DRM is the bugaboo of ebooks. It’s the cause of more pain and agony than a Snooki photo, and today I plan to help fix that. I have long been on the side of removing DRM (it’s the best way to protect your purchases), but up until today I had never gone beyond pointing my readers at tools.
A few hours ago I was reading a post on Cult Of Mac. They explained an easy way for someone to automate a process for converting Kindle ebooks to Epub and transferring them into iTunes. It’s OSX only, of course, but I gave it a try on my windows laptop anyway. I wanted to see how good their instructions were before I shared the link.
I figured I’d get as far as removing the DRM before being forced to stop. Unfortunately, CoM glossed over the setting up the DRM removing plugin in calibre so that post isn’t nearly as useful as I would have liked. But I’m not one to stop a project once I’ve gotten started, so I went ahead and set up calibre so it can remove Kindle DRM.
The process is minimally difficult and I’d like to share it with you.
- Note that these instructions are Windows only, and some details will be different between the various versions of Windows.
- For the sake of thoroughness, I put together a gallery of screenshots with arrows pointing to the buttons mentioned in the instructions. I think it’s overkill but better safe than sorry.
- Note that these instructions were written without the permission or participation of Kovid Goyal, the creator of calibre.
- These instructions are written in order to assist the average user in protecting their purchases. I did not write it to assist in committing piracy; I believe in buying content, when possible. But I also believe in controlling the content I buy and that is why I strip the DRM.
First Things First
You need to download and install these apps on your computer. If you have any of them then you do not need to install them again:
Calibre is of course the ebook library management tool. I’ve mentioned it once or twice, and that’s what you’re going to use to remove the DRM. And K4PC is how you’ll download the ebooks.
Install the apps one at a time (and set up your account with the K4PC app, if you haven’t already). While they’re being installed, go download this ZIP file full of plugins:
Got everything installed? Good.
- UnZip the ZIP file you just downloaded. Open the folder called calibre and you should see a folder full of plugins.
- Launch calibre. When it’s open, look at the icons on the top row. There’s one on the far right called “Preferences”. Click on it. See Pic 1.
- It will bring up a new window with a bunch of icons. Look on the bottom row for the one that says “plugins”. Click it. See Pic 2.
- And now you’ll get another new window. Look at the buttons on the bottom row. Click on the one that says “load plugin from file”. See Pic 3.
- Use the file browser window to find the folder you downloaded. Open it, and then open the DeDRM_calibre_plugin folder.
- There should only be a single ZIP file in that folder, and it should be called “DeDRM_plugin”. Double click to select it.
- Shut down calibre and launch it again. Some times the plugin won’t kick in until you after you do this.
Yippee!
You’ve just installed and configured the plugin (assuming all went well). You should be able to copy any ebook you’ve downloaded from the K4PC app to calibre. Calibre should now be able to read the ebooks and convert them to whatever format you prefer.
But before you can do that you’ll need to find out where the Kindle ebooks are stored. This varies depending on which version of Windows you’re running, but they can usually be found under the My Documents folder. I’m looking at my Win 7 laptop right now and the Kindle ebooks are found in “My Kindle Content” under My Documents.
The ones you will need to copy are:
- AZW/AZW1/AZW2/AZW3
- MOBI
- PRC
- TPZ
After you copy the files into calibre, you might have some trouble getting calibre to open them so you can read them. Windows will need to be told that calibre can open the files. This should only happen once, so it’s a relatively minor issue.
Note that if you simply convert the ebooks, you won’t have this issue.
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There is no need to have Mobipocket Reader installed, nor to configure the plugin with its PID, unless you have bought books for it at an ebook store (e.g. Fictionwise) that required you to enter that PID.
The PID of a Mobipocket Reader installation has no relationship to the encryption keys used by Kindle for Windows for the ebooks downloaded to it.
The calibre plugins pickup the needed info from the Kindle for Windows installation automatically. If you’re only removing the DRM from books downloaded to Kindle for Windows, the plugin needs no configuration.
That’s not what the readme file for the plugin says; thanks for the correction.
Edit: Okay, I think it does say that; it’s certainly not clear.
‘Edit: Okay, I think it does say that; it’s certainly not clear.’
I have read in many places how easy it is to dedrm books. Not clear does not touch it.
I have tried 4 different processes and have hit a road block at the 1st, 2nd or 3rd step.
To bad someone couldn’t just make a dedrm tool and sell it.
Of course, they would be spending time in jail!
Actually, they do.
US$30 or so, if I remember correctly.
One step that’s easy to gloss over, the one that nailed me the first time, was that all the software installed must reside and run on a machine registered to the Kindle account which bought the book. You can’t just take a kindle book to another machine and deDRM it. Which is only fair. (Assuming a generally accepted standard of moral fairness and not the legal definition.)
Well, no.
If you go the full step of entering the PIDs then this plugin can strip DRM from just about any Kindle ebook – but you’ll first need the PID from the Kindle that you copied the ebook off of.
Really? That’s terrific. The more work I can do on my linux box the better.
Now, if you could tell me how to hide those hideous Calibre/Qt toolbars in Linux I’d be halfway to nirvana.
There’s a generic PID only for Kindle 1, Kindle 2 with early firmware, of Kindle for iOS.
Kindle 2 with latest firmware, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Touch, Kindle non-Touch, and current versions of Kindle for Mac & Kindle for PC DO NOT have a PID that will decode all books downloaded for them. Every book has a PID unique to that book, based on the Kindle device and metadata in the book itself.
Clearly it’s been too long since I last looked at this. Crap. that’s complicated!
Well, it is a bit complicated Nate but I managed it and I’m not exactly an expert. It helps if you actually read the instructions for using Calibre – some of the moves are not really user friendly.
When I load the “tools_v5.1.zip” plugin, it gives me the following error!!! What’s wrong?
calibre, version 0.8.47
ERROR: Unhandled exception: InvalidPlugin:The plugin in u’D:/temp/tools_v5.1.zip’ is invalid. It does not contain a top-level __init__.py file
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “site-packages\calibre\gui2\preferences\plugins.py”, line 306, in add_plugin
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\ui.py”, line 339, in add_plugin
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\ui.py”, line 54, in load_plugin
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\zipplugin.py”, line 160, in load
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\zipplugin.py”, line 255, in _locate_code
InvalidPlugin: The plugin in u’D:/temp/tools_v5.1.zip’ is invalid. It does not contain a top-level __init__.py file
Thanks for the question. I’ll go clarify the instructions.
Thanks Nate! Done.
I’m getting the same error message, what intructions did you give Rez to solve the probem?
I edited the post so it said to open up the first zip file to get another zip file inside.
You do realize you’re totally violating the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision here, right?
Eh. So has Wired, ColtofMac, and a bunch of other sites.
Edit: Besides, I’d already gone too far by linking to tools and suggesting that people use them.
You’ll be laughed at by everyone in the midwest Detention Camp. “Why are you here? Making bombs? Fomenting revolution? Not paying your mortgage?” “I linked to DRM-stripping sites.”
Pfft.
Mike, anyone who knows me can tell you I’d have ended up there anyway, if for nothing more than telling some security thug to piss-off.
Actually intent is the only prosecutable crime. if you did not intend to break the law and only read the ebook in another viewer like me then you HAVE NOT committed a crime. You will our record wiped clean.be convicted on the facts and then your record wiped clean. When you buy something it is your property and the US constitution prevents all these EULAs and DRM crud. The caviate is that you must bring it up in court. That is why the people are being fined and jailed. i have no problem. learn the law.
I know Americans forget sometimes but there are more countries in the world.
Not all have DMCA laws and rules
Well then those countries should start their own companies to sell Kindle books with.
Interesting article. I am considering buying a Kindle, which would be my first, and I have been thinking about preemptively deDRMing everything, just so I can’t be locked in.
Kindle Tip: Remove DRM on Kindle eBooks With Calibre // Jun 16, 2012 at 10:11 pm
[...] Digital Reader covers the process in a recent blog post, so head on over and check it out if that sounds like something you’d like to [...]
BTW, those are all the steps I followed too back when I asked about it. But my PC is so FUBARed for disk space right now — and K4PC is so slow with over 1,000 books in it — that I can’t yet tell if anything works, so I’ve given up for now. And it doesn’t help that every time I blink, there’s another new version of Calibre available. That program has the *worst* install record of all software for me. Always fails and I have to go through Repair — which also sometimes fails several times before working. (And I also have crap from a prior version that I can’t get rid of!)
