One of the best parts of buying an ebook from Amazon is the syncing. You can read on your Kindle Paperwhite, then open the Kindle app on your phone and pick-up exactly where you left off. It’s what digital reading should be all about.
I thought this synchronization was only possible with ebooks you actually bought from the Kindle store, but I’m happy to admit I was wrong – you can do this with almost any ebook, whether you got it from Amazon or not.
So, in this piece, we’re going to show you how to simply send a single ebook to multiple Kindle devices and apps, so you can read it seamlessly. Strap yourself in!
Step #1: Make sure the file’s in the right format
So, let’s say you have an ebook, paper, or document you picked up from somewhere else other than Amazon. The first thing you need to do is make sure your file is compatible with the Kindle ecosystem.
Currently, this process supports the following formats:
- Microsoft Word (.DOC, .DOCX)
- HTML (.HTML, .HTM)
- RTF (.RTF)
- JPEG (.JPEG, .JPG)
- Kindle Format (.MOBI, .AZW)
- GIF (.GIF)
- PNG (.PNG)
- BMP (.BMP)
- PDF (.PDF)
If the document you’re sending isn’t one of these, then look into converting it. If you’ve got a different ebook format (like .EPUB), Calibre will be able to help you change it into something Kindle friendly.
Step #2: Find out your Kindle devices’ email addresses
Here’s a cool part – you can literally email files to your Kindle devices. Just a note, before you do this make sure you’ve downloaded the Kindle app on whatever hardware you’d like to send your ebooks to.
Once you’ve done this, head here on Amazon’s website (the “Manage Your Content And Devices” part of the site). Then, click Preferences on the menu at the top:
Then scroll further down until you see “Personal Document Settings.” Click and expand on that section and should see an array of device names and email addresses. Much like this:
/https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2019/06/kindle-device-names-796x222.png)
No, you’re not getting hold of my device names and emails.
Make a note of the specific devices you want to send the ebook to.
Step #3: Add the email address you’re going to send the ebook from
In the same “Personal Document Settings” section you should see this:
/https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2019/06/approved-personal-document-796x126.png)
Nope, blocked out those email addresses too.
Underneath this specific part, there’s an option to add the email you’ll send the ebooks or documents from. So add your email there, yeah?
Step #4: Turn on device synchronization
In the same “Preferences” section look for this menu:
/https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2019/06/Screenshot-2019-06-03-at-17.13.02-796x138.png)
And make sure it’s turned on!
Step #5: Email your Kindle devices the file
This is the easy bit. First, open a new email on the account you added to the approved list. Then, put in the email addresses associated with your preferred Kindle devices (say, a Paperwhite and your Android device). Finally, attach the file to the email and hit send!
The ebook will appear on all your specified devices shortly. If you flick through a few pages on a Paperwhite, then open the Kindle app on a phone, it’ll show you a notification like this:
/https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2019/06/S90604-14042453-796x879.jpg)
Click “yes” and the app will bring you right where you want to be, so you can continue reading seamlessly. Poetry in motion.
There you have it! This little trick to get external ebooks on multiple Kindle devices and apps will make your digital reading experience better than ever. If you’re more interested in managing a full library of non-Amazon ebooks, you should check out Calibre. From that app, you’ll be able to properly tag, manage, and send ebooks to your Kindle devices. This works with a similar method to the above, but you just have to add the Calibre app‘s email address to the approved list.
If you don’t have a Kindle? Well, can we recommend the new Paperwhite? It’s a magnificent device!
Over To You
Have you tried these tips? Which worked best for you? Tell us in the comments below!
What a handy tip, and one that I am sure not many people know about.
certainly, this adds the missing link to the whole idea of the flexibility of the ebook/reader. And it’s a tip that might just get me back to using ebooks over paper again, I do sort of miss it.
Hey Adrian,
Yes, this is a great tip 🙂
Glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by
Marios
Wow, I didn’t know you could do that. I’ve got a lot of ebooks purchased outside Amazon, so I’m going to give this a try. Will it sync the same way to an Android phone running the Amazon Kindle App? I had a little trouble viewing the pictures in the article, they would not shrink down small enough for me to see the entire image on my phone. Thanks for useful info!
Hey Michael,
If you use Send To Kindle, every device you have the Kindle app installed on will have the books you synced, yes.
Thanks for stopping by!
Marios
So I’m happy that you decided to write about this topic and share it with people. One of the best parts of buying an ebook from Amazon is the syncing. It’s very useful and can definitely be used as a great source for everyone who is interested in this topic. If you’re more interested in managing a full library of non-Amazon ebooks, you should check out Calibre. From that app, you’ll be able to properly tag, manage, and send ebooks to your Kindle devices.
Thanks, I will come back to your website again.
Hey Nasrin,
Calibre Library is a great, all-around tool for managing your ebooks. You can do a lot more than managing your library. You can check out the post I wrote for more details.
Thanks!
Marios
Yeah, the syncing is something which is truly something no one could have even thought of a decade ago. Heck, no one even thought we’d use phones to read books. I do like the way this method is setup. You basically have to whitelist the adress you want to receive mails from. Reminds me of a class I once took in computer science where you were supposed to restrict someone’s acess to certain websites by either blacklisting or whitelisting them. Really interesting how those same principles can be used in various ways and everything comes together.
Hey Faheem,
True, sending eBooks to Kindle via email is a great idea. Another way I also use is Send To Kindle. You can check that out as well.
Thanks for stopping by!
Marios
Thank you for sharing this information. I will keep it in store for when I get a Kindle. Presently I have another reading device. Do you know if it is possible to share from Kindle to other brands or the other way around? If yes, is the method the same. It has stymied my reading of ebooks as a result.
Hey there Russell,
I wrote a post on The easiest way to transfer eBooks to Kindle as well as How to: Transfer books to a new Kobo eReader. These two can help you transfer from a Kindle to any other reader.
Thanks for stopping by!
Marios
Good to know Marios. I am impressed that you can sync eBooks across Kindles and apps. Seems like a compatible issue arises but you showed, nope, we’re all good. Fab tutorial.
Ryan
Thanks, Ryan!
That’s one of the features I really love. Start on my Kindle, continue reading on the Android App, and then return back to the Kindle, and continue from where I left off. Really great!
Thanks!
Marios