Kindles Articles

Article / Updated 05-27-2022

Amazon's Kindle e-Reader does a great job of displaying eBooks — including your own personal PDFs, if you are using a Kindle 2 or Kindle DX. The only problem is finding out how to copy a PDF from your computer to the Kindle. (And few things are more frustrating than having an e-Reader that doesn't read your own documents!) Luckily, it only takes a few easy steps to move a PDF file from your PC or Mac to your Kindle. Locate the PDF file either on your desktop or within the file browser. Connect the Kindle to your computer via USB cable. It should appear in your file browser (such as Finder on Mac or Explorer on Windows) as if you attached an external USB drive. Locate the "documents" folder within the Kindle. You can do this within your file browser by opening the Kindle icon/folder and then navigating to the "documents" folder. Drag and drop the PDF file from the original location to the Kindle "documents" folder. If you have an older Kindle, you can still read the text from PDFs on your e-Reader — after you convert them. Amazon will do this for a small fee, or you can look for freeware utilities online. For newer Kindles, you may still want to convert the PDF so that you can take advantage of the Kindle's text manipulation features (like increasing/decreasing font size).

Article / Updated 11-19-2021

If you have files on your computer that you need on your Kindle Paperwhite, you can transfer these with ease. Although emailing or sending a document to your Kindle Paperwhite is fast and easy, connecting your Kindle via USB cable and transferring books via drag-and-drop is simple too. Both Macintosh and Windows users can download and transfer Kindle content and personal documents from their computers to their Kindles through the USB connection. When the Kindle is plugged into a computer, it appears as a removable mass-storage device. To transfer files via USB cable, your computer must meet the following system requirements: PC: Windows 2000 or later Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.2 or later USB port: An available port or an attached USB hub with an available port How to connect your Kindle Paperwhite to your computer Follow these steps: Plug the larger end of the USB cable into an available USB port or a powered USB hub connected to your computer, and connect the other end of the USB cable to the micro-USB port on the bottom of the Kindle Paperwhite. When connected to the PC, the Kindle Paperwhite goes into USB drive mode and its battery is recharged by the computer. Wireless service is temporarily shut off. The Kindle isn’t usable as a reading device while in USB drive mode but returns to your reading location when you eject the device from your computer. When your Kindle Paperwhite is connected, simply drag and drop (or copy and paste) the file from your computer’s hard drive to the Kindle Paperwhite. For e-books, make sure to place the file in the Documents folder on the Kindle Paperwhite. If you put the file in the root drive, it won't appear on the Home screen of your Kindle Paperwhite. Transferring files If your file is in a Kindle-compatible format, you can transfer it directly from your computer to your Kindle Paperwhite via USB. To transfer the files, follow these easy steps: Connect your Kindle Paperwhite to your computer using the USB cable. Your computer recognizes your Kindle Paperwhite when it’s plugged in and displays the Kindle Paperwhite as a removable drive. If you go to my Computer (PC) or Finder (Mac), your Kindle Paperwhite appears as a drive. Double-click the drive to open it and view the folders on your Kindle Paperwhite. Open another window and navigate to the file(s) you want to transfer to your Kindle Paperwhite. Drag the file(s) to the appropriate folder on your Kindle Paperwhite. Place your text and documents files in the Documents folder on your Kindle Paperwhite. You can also use the Copy and Paste commands to move documents to the documents folder. Eject your Kindle Paperwhite from your computer: On a Windows 8 PC, right-click the Kindle drive icon and choose Eject. A notification that it is safe to remove the device from the computer appears. On a Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC, choose Start→Computer, and then right-click the Kindle drive icon and choose Eject. You can also left- or right-click the Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media icon in the lower-right corner of the taskbar. On a Mac, Control-click the Kindle device icon and choose Eject. The files you transferred are displayed on your Home screen and are available for you to view on your Kindle Paperwhite. Your Kindle Paperwhite cannot read files that are protected with DRM. If this is the case, you see an error message when you try to open the e-book. Before buying books from sources other than Amazon, make sure that the file is compatible with your Kindle Paperwhite. Sideloading describes the transfer of files directly from one device to another. Uploading and downloading are terms that are commonly used to describe transferring files to or from an Internet server. What we’ve described here is sideloading.