Rez, you need to open the tools zip file and then you install each of the 5 listed zip files separately into Calibre that are inside the tools file, but don’t open those 5 zip files when you add them to Calibre (or just add the zip file for Kindle, if that’s all you plan to use).
If you believe in controlling the content you buy, you should start saying the politicians that represent you that they should make laws that allow citizens to break DRM for lawful purposes or stop buying content with DRM.
It does not matter if you bought the content. If someone breaks the DRM, one’s breaking the law and one’s being a “pirate”.
Because the whole purpose of the legal protection to DRM was not to prevent piracy. That was the excuse used to convince politicians to pass the law.
If you know how DRM systems work you understand they couldn’t prevent piracy anyway. And the fact is, they didn’t.
The legal protection to DRM is not for pirates, is for honest citizens. That’s right the ones that buy content.
Warner told us, in the beginning of this year why legal protection to DRM exists: to force citizens, the honest ones, to pay 3 or 4 times for the same movie. The idea is:
Citizens bought DVD with DRM through the years, and now they want to put the movies into the laptops, into the tablets, and so on. But because the DVD have DRM, citizens cannot do it. So, Warner will let them do it, if they pay for that. But citizens want their films on the cloud also. So, Warner will let them do it too, if they pay a fee.
But if you have DVD without DRM, you don’t need to pay to do all of this. Because all of this is private copying, which is legal (except in UK, I think).
I’m sorry to say this, but even if someone paid for the content, if they break the DRM they’re still breaking the law and they’re still being a pirate.
And this will continue until citizens tell politicians that they want their rights back.
(English is not my mother language, so please excuse me if I made errors)
Amen!
What she says is accurate. Not right, but accurate. Makes me wonder if we, the people with the illusion of freedom, need to rethink the ideas of the weirdos with the black hoodies and balaclavas in the streets. God! I wish not, but, maybe.
I got a kdnile when the kdnile 2 first came out I’d ordered the original at Christmas week, and within a month, Amazon announced the Kindle 2 was being sent out in place of the original. I ended up getting mine at the end of February 2009 (2 mos after I ordered!). I absolutely *love* my kdnile. I am completely spoiled having the ability to have a book (or hundreds) at my fingertips no matter where I am I always have my kdnile with me. I haven’t even read a paper book since I got it. It’s just nice knowing I am not using paper/ink/shipping etc for reading. I have the kdnile PC loaded to my computer so if I want (haven’t yet) I can read on my computer too.I fall asleep with my kdnile all the time too side sleeper here and my husband will periodically turn the light off for me.. I’ll wake up a while later and put it on the table. I’ve never before fallen asleep while reading, but since my kdnile, I read so much at night, I do, ha.Also, i’ve never been much to read out loud to my kids I have a hard time with it because I start yawning obsessively.. since having my kdnile, my boys and I read every night at bedtime and it’s been great! We are currently reading a series called Fablehaven.My kdnile has been worth every penny spent, both on it and on books. I am like you though, I stay under about $7.00 or so, unless I’ve been reading the series, then I may splurge on one book for closer to $9.. Enjoy!
I’m letting this piece of spam through because I’m amused by how it misspells “kdnile”.
And yes, this is spam; a lot of it truly is this sophisticated.
No we do not follow laws that are unethical. Just as we protest war and racism and other unethical laws with civil disobedience we must break these unjust laws until the corporate-bought politicians recognize or human right to share the property we bought.
Just installed the plugins on Calibre to remove DRM from Kindle books, which I paid for, so I can read them on my Nook. Calibre says it still can’t do it. I have the latest version of Calibre as of June 2012. Suggestions?
Here’s the thing and this is what bugs the crap out of me, and yet I do know I’m a total hypocrite because I just got through stripping a few more books for my own reading pleasure (so I can read on my preferred android phone / nook app), but people, you aren’t buying a story that you have a right to protect and read in whatever format you want in some nebulous future. You’re buying a “copy” of someone’s original story that they sold you in whatever version you bought and that’s it. Nothing more. So, yes, when you/we convert, we’re making a copy that we don’t have a right to make because we bought a license for that one DRM-hobbled copy and that’s it, and when we convert, we’re putting our legal copy into another form. Everyone assumes we’ve bought a story, when we didn’t buy a story, we bought a particular version of a particular file with particular restrictions and if you don’t want to be a thief and admit you’re being a thief, then don’t do it!! Gah. If you do do it, at least admit you’re a thief! You’re not protecting your items because your item is a DRM file and THAT is the only thing it would be okay to protect. Not a derivative DRM-free copy.
Sorry, I don’t have a problem with people stripping books, because like I said, I do it for my own collection, but I just think it’s stupid to keep pretending you have rights you don’t really have when you haven’t freaking paid for those rights. You paid for a DRM file. You got it. You want to change it, be a thief and make your illegal copy. The idea of fair use in this regard is just ridiculous because copying an entire work is not fair use; making a derivative of an entire work is not fair use; and backing up your file means leaving the dreaded DRM in place because that’s the file you paid for (assuming your thievery has a limit).
We’re all thieves when we strip DRM. How desperate some people are to keep their good opinions of themselves…
I beg to differ. If I buy tomatoes and pay my water bills and I use them to make tomato soup I’m not a thief because I turned the tomatoes and water into soup. Converting to a different format is not stealing.
Legally they may have defined DRM infringement as stealing but morally it isn’t. If someone redefined insulting someone as ‘murder’ it wouldn’t overnight become murder. Legally it might be, but morally it wouldn’t.
I get so annoyed with our culture. On the one side we have people stealing the works of creators and not paying a penny, justifying it by the actions of the likes of the RIAA, MPAA and their international equivalents. Meanwhile the aforementioned companies and organisations are making unreasonable restrictions on games, ebooks, music and videos and justifying THEIR actions by the actions of content pirates. Have either of these two groups heard of ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’.
I will attempt to remove the DRM of pretty much anything I want to that I’ve paid for. Unless they put up in BIG LETTERS on the sales pages the TRUTH: “You do not own the content – you are buying a licence to view it and essentially leasing it” then they are committing fraud.
“If I buy tomatoes and pay my water bills and I use them to make tomato soup I’m not a thief”
This is the wrong analogy. But I’m not sure there *is* a good analogy.
For legal purposes, traditional books have always consisted of two parts: the physical book (paper, ink and glue) and the intellectual property content. When we buy a traditional book, legally we only buy the paper, glue and ink; we don’t not get ownership over the intellectual property.
This has always been the tension between intellectual property rights on the one hand, and consumer rights on the other. Doctrines regarding first sale, etc., are predicated on the fact that you own the physical book, and that is what you sell back to, say, a used bookstore; the intellectual property, being indivisible from the physical book, goes along for the ride, but is still the property of the copyright holder.
With the advent of digital media — and for our purposes specifically ebooks — we have finally separated the intellectual property content from the physical medium. When you “buy” and download an ebook, there is no physical medium, just pure intellectual property. And the consumer has *never* been entitled to any rights over that.
The problem is that we ebok readers still insist on viewing what we have as a PIG (paper-ink-glue) “book” over which we have “ownership” when it’s not. There is no physical medium, so there is nothing left for the consumer to “own”. When the PIG disappeared, all our legal rights disappeared with it. Because an ebook is 100% pure intellectual property, unless you’re the copyright holder there is nothing over which you have ownership rights. You cannot legally “own” an ebook, because there is nothing for you to own. We want to insist we do, because we insist on thinking of ebooks as “books”, but we’re wrong.
Hence publishers’ insist that we don’t *buy* an ebook — that would entail some sort of transfer of ownership — we merely purchase a license to view the intellectual property. And since there’s nothing for us to own, then we have no rights over the ebook whatsoever.
The same is true of any other digital content stored on a physical medium — CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, VHS tape. What you own is simply the physical medium; you don’t have squat for rights over the content. And when no physical medium exists, you don’t have squat for rights, period.
“Because an ebook is 100% pure intellectual property, unless you’re the copyright holder there is nothing over which you have ownership rights.”
