EPUB to MOBI: only for an old Kindle

Convert EPUB to MOBI only for a very old Kindle over USB. Newer devices should get EPUB via Send to Kindle, or AZW3 over USB. What styling you lose, and the online steps.

Convert EPUB to MOBI only for a very old Kindle. A newer device can take the EPUB through Send to Kindle. A USB copy should be AZW3, not MOBI. MOBI is the early format, with narrower styling, and Amazon later stopped accepting it in Send to Kindle.

How the three formats differ is in EPUB vs MOBI vs AZW3. Email and USB are different paths: what to send to Kindle.

When is MOBI the right target?

  • The device is old enough that it only opens MOBI, not AZW3.
  • Someone explicitly asked for a MOBI file, not "send it to my Kindle email."

Do not convert to MOBI when:

  • You will use Send to Kindle. Send the EPUB.
  • You will copy the file onto a Paperwhite or anything newer over USB. Use EPUB to AZW3.
  • You will read it in Apple Books, Kobo, or another app. It is already EPUB.

How do you convert it here?

  1. Open MOBI converter. MOBI is already the output.
  2. Drop the EPUB. AZW3, AZW, PDF, FB2, TXT, DOCX, HTML, and RTF are accepted too. 50MB per file.
  3. Start conversion and stay on the page. Large files wait in a queue.
  4. Download the MOBI and copy it to that old Kindle over USB. Do not send this MOBI through Send to Kindle.

DRM-locked store purchases fail. There is no readable text inside. Renaming the file does not change that.

What gets simpler?

EPUB and MOBI are both reflowable, so the words usually survive, inside an older container:

  • Custom fonts are usually replaced by the device font.
  • Complex CSS, drop caps, and columns are simplified.
  • A cover that exists in the source usually remains. A missing cover is not invented.
  • Running headers were never part of the ebook. Do not expect them to match the EPUB reader.

Open the first two chapters on the target Kindle and check that the contents can jump to a chapter. A broken contents list usually means the source headings were unclear, not that the download is corrupt.

Common questions

Do I still convert EPUB to MOBI for a new Kindle?

No. Send to Kindle stopped accepting MOBI in 2022. Send the EPUB. For a USB copy, convert to AZW3, not MOBI.

Does the table of contents survive EPUB to MOBI?

Chapters that already exist in the EPUB usually remain, but MOBI can express less styling. Multi-level contents, custom fonts, and complex CSS are often flattened.

Do I need to install Calibre?

No. Conversion runs on the server. Upload in the browser, keep MOBI as the output, and download. The limit is 50MB per file.

Keep reading

Convert online

EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, AZW, PDF, FB2, TXT, DOCX, HTML, and RTF. Up to 50MB per file. Nothing to install.

Open the ebook converter