Kindle eReaders are not limited to books from the Amazon Store. When you receive eBooks from other sources, EPUB is a commonly used file format. We’ll show you a few methods to get these files onto your Kindle.
EPUB is really a common format for eBooks, but unfortunately it is not compatible with Kindle eReaders. The good news is that it’s pretty easy to convert EPUB to MOBI, the file format that Kindles can use. There are a number of ways to do this.
RELATED: What is a MOBI file (and how do I open one)?
Option 1: Convert and Transfer with Caliber
First, you can use a free open source tool called Caliber. It is available on Windows, Mac and Linux and includes many features for eBooks. One of those features is the ability to convert EPUB to MOBI. It can also be used to transfer the eBook to your Kindle at the same time.
Follow our guide to setting up Caliber first, then connect your Kindle to your computer using the supplied USB cable (the same one you use for charging) or a similar cable. Start in Caliber by clicking “Add Books” and selecting the EPUB from your file manager.
We don’t need to manually convert the EPUB. Caliber takes care of it during the transfer. Right-click the book and select Send to Device > Send to Main Memory from the menu.
A pop-up message will appear asking if you want to automatically convert the book before sending it to your Kindle. Click “Yes” to continue.
The book is converted in one step and sent to your Kindle – you can follow the progress via ‘Assignments’ in the bottom corner. That’s all!
RELATED: Transfer an eBook to Kindle with Caliber
Option 2: Convert and Email
You can email eBooks to your Kindle using Amazon’s @kindle.com email address system. However, if you want to transfer EPUB files in this way, you need to convert them to MOBI files first.
Convert EPUB to MOBI online
Don’t feel like downloading and setting up an app? There are plenty of online web converters for eBooks. One we like is the aptly named “EPUB to MOBI Converter”. You can access this website on your computer or smartphone.
Remark: If you prefer, you can also download Caliber and use it to convert the ebook to a file on your computer before emailing it, rather than relying on a web-based tool.
Click or tap the large upload button and choose your EPUB file.
The file will be converted and when it’s done, you can select “Download” [file name]I
That is it! Now let’s transfer that file to your Kindle.
Transfer with email
You don’t have to mess with Caliber or connect your phone to a PC to transfer eBooks to your Kindle. Each Kindle eReader has its own custom email address. You can send eBook files to this email address for wireless transfer.
First, visit amazon.com/myk in a web browser on your PC or smartphone. Select the Kindle you want to use from the “Devices” tab and click the device name in the expanded menu.
On the next page, you’ll see the “@kindle.com” email address for your Kindle. You can select “Edit” to change the address if you want. Remember this email address.
Now all you have to do is send an email to that address with your MOBI eBook attached!
After you’ve sent the email, you’ll receive an email from Amazon asking you to “Verify Request.” This is just to confirm that you want to send the eBook to your Kindle.
The eBook will be sent to your Kindle eReader. You can force the Kindle to check for new books by opening the home screen menu and tapping the “Sync” button.
You may have to wait a few minutes, but it shouldn’t take long for the book to appear in your Kindle library.
Amazon could certainly make it easier to get EPUB eBooks on Kindle Readers, but it’s not impossible if you know what you’re doing. Now you are free to get your eBooks from any number of external sources. If you just want some free books, Amazon has some options too. Go and read!