Such a high-minded, noble thought. If that were actually the case, we would be purchasing it from the author or his/her great great great great grandchild who now owns the copyright. How does Amazon figure in this? According to your view, Amazon must have some ownership over something or they have no right to transfer a “view” of the document to us tho they charge for this transfer of air. No, there is no PIG but they charge us anyway.
When I buy a traditional book, I can choose to lend it to a friend, give it to someone, sell it to someone and never pay the copyright holder anything. Do you consider this wrong? I consider the outrageous length of US copyright to be wrong. The public should have a right to works, literature or crap, whichever, after maybe 20 years. Generations after the death of the author, it is still tied up. All I want is the right to view an ebook on whatever device I might have. I want to lend it to whomever I want. I want to be able to treat my ebooks the same way I can treat my PIG books. And I will. And I don’t feel guilty. And I am not intimidated as some of you seem to be, by fear. So…thank you for the info on how to deal w/ DRM removal.
I have kindle for pc not the device- but I archived all the books in my kindle desktop ap, uninstalled kindle and deregistered in amazon. Then I reinstalled kindle for pc, registered the new kindle for pc and opened all my archived books again- then dragged the books to calibre- worked on all my kindle books but 1
French Publisher Goes DRM-free - The Digital Reader // Jul 1, 2012 at 10:22 am
[...] it lets publishers and ebookstores track pirated ebooks without penalizing legitimate customers. As I’ve shown before, it’s incredibly easy to remove DRM so it’s not actually an effective method to prevent [...]
Hadve been for some long time been successfully and easily converting my Kindle books to ePub with Calibre on my PC to use on my Sony PR600 as an alternative to K4PC or to K4Android on my Android tablet. But then it all broke! This month (July) bought some books and downloaded them twice, separately onto my Samsung Tab 10.1 and my Samsung Netbook, (with K4PC) i.e. just exactly as I have done before. Also up-dated Calibre and added new versions of plugins. Stuck the AZW files (copies from the “My Kindle Content” folder) in the folder Calibre looks in automatically to upload/convert and … Nothing! Well, not exactly nothing. I got the message that so many people seem to refer to these days, namely that I need a 10-digit PID. Now, everywhere I have looked it says that K4PC doesn’t need (or have) a PID. WTF! I tried importing directing from the Kindle folder — same message. Does anyone have any idea what might be going on here?
Yeah, I was so hopeful that this would work, but I got an error message saying that the book is DRM’d and can’t be converted. Looks like Amazon changed something in July because every tutorial on removing DRM from Kindle books that I’ve found is outdated now.
I have also struggled now for weeks, have tried just about everything, and as you say, what worked before does not work anymore ….. SIGH what a mess …. hope someone has some answers grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Make certain you’ve got the latest “tools” plugins; version 5.1. You may have to uninstall Calibre and reinstall it with the latest version too. You shouldn’t lose anything if you do uninstall-reinstall, at least I did not. Don’t forget to restart Calibre after reinstalling the tools 5.1 plug-in.
Yeah, Amazon did SOMETHING to lock the darn books. I was very successful with this method previously but now not working. This was a different computer than I used before so I’ve downloaded all of the newest versions of calibre and the plugins. Still get error DRM protected. Anyone have another idea yet? Thanks!
I was having the same issue after K4PC updated, but just updated to the latest calibre version and the tools 5.1 and it is working again now.
Did you enter a serial number or a PID on the plug in customization? I’ve never had to do that before, but figured out my PID and entered that, but still doesn’t work. I don’t own a kindle device (but my mom does so could I use her serial number?), I buy books and use a kindle reader – just want to use other readers also. Thanks
Tried that and still can’t get it to work. I have the latest version of calibre and tools 5.1 and can’t get the drm off. I tried to revert to an old K4PC version, but they are all expired. Any suggestions? I just want to get the books I paid for!
May be I’m doing something wrong but it works for me.
Calibre on Mac OS X 10.7.4
‘tools’ version 5.1
just entered Kindle 3G’s serial(one you see in manage your devices(starting with B006) or on kindle’s box) and it worked for me for both azw and topaz.
And yes, if it stops working I will likely stop buying from Kindle Store
I’ve been using Skindle for years to remove the drm from my legally purchased ebooks so I can format them the way I want — but when my older version of Kindle refused to open or be re-installed, I had no choice but to use the latest Kindle version and unfortunately, Skindle cannot working with that. After searching for possible solutions, I ran across this page and, while doubtful that something so simple could actually work, I tried it anyway — and it WORKS!!!!! I can’t believe it!
Thank you so much for posting this page and for those responsible for the tools — I really appreciate it!!
Nope, this did not work for me. Install the everything new…calibre, kindle for pc, and did the plugins. It still will not work. Any suggestions?
never mind, I did the steps all over again and it worked. Sorry and thanks for the tips!
I’ve been applying hacks for long enough to know that two people can follow the exact same instructions to the letter! and come away with different results. All I know is this (tools 5.1 and a new Calibre install) worked for me and it has worked for others. I did add, “Don’t forget to restart Calibre after reinstalling the tools 5.1 plug-in.” because the first time I applied the new tools it failed but after a restart it clicked. Good luck!
Calibre will NOT unlock/deDRM azw3 files for me. This probably started in early July.
Any Tips?
I’ve uninstall calibre, installing the newest version, cleared the register keys, reinstalled the plug-ins, applied, closed yadda yadda and it wont work with the azw3 files.
Im about to pull my hair out!
eh…..
what a bother, but if I change the file extension to .azw it will deDRM and convert. But I’d love any ideas ya’ll have so it works properly!
Great tip, Cindy! Whatever works. I’m sure your post will alleviate the frustration of others.
Agree, thanks Cindy, this works great!
Yes Cindy, ty so much for the renaming tip!
Worked out perfectly!
I’ve been using these plugins for quite some time, and upgraded to the 5.1 version as soon as I realized the problem with the new AZW3 format. There’s another handy thing to know that I don’t see mentioned in this thread yet. You can bypass K4PC completely and use any pc with Calibre (and the plugins) installed. The trick is simply to select the transfer via usb option when you download the book. As long as your registered Kindle’s serial number is recorded in the plugin’s customization dialog, you can open into Calibre directly from your downloads folder.
But now I’ve finally gotten sick of Amazon and their format shifting game, and am transitioning to epub files to read on Nook instead. The 5.1 tools have an equally good plugin for working with epub, and most other standard formats.
Part of the problem with all of these posts is the nonstandardization of the environments. I don’t have a kindle. I use Kindle for PC. But it is, what it is and I’ve appreciated all the posts on the subject; even those I was uncertain if they pertained to my environment.
One word of caution, Jollyfoo. I agree with your sentiments completely but what keeps me from doing business with B&N is they store your creditcard number into the encryption mechanism. As a long time hacker and encryption hobbyist I can assure you that’s just plain and unwarrantedly stupid.
So I notice today that when it decrypts the files, they are in azw3 format instead of mobi. I thought maybe it wasn’t working, but I was able to convert the file to other files…so it did successfully take off drm, it just didn’t also convert it a mobi file.
azw3 is a mobi file. Amazon bought mobi and just renamed the file extension to show that it came from amazon and has their drm. But they are the same thing if the azw3 file doesn’t have the drm on it. If it really bothers you, rename the file to .mobi, but its pointless to convert it back into itself…
Not exactly. The AZW3 suffix is used on a number of file types besides the original Mobi file. For example, you might find a fixed layout ebook or a PDF inside the file.
I was trying to install the plugin’s but I keep getting the same error as Rez above.
ERROR: Unhandled exception: InvalidPlugin:The plugin in u’C:/Users/ /Downloads/tools_v5.1.zip’ is invalid. It does not contain a top-level __init__.py file
When I click on the “load plugin from file”, it only shows one file & won’t allow me to open it to chose the calibre file.
I am not sure what I’m doing wrong?
Thank you!
Sarah, you first need to unzip the folder, then go to the folder in the zip file named Calibre_Plugins.
If your computer doesn’t have a built-in unzipper, try 7zip – it’s free to download.
you save my week end!
I can read my fave new book on my reader
thank you
Yesterday after installing it the PlugIn worked fine. Today the book imported into Calibre has the file extension.AZW3 and Calibre won’t open it.
I must be doing something wrong???? Pls HELP!
Yup, Dum Ole Me – All I needed to do was update to version 0.8.63, go to Preferences /Behavior and check the .azw3 box.
