Is Inserting DRM-Protected Books Into Kindle Paperwhite Possible?

Question

New to sideloading and wondering if my DRM-locked ebooks from other stores will actually work on a Kindle Paperwhite, or is it a lost cause?

emmry dagro · Answer

This is possible but limited as Kindle Paperwhites only officially support Amazon DRM protected files from the Amazon Store. You can transfer in DRM-free EPUBs using Send to Kindle and some library eBooks can be added using Adobe Digital Editions to authorize your computer, however the majority of other DRM formats will not work. I was looking for something new to read on my Paperwhite the other day and came across ‘Naked Pages’ by author Bruce McCullough which is available as a DRM-free download from his authors site. It’s a very surreal Mystery following a writer who starts to find that he has been written about and that handwritten text is appearing on his skin. The unencrypted file downloaded perfectly to my Kindle library.

Paisley · Answer

We tested DRM on the Kindle Paperwhite. The books with DRM protection can be inserted. However, books with DRM protection in the Amazon proprietary format AZW/KFX are only readable if they have been bought from Amazon or from a partner like Audible. Other DRM protected books like EPUB-files (with DRM protection from Kobo or Google Play Books, for example) cannot be read on the Kindle as long as the DRM has not been removed (illegal in most countries).

Note, though, that library books (like those loaned from OverDrive/Libby) often are available for your Kindle in EPUB format. These can be sent directly to your Kindle using the Send to Kindle feature provided by Amazon. They then will arrive as a DRM-enabled AZW file on your Kindle, which can be read just fine without needing to have put the device into “jailbreak” mode.

There are third-party programs, such as Calibre with DeDRM plugins for example, but these programs are often used by the most technical of users to “get around” DRM in some manner. I wouldn’t recommend any such actions, as most are likely in contravention of most Terms of Service anyway.

George · Answer

One of the reasons I continue to read my DRM-protected books on my Kindle is how smooth of an experience Amazon has made reading DRM-protected books on the device. As long as you purchased the book from Amazon or got it from an authorized retailer, Amazon makes it very easy to add DRM-protected books to your Kindle by downloading a file and either transferring it to the device via USB or by emailing it to the Kindle’s associated email address. Once you’ve done that, the book will sync to your device. I’ve found that trying to add DRM-protected books that were not purchased through Amazon to the device for reading can be problematic unless the DRM has first been removed from the book using something like Calibre with the relevant plugins for removing DRM from e-books. However, the vast majority of that kind of trouble can be avoided by simply purchasing and reading all of your DRM-protected e-books within Amazon’s DRM-protected ebook ecosystem, where DRM is removed and readded seamlessly as needed. It’s really a very, very smooth experience for Amazon-enabled e-book readers.

On the other hand, books from libraries and from services such as OverDrive (which delivers DRM-protected EPUBs) work fine on the Kindle. These are sent using the 'Send to Kindle' feature, and are stored locally on the device, just like any other book. The device will need to be registered to the same account as the library loans, of course.

Quinn · Answer

I confess, I’m a digital book hoarder. My Kindle Paperwhite is my portable reading device of choice. Amazon-sourced DRM-protected books work just fine on it, as do some of the DRM-locked EPUBs I’ve come across from smaller publishers, which I can liberate using Adobe Digital Editions and then transfer to my Kindle via USB. Not as slick as the Amazon one-click approach, but it works.

Reading library books via Libby on your Kindle is a simple process as well. Select “Read with Kindle” and Kindle will redirect you to Amazon to download the book with DRM built in.

For those thinking about removing DRM, be aware that doing so is generally regarded to be somewhat illegal. Using Calibre to remove DRM from books you've purchased is probably okay though. The Kindle is a simple reading device, and that's its major strength – I wouldn't advise muddying the waters by playing with the system for those who are not tinkerers.

Michael Buerger · Answer

To use the library books I've downloaded through Libby, I just use the 'Send to Kindle' feature. It's all done within the Libby app so very easy. I press a button and within a minute or so the book is downloaded onto my Kindle. (I assume the library adds Amazon's DRM in the Kindle format that they send. So in a sense I'm reading a DRM-protected library book, but it has gone through Amazon's conversion process first.) I've never had to think about 'direct file insertion' as the above posters have - I don't know if that would work for them, but it's not necessary for me!

