Amazon is getting ready to finish help for Kindle units launched earlier than 2012 — slicing them off from the Kindle Retailer and making them nearly unable to load any new content material. The corporate set a cutoff date for Might 20, 2026.
Amazon despatched an e mail to clients this week asserting it might finish help for the units, in response to screenshots of the message posted to social media and Reddit from clients, and confirmed by Amazon. Based on the message, Kindle e-readers and tablets launched in 2012 or earlier will lose entry to Kindle Retailer capabilities after the deadline. Meaning affected units will now not be capable of purchase, borrow, or obtain new books immediately.
After Might 20, customers will solely be capable of use their units to learn content material that’s already downloaded. As soon as an older machine is deregistered or reset to manufacturing facility settings, it can’t be re-registered after Might 20.
Amazon’s record of impacted fashions consists of the unique Kindle (1st and 2nd technology), Kindle DX and DX Graphite, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4 and 5, Kindle Contact, and the first-generation Kindle Paperwhite.
“These fashions have been supported for a minimum of 14 years — some so long as 18 years — however know-how has come a great distance in that point, and these units will now not be supported shifting ahead,” Jesse Carr, an Amazon spokesperson, mentioned in an announcement to TechCrunch. “We’re notifying these nonetheless actively utilizing them and providing promotions to assist with the transition to newer units.”
Customers can proceed to entry their libraries via newer units, the Kindle cell app, or Kindle for Net, the Amazon spokesperson mentioned.
A number of longtime customers voiced frustrations in regards to the transfer to finish help for older Kindles, a lot of that are in glorious situation and haven’t seen any operational degradation. On Reddit, a number of customers mentioned they nonetheless depend on these older units and see no purpose to exchange them. For some, it felt like one other instance of tech firms discontinuing help for completely purposeful merchandise, pushing clients towards upgrades whereas contributing to rising digital waste. One instance of that is Google, which ended help for its older Nest thermostats in 2025. Based on the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), world e-waste is estimated to achieve 82 million tonnes by 2030, a 32% bounce from 2022.
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One Reddit person wrote, “I’ve had my Kindle for years, nevertheless it nonetheless works completely and continues to serve me properly. How wasteful is it to make a product virtually unusable with a view to pressure folks to purchase a more recent mannequin.”
For some, the change meant it may be time to get another e-ink reader, just like the Boox Palma or Vivlio e-reader.
The choice to primarily kill older Kindle units isn’t solely surprising, as Amazon has step by step lowered help for its legacy units. In 2016, the corporate required Kindle e-reader fashions from 2012 and earlier to put in updates simply to take care of entry to the Kindle Retailer, an early signal that long-term help for these units would finally come to an finish.