Now I need to go to Paypal and send a “THANK YOU” for Calibre – one heck of a terrific program!
I am writing this just in case anyone is having a similar problem to what I have experienced recently when trying to remove DRM from Amazon purchases in Calibre using the guide and plugins above.
Firstly,
I have used Calibre and the K4DeDrm plugins from this blog before to remove DRM from my kindle books bought on Amazon, simply following this guide worked perfectly.
However,
Following a recent update of my Calibre and update to version 5.1 of the tools, I was noticing some problems.
Calibre was still importing my books and still converting them to MOBI format and I assume removing DRM. However when I transfered the books to my Kindle Touch and tried to read them the files wouldnt open, I received the following message:
Unable To Open Item! It said if I purchased the item from Amazon to delete it and re-download it from archived.
I deleted and downloaded the files multiple times ‘Via whispernet AND direct to PC using Kindle For PC and imported them to Calibre from different folders to try and troubleshoot the problem.
I am thinking it has something to do with recent changes to Amazon purchases to try and stop us removing DRM.
Long story short,
If you are having a similar problem to this here’s a two phase solution that has worked for me on the last 12 books I have bought.
Phase 1: Visit http://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/windows-python-ebooks-and-drm/
Follow his guide precisely to install Python 2.7 and some Python Crypto, I am not massively computer savvy but found the guide easy.
Once you’ve installed the python stuff you can use a kindlebook tool from the latest vers 5.1 tools you downloaded above.
The tool I use is in the following path on my PC : downloads/tools_v5.1/tools_v5.1/Other_tools/KindleBooks
Read the README first for usage instructions. Which is basically choosing the input file (the book you want to remove DRM from), choosing your ouput folder to save to unlocked file to (something like Unlocked Ebooks worked for me) and also put in your Kindle’s serial number case sensitive in the last box.
To finish phase one simply use this tool as per the instructions to manually remove the DRM, its got a 100% record for me so far.
Phase 2: Is similar to this original guide, ensure you have the latest Calibre and plugins.
Simple import your unlocked book from ‘Unlocked Ebooks’ or wherever you saved them from phase 1. Calibre will import them and convert them as usual. Et Voila! you should now be able to transfer them to you kindle with no problems opening them at all.
This is my first ever post/guide, hope it helps someone out there.
Thank you very much! I wasn’t able to remove the DRM with the Calibre plugins but by using your method instead, I was able to strip the DRM, rename the file from .azw3 to .azw, convert it to LIT in Calibre then to PDB in ABC Amber Lit Converter and upload it to my Tungsten E2 Palm Pilot PDA with the Palm Desktop install tool. Who ever thought that reading a book in bed would be so complicated! (I know that Calibre can convert straight to PDB but then the install tool insists on storing it in the memory card, which I keep changing, and not the PDA’s main memory.)
This is too easy, just check this article.
http://epubdrmremoval.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/how-to-remove-drm-from-azwprcmobitpz-on-kindle/
Has anyone any experience with this DRM stripping software? Or is it something nefarious and should be avoided at all cost?
It’s someone taking the (free) software from the Apprentice Alf blog, wrapping it in a simple wrapper, and then selling it.
Avoid.
After updating my Calibre software, adding the DRM plugin, and restarting Calibre, it still wasn’t converting the .azw file for me. However, after I removed the book from the queue and added it back in, the conversion then worked. Hope this helps, if anyone is still stuck after reading all of these!
I was having problems as described above. One thing I didn’t do was REMOVE the books I was trying to convert from the Calibre library. Once you do that and RE IMPORT them – BINGO! it works. Just thought I’d share this tip along with the good advice from others
THanks
This does work. When I checked the output folder I also saw that the .azw file I imported, named by amazon “B008Q7HR90_EBOK.azw” had been renamed by Calibr to a .mobi file with the book title as the file name. The first time I tried it, it had left it as an .azw file.
By the way, I converted this book so I could print some pages of it for myself, as it’s a software manual and I prefer not to have to change windows to read instructions. I think it’s fine to remove drm for this purpose or to put it in your own devices. I paid for my personal use of the file, not just one copy of the file. I won’t be sharing it with others, so I feel that is not a violation of copyright or the intent of drm. “Books” are portable in any form, and today’s books are more and more digital. I can’t read this book on my phone, and I don’t have a tablet. I shouldn’t have to buy one to take the ebooks I buy someplace away from my pc screen to read them. And I may buy a larger screen device eventually. Not worried, no guilt. Piracy is where you distribute copies to others, depriving the author income from new user/reader sales. If it’s just you, it’s not theft. I don’t care if the ebook world is defined by devices. I define ebook ownership as person by person, not device by device.
I have no trouble with azw3 files, but I got a simple azw file yesterday that calibri wont convert. Any ideas?
Something funny is going on, but I’m not sure if it is with Amazon or changes in Calibre are breaking the process.
I converted two books today, one book purchased this morning in the AZW3 format on one Amazon account came off without a hitch using the process above. The Calibre software is 0.8.63, Amazon K4PC v1.10.1, and the conversion was to epub.
A short time later, I purchased another book on another PC, into a different account and had lots of trouble. The Calibre software is 0.8.64, Amazon K4PC is v1.10.1, the Amazon file type was AZW, and the conversion was to epub. Nothing but failure after failure.
I loaded the plugin a couple of times, I exited Calibre a couple of times, and did all the things suggested with no luck. I then tried to convert to .mobi vs. .epub and again met with failure (i.e., the DRM warning dialog indicating you’re SOL).
Not giving up, I then deleted all the other books in the Calibre library (careful – Calibre has a nasty habit of really DELETING all your books), exited the program, and when I opened it again and tried to add the single book I wanted to convert, it said it was in .mobi format. Huh? It said it failed, so what’s up with that? I tried the book, it works fine in .mobi. I then tried the conversion from .mobi to .epub and it took about twice as long as usual, but it did work. It took so long (stuck on 67%) that I tried to cancel it thinking it has crashed.
I hope this helps you, or someone else having trouble because something has changed somewhere, but it does still seem possible.
I also want to thank Nate for this site and the fantastic information . It’s a small victory to actually be able to use what we paid for without draconian limitations forced upon us, but it’s still a victory.
I’m not a real ebook fan is this is exactly why; those DRM people are the real pirates IMO..
Thanks! This worked for me!
Thanks Nate for the clear and straightforward information.
It worked very well for me : Win7 32bit / K4PC 1.10.1
I would have never bought ebooks if I hadn’t landed on sites explaining how to remove DRMs. Cheers !
Nate………thank you so much this article helped me out big time!
All the best to you.
It didn’t work at first, so I deleted the azw from Calibre then added it back.
Then I converted it to mobi before converting to epub, and it worked.
Thanks much!
I have a .azw4 file that I downloaded today from amazon. It is one of those textbook files. I want to read it on my tablet but I couldn’t send it to it so I am trying to dedrm it, but it always fails when parsing, after it tries to convert it to html. I have redownloaded and reinstalled the patch and even tried renaming it to .azw and still nothing. it won’t get past 1%!!!
Is it one of the Kindle Print Ready files? If so then you have a PDF inside the ebook.
I would import the ebook and then tell calibre to save it to an external folder. That should be enough to remove the DRM.
Yes it is nate. It is simply an all in one .azw4 file that is 133mb in size. I also did try to save to an external folder and reinsert into calibre to change it to mobi to read on my tablet, but this is no help. Once I export it then the drm is gone?
Well I exported it and tried to re-add it to calibre and that did not work, then I tried to rename it to .azw and then try again, and still does the same thing. I must be missing something. This is really annoying though and I need my book on my tablet for school asap. If anyone wants to see the dumplog let me know because it does the same thing every time. Goes to parsing all content, does some stuff, then sits. I still haven’t broken 1% which makes me think this is impossible and it is really discouraging. This is one of the last things I get before it says something about going to try more forgiving values and then it just sits
File “apihelpers.pxi”, line 1366, in lxml.etree._utf8 (src/lxml/lxml.etree.c:22211)
ValueError: All strings must be XML compatible: Unicode or ASCII, no NULL bytes or control characters
Forcing index.html into XHTML namespace
azw4 files are Amazon’s “Print Replica” format, which are basically PDFs wrapped in a Palm Database. It sounds like the De-DRM is working fine, but you’re then trying to convert the PDF to Mobi, which is failing.
