How to read your eBook on a Kindle

If you’ve clicked the button to download your eBook, you should now have it saved on your computer, smartphone or tablet – whichever device you used to do the download. If you’re struggling to find it again, go back here and follow the instructions for your device.

The great thing about this type of file – a PDF, or “Portable Document Format” – is that anyone can view and print it without having to pay for special software. And what you see on screen will be laid out just as we intended, with any pictures in the right place.

If you’ve downloaded your eBook on a Windows 10 or 11 PC or laptop, or a Mac, then when you open the file it will either open in a web browser or whatever default PDF reading app you have installed. Same with a tablet or smartphone. And you can happily read the eBook on your computer, phone or tablet if you like.

However, if you own a Kindle, you might prefer reading your eBook on there – after all, they’re specially designed for the task! But before you can do that, you need to transfer the PDF file you’ve downloaded over to your Kindle Library. Here’s how to do it…

How to transfer your eBook PDF to your Kindle:

  1. On the same device you used to download the eBook, click or tap on the following link, or type the address into a web browser:
    amazon.co.uk/sendtokindle
  2. If you’re already signed in to your Amazon account on that device, you can skip ahead to step 4. Otherwise, you’ll see a box like this on screen which says “Sign in to send files to your Kindle library”:

    Box says Sign in to send files to your Kindle library, with a Sign in button below

  3. Click or tap the “Sign in” button, then enter your Amazon login details when prompted (the email address and password you use for your Amazon account).
  4. When you’re signed in, you’ll see a box which says “Drag and drop files here”. Click or tap on the button that says “Select files from device”.

    File upload box which says Drag and drop files here with a button that says Select files from device

  5. Navigate to where your eBook PDF is saved on your device. For example, if you’re on a Windows PC, a File Explorer window will open and you can open different folders from there. If you’re not sure where to look, a good place to start is a folder called “Downloads”. Once you’ve found it, click or tap on it to select it and then on something like “Open”, or “Select”.
  6. You’ll then see the “Ready to Send” screen, with the eBook file listed:

    Ready to Send box with a PDF file name and size, a toggle switch next to Add to your library, and a Send button at the bottom.

  7. Make sure the toggle switch next to “Add to your library” is switched on – click or tap on it if not so that the switch moves to the right.
  8. Click or tap the big “Send” button below the file.
  9. You’ll get a confirmation message on screen saying “Your files are on the way”, and a Status showing that it’s “Processing”:

    Message saying Your files are on the way with a tick next to it, and a table below with the time sent, the title of the file, where it was sent from and a status saying Processing.

  10. When the Status changes from “Processing” to “In Library”, that means it’s ready:

    A table of Recently sent files with the time sent, the title of the file, where it was sent from and a status saying In Library with a tick next to it.

  11. Open your Kindle, making sure it’s connected to the internet, and go to your “Library” screen. The eBook PDF should be there at the top of the list. Tap on it to download it to your Kindle to read offline, and tap again to open it.
  12. If it’s not there, you might have to sync your Kindle first – open the Settings on your Kindle and tap “Sync Your Kindle” then check again in your library.