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Let’s be real! At some point, there comes a time when we feel the need to connect our kindle to a computer; either to backup existing book collection or to transfer books!
You are reading: Transfer books from kindle to pc
Regardless of whether you plan to buy a new kindle and transfer books to it, or want to have a copy of all your books on your computer, one thing we definitely need to know is: how to transfer books from kindle to a computer?
The easiest way to transfer books from your kindle to a computer is to use a usb cable. connect your kindle to a computer. open the “kindle” drive on your computer. then open the “documents” folder and copy the books from this folder to your computer.
This article will help you understand how to connect your kindle to a pc or mac. You’ll also learn the best way to transfer books to your computer. Plus, at the end, we’ll talk about how to transfer books back to a kindle, no matter what model you have!
then, let’s get started!
can kindle books be transferred?
Well, by now you’ve probably guessed that you can transfer kindle books from one device to another.
In fact, there are several ways to do it. In my other article on how to transfer kindle books, I talked about all the different methods. moreover, i have also shared the best method specifically for each device (android, ipad, iphone, etc.)!
so be sure to check out the other article for full details!
For this article, we are going to focus on how to transfer books from a kindle to a computer and vice versa.
how to connect a kindle to a computer?
To transfer books from a kindle to a computer, one of the first things we need to know is how to connect a kindle to a computer.
to connect a kindle to a computer, you will need a micro-usb to usb cable. Connect the micro-USB part (smaller port) of the cable to your Kindle and the other end to a USB port on your computer. when connected, your kindle will display the message “your kindle is in usb drive mode”.
it’s pretty weird but kindle still works with pretty old technology when it comes to cables. I mean, who has a micro-usb cable in the house? The good thing is that you can easily get a micro-usb to usb-a cable for pc for very little money on amazon!
if you’re a mac user, you’ll find this extremely frustrating as not only is it hard to find a cable with a micro-usb port, but when you find it, you realize your mac only uses usb-c . ports! I would recommend getting a micro-usb to usb-c cable for mac from amazon (which luckily is pretty cheap too!)
Once you have the necessary cable, connect it as shown in the image above. Make sure you connect the smaller micro-usb port on the cable to the bottom of your kindle next to the power button (the same port used to charge your kindle).
connect the other end of the cable to the computer. Once this is done, you will notice that the screen of your kindle changes and shows a message that “your kindle is in usb drive mode”.
how to transfer kindle books to a computer?
There are actually a couple of different methods you can use to transfer kindle books to your computer.
we will take a look at both methods one by one.
method 1: transfer kindle books to computer via usb?
Perhaps the fastest method of transferring books from your kindle to a computer is to use a usb cable.
I recommend using the caliber app to transfer books to your computer. caliber is open source software and completely free to use. allows you to maintain book library, send books to your device easily, edit metadata, book covers, book ratings and much more.
using the caliber book management application is a topic for another article. I’ll try to write the detailed steps and link to this article! if you don’t see the link, use the search function on this site to see if the article exists.
Meanwhile, let’s understand how to transfer kindle books to a computer. Depending on whether you’re using a PC or a Mac, the steps to transfer books to your computer may vary. rest assured i will cover the steps for both pc and mac in this article.
transfer kindle books to pc via usb
once you have connected your kindle to the computer using a usb cable (per the steps mentioned earlier in the article), you can now start transferring the files. this is what you should do:
step 1: open the kindle drive
You will see a “kindle drive” appear on your computer just like drive “c” or “d” on your computer. just double click on it to display its content.
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once the kindle drive is open, find the “documents” folder in it. this folder contains all the books visible on your kindle device.
step 2: find and copy your kindle books
Now, select all the books you want to transfer from the kindle to your computer. if you want to transfer all books, click on any book and press “ctrl+a”. this will select all books.
You can also select the books individually by holding down the “ctrl” key on your keyboard and clicking on the book.
once you have chosen the books, copy the books. you can press “ctrl+c” to copy the selected books. alternatively, right-click the selected books and from the options click “copy“.
step 3: paste the books on your computer
now, navigate to the folder on your computer or create a new folder. once the folder is open, simply paste the books you just copied. you can right click and select the “paste” option. alternatively, you can use the keyword combination “ctrl+v” to paste the books.
Step 4: Safely eject your kindle device
once you are done transferring the books, make sure you eject the kindle drive properly. this will prevent your kindle files from getting corrupted.
right-click the “kindle” drive one more time. From the options that appear, click “eject“.
transfer kindle books to a mac via usb
Transferring books from your kindle to a mac via a usb drive works in a similar way. however, since the interface is different from windows, it’s easy to get confused. however, we will cover the steps in detail below:
step 1: open the kindle drive
once you have connected the kindle to your mac, you will see a new drive appear on your desktop as shown in the top right corner of the screen in the image above (the drive can also be accessed using the ” seeker” ).
