Older Amazon Kindle will start losing internet access in December

Amazon’s Kindle e-readers with built-in 3G will begin to lose the ability to connect to the Internet on their own in the United States in December, according to an email sent to customers on Wednesday. The change is due to the transition of mobile operators from old 2G and 3G network technologies to newer 4G and 5G networks. For older Kindles without Wi-Fi, this change could mean not connecting to the internet at all.

Like Happy reading First noted in June, newer Kindle devices that support 4G should be fine, but for older devices that came with 3G and Wi-Fi support like the Kindle Keyboard (3rd Generation), Kindle Touch (4th generation), Kindle Paperwhite (4th, 5th, 6th and 7th generation), Kindle Voyage (7th generation), and Kindle Oasis (8th generation), users will be blocked with Wi-Fi only. In its email announcement, Amazon points out that you can still enjoy the content that you already own and have downloaded on these devices, you simply won’t be able to download new books from the Kindle Store unless you can. did it over Wi-Fi. You can see Amazon’s email to customers below:

Things are getting tricky for older Amazon Kindle, like the Kindle (1st and 2nd generation) and Kindle DX (2nd generation). Since these devices relied only on 2G or 3G internet connectivity, once the networks are shut down, the only way to get new content on your device will be by using an old-fashioned micro-USB cable. For customers affected by the shutdown, Amazon is offering a modest promotional credit (NEWKINDLE50) through August 15 for $ 50 towards a new Kindle Paperwhite or Kindle Oasis, as well as a $ 15 store credit for eBooks.

While the company can do more to help affected customers (perhaps by replacing older devices entirely), this issue is largely beyond Amazon’s reach. The operators have all pledged to meet different deadlines for the commissioning of the old 2G and 3G networks, with AT&T setting the date for February 22, 2022, T-Mobile would have targeted April 2022 and Verizon pulling for December 31, 2022.

Given that, Amazon’s December date seems premature, but better to be prepared now than to leave a less useful e-reader later this year.