Why not just read the PDF on your tablet? The main reason for publishers using Amazon’s Print Replica format is because the page layout is too complex for Mobi, and too time consuming for conversion to ePub/KF8.
Just save it from calibre as a PDF and use that on your tablet.
I got a azw file from Amazon. Earlier azw3 files have been no problem, but this one wont convert, even after reinstalling K4PC and calibre using revo uninstaller.
I tried using the promt to insert the file inte calibre, this is what I got:
C:\Users\Emillia\Documents\My Kindle Content>calibredb add B00813A60M_EBOK.azw
Using Library AlfCrypto DLL/DYLIB/SO
is not a valid Kindle serial number or PID.
K4MobiDeDRM v0.4.2: Calibre configuration directory = C:\Users\Emillia\AppData\R
oaming\calibre
searching for kinfoFiles in C:\Users\Emillia\AppData\Local
No kindle.info files have not been found.
No K4PC 1.5.X .kinf files have not been found.
No K4PC 1.6.X .kinf files have not been found.
Trying: 4UC6KVNF
Trying: h3IGl5/L
Book Key Found!
Processing Section: img
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Processing Section: color
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Processing Section: other
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Processing Section: dict
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Processing Section: glyphs
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Processing Section: page
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Processing Section: metadata
.
Successfully Extracted Topaz contents
Updating to color images if available
Creating cover.jpg
Processing Dictionary
Processing Meta Data and creating OPF
Processing StyleSheet
Using font size: 120
Using page height: 12960
Using page width: 8640
Processing Glyphs
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Processing Pages
. . . . . Running file type plugin K4PC, K4Mac, Kindle Mobi and Topaz DeDRM fail
ed with traceback:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “site-packages\calibre\customize\ui.py”, line 148, in _run_filetype_plugi
ns
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.__init__”, line 117, in run
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.topazextract”, line 303, in processBook
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.genbook”, line 500, in generateBook
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.convert2xml”, line 764, in fromData
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.convert2xml”, line 731, in process
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.convert2xml”, line 513, in doLoop72
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.genbook”, line 120, in lookup
TypeError: %d format: a number is required, not NoneType
Backing up metadata
Added book ids: 82
Notifying calibre of the change
So from the azw I got a tpz file and metadata.opf. Calibre wont convert tpz. Ive tried changing name to azw but that didnt work. Ive googled and can´t see a way to convert the file without using python. True? And is the file drm free?
Received exact same error. If anyone has any ideas, please reply!
That’s an indication that it’s a Topaz book with some info in i the developers haven’t come across before. There’s a new Tools v5.2 out now that might fix the problem.
If anyone cares I let it run for 2 hours before I went to bed and it seems fine. THanks for the help, it did convert, seemingly..
Don’t forget to hit “Apply” in the top left corner after loading the plugin!!!
Thank you! I did miss that. New to calibre.
I followed instructions and managed to convert a mobi file to epub. However, when trying to convert the same file to pdf, I get the following message:
calibre, version 0.8.67
ERROR: Unhandled exception: TypeError:arguments did not match any overloaded call:
QFontInfo(QFont): argument 1 has unexpected type ‘QString’
QFontInfo(QFontInfo): argument 1 has unexpected type ‘QString’
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “site-packages\calibre\gui2\convert\single.py”, line 252, in accept
File “site-packages\calibre\gui2\convert\__init__.py”, line 280, in commit
File “site-packages\calibre\gui2\convert\__init__.py”, line 107, in commit_options
File “site-packages\calibre\gui2\convert\__init__.py”, line 117, in create_recommendations
File “site-packages\calibre\gui2\convert\__init__.py”, line 146, in get_value
TypeError: arguments did not match any overloaded call:
QFontInfo(QFont): argument 1 has unexpected type ‘QString’
QFontInfo(QFontInfo): argument 1 has unexpected type ‘QString’
I am lost here… what should I try next? Thanks.
I have read a lot of online instructions before but this one was the absolute best one that I have ever read! Fantastic! Even the pics were clear with arrows pointing to the relevant parts. I could follow the instructions without a hitch but I would like to suggest one additional portion.
You have correctly assumed that many people are quite technically illiterate therefore the instructions should assume nothing and clearly point out everything. I consider myself to be moderate to semi-pro level with computers but half of the people who I know are close to the illiterate level. Therefore for them perhaps the same step by step detail of the conversion process once in Calibre would be very beneficial.
Most simply want to strip the DRM from their Kindle books which is what I wanted to do. Most will have never used Calibre. Calibre is an excellent program but it can take some study to figure exactly what to do to convert a book. That’s where the additional instructions would come in very handy. Most want to convert a Kindle book to a non-DRM’d book to also be read on the Kindle platform.
Do they use AZW, mobi, epub, etc.? Of course they can only use the first two for Kindle but many won’t know that. If they want to convert a particular book, how do they find it in the Kindle folder since the file names are cryptic?
If you have the time (there’s no question that you have the skill) perhaps a part two detailing exactly what to do once you are in Calibre would be greatly beneficial to the “other” half.
I had actually purchased a Kindle DRM removal program which doesn’t work nearly as well or consistently as the method that you have outlined.
Thanks a million for such a phenomenal tutorial.
I have a Nook Color and a Mac computer. My friend gave me a gift card for Amazon.com so I bought a book and put it on my ‘Kindle for Mac’ but I want to convert it onto my Nook Color. I got the book put into Calibre but it won’t convert it because of DRM. I tried this tutorial and downloaded the zip file, but I am not seeing anywhere I can “load plugin from file” under preferences.
Help, please?
Okay so I got to install the plug in and I added my serial number from my iPhone that my Kindle is on and this is the screen (minus my serial number): http://i.imgur.com/pZJz9.png
What do I do now? I clicked “apply” then shut down Calibre then tried to convert my Kindle book to epub again and it still says it’s protected.
You don’t need to enter any serial number. Just download the ebook to your PC with the Kindle4PC app and copy that ebook into calibre.
calibre should be able to do the rest.
Thanks. It worked! The book I bought is now in my Nook Color.
What finally worked for me in converting my book to my Nook was to download the book again into Calibre from Kindle file on my Mac. At first, after I added in the plug-in, I kept trying to convert the book I had downloaded earlier into Calibre. I went back and added the book again and it had a AZW3 ending this time and it was converted. Finally!
Book Reader - Best ePub Reader for Playbook! - Page 45 - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com // Sep 11, 2012 at 12:02 pm
[...] It's to get a DRM stripper plug-in to calibre so that calibre will automatically convert to .mobi. How to Add a Kindle DRM-Removal Plugin to calibre – The Digital Reader Basically it has worked. I'm not quite sure how I did it but following the various instructions [...]
Any idea if there is a way to remove nook drm to read them on kindle? I have a nook my son has a kindle. I can convert his books for me to use, but not my books for him.
Yes, there is. Just get the free tools from Apprentice Alf’s blog.
http://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/
Ok, i’ve downloaded calibre and gotten the tools and applied the proper plug-in. The books i’m wanting to deDRM are not registered to me, but to a friend of mine, she logged into her amazon account on my computer and i downloaded the books i wanted from her. With that being said, calibre still wont deDRM those books for me. What do i or can i do now? I’ m really wanting to read these books.
If you downloaded direct from the Amazon website via a web browser then you didn’t follow the instructions. You need to download the files via Kindle4PC, and it has to happen on the same computer as the one which you are running calibre.
And also the K4PC app needs to be registered to the amazon account that you wish to download books from. So you need to register it really in your friend’s name on your computer. I’d be careful with this, as this effectively makes a copy of a book available on your machine that you have not bought…
If your friend wants to remove DRM on her books for private use and to conserve the media, then I would suggest she instal Calibre and the plugin on her computer.
Buy them, or if you are in the US, subscribe to Amazon Premium and lend them (if they are available).
Ok, now my question is. Ive installed K4PC, if i have my friend register it on my computer, it makes a copy of the books available on my machine will i be able to deDRM them with calibre?
You should be able to, yes.
I have one more inquiry. When i logged into K4PC with my own account info I noticed that in my kindle content folder there are no copies of any of the books that are on my kindle, but all of them are showing up on the K4PC, either in the archived part or the all items. What do i need to do in order to get the books to show in the folder?
