Your Kindle might soon be shadow banned from buying new books, see which models are affected

Starting May 20, which is a bit over a month away from now, more than ten Kindle devices will lose access to new content – including purchasing, borrowing or downloading – on the Kindle Store.

Old devices

The Verge reports that an Amazon spokesperson has already confirmed that in an email.

The affected devices are Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire units that were released between 2007 and 2012.

These are:

• Kindle 1st Generation (2007)
• Kindle DX (2009)
• Kindle DX Graphite (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)

Can I still read my downloaded books?

The good news is that if you want to stick to your already downloaded ebooks on a device of the list above, you can absolutely do so. You'll also be able to access your account and Kindle purchases through the Kindle mobile app, Kindle for Web and on newer devices.

But keep in mind that if the older devices are deregistered or put through a factory reset, you won't be able to re-register them after May 20.

Pre-2012 Kindle Fires will face the same restrictions as aging Kindle e-readers when it comes to accessing books, though other apps and Amazon services will continue to function as usual.

There'll be an explanation

Amazon will send emails to affected users ahead of May 20 to explain the new limitations coming to older Kindle devices.

If you'd like to upgrade, Amazon would be offering a 20% discount on new Kindle devices along with a $20 ebook credit, available through June 20. Users who switch to a newer device will still have access to their existing libraries, as long as they sign in with the same account.

A new Kindle update

Meanwhile, Amazon disseminated a new Kindle update, the 5.19.3.0.1 build.

This one is a minor touch up, since the recent 5.19.3 release caused some bugs and performance issues.

There are no new major features that are being introduced, but users can look forward to improved support for USB-transferred PDFs.

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