Amazon has confirmed that Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets released in 2012 or earlier will lose access to the Kindle Store starting May 20. From that date, affected devices will no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new titles directly.
Which devices are affected?
Amazon confirmed the change through spokesperson Jackie Burke in a statement to The Verge. The cutoff covers a wide range of early Amazon hardware, including the original first-generation Kindle that helped define the modern e-book market back in 2007, along with the Kindle DX, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4, Kindle Touch, Kindle 5, and the first-generation Kindle Paperwhite, one of the most popular e-readers Amazon ever made. On the tablet side, the first and second-generation Kindle Fire, along with the Kindle Fire HD 7 and HD 8.9, are also included. In short, any Amazon reading device launched before 2013 is on the list.
What still works, and what doesn't
Owners of affected devices are not left entirely in the cold. Any books already downloaded and stored on the device will remain readable after the May deadline. What changes is the ability to add anything new, no purchases, no Kindle Unlimited borrows, no fresh downloads. There is, however, one important warning - if an affected device is deregistered or factory reset after May 20, it cannot be re-registered. That effectively locks it out of Amazon's ecosystem for good. Users can still access their full Kindle library through the Kindle mobile app, Kindle for Web, or by moving to a newer device, with all purchased content carrying over on the same Amazon account.
Amazon's upgrade offer
To ease the transition, Amazon is offering eligible customers a 20 percent discount on newer Kindle devices along with a $20 e-book credit, valid until June 20. Every e-book previously purchased will carry over automatically, so readers won't lose their libraries when switching to a newer model.
This announcement is the final chapter in a long and gradual wind-down. In early 2025, Amazon had already ended downloads for pre-2012 devices that relied on the older Mobi8 format, citing a shift to the more secure YJ format. Before that, many older Kindle models became increasingly limited in 2021 when US wireless carriers shut down their 3G networks, cutting off devices that lacked Wi-Fi. The May 20 deadline simply completes the retirement of hardware that, in some cases, is nearly two decades old.
