Calibre is a neo-grotesk sans serif inspired by lettering on West Berlin street signs. Unlike most engineered lettering for signage, these letterforms are elegant and clear. Calibre gently tempers the engineer’s geometric tendencies by applying typographic principles of optical correction. Many sanserif letterforms are “pan-genre”.

When talking about Calibre DRM Removal 2020, we will know that we should add DeDRM tools to Calibre because they are must-have if we want to remove DRM from eBooks with Calibre.

1. There is no official version of Calibre for Android, but there are several ways to get your Calibre library onto your Android device. The easiest way is with the officially-sanctioned Calibre Companion app, which can sync your library wirelessly. You can then use an ebook reader app to read your synced books.
2. Any version of Calibre distributed on Uptodown is completely virus-free and free to download at no cost. 5.16.1 Apr 19th, 2021. 5.14.0 Mar 29th, 2021. 5.13.0 Mar 10th.

In this post, I’ll focus on DeDRM with Calibre for Kindle/Kobo/ACSM eBooks part by part — and 10+ exclusive and effective solutions if you meet errors.

Disclaimer:

1. DeDRM from eBooks is acceptable only when you want to backup or share your own files. DON’T resell those drm free eBooks and respect every author please.

2. This post introduces exactly how to dedrm eBooks from Kindle, Kobo and Adobe Digital Editions (such as Google Play books) files. Apple books and Nook ePubs are not supported now.

3. DeDRM tools only work on our own purchased eBooks, eTextbooks and rented eBooks are not supported.

4. Here what I introduced are all tested on my personal Windows laptop and Mac computer. Calibre supports Linux, if you meet any problems when running calibre drm plugins on Linux, please contact Alf team to ask for help as I didn’t test Calibre DRM Removal for eBooks on Linux.

Part 1. Preparing (What You Need)

• Calibre 5 and DeDRM plugin v7.1.0 (Or dedrm v6.8.1 for calibre 4)
• Kindle/Kobo/Adobe eBooks downloaded via official desktop app.
• Import eBooks to Calibre to DeDRM.

Note:

1. Simply download the new Calibre and DeDRM tools v7.1.0 please. If you are using the older calibre 4.x you should be using the older DRM i.e. 6.8.1.

2. The DeDRM_tools (calibre drm removal plugins 2021) contains two plugins: DeDRM and Obok. The DeDRM plugin handles books that are downloaded from Kindle, Adobe Digital Editions, and some historical formats. The Obok plugin handles books that are downloaded from Kobo desktop app.

Part 2. How to Add DeDRM tools to Calibre?

This is how you add a plugin to the Calibre program.

(Add: You can also download the latest dedrm tools and calibre 5.)

Step1. Download Calibre version 4.x or earlier.

Step2. Download DeDRM_tools_6.8.1.zip and unzip it.

Step3. Add downloaded plugin zip file to Calibre.

Run calibre, select “Preferences” > “Plugin” > “Load plugin from file”, then choose the “DeDRM_plugin.zip” or “Obok_plugin.zip” from the unzipped DeDRM_tools_6.8.1 archive, click on the “Open” button. Ignore the “Are you sure?” warning dialog(Yes”), then A “Success” dialog will appear, saying that the plug-in has been installed. Click on “OK” and then “Apply”.

Step4. Restart Cablire.

Part 3. DRM removal plugin failed to install Issues

Have followed the above steps but the calibre dedrm plugin is not working?

SyntaxeError: invalid syntax

As of calibre 5, calibre has moved from Python 2 to Python 3, because Python 2 has been end-of-lifed.

To resolve this bug, you just need to update your Calibre to the latest version, and then add the DeDRM plugin v7.1.0 to calibre. If you’ve added the older version of drm plugins, delete it from calibre first and then re-import.

Calibre Download

Unhandled exception: does not contain a top-level init.py file

You see this error may be because you added the whole archive file into calibre. Unzip the DeDRM_tools_6.8.1 archive, and look in the DeDRM_tools_6.8.1 folder for the zip file(named DeDRM_Plugin.zip and Obok_plugin.zip) to load into calibre.

Another reason is the downloaded drm plugin file is not the latest version. If so, you should remove the older version plugin first, and then download the latest one and import them again to calibre.

