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Sign in to the new Kindle with the same Amazon account used on the old device, connect it to Wi‑Fi, and open Your Library. Kindle Store purchases and Send to Kindle documents that were archived to your library will be available to download from the Amazon Cloud. Files copied directly to the old e‑reader by USB are different: they remain on that device, so you must copy them from its documents folder to the new Kindle or send the originals through Send to Kindle.
The sequence below covers both kinds of content, explains when a cable is required, and gives a recovery path for books that do not appear after registration.
What transfers automatically and what requires manual work
Amazon’s Kindle User’s Guide describes the deciding factor this way: transferring content depends on where the content came from. Registration does not copy every file from one device to another; it gives the new Kindle access to the account library and cloud-archived documents.
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| Content on the old e‑reader | Where it is stored | How to get it onto the new Kindle | What happens later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books, periodicals, and magazines purchased from the Kindle Store | Amazon Cloud | Register the new Kindle to the same Amazon account, then download from Your Library or deliver from Manage Your Content and Devices | It remains available for downloading from the account library |
| Personal documents sent through Send to Kindle while Personal Document Archiving is enabled | Your Kindle library in the Amazon Cloud | Open Your Library on the new Kindle and download the document | It remains downloadable from the library |
| Files copied directly to the old Kindle by USB and never sent to Kindle | Only on the old device unless you made another backup | Copy the files from the old device’s documents folder to a computer, then into the new Kindle’s documents folder | Amazon says these files are permanently deleted when the old device is removed because they are not stored in the Cloud |
| Reading position, notes, highlights, and bookmarks | Synchronization data associated with supported Kindle devices and apps | Use the same account and keep Kindle synchronization enabled | Supported devices and apps can keep this information aligned |
Before resetting, selling, or recycling the old e‑reader, make a separate copy of every USB‑only file you care about. Cloud availability applies to purchases and properly archived personal documents, not to files that were merely dragged onto the device.
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- Light and compact - With adjustable brightness, high contrast ratio, and fast page turns.
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- Escape into your books - Tune out messages, emails, and social media with a distraction-free reading experience.
- Read for a while - Get up to 6 weeks of battery life on a single charge.
- Take your library with you – 16 GB storage holds thousands of books.
Set up the new Kindle first
1. Charge and power it on
Connect the supplied USB cable and adapter, then press the power button. Complete the initial language and region choices. If you are using a replacement cable, verify that its connector matches the Kindle model before starting.
2. Join Wi‑Fi
Open the Kindle’s Wi‑Fi controls. The exact menu path varies by model and software version, so use the network control shown on your setup screen. Select your network and enter its password. Internet access is required for registration, purchases, downloads, and synchronization; a USB copy between devices does not need an internet connection.
3. Register with the account that owns the books
Enter the same Amazon account credentials used on the old Kindle. Registration unlocks the Kindle Store and that account’s library. If you sign in with a different account, the new device will correctly show that other account’s content instead of the books you expect.
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Open Your Library. If the screen is filtered to Downloaded, clear that filter or choose All. Tap a title to download it to the new Kindle. Large libraries may take time to populate, so leave Wi‑Fi connected while the device completes its first synchronization.
5. Deliver a title from Amazon’s website when it is not listed
Use this route when the book belongs to the account but does not appear on the device:
Rank #2
- Light and compact - With adjustable brightness, high contrast ratio, and fast page turns.
- Effortless reading in any light - Read comfortably with a 6“ glare-free display, adjustable front light—now 25% brighter at max setting—and dark mode.
- Escape into your books - Tune out messages, emails, and social media with a distraction-free reading experience.
- Read for a while - Get up to 6 weeks of battery life on a single charge.
- Take your library with you - 16 GB storage holds thousands of books.
- Open Manage Your Content and Devices and select Content, then Books.
- Select the title and choose Deliver or Remove from Device.
- Choose the newly registered Kindle as the destination.
- Choose Make Changes.
- Return to the Kindle and run a synchronization command, then check Your Library again.
This web delivery step does not change ownership or create a second purchase. It tells Amazon which registered Kindle should receive the cloud item.
Download Kindle Store purchases
Store purchases are the simplest migration case because Amazon securely keeps them in the Cloud. Once the new Kindle is registered to the same account, you can download individual titles as needed instead of transferring files one by one.
