Kindle owners are furious over Amazon’s plan to end support for older devices

Amazon is facing backlash from Kindle owners after informing users this week that support for Kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier will end on May 20.

The email caused an immediate panic online, with many students initially fearing that their beloved e-readers were about to stop working altogether – while others expressed frustration that the devices they’d used for more than a decade were effectively being pushed into obsolescence.

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Much of the frustration seems to be less about the devices themselves and more about what they represent. Kindle owners have repeatedly stated that their 2010 or 2011 devices still do the one thing they need to do: read books.

On Reddit, many users included Amazon’s move as another example of planned obsolescence and unnecessary e-waste, especially since these devices are fully functional. Some commenters on X and Threads said they were considering switching to Kobo rather than buying another Kindle, while others called the switch a “nightmare” and “a hostile act of crony capitalism.”

On social media, students described this act as extortion. Some users say that the incentive to buy a new device, even with Amazon offering trade-in discounts, feels too close to people who can’t easily justify changing something that still works.

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There’s also a certain amount of anger from longtime Kindle fans who love the negatives of older models, especially devices with physical page-turning buttons. For some readers, older models are more comfortable, durable, and easier to use than newer touchscreen models. Losing access to the Kindle Store on those devices feels less like an inevitable software update and more like losing a favorite item that’s been part of their daily routine for years.

For some, though, the news wasn’t about being upset and surprised that some 15-year-old Kindles still work well enough to make their replacement feel unnecessary. That’s an unusually long time for consumer technology.

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At the same time, some users on the Internet have been quick to point out that this is not the end of the road. Many are already sharing workarounds that include jailbreaking, USB transfers, sideloading, and programs like Calibre, which allow readers to stream books to their devices.

As Mashable’s resident e-reader expert, Samantha Mangino, noted, “The affected Kindles aren’t actually disabled; the service will just be limited. You can still read books you’ve already downloaded to your Kindle normally… The real losers are Libby users, who gained from the Send to Kindle feature.”

For some long-time Kindle devotees, this change may be enough to turn them sour on Amazon altogether — and wonder if it might finally be time to try a different e-reader.