Amazon is officially retiring support for Kindle e-readers released in 2012 or earlier, marking the end of service for devices that have been in use for up to 18 years.
In an email sent to customers on Wednesday, the company announced that starting May 20, 2026, these older models will no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new books.
Affected devices include the Kindle 1st and 2nd Generation, Kindle DX and DX Graphite, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4, Kindle Touch, Kindle 5, and the first-generation Kindle Paperwhite.
While owners can continue to read books already downloaded to their devices, the hardware will lose its core connectivity features next month. Amazon also cautioned that maintenance on these units will become impossible, stating that if a user should “deregister or factory reset these devices, you will not be able to re-register or use these devices in any way.”
“Thank you for being a longtime Kindle customer. We’re glad our devices have served you well for as long as they have,” Amazon told users in the notice. The company explained that starting May 20, “14 to 18 years after their initial launches — we are discontinuing support for Kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier.”
To help users move to newer hardware, Amazon is offering a promotional code for 20 percent off select new Kindle devices along with an eBook credit.
The company noted that newer models bring “meaningful improvements in screen quality, performance and accessibility,” and reminded customers that their full libraries remain available through the Kindle app on iOS, Android, Mac, and PC.
The move has resulted in many owners of legacy Kindle devices pretty disappointed about the news. Older Kindles were able to easily load and backup books to third party software such as Calibre. Now, these older Kindles will lose the ability to add new books, which really sucks. Still though, 14 to 18 years is quite a long time to still offer support for an electronic device.
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I have a Kindle 8 purchased in 2012. It works beautifully and is easy to read. I am horrified that this may no longer be supported.
I have used a “modern” version which my friend owns. It has bells and whistles that I do not want and would never use, and it is more difficult to read.
From my limited perception, this is a ploy to force users to buy a new machine, and it is absolutely unnecessary! Definitely flies in the face of sustainable technology.