Article / Updated 10-27-2021

Learning how to navigate your Kindle Paperwhite like a pro cuts down on precious time you'd really like to use reading. If you’re a seasoned Kindle Touch owner, the following information should be familiar. However, if you're upgrading from a Kindle with buttons or are new to Kindle overall, the following primer will get you started. What happened to the Home button? Every Kindle before the Paperwhite has a physical Home button that returns the device to the Home screen with just a press. On the Kindle Paperwhite, the Home button is now a Home icon (it looks like a house), which appears on a toolbar at the top of the screen. If you're reading a book or other content and don't see the toolbar, simply tap at the top of the screen to make it appear. All common uses of the Kindle Paperwhite — opening books, turning pages, placing bookmarks, and so on — involve a few simple touchscreen gestures, such as finger taps and swipes. For the most part, these gestures are consistent throughout your interaction with the Kindle Paperwhite. (We point out the few cases where the behavior is a bit different than you might expect.) Unlike Amazon’s prior touchscreen device, the Kindle Paperwhite has a capacitive touchscreen, which means that it responds only to an ungloved finger or a capacitive stylus that mimics a finger’s touch. Here are touchscreen gestures: Tapping A simple tap is the most common gesture you use with the Kindle Paperwhite. See an onscreen button and want to activate it? Tap the button. Viewing the list of books on your device? Tap one to open it. When you’re reading a book or other content, you tap to page forward (display the next page), page backward (display the previous page), or display a menu of commands. What happens when you tap a book's page depends on which part of the screen you tap. Swiping/sliding Swiping, or sliding, your finger from right to left horizontally or diagonally on the screen causes it to page forward. The motion is akin to flipping a paper page in a printed book. To page backward, reverse the motion with a left-to-right swipe. When reading a book or other content, you advance the page by swiping or tapping. If you want to page forward or backward when viewing a list of books on the Home screen, you must swipe, not tap. A tap on the title of a book (or other content) on the Home screen opens the item for reading. When swiping, you need to move your finger only a short distance. You can probably swipe (or tap) without moving your hands from their reading position. Long-tapping For a long-tap, also called a tap and hold, you touch and hold down on the screen for a few seconds before releasing. In general, a long-tap results in a special action, depending on what you’re viewing at the time. For example, when viewing a book page, you can long-tap on a word to display its definition. When viewing a list of books on the Home screen, a long-tap on a particular book displays such options as adding the book to a collection and reading its description. If you tap and hold the title of an e-book sample listed on the Home screen, you can buy the book, read the description, or delete the sample from the device. Pinching and unpinching When reading a book or other content, place two fingers (or a finger and a thumb) on the touchscreen and slide them closer together. This pinch motion decreases the font size. Move your fingers apart — called an unpinch — to increase the font size. You need to move your fingers only a small distance to change the font size. You might see a lag between the pinching and unpinching motions and a change in the text size. Moving your fingers slowly helps. Touchscreen zones The Kindle Paperwhite screen is set up with tap zones, which are designed to let you turn pages effortlessly with one finger. The three zones work as follows: Top zone: This area covers the full width of the screen and is approximately 1.25 inches high. While reading a book, a tap in the top zone displays two toolbars. The top toolbar contains the Home, Back, Light, Store, Search, and Menu icons. The second toolbar contains the Font, Go to, X-ray, and Share icons. At the bottom of the screen, you can see your progress in the book. The top toolbar is always displayed on the Home screen. Central zone: This area, which is the largest of the three zones, covers the middle of the screen. A quick tap or swipe here advances to the next page. Left zone: This area is a long, narrow rectangle that is approximately .5” wide. A tap in the left column moves to the previous page. Because this zone is narrow, your tapping has to be precise. That said, if you can visualize the zone on the screen, remembering where to tap will be easier.

