Send to Kindle email not working? Nine fixes

You attached a file, sent it to your @kindle.com address, and nothing turned up. Almost every case comes down to one of the nine causes below. Work through them in order; the first three fix most problems.

Disclosure: we make ArticleFerry, a browser extension mentioned in fix 7. Every other fix works without it.

1. The sender isn't on your approved list

This is the most common cause. Amazon only accepts documents from addresses on your Approved Personal Document Email List, and silently ignores everything else. Go to Manage Your Content and Devices → Preferences → Personal Document Settings, open the approved list, and add the exact address you send from (Amazon help). If you have several email accounts, check which one your phone or mail app actually sends from. You can approve up to 15 addresses.

2. You sent it to the wrong Kindle address

Each device and Kindle app has its own address, listed in the same Personal Document Settings section. A typo, or the address of an old device, means the file goes somewhere you aren't looking. Copy the address from that page instead of typing it.

3. The file type isn't supported

Email delivery accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, HTM, HTML, PNG, GIF, JPG, JPEG, BMP and EPUB (Amazon's list). MOBI and AZW3 are not on it. If you have an AZW3 or MOBI file, convert it to EPUB first, for example with the free Calibre app. Amazon reports this as error E001.

4. The file is too big, or there are too many

One email can carry up to 25 attachments and 50 MB in total. Larger collections can be zipped; Amazon opens the ZIP and converts what's inside (Amazon help). Going over the limits gives errors E006 and E007.

5. The file is password protected or broken

Encrypted or password-protected files are refused (E004), and so are PDFs that won't open in a normal PDF reader (E005). For an EPUB that keeps failing, open it in Calibre and convert it from EPUB to EPUB; that rewrites the file and often fixes small errors that make Amazon reject it.

6. You forgot to attach the file

It sounds obvious, but pasting a link into the email body doesn't work: Amazon needs an attachment, and reports error E009 when there isn't one. The subject line can be left empty.

7. You're trying to send a web page

Email delivery is for files, not links. To get a web article onto your Kindle, turn it into an EPUB first and attach that. Our guides on sending a web article to your Kindle and converting a web page to EPUB compare the options, including ArticleFerry, which makes the EPUB in your browser. There's also a list of Send to Kindle alternatives.

8. It arrived as a tiny, unreadable PDF

A PDF keeps its page layout, so text can be very small on a 6-inch screen. Typing Convert in the subject line asks Amazon to convert the PDF to Kindle format so you can change the font size. Layout-heavy PDFs (columns, tables, maths) may still look messy; an EPUB of the original article usually reads better.

9. Your Kindle hasn't synced yet

Amazon keeps trying to deliver for up to 60 days, but the device has to be online. Connect to Wi-Fi, then use Sync your Kindle from the settings menu. Also check your inbox: when a document fails, Amazon usually emails the sender an error code, and the error code table says what each one means.

Still stuck?

Try the same file through Amazon's Send to Kindle for Web uploader. If it works there, the problem is your email setup (fixes 1 and 2). If it fails there too, the problem is the file itself (fixes 3 to 5).