Amazon is ending support for older Kindles and Kindle Fires

Amazon has announced that starting on May 20th, 2026, Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire devices released in 2012 and earlier will “no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new content via the Kindle Store,” Amazon spokesperson Jackie Burke wrote in an email to The Verge. Users will still be able to read books already downloaded to their devices and can access their accounts and Kindle purchases through the Kindle mobile app, Kindle for Web, and newer devices. If the older devices are deregistered or factory reset, users won’t be able to re-register them after the May deadline.

The complete list of affected devices goes all the way back to the original Kindle that launched in 2007 with a full keyboard and scroll wheel.

Amazon will be notifying affected users over email ahead of May 20th with an explanation of what their older devices can and cannot do. Pre-2012 Kindle Fire devices will be subjected to the same limitations as Kindle e-readers when it comes to books, but other apps and Amazon services on those devices won’t be impacted.

For longtime users wanting to take the opportunity to upgrade to newer Kindle hardware, Amazon will offer a 20 percent discount on new Kindle devices and a $20 ebook credit that will be added to their accounts after upgrading, valid until June 20th, 2026, at 11:59PM PT. Their older purchases will be available on new devices as long as they log in to the same account they’ve been using for the past 14 years or more.

In 2016, Amazon required users of several Kindle e-reader models from 2012 and earlier to update the software on their devices in order to have continued access to the Kindle Store. But a decade later it seems like time is finally up for those devices.