Article / Updated 09-17-2021

As with most technology, you may, at times, experience freezing or slow response on your Kindle Paperwhite. Most often, the solution is simple. Try these steps if your Kindle freezes up on you. An e-book won't open or stops responding If your Kindle Paperwhite freezes or starts behaving strangely when you're reading a particular e-book or other content, try a menu restart and then, if necessary, a hard restart. If those solutions don't work, the file might be corrupted. If that is the case, remove the item to see whether that solves the problem. Remember, if you bought the book from Amazon, it will be stored in the Cloud and you can redownload it to your device. If the book came from another source, make sure you have a backup before removing it. Remove the item from your Kindle Paperwhite by following these steps: From the Home screen, tap and hold down on the item. A pop-up menu appears, with several options. Tap the Remove from Device option or the Delete This Sample option (for samples). The e-book or sample is removed from your Kindle Paperwhite. Restart your Kindle Paperwhite by pressing and holding the power button for 45 seconds (7-15 seconds for a second-generation Kindle Paperwhite). Try reading other content to see whether the symptoms have cleared up. If so, you can try downloading the e-book again from Amazon by selecting it from the Cloud on your Home screen or sideloading it to your device from your computer. The device freezes or is very slow If your Kindle Paperwhite stops behaving in its usual speedy fashion or freezes, you can typically resolve the problem by doing a menu restart or a hard restart. Begin by performing a menu restart your Kindle Paperwhite: Tap Menu→Settings. Tap Menu→Restart. (Restart is the third item on the drop-down menu that appears.) Your Kindle Paperwhite displays the start-up screen and a progress bar. After a minute or so, the device restarts and displays the Home screen. If the menu restart doesn't resolve the problem, try a hard restart: Press and hold down the power button for 45 seconds (7-15 seconds for a second-generation Kindle Paperwhite). The screen goes blank. Press the power button again — just a simple press as if you were taking your Kindle Paperwhite out of sleep mode. The start-up screen appears with a silhouetted child reading under a tree. In a few seconds, the device begins the restart process and displays a progress bar. When that restart is complete, you see the Home screen. Sometimes a low battery can be the cause of unexpected Kindle Paperwhite behavior. If you continue to have problems, plug in your device to let it charge for at least an hour and then try a menu restart again, followed by a hard restart if necessary.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

When you turn Kindle Fire on for the first time, you see a series of screens that help you set up and register the device. The first screen is titled Welcome to Kindle Fire. This is the point in the setup process at which you connect to a Wi-Fi network. You need this connection to register your device. Follow these steps to register and set up your Kindle Fire:

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Kindle Fire playlists allow you to create collections of songs that transcend the boundaries of albums or artists. For example, you might want to create a playlist for a romantic evening, a dance party, or a mellow road trip. To create a new playlist, follow these steps:

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Setting up your e-mail on Kindle Fire involves providing information about one or more e-mail accounts that you’ve already established with a provider such as Gmail. Follow these steps to set up an e-mail account the first time you use the app:

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

You can have multiple Kindles, like the Kindle Paperwhite, as well as other devices running the Kindle application (PCs, smartphones, and so on) registered to your Kindle account. You can register a new Kindle Paperwhite either from the device or from your computer via your Amazon account. For other devices, download the Kindle app and register using the device. If you search or browse for Kindle content from your computer, you can send a sample to any of the devices registered to your Kindle account, including devices that run the Kindle app, such as the iPhone, a BlackBerry, or other PCs. If you search for content on your Kindle Paperwhite, you can send a sample only to the Kindle Paperwhite on which you’re doing the searching. If you enjoy the sample and want to buy the book, you can do so in a number of ways.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

Some features on your Fire tablet enable you to use an on-screen, virtual keyboard from which you can enter text and numbers. Some keys also contain alternate characters, which you can access by tapping and holding over a character until a panel of choices appears. As you type, the tablet suggests words for you. You can change the location where you are typing, or correct a mistake, by tapping in the text. You can then location-drag the marker to the position where you want to type.

Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016

By default, a battery icon appears at the right edge of the Kindle Fire's Status bar; this icon gives a visual representation of the remaining battery charge for your device. You can, in addition, display this amount as a percentage. Displaying a percentage amount gives you a more specific idea of the remaining battery charge.