Bad news for anyone holding on to a trusty, pre-2013 Kindle: Amazon is officially pulling support for its older e-readers, meaning the company’s most loyal customers won’t be able to download or borrow new books from 20 May. Worse still, once de-registered, your old Kindle won’t be usable in any way, becoming a useless plastic slab.
The news that Amazon is retiring decade-old devices might sound like standard industry practice. But an e-reader is not like a smartphone or tablet, and can easily last for decades before needing replacing.
Because Amazon operates a notoriously strict “walled garden”, your Kindle only works by communicating with the company’s store and servers. That effectively means Amazon can remotely deactivate your Kindle.
Read more: These are the best Kindles for 2026, tried and tested by a tech expert
Once support is officially severed, your device will lose access to the Kindle store and cloud syncing. You can continue reading books you already own, and your purchases and library will remain safe in the Kindle app. But if you happen to factory reset or de-register your old Kindle for any reason, you’ll be unable to sign back in or give the used Kindle to a friend.
The moment that happens, your perfectly functional piece of hardware becomes a paperweight. Concerned your Kindle might be affected? Here’s the complete list of devices being axed.
- Kindle 1
- Kindle 2
- Kindle DX and DX Graphite
- Kindle Keyboard
- Kindle 4
- Kindle Touch
- Kindle 5
- Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation
Four tablets are also due to lose support, the latest launched in 2013.
- Kindle Fire 1st Gen
- Kindle Fire 2nd Gen
- Kindle Fire HD 7
- Kindle Fire HD 8.9
To help soften the blow, Amazon says it will be offering users 20 per cent off select new Kindles, alongside $20 ebook credit in the US. That would bring the current cheapest Kindle (£94.99, Amazon.co.uk) down to £75 – the same discount offered to anyone who trades in their Kindle using Amazon’s recycling scheme.
At the time of writing, the oldest Kindles are not readily accepted by the scheme, which means thousands of working Kindles could be destined for landfill. Amazon’s sustainability pledge includes goals to prevent and reduce electronic waste, so we’ll keep you updated on if it plans to do anymore. The company says the move will affect just 3 per cent of Kindle owners.
Check out our round-up of the best ereaders if you’re looking for a deal on a new upgrade.
