Transfer books from an old Kindle to a new one

By Kindle • June 10, 2009

When you buy a book from the Kindle store, it is "keyed" to one specific device (Kindle,iPhone, or iPod Touch). The design is that it can’t be read on another device. If you already have a Kindle, what happens to the books you bought for it when you get a new Kindle?You’ll be able to transfer the books you bought from the Kindle store, even if your old Kindle is inoperable. You can typically have the same book on up to six devices on the same account for one purchase price, and you can make those downloads at any time. While the specific number of "licenses" is up to the publisher, six (for a book) is typical.Here is how it works:1. You buy a book from the Kindle store. If you have more than one Kindle, you specify for which Kindle it is intended. If you are within Whispernet range (the Kindle’s wireless internet connection), and you have the Whispernet active, it should show up on the Kindle automatically. You can force the Kindle to check for it. On the homescreen, hit Menu, and Sync & Check for Items. If you are not in Whispernet range, see the Frequently Asked Kindle Questions link at the bottom of this page2. The book is also stored in your archives at Amazon. Your archives are available to you from your Kindle, and from the Amazon site * From your Kindle’s homescreen, go to the last page. You can see how many pages there are. Type the number of the last page and click your 5-way (on the Kindle 2) to jump there. You’ll see an Archived items link. If you are connected to the Whispernet, you can click that and choose a book to be sent to the current device from Amazon’s archive* From your computer, go to http://www.amazon.com/manageyourkindleYou’ll see all your orders there. You’ll be able to choose a device to which to send individual booksYou will have to send the books one at a time.3. You buy a new Kindle. It has the same access as described above. You can put books on it from the archives (even though they were bought for a different Kindle and before you had this one). You could do this (typically) on up to six devicesWhy don’t they show up automatically on the new Kindle? The new Kindle may not have been bought for the same person, and the new person may not have the same tastes. It also makes sense to keep them in the archives unless you need to have them handy: less to search through on the Kindle.Unless you turn off the Whispersync feature (which you can do at the bottom of the Manage Your Kindle page), your books will open on the new Kindle on the furthest page read on the old Kindle. This is reportedly not 100% reliable. On the old Kindle, go to home when you are done reading, and then Sync & Check for Items. On the new Kindle, Sync & Check for Items, and then open the books.NOTE: Transferring does not work for subscriptions (magazines, newspapers, and blogs). You only get a license for one device with those. On that Manage Your Kindle page, you will be able to tell =future= issues to go to a new device. However, your old issues can not be transferred. If possible, read those before you switch to a different Kindle.NOTE: If you did not buy the book from the Kindle store, it is =not= stored in your Amazon archives. You will have to back those up and transfer them yourself, using the included USB cord. You’ll put them from one Kindle onto your computer and then into the second Kindle’s documents folder. This will work if the files do not have Digital Rights Management which restricts it. NOTE: If you had a personal document converted by Amazon to the .azw format, it will work on the new device. The conversion does not restrict it to a single device. Transfer it as if it was a book you did not buy from Amazon: it will not be in your archives.================For more Frequently Asked Kindle Questions, see:http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum/ref=cm_cd_ef_tft_tp?%5Fencoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=Tx2ELH7RBF7D78R(Amazon thread relevant to the discussion)

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