If you have a Kindle - whether it be Scribe,Paperwhite, Oasis or thebasic entry-level model- you’ll know you can read books on it. But you might also be wondering if you can send any other documents to it for reading - or in the caseof the Scribe- marking up. The answer is - absolutely you can - and sending documents to your Kindle library is actually really simple.
It doesn’t matter what device you want to use either. It’s possible to send documents to your Kindle from a smartphone, tablet, PC, Mac or even just using email. We’ll go over all the methods in this guide. But, let’s start with the most important question…
Which document formats are compatible with Kindle?
Thankfully, most popular document types are compatible with Kindle. There’s a slight difference in which you can send based on the service you use, but - for the most part - you can send any using any of the methods below. They include:
Amazon Kindle (2022)
The entry-level Kindle is a great option considering the price. It delivers a lot of great features like sharp text, warm light and a Type-C port.
Send documents to Kindle from the smartphone app
With everything being mobile-first these days - let’s start with the Kindle app for smartphones. This works for bothAndroid phonesandiPhonesso your first step - if you haven’t already - is to download the Kindle app from the Play Store or the App Store.
Once you’ve signed in to your Amazon account follow these steps on Android:
The process is virtually identical on iPhone:
If you’ve chosen to send it to your library you will be able to access it from any Kindle device you have, and any smartphone or tablet with the Kindle app installed. It might not appear immediately, so give it a few minutes and when you go to your Kindle library on any device, it should appear.
Use the ‘Send to Kindle’ web page
If you’re on a desktop - be it Mac, Chrome or Windows - by far the easiest way to send documents to your Kindle is using the web page.
Just like the smartphone method it can take a few minutes for the files to appear in your library so give it a little time before checking.
Send to Kindle using the Mac or Windows desktop app
Another easy way to send documents to your Kindle from a Mac or Windows PC is to download the Send to Kindle desktop app. It’s available for both platforms.
Go to ‘Amazon.com/sendtokindle’ and you should see various options down the side. Choose either ‘Windows App’ or ‘Mac App’ in those tabs down the right of the screen.
Like all the other cloud-based methods, wait a few minutes and it should appear in your library.
Drag and drop files directly onto your Kindle
This method is the longest serving and easiest if you just want to put documents directly onto your Kindle device.
Plug in the Kindle to your Mac or PC using a USB cable, and it should show a ‘USB Drive Mode’ screen. A ‘Kindle’ drive should appear on your desktop on Mac, and in Explorer on Windows.
Once that’s done, eject your Kindle drive and you should see your library update instantly with the new files.
How to send documents to Kindle via email
As if there weren’t enough methods already for sending to your Kindle, you can also do it via email. This process is a little less simple and needs a tiny bit of setting up.
This step is necessary to ensure that only selected email addresses are allowed to send documents to your Kindle library.
Under ‘Personal Document Settings’ you should see a list of unique email addresses for each Kindle or device that you’re logged into. Make a note of one of them and save it to your contacts list as something obvious like ‘Send to Kindle’.
Now under ‘Personal Document Archiving’ at the bottom of the list make sure the archiving is enabled, so that all your documents go to your library and are available across devices and not just the one device you’ve sent it to.
All you need to do now is send an email with your chosen document as an attachment to that Kindle email address.