Part 4. How to unlock DRM from Kindle KFX eBooks with Calibre plugin?

Since Amazon started using new KFX format to Kindle eBooks, calibre plugin no longer works for unlocking DRM from KFX format. The DeDRM plugin here works with non-KFX Amazon books only, and the solutions introduced here are walkaround solutions, not the direct (quick) one.

Note:

1. The plugin doesn’t work on books downloaded from Kindle Fire(HD) tablets, Kindle for Android/IOS applications.

2. The tools do not work with the Windows 8 AppStore Kindle app.

3. To convert KFX to ePub/PDF with Calibre, the KFX Input Plugin (version 1.36.0 at the time of writing) must be installed too.

4. If you have a Kindle e-ink device, don’t directly download and import books to calibre as it doesn’t work on these files. But you can download and transfer via USB to your device, then the downloaded file will be .azw3 format. Import azw3 to Calibre and configure the DeDRM plugin by inputting KSN, then you can also remove drm.

Walkaround 1. (For Windows) Install an outdated Kindle (such as version 1.24)

If you have downloaded the latest Kindle for PC, deregister the Kindle PC app first, and then uninstall it from your windows computer.

Install, launch, and register this Kindle installation with your own amazon account.

Don’t forget to uncheck the auto-update from Kindle’s settings. Otherwise, when you launch it next time, it will update to the latest version automatically, which does not work with DeDRM.

If asked if you want to update to the newest version, always select “Skip this version” please.

Now you can select books from your Kindle library and download them to your local Windows.

Important:

Import Kindle books to Calibre library, and the DRM will be removed.

As the above image shows, the drm removed KFX books will be turned to KFX(non-DRM). After you installed the kfx input plugin to calibre, you can continue to convert kfx eBooks to other formats.

Walkaround 2. (For Mac) Avoid KFX downloads by renaming renderer-test on Kindle for Mac

Important:

The key to avoiding KFX downloading from K4Mac 1.25+ is to block KFX with chmod -x, then download books using right-click on mouse and selecting “Download”.

Install the latest version of Kindle for Mac or update to the latest one, v1.30.

If there are kindle books already in the “Downloaded” tab, remove them first(Remove from device).

Then, run Terminal app, copy and paste following command in terminal, if needed input password to execute command.

If you don’t have a password, then run this command.

After patching the Kindle app, run the Kindle app and select one book, right-click and “Download”.

The downloaded books are saved under “My Kindle Content” folder. By clicking Kindle > Preferences > Content > Change Folder, you can find and modify the location.

Now you can import the downloaded kindle books from “My Kindle Content” folder to Calibre, then as what you see, the drm is removed automatically and calibre turns these books to AZW3 format.

Note:

Kindle KFX DeDRM Failed and Solutions

01. The Kindle DRM has been removed, but all the pictures are gone

Most likely, this is an AZW6 format book that the tools don’t support. But as the azw6 is only downloaded directly via Kindle e-Ink device, so the solution is downloading your book by “Download & Transfer via USB”.

02. The Kindle book (AZW4) conversions takes a long time

The AZW4 is a Print Replica Kindle ebook. This is a PDF in a Kindle wrapper. After you adding it to Calibre, the azw4 DRM will be removed successfully. Now all you should do is using the KindleUnpack plugin.

03. AZW/KCR/KFX-ZIP in Calibre

In fact, if Calibre shows the book in “AZW”, “KCR”, “KFX-ZIP” format after you add one book to the calibre library, it’s likely that Calibre failed to remove its DRM.

See, after I click on “Convert books” and select “epub” to convert, calibre shows the above error message.

To avoid this, I would say please follow all the details step by step as what I write at the above.

You can also click on the “Jobs: 0” label in the lower right corner of the calibre window to activate the Jobs dialog.

Select the failed conversion job from the list (the most recent will be first) and click the “Show job details” button. Copy the log to the clipboard and then paste it to Github or Mobileread for help.

DRM plugin driving me mad? If you think Calibre and the plugin are complex, here you can choose a good alternative, iSummersoft Kindle Converter.

When started, it will detect your computer system and show you the official guide on how to download your kindle books in the correct way. And then, after you downloaded books well, it will auto-detect your books and show them at the left side. All you need to do is just to add them from the left to the right area, choose output format (from ePub, pdf, mobi, azw3, txt, docx options) and convert.