Download from the Kindle itself
- Open Your Library.
- Choose All if a Downloaded filter is active.
- Search for the title if it is not visible on the current page.
- Tap the cover or title to start the download.
- Wait for the download to finish before opening the book, particularly on a weak Wi‑Fi connection.
The cloud copy is separate from the copy stored on the old Kindle. You may therefore leave the old device untouched while rebuilding the library on the new one.
Use web delivery for several missing titles
Manage Your Content and Devices is useful when the library view is confusing or a title is not offered as an immediate download. Select several books in Content > Books, use Deliver or Remove from Device, select the new Kindle, and choose Make Changes. Synchronize the Kindle after the delivery request. If a title still does not appear, use the troubleshooting sequence later in this guide rather than buying it again.
Move personal documents sent through Send to Kindle
Personal documents have two possible histories. If you used Send to Kindle and Personal Document Archiving was enabled, the document is stored in the Kindle library and can be downloaded on the replacement device. If you only copied it by USB, it is a local file and needs a manual copy or a new Send to Kindle upload.
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- Escape into your books – Your Kindle doesn’t have social media, notifications, or other distracting apps.
- Battery life for your longest novel – A single charge via USB-C lasts up to 12 weeks.
- Read in any light – Adjust the display from white to amber to read in bright sunlight or in the dark.
Download an archived personal document
- Register the new Kindle to the same Amazon account used when the document was sent.
- Open Your Library and select All.
- Search for the document by its title or filename.
- Tap it to download.
If the document is absent, check that it was actually sent through Send to Kindle and that Personal Document Archiving was enabled. A file that was dragged into the old Kindle’s storage will not become cloud content merely because the device is later registered.
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Send files wirelessly without a USB cable
Send to Kindle is the wireless option for files you still have on a computer or phone. Amazon’s current help guidance, accessed in 2026, lists these supported file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, HTM, HTML, PNG, GIF, JPG, JPEG, BMP, and EPUB. Each file can be up to 200 MB. Select the destination Kindle when prompted, or send the file to the Amazon account associated with the new device and then download it from the library.
Wireless transfer is useful when the old e‑reader is unavailable, when the computer does not recognize it, or when you want a cloud copy for future devices. Keep the original files in a separate folder until you confirm that the document has arrived and opens correctly on the new Kindle.
When Send to Kindle is the better choice
- You have the original PDF, EPUB, or office document but no convenient way to connect the old e‑reader.
- You want the document archived in the Kindle library instead of tied to one device.
- You are moving from a non‑Kindle e‑reader and can export the files in one of the listed formats.
- The old Kindle’s storage is failing or the device is being returned before you can perform a USB copy.
When a cable is still necessary
Send to Kindle cannot recover a file that exists only on the old device and nowhere else. If the old e‑reader contains the only copy and you cannot access its files wirelessly, connect it to a computer first, copy the files out, and then decide whether to archive them with Send to Kindle or copy them directly to the new device.
Transfer USB‑only files manually
Direct USB transfer is the route for personal files that were copied to the old Kindle without being e‑mailed or sent through Send to Kindle. It also gives you a backup on the computer before you retire the old device.
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- Ready for travel – The ultra-thin design has a larger glare-free screen so pages stay sharp no matter where you are.
- Escape into your books – Your Kindle doesn’t have social media, notifications, or other distracting apps.
- Adapts to your surroundings – The auto-adjusting front light lets you read in the brightest sunlight or late into the night.
Copy files from the old Kindle to a computer
- Connect the old Kindle to the computer with a USB cable.
- Wait for it to appear as a connected device or external storage.
- Open the Kindle’s documents folder.
- Copy the personal files to a clearly named folder on the computer. Do not move them; make a copy so the old device remains intact until you verify the backup.
- Eject the old Kindle safely before disconnecting it.
Keep the backup even after the new Kindle opens the files. Amazon states that USB‑only personal content is not stored in the Cloud and is permanently deleted when the old device is removed.
Copy the files to the new Kindle
- Connect the new Kindle to the computer.
- Open its storage and locate the documents folder.
- Copy the backed‑up files into that folder.
- Eject the new Kindle safely and disconnect the cable.
- Open the library and search for the transferred titles.
USB copying itself does not require Wi‑Fi. You will need Wi‑Fi later if you want synchronization, cloud delivery, or the library to update across devices.
