I have many purchased kindle books in AZW3 format, but I want to know is there is anyway to remove DRM from these azw3 files?
AZW3 is a format for Kindle eBooks that are downloaded from Kindle eReader devices (the firmware is not higher than 5.6.x.x) or downloaded directly from the Amazon website for the Kindle eReader. If you directly copy and paste those AZW3 file to your computer and want to share them with others or convert to EPUB/PDF, you are not able to do this because these AZW3 files are protected by Kindle DRM. So this article will introduce the most efficient way to remove DRM from AZW3 files.
Breaking news and latest update: Amazon has made a change to their service so that books released on or after January 3, 2023 can no longer be downloaded using Kindle versions for PC or Mac earlier than 1.39. This means that using the older version of the Kindle desktop app to remove the Kindle drm no longer works for those files.
To fix this, you need to have a Kindle device (e-ink devices or fire tablets) as the target to get a file that will allow DRM removal (dedrm from azw3).
Below is the step by step guide.
Note: This guide is only for AZW3 files exported from Kindle e-Readers firmware older than 5.10.2 or downloaded directly from the Amazon website "Download and transfer via usb" for registered Kindle device.
Updated on 8/31/2023: Some books will be .azw (but not .azw3) when you download and transfer. Based on my own tests, those azw files are drm free and epubor ultimate is also able to detect and convert them.
Step 1. Get the Tool Ready
To remove DRM from Kindle AZW3 files, you only need one program: Epubor Ultimate. This is the one of the best DRM removal software which works well on not only kindle books, but also other main streaming ebooks like Google Play, Kobo and Nook. It supports Windows and Mac computers. So with this software installed, you can crack almost 90% ebooks on the market. So just download the free trial now to learn how it works.
Download Epubor Ultimate for free
Step 2. Download Kindle AZW3 Books to Computer
1. To use this method, please ensure you have kindle device (Kindle eink device or Kindle Fire) registered with your Amazon account.
2. eBooks downloaded via Kindle media library (Amazon website) will be in AZW3 format. If you choose to download Kindle books in this way, you will avoid Kindle KFX format.
3. This method is not constrained by computer system. That means you can remove your kindle DRM even if you are on Mac Catalina 10.15 or later version.
4. Kindle books newly published in 2023 can also be downloaded using this method.
Go to Amazon official website, login to your Amazon account and navigate to Manage Your Content and Devices.
All your books will be listed under your content tab as below.
Click on "More actions" button at the end of the book title and you can see all actions you can do. Just select "Download & transfer via USB" from the drop-download list and a new window will pop up to show your registered Kindle devices.
Just choose the Kindle device at your hand and then click on "Download" button to start the downloading process.
Once finished, you will see the book has been downloaded to your computer.
Step 3. Remove DRM from Kindle books with Epubor Ultimate
An interesting thing about Kindle books downloaded from Amazon website directly is that most of them are DRM free, but not all. To remove drm from ebooks downloaded via USB, follow the below steps.
Download & install Epubor Ultimate.
Download Epubor Ultimate for free:
Now you need to input the Kindle Serial Number to Epubor Ultimate. There are two cases you may encounter.
Case 1 If your kindle device is nearby, connect it to your computer. Why need to plugin in the Kindle device? Because Epubor software will detect and load your Kindle serial number automatically once you've plugged it into your computer. Please note that Kindle Serial Number is the key to remove Kindle DRM!
Case 2 If your Kindle device is not at your hand, you need to find your Kindle serial Number at first. If you don't know where you can find the Kindle Serial Number, you can read the full guide on How to Easily Find the Kindle Serial Number.
Just copy the Kindle Serial Number and run Epubor Ultimate -->> User center-->>settings-->>Kindle-->>input the Kindle serial Number and then click on "Ok".
Then drag & drop the Kindle books to the main interface and the books will be decrypted automatically. Click on "Decrypted", you can open the folder storing the decrypted kindle books.
You can also learn how to download kindle ebook as azw3 format and then remove drm via Youtube tutorial.
Tips: Some of Kindle Photo Books that you downloaded from amazon website as AZW3 will be re-formatted by Amazon, which causes the drm removed AZW3 files by Epubor Ultimate are not readable on your reading app(page size wrong). In this sitiation, I highly recommend you convert azw3 to PDF or contact epubor technical team via email(subject with kindle photo book).
Jonny Greenwood joined Epubor since 2011, loves everything about eBooks and eReaders. He seeks the methods to read eBooks more freely and wants to share all he has got with you.
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8 Comments
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Textbook_unlocked
Re:How to Remove DRM From AZW3 eBook Files
09/7/2017 01:46:00
Worked great! Too bad it's only a free trial.
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Margaret Gogerly
Re:How to Remove DRM From AZW3 eBook Files
09/14/2018 08:59:29
Worked much, helped me much, tks.
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Kat
Re:How to Remove DRM From AZW3 eBook Files
07/25/2020 13:59:35
Amazon closed my account because a hacker got my information and made several purchases. I can't log into my Amazon account to access my books on my laptop or phone, but my Kindle is still logged into my account and can access my books. Amazon support says "the account is closed, so we can't help you".Unfortunately, my Kindle is updated to 5.12.3.Is there anything I can do?
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ccc
Re:How to Remove DRM From AZW3 eBook Files
06/10/2021 02:08:09
Babba bia :)
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andy
Re:How to Remove DRM From AZW3 eBook Files
06/19/2021 12:18:45
I never really understood (liked) the "import function" for books into a reader (any reader). Many readers actually make duplicates of the books in One's computer. First time they scan the entire disk(s) which can take a long time (if One has a lot of books). Next problem: The books can be well organised in folders and when imported into a reader there is just a hundreds of pages non stop of titles (usually with title page images) - much harder to find a particular book
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Carol Hague
Re:How to Remove DRM From AZW3 eBook Files
03/12/2022 19:56:06
Does this method work on Monterey, please? I've just bought a new Mac and don't want to mess about with Terminal if it's not going to help...
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Epubor
Re:Carol Hague
03/14/2022 10:15:26
Epubor Ultimate still work well on Mac OS 12. You can just download it and have a try. For the detailed instructions, please follow this guide: https://www.epubor.com/updating-kindle-for-mac-to-132-or-higher-will-prevent-you-from-removing-kindle-drm.html
Any more problem, please feel free to contact us.
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cdubya
Re:How to Remove DRM From AZW3 eBook Files
05/10/2022 19:05:51
Why not use Calibre with DeDRM plugin! :)
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