- Kindles from 2012 and older will sunset on May 20
- Amazon has begun emailing users about the impending loss of support
- First to fifth generation Kindle and Kindle Fire devices will be affected
RIP, 1st gen Kindle, I loved your keyboard.
A decade after users of older Kindles were required to update their software to maintain access to the Kindle Store, Amazon has decided to shut them down completely on May 20 of this year.
Reddit user Amorisaiya wrote that they have already received an email from Amazon telling them that Kindle and Kindle Fire devices “from 2012 and earlier” will no longer be supported. However, others still using these older models have not yet been notified.
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While owners of these older Kindles will still be able to use them to read already downloaded content and access their accounts, they will no longer “be able to purchase, borrow or download additional books on them after this date”.
Kindle is removing support for OG devices from r/kindle
If any of these devices have been deregistered or a factory reset has been performed, users will not be able to re-register them after the May deadline, rendering them completely defunct.
The full list of affected Kindles is:
- Kindle 1st generation from 2007
- Kindle DX from 2009
- Kindle DX Graphite released in 2010
- Kindle Keyboard also from 2010
- The Kindle 4 was launched in 2011
- The Kindle Touch was also released in 2011
- Kindle Fire 1st generation from 2011
- Kindle 5 released in 2012
- The Kindle Paperwhite 1st generation was also launched in 2012
- Kindle Fire 2nd generation from 2012
- The Kindle Fire HD 7 tablet was also released in 2012
- Kindle Fire HD 8.9 from 2012
It’s clear from the Reddit thread that users of third- and fourth-generation Kindles are still quite happy with their ereaders, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least that Amazon has finally pulled the plug on these cutting-edge models.
First, the 3G-enabled Kindles lost Internet access, though it wasn’t Amazon’s fault, then the company announced that it would pull Kindle Store access across devices older than 10 years.
Every time, Amazon offered its customers an incentive to upgrade, and this time is no different. Amazon will offer a 20% discount on new Kindles to affected users and give US customers a $20 e-book credit for the Kindle Store. In Australia, where most of the users receiving the email notification are apparently based, Amazon will offer the same 20% discount on the hardware and an additional AU$30 Kindle Store credit, with the offer ending on June 20, 2026 globally.
So is it time to restart the Kindle?
Unless you factory reset or deregister your older Kindle, the affected older models will still be usable, although you’ll only be able to read books you’ve already downloaded to the device. And while you can still purchase new content through the Kindle mobile app or through a web browser, you won’t be able to access the fresh content on the affected devices.
That said, you may still be able to sideload books on these older devices, as USB download and transfer was only stopped for newer models.
I would still recommend an upgrade at this point, mostly for ease of use and staying connected to the Kindle Store through the device. Honestly, the performance on the newer devices is also excellent, although I struggle to justify Amazon’s price increase across the current 2024 line of Kindles.
If you want to upgrade, my choice would be the base model of the 12. generation Kindle Paperwhite (2024), especially if it is discounted. It’s fast and the screen is excellent — I think the implementation of the E Ink Carta 1300 screen on the latest Paperwhite alone justifies the upgrade, but I’m a little biased as it’s the best grayscale reader screen I’ve used to date (and I’ve used quite a few since 2012 when I bought my first ereader).
You can take a look at my picks for the best Kindles below, or, if you’d like more options, consider something else from what I consider to be the best readers available right now.
The best Kindles
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