Amazon Ends Support For Older Kindles, See If Yours Is Affected

by Paul Lilly — Wednesday, April 08, 2026, 09:18 AM EDT

Heads up, Amazon is getting ready to abandon several older Kindle e-reader devices and Fire tablets released over a decade ago, long before the introduction of its first color display model. Once Amazon flips the switch, which it plans to do next month, owners of affected models will no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new content, the mega online retailer told multiple outlets. There is, however, a silver lining to the planned deprecation.

While owners of affected models will no longer be able to fill their legacy Kindle and Fire devices with new purchases, they will at least retain the ability to load and read content that they have already downloaded. Same goes for apps and services already installed on soon-to-be-abandoned Fire tablets.

It's only a partial silver lining, though, because if there ever arises a need to factory reset an affected Kindle or Fire device, the user will lose the ability to use the gadget altogether.

"Starting May 20, 2026, customers using Kindle 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. If you de-register or factory reset these devices, you will not be able to re-register or use these devices in any way," Amazon stated in an email.

Affected models include...

Kindle 1st Generation (2007)
Kindle DX and DX Graphite (2009 and 2010)
Kindle Keyboard (2010)
Kindle 4 (2011)
Kindle Touch (2011)
Kindle 5 (2012)
Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation (2012)
Kindle Fire 1st Gen (2011)
Kindle Fire 2nd Gen (2012)
Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012)
Kindle Fire HD 8.9 (2012)

Amazon told PCMagthat it plans on notifying affected customers before the deadline and will make it clear exactly what they will and will not be able to do once May 20 arrives. It also said it will extend an olive branch in the form of a 20% discount on a new Kindle purchase, along with a $20 e-book credit added to affected accounts if making a new purchase, which must be used by June 20, 2026.

For those who do not want to wait or are otherwise interested in buying a new Kindle right now, here is what the current starting prices looks like (with options for more storage and bundles on some models)...

Amazon frequently discounts its own hardware, though we're only seeing the Fire HD Plus on sale at the moment. It's worth keeping an eye on the main Kindle e-reader and Fire tablet pages to track upcoming deals. Also note that Amazon routinely offers a 20% discount when trading-in an older models.

Top Image Source: Pixabay (Sticks64)

Tags: Amazon, Kindle, E-reader, (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Paul Lilly

Paul is a seasoned geek who cut this teeth on the Commodore 64. When he's not geeking out to tech, he's out riding his Harley and collecting stray cats.