Amazon kills older Kindles – these are the models that are affected
Some Kindle models will soon lose the ability to longer download books, due to support changes – is your Kindle on the list?
Amazon has confirmed that support for certain Kindle models is coming to an end, meaning those models will no longer be able to buy, borrow or download content from Kindle Store.
The move will mean that some older hardware will only have limited functionality.
The official date for support to end is 20 May 2026 and from that date onwards, there will be no Kindle Store access on some models of Kindle and Kindle Fire.
Those owners affected should receive an email from Amazon detailing the changes, but also offering a discount code for those who want to buy a new model.
This will allow 20% off the price of a new Kindle – while a £15 book credit will also be added to your account.
The list of device affected includes some of the old models that Amazon offers, so the company estimates that this will only affect 3% of users, who could be using a device that’s as old as 18 years.
The Kindle models that will lose support were released between 14 and 18 years ago and the list is as follows:
- Kindle 1st Generation (2007)
- Kindle DX and DX Graphite (2009 and 2010)
- Kindle Keyboard (2010)
- Kindle 4 (2011)
- Kindle Touch (2011)
- Kindle 5 (2012)
- Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation (2012)
The Kindle Fire models impacted includes:
- Kindle Fire 1st Gen (2011)
- Kindle Fire 2nd Gen (2012)
- Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012)
- Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2012)
While the end of support will come as a blow to a small number of owners, it’s far in excess of typical smartphones and likely to be well beyond the lifespan of the average laptop.
by Kofi Acquah