You need to download them, K4PC does not automatically download yodur library to the machine it is installed on. You need to do this for every book.
Not working for me. Followed instructions. The file is an AZW file. Installed everything new. Loaded the plugins, clicked on Apply. Closed app, restarted, added book, no-go.
When I try to add the book it gives me the error:
No keys found in 0 tries
I click OK and it continues to load the book. I have tried converting to PDF, MOBI, and EPUB, all with the default settings, and every time I get the Can’t convert, locked by DRM.
Any other options?
Thanks for these instructions. I’ve been stripping with Calibre for awhile but haven’t been able to clean .azw3 files. I’ve got the latest plugins but doesn’t seem to work for me. Any tips?
You need the latest Calibre version. Older Calibre versions don’t handle azw3 files.
I am definitely new to this so please bear with me. I have installed calibre. I have installed the plug in to strip the DRM into calibre per instructions above. I have added a book from my kindle device into calibre. I then attempted to convert the book (which apparently is in azw) to mobi and got a message saying the book was locked. I then attempted to convert the same book to PDF and got the same message – the book is locked.
What am I doing wrong? Am I supposed to house the books somewhere else first and strip them? Help!
Right click on the plugin and type in your kindle serial number.
Anyone know how to view in Calibre or if there is a plugin for a virtual bookshelf like this
http://alfaebooks.com/files/overview/bookshelf.png
A million thanks. It’s working!
You bet, sometimes you have to close the program out and re-open it for changes to take. Cheers.
Hi.
I had Calibre and the plugins installed previously and they removed DRM from all ebooks. However, it stopped working, I assume because amazon updated their DRM.
So I’m trying to update but things are not working.
I have Calibre for Mac 0.9.1 installed.
I updated Python to the newest version.
I downloaded and installed the newest plugins.
I restarted Calibre.
When I try to add my amazon book with .azw format to Calibre, it tells me:
Error decoding: /Users/macbookpro/Documents/Kindle Library/Fasting&Sunbathing.azw
I have also tried undrming the file with DeDRM 5.3.2
When I do, it says that I’ve successfully DeDRMEd the book.
But when I try to load it into Calibre, it still doesn’t work.
Just checking if you have Plugin tools v5.3.1?
I don’t know anything about Python. Just the Calibre Plugin’s. instructions in the ReadMe files on how to use them, from reading your post I’m sure you covered everything.
I am using Calibre version 0.9.1 with
K4MobiDeDRM_v04.5_plugin. I am trying to remove the DRM from a .azw file. I entered the correct Kindle serial number, but I get the error message below. Any ideas of what I am doing wrong?
Thanks
Using Library AlfCrypto DLL/DYLIB/SO
K4MobiDeDRM v0.4.5: Calibre configuration directory = C:\Users\Peter\AppData\Roaming\calibre
MobiDeDrm v0.37. Copyright 2008-2012 The Dark Reverser et al.
MOBI header version = 6, length = 248
Extra Data Flags = 3
searching for kinfoFiles in C:\Users\Peter\AppData\Local
Found K4PC kinf2011 file: C:\Users\Peter\AppData\Local\Amazon\Kindle\storage\.kinf2011
Using Volume Serial Number for ID: 2656441693
Crypto Type is: 2
Running file type plugin Kindle and Mobipocket DeDRM failed with traceback:
Backing up metadata
Added book ids: 7
Notifying calibre of the change
Just thought I’d share…
After having these tools working for a long time, this summer (2012) the tools seemed to stop working for my Kindle for PC. I kinda put things on hold for personal reasons & just got back to investigating this:
This is the message I would recieve as I attempted it “add books” in Calibre:
Error: No key found. Please report this failure for help….
(This message is followed by the file name of the specific azw file I was attempting to add)
afterwards, The file seemed like it was present in Calibre, but when I attempted to open it I got the message about protected by DRM.
Long story short, my solution turned out to be in Kindle 4 PC: I right clicked on the book in Kindle, selected “remove from device”. The book still showed in Kindle 4 PC, but now showed it would need to be downloaded. I then right clicked again and downloaded it.
When I went back to calibre to try “add Book” again, all went smoothly (no error message), and the my book is accessible to me!
Just goes to show not every error in this process has to do with the tools or calibre–sometimes something else happens.
Thanks to all who take the time to make comments that (hopefully) help others use what they own!
oops, forgot to add:
Had to delete the original azw file that had gone into Calibre–
it is unusable.
Interesting observation, the new file that came in is an AZW3 file–not AZW. I have no idea why–anyone know anything about why?
Author updated the book on amazon for the new format, I suppose.
Just thought to let you know, your method worked!
thanks so much!
Got a free book from Amazon sent to my Kindle Fire, then got Amazon to transferred it to my Kindle for PC and get a message “… Topaz book cannot be processed”.
I am also unable to dedrm any Amazon .prc book. What gives?
Thanks – Bob
for all you people having trouble – trying things over and over again…
I found a little note in Alf’s column “the DRM is removed only when you first IMPORT the book”…
so I deleted all my books from Calibre, shut it down and re-opened it for good measure and added my AZW files again…..POOF DRM removed……
THANK YOU!!! I thought it removed it during the conversion so I was just trying that part over and over.
This worked great.
Having tried the instructions for calibre about a dozen times with no luck, I tried the python method detailed above. One thing not mentioned in the above instructions is that you really do need to put your serial number in the space provided when running the DeDrm program. Once I did that, it converted the files just fine and I was then able to convert them from azw to epub with calibre. Also, when it says you need to install DeDrm in the directory specified, you don’t. I installed mine to a different drive (one I use for testing) and it worked perfectly.
Thanks for a great article! I’ve been trying to convert some of these files for a while now.
I was having a terrible time. I have used this method for a couple years or so with no trouble. Finally, I uninstalled the K4PC program and reinstalled it, removed the books from the device and redownloaded them. In Calibre, I DELETED the old Kindle DeDRM and left the new one. Closed Calibre and reopened it. Then imported the Kindle books and converted them to EPUB. Finally!! Success!!
I think deleting the old kindle dedrm (not just disabling it) was the key.
How and why you should back up your Kindle where Amazon can’t reach | Christian Haugen // Oct 24, 2012 at 1:04 pm
[...] for. There is although something one can do about this if you want to. The Digital Reader has made a guide to how you remove the DRM from your Kindle books as well as storing them in a separate folder. This [...]
Hi,
I am a new user in this world, and after reading the forum I still have aproblem with deDRM from azw to any other format. Here are the details:
Win 7, kindle pc reader, calibre with the necessary plug-in added. I download some kindle book from amazon (bought them by 0.0 $ actually). I could convert those wich was in MOBI, but couldn’t those are in AZW because DRM cannot removed. I have tried the older calibre (0.9.3) as well without success. Do somebody has some idea? Thansk
I have the same problem. I have installed the Kindle for PC and the latest version of the deDRM. I have also installed python and decrypter. I don’t have a kindle, just an ipod touch so I have no kindle serial number to include.
I have downloaded all my kindle books and tried to decrypt. Some have worked and others haven’t and I have no idea why. Does anybody have any suggestions?
It wouldn’t convert anything that I already had in the calibre library, so I removed all of the books and reloaded them into calibre. Poof, they are all converted upon import.
Error
Using Library AlfCrypto DLL/DYLIB/SO
K4MobiDeDRM v0.4.6: Calibre configuration directory = /Users/ThanksForMoreLove/Library/Preferences/calibre
MobiDeDrm v0.37. Copyright 2008-2012 The Dark Reverser et al.
MOBI header version = 6, length = 232
Extra Data Flags = 2
Found k4Mac kinf2011 file: /Users/ThanksForMoreLove/Library/Containers/com.amazon.Kindle/Data/Library/Application Support/Kindle/storage/.kinf2011
Using Munged MAC Address for ID: 99a2f15ff0ec
Using Munged MAC Address for ID: 99a2f15ff0ec
Crypto Type is: 2
Running file type plugin Kindle and Mobipocket DeDRM failed with traceback:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “site-packages/calibre/customize/ui.py”, line 148, in _run_filetype_plugins
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.__init__”, line 145, in run
Exception: K4MobiDeDRM plugin v0.4.6 Error: No key found in 4 keys tried. Please report this failure for help.
