How to send an EPUB to your Kindle

Kindles read EPUB books, but only when the file arrives through Amazon's Send to Kindle service, which converts it for you. Copying an EPUB straight onto a Kindle with a cable doesn't work. Here is every way to do it, quickest first, and what to do when a book doesn't show up.

Updated October 2026

The short answer

Go to amazon.com/sendtokindle, sign in, drag your .epub file onto the page, choose your Kindle and press Send. The book appears in your Kindle library within a few minutes. Nothing needs setting up first.

Which method should I use?

Method	Best for	Size limit	Setup
Web page	A few books from any computer	200 MB per file	None, just sign in
Email	Sending from your phone's mail app, or to someone else's Kindle	50 MB per email, up to 25 files	Approve the sending address once
Phone	Books you downloaded on your phone	Same as the app	Kindle app installed
Desktop app	Sending often from Windows or Mac	Smaller than the web page; use the web for very large files	Install once
USB cable	No internet, or keeping a book off your Amazon account	Kindle's storage	Convert the EPUB first

Old .mobi files can no longer be sent; Amazon stopped accepting them in 2022. Use the EPUB version of the book instead.

Send from a computer (web page)

Open amazon.com/sendtokindle and sign in with the Amazon account your Kindle uses.
Drag the .epub file onto the page, or click to choose it.
Tick the devices that should get it. Leave “Add to your Kindle Library” on so the book is also backed up to your account and synced to the Kindle apps.
Press Send. Keep the tab open until the upload finishes.

Send by email

Every Kindle and Kindle app has its own email address. Anything you email there from an approved address is converted and delivered. It takes two minutes to set up, then works from any device, including your phone's mail app.

1. Find your Kindle's email address

On the web: go to amazon.com/mycd (Manage Your Content and Devices) → Preferences → Personal Document Settings. Under “Send-to-Kindle E-Mail Settings” each device is listed with its address, something like yourname_ab12cd@kindle.com.
On the Kindle: Settings → Your Account → Send-to-Kindle Email.

You can change the part before the @ to something easier to remember on the same Amazon page.

2. Approve the address you'll send from

On the same Personal Document Settings page, scroll to Approved Personal Document E-mail List and choose Add a new approved e-mail address. Enter the email address you'll send from, such as your Gmail. Amazon ignores email from addresses that aren't on this list, which keeps strangers from filling your Kindle.

3. Send the book

Write a new email from the approved address to your Kindle's address and attach the .epub file. The subject and message can be empty. You don't need to write “convert” in the subject; that only matters for PDFs.

Giving the book as a present? Inscribe adds a personal dedication page to the EPUB first, free and right in your browser. Download it, then send it with any method on this page, and the book arrives with your message in it.

Send from a phone

If the EPUB is on your phone, for example from a download or an email attachment:

Install the Kindle app and sign in with the same Amazon account as your Kindle.
Find the .epub file in your Files or Downloads app and tap Share.
Choose Kindle (on some phones it's listed as Send to Kindle), pick the device and send.

If Kindle isn't in the share menu, email the file to your Kindle address instead, as described above.

Send with the desktop app

Amazon's free Send to Kindle app for Windows and Mac is handy if you send books often. Download it from amazon.com/sendtokindle and sign in. Then right-click an EPUB and choose Send to Kindle (Windows), or drag it onto the app's icon (Mac). For very large files, use the web page, which accepts bigger uploads.

Copy with a USB cable

A Kindle can't open an EPUB that's copied onto it directly; it simply won't show up. To use a cable, convert the book first with the free program Calibre: add the EPUB, choose Convert books, pick AZW3 as the output format, then connect the Kindle and use Send to device. Books copied this way stay on that one Kindle and don't sync to your other devices.

Where the book appears

Sent books show up in the Kindle's Library, usually within a few minutes. If you have many books, filter by Documents or Docs: Amazon files everything you send yourself as a personal document. With “Add to your Kindle Library” or Personal Document Archiving turned on, the book also appears in the Kindle apps on your phone and computer, and your reading position syncs between them.

The book didn't arrive

You emailed it, and nothing happened: The sending address probably isn't on your Approved Personal Document E-mail List, or it's spelled differently there (a work address instead of a personal one, for example). Add it as shown above and send again.
You got an email from Amazon about the document: Read it: Amazon emails the account when it can't deliver a document, and sometimes asks you to confirm a request by clicking a link before it delivers. Check your spam folder too.
“We could not convert your document”: The file is copy-protected (DRM), damaged, or not a real EPUB. Books bought from most stores are protected and can't be sent. If the book is DRM-free, open it in Calibre and convert it to EPUB again, which often repairs small problems, then resend.
The file is too big: Email has a 50 MB limit per message. Use the web page instead, which takes files up to 200 MB.
It's in your account but not on the Kindle: Make sure the Kindle is on Wi-Fi, then use Sync your Kindle from the settings menu. Check you sent it to the right device: each Kindle and Kindle app has its own address.
You sent it to someone else's Kindle: That only works if the owner has added your address to their own approved list. Otherwise, send them the EPUB file and let them send it themselves.
It's a .mobi file: Amazon no longer accepts MOBI files. Find the EPUB version, or convert the MOBI to EPUB in Calibre first.

Want to make it personal? Add a dedication page to your EPUB before you send it. It's free, and the book never leaves your device.