Aileen Gonzalez · Answer

Although the DRMed file can be put onto the Kindle by inserting the USB cable and placing the file in the documents folder on the Kindle (it will show up in the Your Kindle Library list on the Kindle), when you click on it to read it, the check for a valid license signature will fail. Even though you have placed a file of the correct type in the documents folder on the Kindle, the book will not be readable. This is like having a safe on your desk that you can look at but cannot open without the combination. The book is on the Kindle but it is locked and cannot be read. The book must be made DRM-free on a computer first and then placed in the documents folder on the Kindle.

This is quite different from the Kindle not supporting a file type, for example. It knows that you have sent it a file of a particular type, but chooses to refuse to show it to you (for reasons best known to Amazon). To read files of this type on your Kindle, you must first unlock the safe on your computer (remove the DRM) and then move the DRM-free contents of the file to your Kindle.

Lusia · Answer

This reminds me of my own debacle with trying to download a Humble Bundle a few years ago. I had a large number of DRMed EPUBs that seemed to transfer just fine, but wouldn’t open. I was convinced of a scam until I finally found the Calibre guides to working with the things. That was a real treat for me, a rite of passage for the ebook hoarder that I am.

Katlin · Answer

Ugh, this is so frustrating! One would think that by 2024 we would have moved past the walled garden approach that so many large companies are still cling to. In reality, your Kindle is nothing more than an Amazon storefront tricked out in an eReader. Trying to insert a DRM protected book from another source is like trying to use a Starbucks gift card at a Dunkin' Donuts store. The cards may look similar, but the systems are vastly different and competing.

Until there’s some kind of massive regulatory effort to make interoperability actually happen (I wouldn’t hold my breath), we’re stuck with these choices: we can jailbreak our e-readers and add software to make them work with our preferred books, or we can play by each company’s rules. In the case of the Paperwhite, those rules are Amazon’s. For most users, until there’s a change like that, the answer is “no” – you have to use Amazon’s gate, one way or another.

Missy Lee · Answer

This is the single biggest problem for dedicated e-readers: they get locked into the store of the device. No, you cannot ‘insert’ any old ‘permissions slip’ as you’d like (DRM acts as a permissions slip which your Kindle recognizes as being signed by Amazon. Any other slip – no matter how you got it – will be rejected by your Kindle at the system level).

Amazon’s Send to Kindle service allows users to email a file to their Kindle (in the form of eBook formatted documents, to which the Kindle will ‘magically’ add cover art etc.), but there is one very large catch: this is restricted to Amazon-DRMed files, i.e. files purchased from Amazon. In short, you can’t email your non-Amazon eBooks to your Kindle for conversion. I suspect for now your non-Amazon eBooks’ workflow will involve a computer in the form of a decryption and conversion device to enable reading on your Kindle Paperwhite.

lovelyfan · Answer

I’ve accepted the limitations of my Kindles over the years. Amazon’s store, Whispersync, and a generally polished reading device are more important to me than the ability to read books purchased from outside of Amazon with DRMed ebooks. As a result, I simply don’t buy books DRMed from other stores. If a book isn’t available DRM-free from an author or from a store like Smashwords, or it isn’t available on Amazon, I generally won’t buy it. My reading habits are shaped by my Kindles.

But for some, the restrictions on Kindle books would be an unacceptable barrier to entry. They prefer to read on platforms that are more open in terms of what they can do with their eBooks. For me, however, the quality of the Paperwhite screen, the long battery life, and the ‘out of the box’ integration with the Amazon store far outweigh the restrictions on the books that I can read on it. So, to answer my own question, no, but for me that is not a problem as I am happy to function within the walls of the Kindle ‘garden’ – it’s just another of the many factors that one must take into account when choosing an e-reader.

Is Inserting DRM-Protected Books Into Kindle Paperwhite Possible?

10 Answers

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