Once you open the “kindle” drive, find the “documents” folder and open it by double-clicking on it.
step 2: find and copy the kindle books
Now select all the books you want to transfer. you can hold down the “command” key on your keyboard and individually click on the book you want to transfer.
once you have the books selected, right click on any of them and from the options click on “copy“.
You can also use the shortcut “cmd+c” to copy the books.
step 3: paste the books on your mac
now open a new folder on your mac. right click on the folder and from the options that appear, click on “paste“. alternatively, you can press “cmd+v” keys to paste.
Step 4: eject the kindle device
once the transfer of books is complete, right click on the kindle drive and from the options click “eject“.
this will safely eject your kindle from the computer and prevent data loss.
method 2: download books from your amazon content library
if you don’t have access to a usb cable, or don’t want to go through the hassle of connecting your kindle to a computer, or maybe your computer just refuses to detect your kindle device, there’s another way to transfer books from your kindle to your computer.
You can also transfer books to your computer from your Amazon account.
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Here’s how to do it:
step 1: open the “manage your content & devices section” window in amazon
First, sign in to your amazon account that is associated with your kindle device. then, hover over your account name and click the “content & devices” (as shown in the image above).
step 2: select the books and download them
the page should open the content library by default. if not, be sure to click on the “content” section of the top bar.
then, select the book you want to transfer to your computer. then click the “more actions” button. in the drop-down menu that appears, click the “download & transfer via usb“.
The book will be downloaded to your computer!
The only drawback to this process is that you will only be able to download books that you have purchased with your amazon account. you won’t be able to access books you bought on other platforms.
how to transfer books to your kindle from a computer?
If you have books you want to read on your kindle but are currently on your computer, there are ways to transfer them to your device.
There are actually two methods you can use. let me share both methods with you below:
method 1: transfer books to kindle from computer via usb
The obvious first method is to transfer the books to your kindle using a usb cable.
The general process is similar to transferring books from your kindle to a computer. just that, now you’ll be copying the files from your kindle instead of your computer.
however, here is the step by step process to transfer books to your kindle from your computer via usb –
- connect your kindle to a computer – make sure you have the correct cable and follow the steps I mentioned earlier in the article.
- open the folder containing the books you want to transfer to your kindle
- copy the books you want to transfer
- open the kindle drive on your computer and go to the “documents” folder
- paste the books into the documents folder from your kindle
- once the transfer is complete, right-click on the “kindle” drive and select the “eject” option.
In case you need some visual reference, I would ask you to review the previous section one more time.
method 2: transfer books to a kindle from a computer wirelessly
If you don’t have access to a usb cable, you can also send the books to a kindle from your computer. This method applies to both your Kindle books and other books you may not have purchased from Amazon. but it is predominantly used for the latter.
You will need to use the shipping email address to kindle for this process. I have written a detailed guide on how to identify your shipping email address to kindle and send the books via email. be sure to check out that article for a step-by-step process with pictures.
This is what you need to do to transfer books to a kindle from your computer wirelessly:
- identify your kindle submission email address
- add your email address to amazon’s “approved” email list
- compose a new email. enter your shipping to kindle email address in the recipient field.
- attach books to your email
- send the email
books will be delivered to your respective device shortly. If, for some reason, the process doesn’t work, here’s a troubleshooting guide on how to identify and fix problems when sending email to kindle doesn’t work.
how to transfer kindle fire books to a computer?
To transfer books from your Kindle Fire, connect it to a computer using a USB cable. on the device, give permission to access your kindle fire storage. then open the kindle drive from the “my computer” section. open the “internal storage” folder and then “books” to access your books.
the kindle drive will appear normally where other usb drives appear on your computer. you can usually see it in the “computer” or “my computer” section.
Sometimes you may be asked to enter your device password to provide access to the Kindle drive once it is connected to the computer.
how to transfer books to kindle fire from mac?
To transfer books from your Kindle Fire to a Mac (or the other way around), you’ll first need to download the “Android File Transfer” software on your Mac. then connect the kindle fire to your mac using a usb cable, locate the “books” folder inside the “internal storage” folder, and transfer the books.
The android file transfer utility app can be easily installed on your mac. it is completely free to use and is required to transfer any file to or from your device from a mac.
once you install the app on your mac, the folder will automatically open your kindle’s internal storage once it’s connected via a compatible usb cable.
if you’re still not sure how to transfer files from kindle fire, check out this amazon video that will walk you through the process.
credit to adrienne andersen of pexels for the featured image in this article
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