Amazon has confirmed that starting May 20, 2026, older Kindle and Kindle Fire devices released in 2012 and earlier will lose access to the Kindle Store.

The change means affected users will no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new books directly on those devices.

Reading Will Still Work on Existing Content

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Even after the update takes effect, users will still be able to access and read previously downloaded books, according to The Verge. However, if devices are reset or deregistered, they will no longer be able to reconnect to the Kindle ecosystem to download new content.

It's important to know that this will affect early-generation hardware that has remained in use for more than a decade. You don't have to worry if you have quite new devices.

List of Affected Kindle and Fire Models

The update applies to a broad range of early devices, including the original Kindle released in 2007, along with models such as the Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Touch, and early versions of Kindle Paperwhite.

It also affects first- and second-generation Kindle Fire tablets, as well as early HD models. These devices will lose Kindle Store functionality but may still support limited offline reading and other basic features.

Here's the full list of affected Kindle models, according to XDA:

  • 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)
  • Kindle Fire 1st Gen (2011)
  • Kindle Fire 2nd Gen (2012)
  • Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012)
  • Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2012)

Amazon Encourages Upgrades With Incentives

Amazon will notify users ahead of the cutoff date and guide device functionality going forward.

To encourage upgrades, the company is offering discounts on newer Kindle devices along with ebook credits for eligible customers.

Purchased ebooks will continue to be accessible on newer devices as long as users remain signed in to the same Amazon account, ensuring library continuity across hardware upgrades.

Originally published on Tech Times