Amazon will discontinue its support for older Kindle devices, according to e-mails that select users of the popular e-reader device have received. The company will be discontinuing support for all Kindle devices including e-readers and Fire tablets that came out in 2012 or earlier.
This means that people that use these devices will no longer be able to buy, download or borrow new books from May 20, 2026. The users will also not be able to factory reset their devices as it will render it completely inoperable and permanently unusable.
Deregistering the device will also make the Kindle stop working with no way of recovery. Users who have older models of Kindle Fire will no longer be able to buy or download content.
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Users can still read existing books on these devices after Amazon winds down support for them.
The affected devices include the first Kindle, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4, Kindle Touch, Kindle 5 and the first version of Kindle Paperwhite.
Amazon told Endgadget that these devices have been supported for 14-18 years and that technology has come a long way in that time. It added that this only affects 3% of its existing user base.
The e-mail sent to the users also contains a promo code for 20% off on select Kindle devices along with e-book credits
“Our newer Kindle devices bring meaningful improvements in screen quality, performance and accessibility — and you'll have access to your complete Kindle library and the Kindle Store,” the company said in its e-mail.
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