Windows and macOS differences
On Windows, the transfer uses the Kindle’s external‑storage view: open the device, enter documents, and drag or copy the files. On macOS, Amazon says users need the Send to Kindle USB File Manager for Kindle Scribe and models released in 2024. If a newer Kindle does not appear as ordinary storage in Finder, use that Amazon utility rather than repeatedly reconnecting the cable.
Keep reading progress and annotations
Reading position, notes, highlights, and bookmarks can stay aligned across supported Kindle devices and apps when synchronization is enabled. After registration, connect the new Kindle to Wi‑Fi and run a sync so the device can retrieve the account’s latest state. This applies to content and devices that support Kindle synchronization; it is not a substitute for backing up USB‑only files.
If you read while offline, the new device may not yet know about changes made on the old one. Synchronize the old device while it still has the latest annotations, then synchronize the new Kindle after registration.
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- Kindle Paperwhite – 7“ Paperwhite display with high contrast ratio and fast page turns.
- Ready for travel – The ultra-thin design has a larger glare-free screen so pages stay sharp no matter where you are.
- Escape into your books – Your Kindle doesn’t have social media, notifications, or other distracting apps.
- Battery life for your longest novel – A single charge via USB-C lasts up to 12 weeks.
- Read in any light – Adjust the display from white to amber to read in bright sunlight or in the dark.
Choose the right migration method
| Method | Content source | Connection | Device or operating-system dependency | Persistence | Typical recovery work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Library download | Kindle Store purchase or archived Send to Kindle document | Cloud and Wi‑Fi | Same Amazon account and a registered Kindle | Cloud content remains downloadable | Clear filters, search All, sync, or use web delivery |
| Send to Kindle | Original personal file in a supported format | Wireless | File must be available on a computer or phone; maximum 200 MB per file | Library persistence when Personal Document Archiving is enabled | Confirm the account, supported format, file size, and destination Kindle |
| Direct USB copy | File stored only on the old device | USB and computer | Windows external‑storage workflow; macOS requires the Send to Kindle USB File Manager for Kindle Scribe and 2024‑released models | Local to the device unless you make a separate backup | Reconnect, copy from the old documents folder, then copy into the new documents folder |
Troubleshoot books that are missing
The new Kindle shows an empty or incomplete library
- Confirm that Wi‑Fi is connected.
- Make sure Airplane mode is off.
- Open the library filter and choose All, not only Downloaded.
- Search for the title by name.
- Run Sync My Kindle or Sync and Check for Items, depending on the model’s wording.
- Open Manage Your Content and Devices, deliver the title to the new Kindle, choose Make Changes, and sync again.
- Restart the Kindle and retry the synchronization.
Internet access is required for purchase, download, and sync. A title cannot arrive from the Cloud while the device remains offline.
The books belong to another Amazon account
Check the account shown under Settings > Your account. If the old device was registered to a different account, deregister it from that account and sign in with the account that owns the books. Do not expect content from two separate accounts to merge into one library; use the correct account for the titles you want to retrieve.
A USB file does not appear after copying
- Confirm that the file was copied into the new Kindle’s documents folder, not a similarly named folder on the computer.
- Eject the Kindle safely, disconnect it, and allow the library to refresh.
- Check the computer backup to ensure the original file is intact.
- If you are using macOS with a Kindle Scribe or a model released in 2024, use Amazon’s Send to Kindle USB File Manager.
- If the old file exists only on the old device, repeat the copy from the old device before attempting another transfer.
Sync does not bring back notes or reading position
Connect both devices to Wi‑Fi and run synchronization on the old Kindle first, then on the new one. Verify that you are using the same Amazon account and that synchronization is enabled. Only supported Kindle devices and apps participate in this synchronization.
Final checks before retiring the old e‑reader
- Open several downloaded Kindle Store books on the new device.
- Search Your Library > All for archived personal documents.
- Open at least one file that was copied by USB.
- Check that expected reading positions, notes, highlights, and bookmarks have synchronized.
- Keep a computer backup of USB‑only files.
- Only after these checks should you reset, return, sell, or recycle the old e‑reader.
The safest migration combines account registration for cloud content, a manual backup for USB‑only files, and a final synchronization on Wi‑Fi. That approach also leaves you with a recoverable copy if the old device is no longer available.
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