How to add epub files to your Kindle or Kindle app

∙ Just attach your epub file to an email and send it to the address associated with your Kindle.
∙ The file will be processed and appear in your Kindle cloud library and a destination device or app.

Epub file format and Kindle – background

▸ Mobi is an old file format that has not been developed for a long time. Still, it’s one of the offered file formats in many sites with free ebooks to download or in smaller ebook providers.

▸ In fact, mobi is available for download from so many online platforms only because of Kindle users. That’s why it’s sometimes called “Kindle format.”  All other major ebook platforms, such as Nook, Kobo, or Google Books, use epub.

▸ At the end of April 2022, Amazon started sending emails to Kindle users informing that from August 2022, you will no longer be able to add mobi files to your Kindle, Kindle app, or Kindle cloud library. Note: All the mobi files that you have already added to your Kindle won’t be affected, and you don’t have to convert them.

▸ I have checked the Amazon Help page with file formats supported by Kindle, and found out that epub is already on a list of supported files – but only if you use email as as a way to add files.

▸ I have used Wayback Machine to find when epub was added to the list. It happened most probably at the beginning of 2022. In October 2021 the epub file format was still not included.

▸ As most other digital platforms offer ebooks in epub, it’s this format to become a default one when adding own ebooks and documents to the Kindle ecosystem.

▸ In fact, you don’t have to wait a few months to use epub with Kindle. If you send an epub to a Kindle email, the file will be added to your Kindle cloud library and destination device or app. 

▸ I have tested the solution with one epub book from Project Gutenberg and one epub book from my local ebook seller. Both books appeared in less than a minute, with proper formatting and book covers rendered.

▸ Please note that sending epub files is possible right now only if you use your Kindle email as a way to add personal documents. Send to Kindle applications and extensions still don’t support epub. I have tested it with my Kindle for iPhone, and epub was recognized as an “incompatible file format.” Having in mind the timeframe Amazon suggested in an email, epub would be fully supported (by both email and applications) by the end of 2022.

▸ Here is everything to know about Kindle email.

▸ Please note that not every epub file will be recognized and added to your Kindle. Epub files provided by other ebook platforms usually come with a DRM (Digital Rights Management) lock. These files won’t be passed to your Kindle.

How to add epub files to Kindle and Kindle app using an email

1. If you haven’t sent files to Kindle via a dedicated email address, you can find it by following this simple guide: How to find a Kindle email address. Your Send to Kindle address should end with @kindle.com.

2. Open your email, and add the Kindle email as a recipient. Please make sure to send an email from the email address that you use as a login to your Amazon account.

3. Add an epub file as an attachment to this email. You don’t have to type anything, either in a title field or body.

4. You can add multiple files, but keep in mind that each email client has an attachment size limit. For instance, Gmail can send emails with a total attachment size no higher than 25 GB.

5. Send an email. Open the Kindle device or app you have sent an email to, and refresh your library. The file should appear in less than a minute.

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