Part 5. How to disable DRM from Adobe Digital Editions (ACSM)?

The installed DeDRM plugin also works on Adobe ACSM files, such as the downloaded books from Google Play.

You will find that the downloaded file is in acsm format. ACSM is associated with Adobe Digital Editions. It means we must use the ADE to open this type of files.

The first time running ADE, you should authorize an Adobe ID, and then open your acsm with it. When the acsm is opened via ADE, the acsm is turned to ePub or PDF (depends on ebooks vendors), but with DRM. And they are stored under “My Digital Editions” folder.

Now you can import them from the digital editions folder to Calibre. Then, the Adobe DRM is removed by the dedrm plugin in Calibre.

Note:

You may meet problems when authorizing an Adobe ID or opening acsm file via ADE.

Calibre Get Books From Device

Please ensure that you are using the same email address as your ebookstore account’s, this is important. Another reason is you used an incorrect Adobe ID, if so you should switch your adobe account to login.

What is an ACSM file? Why should we use ADE to open this type of file? Is it possible to convert and print adobe to normal PDF?

Part 6. How to Use Calibre kepub plugin?

The Obok_plugin.zip you added to Calibre is used for removing DRM from Kobobooks. By default, Calibre will show this plugin at the top menu bar.

Firstly, you should use Kobo for PC/Mac to help download your books.

Where to find them? Books downloaded via Kobo PC are saved here:

And Kobo for Mac books are saved in this location:

Launch Calibre and click on the “Obok” plugin. If you don’t see it, click on the three dots icon at the top menu bar.

Then from the popup window you will find that it automatically detects all of your downloaded Kobo EPUB books.

The red lock icon means that book is drm protected, and the green lock icon means that book is drm free. To crack those drm protected books, you can click “All with DRM” and then touch “OK”. Wait for the job to complete.

Now the drm limitation is removed from your Kobo books, and they are in EPUB format (the original is kepub, with drm). If you want to transfer Kobo books to Kindle, you can continue to convert them to Mobi format in Calibre.

Tips that work:

1. If you already downloaded Kobo books on Kobo eReader, you can also connect it to the computer and then import that book to calibre so that you can remove DRM directly from them.

2. If you use the Kobo desktop app to help download files, download and install the app from Kobo official site please. DON’T install the app from any app stores. Otherwise, you may fail to remove DRM from kepub.

3. Couldn’t find the kepub folder on Mac? Use Terminal and running following command: write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles yes
then Enter.

Final Words, with Some Useful Tricks

This is all I could share with you on Calibre DeDRM 101. If you follow this guide step by step, I think you will succeed in unlocking your purchased eBook files.

• Check you are using the correct version of Calibre.
• Check you are using the latest version of Plugins.
• Downloading eBooks via desktop app makes the DeDRM more easier to function.
• Re-import eBooks to Calibre again.
• The drm is removed after importing the book, not converting it.
• Don’t forget to submit your error log to Mobileread, github, reddit to get help.
• Or use the best alternatives from iSummersoft, these products deserve your trial and are much easy to use.

As the most popular eBook manager, Calibre is widely used in multiplatform such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. But for Android, instead of using the Calibre program directly, there are some Android apps for Calibre include Calibre Companion you can use. With the help of those Android apps designed for Calibre, you can sync, download and read the eBooks stored in Calibre Library easily. So if you are searching for a Calibre for Android app, you absolutely don't want to miss them. And here I will teach you how to manage Calibre eBooks with these Calibre Android Apps.

How to Use Calibre Companion to Sync, Download and Read Books

As the official recommended APP, Calibre Companion (CC) is your first choice of Calibre Android Apps. You can use it to sync Calibre Library, Send Calibre eBooks from computer to your phone, download Calibre eBooks to read. Following is the detailed guide about how to collect your phone with Calibre computer program and sync, manage, download and read eBooks.

STEP 1: Download & Install Necessary Programs

Download Calibre which suits with your computer system. Then install Calibre on your computer. Make sure you download the newest version.

Download Calibre Companion Apk from Google Play Store. And install it on your mobile phone.

Download an Android reader for use with Calibre: Moon+ Reader; FBReader (These two Android readers are recommended by CC officially.)

