problem. Please refer to my other article on how to transfer kindle books from one account to another where I provided possible solutions to overcome this problem.
can you transfer a collection of books from one kindle to another?
You can transfer a book collection from one kindle to another if both devices are connected to the same amazon account. in fact, the collections need to be downloaded because they are not transferred automatically when you sign in to your amazon account.
To transfer a book collection, you will need to follow these steps
- log in to your amazon account on your new kindle. make sure this is the same account as the old device.
- click “everyone” in your kindle library to see all of your content.
- then opt for the “collections” filter ” to view different book collections
- click the ellipsis/menu button on the collection you want to transfer to the new device.
- from the dropdown menu, click ” download” to download the collection.
The above method is useful if you don’t want to spend a whole day downloading hundreds of books. It’s also great if you have two kindle devices in two different places.
With a collection download, you can read some at home and do the rest at the office…unless books transferred from one device are deleted from another. so the question is, does that happen?
what happens to kindle books that are transferred? are they deleted?
Books that are transferred are not deleted unless drm protection prevents a book from opening on more than one device. the officially supported transfer method requires a single sign-on, which does not affect the presence of the books on any device.
However, if you try to cut and paste a kindle file while using a usb cable to transfer it from one reader to another, you risk losing the file, as the ebook may not appear on the new kindle. That’s why it’s recommended to use a single sign-on and transfer books in a compatible way with amazon.