My PC doesn't recognize the Kindle: find out the solution

For all the reading fans Worldwide Kindle has become an inseparable friend. The most popular e-book reader on the planet has provided us with many hours of entertainment, culture and learning. Although also some other problem, such as when we find that our PC does not recognize Kindle.

Since its launch in 2007, Amazon Kindle It has not stopped gaining followers and adding improvements after each update. The latest version, presented in 2019, is that of Kindle Oasis 3. Among other novelties, this model is the first to incorporate warm light into the wallpapers. A good way to make reading easier and easier on the eyes.

There are many reasons why from time to time you have to connect a e-reader to the computer. For example, to put new books in the reader. Normally, to perform this action you have to convert the books to the .mobi format, which is the one used by Kindle. This conversion is carried out thanks to certain programs such as Caliber and others. And to run it we need a computer.

For this reason, if the PC does not recognize Kindle, we have a very annoying problem. Do you have to resign yourself to not being able to read those books that you keep on your computer? No way. There are solutions and we will explain them to you in this post.

PC-Kindle connection problems: 6 solutions

Under normal circumstances, when we connect our Kindle to the computer, the USB drive mode icon appears on the e-reader screen. At the same time, Meanwhile, on the PC screen the file explorer from its internal memory opens. This is how the books that we have stored on the Kindle appear and the place where the new ones will be stored after converting them to the correct format.

If that does not happen in this way, it is that we are facing a connection problem. Here you have 6 ways to fix it:

Try a different USB port

As simple as that. And yet it often works. That a USB not working properly is something that happens relatively frequently.

How do you know if it is working well? The easiest way to check is to try to connect any other device to it: a smartphone, a tablet, etc. If the computer automatically recognizes this new device in the port in which we had tried to connect the Kindle without success, we can rule out that it is a problem with the USB port.

The solution in this case is obvious: Try plugging your Kindle into other USB ports.

Sometimes the problem may be with the Kindle's USB cable, not the port. If the cable is broken, Windows will not recognize the device. In this situation you can try using other connection cables.

Uninstall and reinstall USB controls

Without abandoning the USB issue, there is another option that is worth trying to resolve the issue of the lack of connection between our PC and our Kindle. The idea consists of uninstall and then reinstall USB drivers. This is the easiest way to do it:

1. We press the Windows + R keys and, in the execution window shown on the screen, we write the command devmgmt. msc. Then we press Enter.
2. Then, in the device manager, we go to the option of "Universal Serial Bus Controllers".
3. With the right mouse button we click on one of the devices in the list and then click on "Uninstall". We repeat the same operation with each of the devices on the list.
4. Once this is done, we restart the computer. With this the connection problem should be solved.

Disable USB selective suspend

Still on the go with the USB. Many users have found this method very useful: disable USB selective suspend function, the same one that allows the controller to suspend an individual port without affecting the other ports.

On notebook computers this feature is enabled by default. The reason: it achieves greater power savings and helps the battery last longer. Very convenient, although in return there may be connection problems between Windows and our Kindle.

How is USB Selective Suspend disabled? As follows:

1. To start, we press Windows + R to run the Run application on our computer.
   There we write "Control Panel" and click Enter.
2. In the next menu we select "Hardware and sound" and there we click on "Energy options".
3. Next, a new window opens in which all the power plans that our computer has are displayed. All you have to do is select the one you are using and click on "Change plan settings."
4. After clicking again on "Change advanced power settings", we seek «USB configuration» in the list of options.
5. Finally, there we click on "USB Selective Suspend Settings" and we finish the process by selecting "Disabled" both in "battery" and in "connected".
6. The last step is "Save Changes" and go out.

If we have followed the steps correctly, the problem will be solved after restarting our Kindle.

Full reset of the Kindle

In many respects, Kindle is no different from other devices such as tablets or smartphones. Like them, the Amazon e-reader has a built-in reset function. The famous reset, capable of erasing memory and restarting the operating system again. This is often used to troubleshoot software problems. For example, when the PC does not recognize the Kindle.

How to do a reset on Kindle? To restart it and solve the problem, just follow these simple steps:

1. Always with the device connected to the computer, we hold down the power button for about 40 seconds (or until the device reboots automatically).
2. After doing this, the Kindle will restart normally. If it does not, we will have to do it by pressing the power button.

Connect as camera

The most obvious solutions are not always the most effective. Sometimes you have to try the odd extravaganza. Many Kindle users have done so in desperate moments and have come up with an unexpected solution.

One of these is connect your Kindle to your computer as if it were a camera, not an e-book reader.

How is it done? We explain it step by step:

1. When we connect the Kindle to the PC, we go to the bottom of the computer screen, after which a sliding menu.
2. There you have to access "Connection options" in the notification bar. All we have to do is configure the option "Connect as camera".
3. Sometimes this option is not in the drop-down list. If so, we will have to look for it in "Device configuration and storage".

It seems incredible that this can solve the problem of PC not recognizing Kindle. But it works in many cases. So why not give it a try?

Install Kindle Driver on Computer

If our PC does not recognize Kindle, it is likely that we will have to install the Kindle driver Windows 10. We will know if there is the source of the problem because it will appear on the screen an icon with an exclamation mark in yellow. You can also see an MTP or USB driver with an exclamation mark under "Portable Devices in Device Manager."

The failure can be both the absence of this driver as its malfunction. In this second case, it is sufficient to install an update. These are the steps to follow:

1. First we open the Device administrator, where will we go to Portable devices. There we will visualize our Kindle or MTP device
2. Then we right-click on Kindle or MTP device and select the option to "Update driver software."
3. In this menu, let's select the second option, which is called "Browse my computer for driver software."
4. There we go to the last option, which will allow us to choose between a long device driver list for our computer. You will have to pay attention to the compatible hardware and the correct model. Then we select "MTP USB device" and click on "Following".
5. Finally, in the warning window "Update driver", we click on "Yes". After this, Windows will install the compatible device driver for our Kindle.

In addition to these 6 methods, there are other ideas that can be used to resolve connection errors between our Kindle and our computer. Some of them are for example connect to another PC or try to connect after the e-reader's battery has been fully charged.

Other solutions, according to reports from Kindle users, are use the Caliber program to connect or enable Android Debug Bridge (ADB) in our team. Anything to enjoy the thousand and one readings that this fantastic e-book reader offers us.