Kindle DRM Removal 2020: How to Do It on Mac and PC

This article talks about how to do Kindle DRM removal on Mac and Windows. Kindle books purchased from Amazon are protected by the DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology. In other words, you can only read them on a Kindle device or a Kindle app, making it impossible to enjoy your purchased books on ebook readers or apps other than the Kindle ones. By using DRM removal software, you can make the impossible possible.

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to easily remove DRM from Kindle books with Epubor Ultimate and Calibre.

The Best Kindle DRM Removal Software

• Remove DRM protection from Kindle ebooks
• Support Kindle for Mac/PC and different Kindle e-readers
• Convert Kindle books to EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, TXT and PDF
• Support 13 input ebook formats
• Can batch process multiple books
• Also support ebooks bought from other popular ebook stores
• Also remove Nook DRM
• Easy to use
• Available for Windows and macOS

Method 1. Kindle DRM Removal with Epubor Ultimate

It’s easy and effective to remove DRM protection from Kindle books using Epubor Ultimate.

Step 1. Download and install the software on your Mac or PC.

 

Step 2. Launch the software. And it will automatically detect the ebooks that have been downloaded to Kindle for PC/Mac or on the Kindle e-reader connected to your computer via USB. The books will be listed in the left sidebar.

Step 3. When you click a book in the sidebar, the DRM removal process will start. Once it is finished, the now DRM-free Kindle book will appear in the window on the right. To decrypt multiple books, just repeat the process.

By clicking the folder icon  in the bottom right corner of the interface, you will open the folder where the decrypted Kindle ebooks are stored.

This Kindle DRM removal software program also comes with a conversion feature. If needed, you can also use it to convert the now-decrypted books to EPUB, MOBI, PDF or other desired formats.

A guide to downloading Kindle books to your computer

The guide is important for a successful Kindle DRM removal.

Before performing the steps above, you of course need to get a Kindle book purchased and downloaded first. There is more than one way to do this. Here I talk about one of them.

Step 1. Download Kindle for PC 1.17, regardless of the latest version available. Make sure you get the installer from a source that you trust. Install it.

If you have already installed a higher version such as 1.26 or 1.25, you need to downgrade it.

Step 2. Launch it. From the menu bar, select Tools > Options > General. Uncheck the box Automatically install updates when they are available without asking me. Click the Save button.

Step 3. When you are buying a Kindle book from Amazon, click the Deliver to drop-down list and choose to send the book to your Kindle for PC.

Step 4. In Kindle for PC, click the refresh icon. Go to the Downloaded tab to find the downloaded book, which is DRM-protected.

Now you can use the recommended software to remove DRM from the Kindle book.

With regard to Kindle AZW DRM removal, Epubor Ultimate suggests that users downgrade to the desktop Kindle app to version 1.24 or earlier. But it still doesn’t work in some cases. Version 1.17 is recommended.

The steps are similar for macOS users.

What does Epubor Ultimate do?

• Remove DRM protection from Kindle books
• Support Kindle for PC/Mac and different Kindle models
• Support 13 input formats such as AZW, AZW3, KFX, EPUB, MOBI, etc.
• Provide 5 output formats for conversion
• Allow batch processing
• Support books purchased from Amazon, Nook, Google Play, Kobo and other popular sources
• Also remove Nook DRM
• Automatic detection of ebooks and devices
• Easy to use even for beginners

 

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Method 2. Kindle DRM Removal with Calibre

If you are a fan of ebooks, you may have already known Calibre or had it on your computer. Calibre is a free open source ebook library manager. It’s easy to use and versatile, providing a number of basic and advanced features and options. Free DRM removal is one of them.

Step 1. Download and install Calibre on your PC or Mac. Launch it.

Step 2. Download Calibre plugin DeDRM from GitHub. There are several versions available. Make sure to choose a version that suits you. For example, version 6.7.0, the latest version currently, doesn’t work with Calibre versions requiring Python 3 for plugins.

Step 3. Unzip the zipped file you have downloaded.

Step 4. In Calibre, open Preferences. Navigate to Advanced and click Plugins, which will bring up the Plugins window.

Step 5. Click Load plugin from file in the bottom right corner. Select DeDRM_plugin.zip and click Open.

Step 6. The Are you sure dialog box will appear. Click Yes. Now the Calibre Kindle DRM removal plugin should be successfully installed.

Step 7. Click the Apply button in at the bottom of the window to save changes.

Step 8. Find the Kindle AZW or KFX ebook that you have downloaded to your desktop Kindle app. Add the ebook to Calibre by dragging and dropping or by clicking the Add books button in the menu bar.

• With Kindle for PC, the default location of downloaded books is “C:\Users\your user name\Documents\My Kindle Content“.
• For Mac users who install Kindle for Mac from the Mac App Store, the default location is “/Users/your user name/Library/Containers/com.amazon.Kindle/Data/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content“. As for other download sources, it will be “/Users/your user name/Library/Application Support/Kindle/My Kindle Content“.

Once the Kindle book is added to your Calibre library, the DRM encryption will be removed simultaneously, and you should have no problem viewing and manipulating it.

On a side note, some Calibre users use the method on rented Kindle books and succeed, but it fails in many cases. It’s recommended that one only remove DRM protection from books one purchases and owns.

Kindle DRM removal failed?

What if it’s not working?

In some cases, people still get the This book has DRM message after completing these steps. There are two common fixes.

1. Check out the guide provided in the first method and downgrade to the right version.
2. Fix it by installing another plugin. Open the Calibre Plugins window and click the Get New plugins button. Enter KFX Input in the Filter by name box. Click Install and click OK. Restart Calibre.

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Conclusion

Above are the common ways to do easy Kindle DRM removal on Mac and Windows. We remove encryption for the sake of a less restricted reading experience. For heavy users of ebooks and e-readers, the Epubor DRM removal software is recommended due to great performance, multiple supported input/output formats and the support for all popular ebook stores.