Transferring by USB

If you remove the electrical plug from the end of your Kindle charging cable, you’ll find a standard USB connector.

Plug it into a USB port in your computer, and plug the other end of the cable into the Kindle.

Your Kindle should appear in Explorer (Windows) / Finder (Mac) as a removable drive, just like a DVD, USB stick or external hard drive.  Navigate to the Kindle and locate the MOBI folder.

Find the ZIP file containing the books and select the .mobi file.

Drag and drop the .mobi file into the MOBI or Documents folder on the Kindle – the name of the folder will depend on your Kindle software version.

Once it’s finished transferring, eject or unmount the Kindle before removing the USB cable.

Your book should now be available to read.  If it doesn’t appear in the menu, double-check that you’ve dropped the .mobi file into the correct folder.

Transferring by Email

It’s also possible email the .mobi file to your Kindle so that it’s downloaded wirelessly.

If you go to your Amazon account on the website, and go to Manage Your Kindle, there’s an email address listed next to your device, for example, yourkindlename@kindle.com.  If you find that address, you can email just the .mobi file from your normal email software and it’ll be downloaded by your Kindle next time you turn it on.

Just a warning with that – in the Personal Document Settings in your Amazon account on the website, you’ll find a maximum charge option.  Downloading over wireless should be free, but they can charge you if your Kindle is on the 3G network unless you set the maximum charge to 0.  If you change the address to yourkindlename@free.kindle.com, it should be delivered the next time you’re on a wifi network free of charge.