How to send an EPUB to your Kindle — and why MOBI no longer works
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It used to be that you had to convert books to MOBI to read them on a Kindle. Today it’s the other way round: Amazon’s Send to Kindle accepts EPUB and converts it to Kindle format for you, while MOBI is no longer accepted. This guide covers sending your own or DRM-free books to a Kindle.
What can you send?
Send to Kindle accepts documents such as EPUB, PDF, DOCX, TXT, RTF and HTML, plus images like JPG and PNG. Amazon changes the supported formats and size limits from time to time, so check the current list in Amazon’s Send to Kindle help before your first transfer.
EPUB is the best choice. Text reflows when you change the font size, and the table of contents works. PDFs keep a fixed page layout, which is often hard to read on a small Kindle screen.
Method 1: Email
- On Amazon’s website, open Manage Your Content and Devices → Preferences → Personal Document Settings and note the Send-to-Kindle email address of your device (
[email protected]). - On the same page, add the address you’ll send from to the Approved Personal Document E-mail List. Files from addresses not on the list are rejected.
- Email the EPUB as an attachment to your Kindle address. After a short while it appears in your Kindle library.
Method 2: Send to Kindle apps and web
- Windows and Mac: install Amazon’s Send to Kindle app, then drag files onto it or right-click a file to send it.
- Web: drag files onto Amazon’s Send to Kindle web page.
- Phone: with the Kindle app installed, use the share menu in your Files app and choose Kindle.
What about old MOBI and AZW3 files?
MOBI files can’t be sent with Send to Kindle any more, so convert them first:
- Drop the file into MOBI to EPUB or AZW3 to EPUB.
- Send the resulting EPUB using one of the methods above.
Conversion happens in your browser and keeps the text, chapters, images, cover and author information.
About DRM: books bought from the Kindle Store are usually DRM-protected. The converters detect such files and refuse them — and you don’t need to send them anyway, because purchases are already in your Kindle library.
Other formats
- FictionBook e-books → FB2 to EPUB
- Plain-text novels → TXT to EPUB (step-by-step guide)
When a transfer fails
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Nothing arrives | Is the sending address on your approved list? |
| An email saying the document couldn’t be converted | The file may be damaged or DRM-protected. A damaged EPUB can often be rebuilt via EPUB → TXT → EPUB |
| Garbled characters | An encoding problem in the source text; TXT to EPUB detects the encoding and writes UTF-8 |
Summary
Send EPUB to your Kindle. Convert old MOBI and AZW3 files to EPUB first, then use whichever Send to Kindle method suits you. For the differences between formats, see EPUB vs MOBI vs AZW3 vs FB2.