The following books were not added as they already exist in the database (see –duplicates option):
Best Kept Secrets (Hideaway Novels):
/Users/ThanksForMoreLove/Books now/Alers, Rochelle/Best Kept Secrets (Hideaway Novels) (59)/metadata.opf
Backing up metadata
Added book ids: 1
Notifying calibre of the change
One question. Some have mentioned to change the file extension from AZW3 to AZW. How do you do that?
AZW3 is AZW. The difference is only that the suffix is different; the contents of the files can be identical.
AZW3 is the newer version of AZW (which are just renamed MOBIs). They are rebuilt based on html, like EPUBs, but wrapped differently. They are not the same thing at all. Only fourth-generation kindles, running firmware v4.1 or higher, can read AZW3, since it is always used to identify KF8-formatted ebooks. Changing the filename doesn’t change the contents, it only misidentifies it.
I did it : it works !
Thx a lot for the dev. It’s pretty straight forward to export DRM azw3 to pdf.
I just have to fill in the serial number of my kindle in the customize plugin window for it works.
Thank you!!! You save me.
You can just use this website service:
http://www.webdedrm.com
THen you don’t need to mess around with getting friggin python working on windows!! just takes a few seconds uploading and that’s it, you get a link to the unlocked file.
That is more work than installing a calibre plugin.
“Failed”
It worked fine for a long time, after an upgrade of Calibre all plugins got removed…
Now trying to setup it again, can’t get it to work. I have a Mac, bought a book at Amazon and try to put it on my Nook.
Here the import log.
Any help appreciated!
calibredb add BLACKOUT.azw
K4MobiDeDRM plugin v0.4.7: Starting
K4MobiDeDRM v0.4.7: Calibre configuration directory = /xxx/xx/Library/Preferences/calibre
MOBI header version = 8, length = 248
Extra Data Flags = 3
Running file type plugin Kindle and Mobipocket DeDRM failed with traceback:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “site-packages/calibre/customize/ui.py”, line 155, in _run_filetype_plugins
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.__init__”, line 136, in run
TypeError: getPidList() takes exactly 6 arguments (5 given)
is not a valid Kindle serial number or PID.
K4MobiDeDRM: Calibre configuration directory = /xxx/xxx/Library/Preferences/calibre
MOBI header version = 8, length = 248
Extra Data Flags = 3
No kindle-info files have been found.
Crypto Type is: 2
Running file type plugin K4PC, K4Mac, Kindle Mobi and Topaz DeDRM failed with traceback:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “site-packages/calibre/customize/ui.py”, line 155, in _run_filetype_plugins
File “calibre_plugins.k4mobidedrm.__init__”, line 94, in run
Exception: K4MobiDeDRM plugin could not decode the file
Backing up metadata
The MAIN reason I NEED dedrm is this:
I buy so many books with either missing or messed up Table of Contents.. which I’m sure most of you know can be a **major pain**, especially if it’s a long read or a text book.
I like to be able to edit and add a good TOC.. then transfer them back to kindle.
I was using a far more difficult method.
So this is so helpful, thank you!
Can’t get Calibre to open or run the plug-ins – receive an error message that part of the file is missing.
Thank you. After a few false starts, I was able to convert a file I bought recently. Now I can read it on my other tablet
Great article stepping through the installation process, but could do with a warning that if you have previously installed these tools they must be removed before installing the latest version or they won’t work!
really great, thank you
would this work for adobe digital editions?
Hi!
I am a new user in this world, so please bear with me. I read and installed everything, but I still have a problem with deDRM from prc to any other format *i want to change it in a PDF format*. I have a Kindle for PC, so no serial number for me.
I keep getting “Error: No key found in 8 keys tried. Read the FAQs at Alf’s Blog. Only if none apply, report this failure for help.”
. . .aaaand, here i am. Can someone tell what’s wrong?
Thanks
hello,
newcomer: sorry if I talk non-sense. I’m also new to the eReaders’ world…well, here it goes:
1) I don’t have a Kindle device. I have a Sony (PRS-650) which I connect to Ubuntu 12.04 via Calibre 0.8.38. I have Kindle-for-PC 1.10.4 installed on Ubuntu (under Wine 1.5.6);
2) following Alf Apprentice’s instructions (hopefully from the right page) I installed 5 plugins to Calibre (tools_v_5.4.1 from folder “Calibre_Plugins”);
3) I didn’t customize any of the plugins (I don’t have a Kindle device);
4) I bought an eBook locked by DRM from Amazon. I can import it to Calibre no problem. When I click on convert, I get a message:
“This book is DRMed. Cannot convert…etc”.
Can you please help? I must have missed out something from AA’s instructions, but don’t know what exactly…I tried to upgrade Calibre to the latest version for Linux, to no avail…thanks!
quick update: I tried to remove the DRMed book from the Calibre library, uninstall + install Kindle-for-PC, import this book once again into Calibre. It does import it, although the following message pops up:
Error: No key found in 0 keys tried. Read the FAQs at Alf’s blog. Only if none apply, report this failure for help…. /home/daniele/My Kindle Content/B004FV4T8O_EBOK.azw
(if I click on OK the book gets imported)…weird?
Just want to say thanks for this well written post!
Some people using Windows 8 are defeated by the way the Kindle app from the start menu hides the Kindle content. There’s an extremely easy workaround. Just go to Amazon via your Desktop and install the Kindle PC reader for Windows 7. It runs perfectly well on Windows 8 and when you download books through the desktop, a “My Kindle Content” folder appears in your Documents folder. Then just drag the desired books to Calibre. Here’s a link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_ln_ar?docId=1000426311
Can anyone answer a question for me please? Does calibre need to run on the same machine as the KindleForWindows program? Or can I use KindleForWindows to download the purchased book from Amazon, and then transfer the downloaded files to a linux box with Calibre on it? (I’d like to do it all on the linux machine but apparently there is no KindleForLinux reader client). Or does the calibre plugin need to use information from the Kindle reader in order to decrypt / unlock the files?
I’d like to buy ebooks from Amazon and read them (as pdf I guess) on the linux machine but this drm seems to be the stumbling block…
See my post below – I can pull my e-book files from the Windows partition on my machine over to the Linux partition directly with Calibre, so I would have thought you’d be able to copy them from another machine. Some have suggested that K4PC needs to be installed on the same machine as Calibre but unless Calibre interrogates some other file or setting while collecting the e-book file, I can’t see that what you want to do would be a problem.
unfortunately, yes they have to run together. The plugin needs to read the secret KindleID number of your K4PC application, which I believe would be hidden in the registry of your computer. I suppose you could hunt that down, but it would be much easier to simply install calibre in windows.
Alternatively, you could look into installing K4PC in linux under WINE. Some people have gotten it to work.
Just wanted to drop a line to say thank you for your deDRM plugin and your guidance and advice.
I have an unusual configuration – My laptop dual boots Win7 and LinuxMint. Calibre is running under Linux but the Kindle for PC app is not available for Linux (grr…) so that’s running under Windows. In addition I have two Amazon accounts under different e-mail addresses. Some of my e-books have been bought through one account and some under another, which adds complexity. With K4PC I have to de-register the app from one account and register it for the other to download a new e-book, and I can never see all my e-books at one time. So it’s wonderful to be able to deDRM them and plop them into Calibre which organises them and lets me keep them all together, as well as other e-books I’ve accumulated from various sources. I can then put them onto my Kindle device from Calibre, converting as necessary to Mobi format. And if I decide one day to dump my Kindle and put my e-books on my Samsung Galaxy Note II phone instead I can do so easily. Wonderful.
I take the points raised in this thread about e-book licences giving the right to read as provided and not otherwise, but I can’t see it’s likely Amazon or anyone else would find anything much wrong with what I do – I buy my content and read it on devices I own.
There’s another argument to be made which seems to have been missed. A paper book can be given away after you finish with it without breaking any rules, an e-book generally can’t because the licence forbids it. It therefore seems churlish to prevent me from moving my e-book from my Kindle to my phone to read it there – which feels like my straitjacket is being tightened further, unnecessarily!
Hvordan man fjerner DRM beskyttelse fra e-bøger | Printanalyse // Dec 18, 2012 at 12:53 pm
[...] Linket er her [...]
Thank you so much Nate and Osiris2106: the deDRMer works, and I have control of my ebooks purchased from Amazon (which I could previously, ridiculously, only read on a PC because I refuse to be locked into anymore Amazon products). So now I can read all my stuff on my Sony PR300 and my Nexus7 — mobility restored! In the end I found it easier to set up the deDRMer on my desktop, ie separately from the Calibre programme (rather than attempt plug-ins), so it was easier to check if I was making mistakes. It took me about an hour and a half to work it out — I’m pretty close to an idiot on the tech-savvy scale of things, so this is just to encourage those who are still struggling. Also thanks to ApprenticeAlf and the Calibre creator.
The plugins are really easy to use, actually. Once calibre is installed just go to preferences ==> plugins ==> load from file and you’re done. As opposed to configuring python and pycrypto which takes real knowhow. I did both, and I am tech-savvy, but it still took way too long just installing, vs. calibre which took 3 minutes to install the plugin.
I’ve never had any errors using the plugins, because I make sure they both update together.
Most of my content has been through Baen or other ebook sellers. Some has been from free sites on the web. And a bit through Amazon. Anyway thanks for the info.
Instructions worked for me as in the original post. Thanks!
I can not find load plugin anywhere, I followed the instructions till then and then got stopped. Can you help?
Load an Kindle Ebook into your smartphone without Kindle official app // Jan 1, 2013 at 4:58 am
[...] can read the instructions how to install the plugin here. It will also show you where to download the [...]
THANK. YOU.
I installed calibre. I downloaded the anti-drm tools, v5.3.
I followed the directions, unzipped the file, added the plug-in. Put in my kindle serial number, activated. Restarted.
DRM not removed. I have tried it several times. Just does not work.
Hello everyone. I’ve look at the problems of all of you and I didn’t see a answer to mine. If there is a answer for the problem I have and I didn’t see it, I am very sorry. There is my problem: I run on win.8 , Calibre v 0.9.13 , Kindle Fire v. 6.3.1 and the serial number. start by “D0″ and not “B0″ , I run Active Python v. 2.7.2.5 , For a raison that I don’t know, I can’t download the plugin. ” K4MobiDeDRM v04.17 plugin.zip “. I try several time and always get the message: ” an error has occurred while downloading your software. Please verify your internet connection and press ” try again” to continue installation” wich I know is wrong because my internet connection is perfect. So I try other plugin and when I try to add a book with the plugin. K4MobiDeDRM_v04.2_plugin.zip I can add the book but when I try to convert it I get the message ” This book is locked by DRM. and when I try with the plugin. K4MobiDeDRM_v04.13_plugin.zip I get this message “Error after 0.3 second: No key found in 4 keys tried. Read the FaQs at Alf’s blog: http://apprenticealf.wordpress.com .
If anyone can help me with it that would be very appreciated
Thank you all for your time and thank for all they shared there solutions.
rickwr88
Libere sus eBooks de DRM y disfrutelos en cualquier eReader « Vida Tech « // Jan 14, 2013 at 6:13 am
[...] El procedimiento es relativamente sencillo. Primero instale la aplicación de Kindle y baje los libros que desea mover a iBooks. Los encontrara porque son de tipo azw. Luego instale Calibre y complete instalando los plugins (herramienta #3), en específico uno que se llama K4MobiDeDRM, siendo esto último la parte mas compleja del procedimiento que encuentra aqui. [...]
It used to work for me but doesn’t any longer. Same computer, same scenario. Is it possible Amazon has changed their DRM scheme?
I followed the directions and was able to get my books off of the Kindle app and get them converted over to .epub to read on my Nook. Thanks!!
I followed these instructions on my work laptop (win7) yesterday and they worked great. However, on my home laptop (also Win7), I get an error saying the book is DRM’d and it won’t convert.
Anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be?
Thanks for this, I was on a trial version of a paid app and it was giving me errors for one of the books, worked great with this solution. thanks again.
I’ve had this on my pc for a while, and just purchased a mac. Downloaded calibre and kindle, but in caibre when I click the arrow to find preferences there is no preferences button there, only a remove books button.
Will this work with calibre for mac or is only for pc?
I suspect I am doing something wrong. Running Fedora 14. When I try to add a plugin, I get this:
ERROR: ERROR: Unhandled exception: InvalidPlugin:No valid plugin found in /home/jmmckee/Downloads/tools_DRM_removal/Calibre_Plugins/K4MobiDeDRM_v04.19_plugin.zip
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/gui2/preferences/plugins.py”, line 153, in add_plugin
add_plugin(path)
File “/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/customize/ui.py”, line 377, in add_plugin
plugin = load_plugin(path_to_zip_file)
File “/usr/lib/calibre/calibre/customize/ui.py”, line 93, in load_plugin
raise InvalidPlugin(_(‘No valid plugin found in ‘)+path_to_zip_file)
InvalidPlugin: No valid plugin found in /home/jmmckee/Downloads/tools_DRM_removal/Calibre_Plugins/K4MobiDeDRM_v04.19_plugin.zip
I do not know what to do.
Because I Have An Opinion And It’s RIGHT | Perpetualized // Mar 2, 2013 at 10:05 am
[...] comment from someone (else) who wants something somebody else has or has created and then justifies … at The Digital [...]
Worked first time converting Kindle PC book to pdf. Great! Many thanks to all involved
Como ler e converter livros com DRM no Calibre // Mar 17, 2013 at 6:02 pm
[...] http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2012/06/15/how-add-kindle-drm-removal-plugin-calibre/#.UUY1LHE-v4q [...]
Quick-and-easy Budget Audiobooks | Y42K? // Mar 25, 2013 at 2:50 pm
[...] Of course, Balabolka only works with DRM-free files, reason #23,475 to avoid DRM. It’s a shame there’s no way to remove DRM from Amazon’s ebooks. [...]
I tried to download the plugins from Apprentice Alf’s website but my Windows 7 wouldn’t allow me…said “site unsafe” all bright red, etc etc.
Has this happened to anyone else?
thanks
Have never been able to get KindleForPC to work on my PC …(usually use kindle.amazon.com to view Kindle content on my pc) but will try again with new laptop, because this is certainly something I would be willing to do so that I can transfer my Kindle content to any of my devices without having to worry about needing to have a Kindle app on them to view.
Amazon makes their MP3 files DRMfree – heaven knows why they thought it would be better to make Kindle books “the opposite of that”! I used to think they were customer-friendly, but the way Kindle and their Unbox (or whatever they are calling it these days) service works has changed my opinion.
I’m trying to remove the DRM from a Kindle book that I bought. I have Calibre installed, Windows 7, and have been using it with no problems for quite a while. The book input format is an AZW3. I have the latest version of tools plugins installed 6.05 but when I try to convert the book in Calibre to a MOBI output I keep getting an error message that the book is blocked by DRM. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
I’m having the same issue! The input format is AZW4, I try to convert to mobi. I get DRM protected error when I do this!
I have the same problem. I’m running the latest Calibre 0.9.31, and the latest Alf tools v6.0.5, both downloaded today on Win XP. I bought a book from Amazon and downloaded it via the USB option. It shows a Feb 2013 publishing date and has the .azw3 extension. I properly loaded the Alf plugin into Calibre then ‘Added’ the new book. The DRM was not removed. I tried renaming the book to .azw but got the same results.
Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
I’ve tried this, but I’m never sure if it has actually stripped the DRM. Does it ever give an alert or notification that it’s been stripped or is it just automatically stripped once you upload it to Calibre?
If you can open and read the ebook inside calibre then you know the DRM was stripped.
Thanks for the quick answer!
Just today I installed the DeDRM 6.0.6 after ignoring instruction #1 to unzip the downloaded zip file. Infact, extracting that zipped file was counterproductive for me as I couldn’t install the DeDRM plugin unless the entire unzipped folder was deleted. Sooo, when I pointed to the unextracted, original zipped folder absent the second unzipped folder which I had deleted, viola!, the plugin installed.
I then chose ADD BOOKS in Caliber and navigated to the Kindle attached to my PC and to a Kindle book I had purchased yesterday (now in my Kindle). Found the book, clicked on it, brought it into Caliber, and, yep, it was still DRMed and therefore unreadable in Caliber. So much for DeDRM 6.0.6 which DOES NOT WORK….. at least the way I tried to use it. Either Amazon changed their DRM, DeDRM doesn’t work, or there is another way to use DeDRM either from within Caliber, or outside of Caliber that I’m not aware of.
I’ll patiently await any further info on the issue.