If you have an eBook reader which can be invoked from Calibre Companion, there is no need to install another one.

Calibre Get Books

STEP 2: Setup Calibre on Computer

1. Launch Calibre on your PC. Click 'Connect/share' option on the navigation. Then click 'Start Content server' and 'Start wireless device connection' from the drop-down list.

2. Click 'Start wireless device connection' option will jump out of a window. Check 'Use a fixed port' option. Then click 'OK'.

3.Check if the content server is running. When click 'Connect/share' option again, you will find out that there is an IP address after each option.

Open that address after 'Stop Content server' on your computer which is running Calibre. You can use a browser such as Chrome or Firefox.

The IP address of content server like this: http://192.168.1.103:8080
Or you can open one of below address to check
http://127.0.0.1:8080
http://localhost:8080

After opening the address, when you see the Calibre Library, it means the content server is running normally. You can read and download eBooks in Calibre Library by the IP address.

4. Remember those two IP address. Here are my examples:
Content server: http://192.168.1.103:8080
Wireless device connection: http://192.168.1.103:9090

STEP 3: Setup Home Network Connection

This is the important step to connect Calibre with CC.

Be sure:
1. No Virtual Private Network (VPN) is running on your computer or phone.
2. The WiFi used by the phone is the same network as the computer.
3. The firewall or anti-virus allows 'The main calibre program' to communicate on the private network.

For Windows 7:
Open the Control Panel of your computer. If you don't know where it is, you can search 'Control Panel' from the start menu. Find and click 'Windows Firewall'. Then click 'Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall'. And find out 'The main calibre program' and check 'Home/Work (Private)'.

For Windows 10:
When you click 'Start Content server' option, it will pop up a 'Windows Security Alert' window. Check 'Private networks' and Click 'Allow access'.

STEP 4: Sync, Download and Read Books

Open Calibre Companion on your phone. Tap 'CONNECT'. Then choose 'as Wireless Device' or 'to Content Server' to connect with Calibre computer program or choose 'to Cloud' to connect with your cloud providers. Then sync and download the books.

Or tap 'Settings > Connecting to calibre'. Then choose 'Wireless device connecting', 'Content server connecting' or 'Cloud Connecting' to setup the connections. For wireless device connecting and content server connecting, you can type the IP address in Calibre computer program.

1. Connect Calibre Companion as Wireless Device
Right-click the books from Calibre computer program you want to send to your phone. Then choose 'Send to device > Send to main memory'. You will find that the books will appear in Calibre Companion. And there is a checkmark in the 'On Device' tag before the book in Calibre computer program you have sent.

2. Connect Calibre Companion to Content Server
Tap 'CONNECT > to Content Server'. Then the index of the content server will display. Choose any tag to check the books from Calibre Library. And tap any book to download or show the metadata. The books that have been in the Calibre Companion will be marked with 'On device' tag.

3. Connect Calibre Companion to Cloud
Tap 'Settings > Connecting to calibre > Cloud Connection > Cloud provider'. Then choose your cloud services. The books in your cloud providers will be synced in Calibre Companion.

4. Read Books with Android Readers
You can read the downloaded books in Calibre Companion with an android reader such as FBReader. Tap the book and then tap 'READ' option. Or long press the book and choose a reader to read.

Calibre Get File Name

How to Use Calibre Library APP to Sync, Download and Read Calibre Books

Calibre For Win 10

Calibre Library is another Android app designed for Calibre computer program. Compared with Calibre Companion, it's simpler and hooked with Calibre content server. You can use it to sync your books from Calibre computer library and download to read.

Step 1: Download & Install Calibre Library APP

Download Calibre Library App from Google Play. Then install it on your mobile phone.

Step 2: Set Server Address to Sync Calibre Books

Open Calibre Library APP on your phone. When the first time you use it, there will be a message to remind you to set the server address. Click 'OK'. Then type the IP address into the 'Server Address' option. This IP address is just the Calibre content server address. After that, your Calibre Library books will be synced.

Calibre Epub Reader Windows 10

Step 3: Download and Open Calibre Library Books

Calibre Get List Of Books On Device

After the Calibre books synced, they will be wrapped by newest, title, authors and languages tags. Choose one tag to find all books. Then tap any book to download or open.

Above Android apps for Calibre are designed to help manage your books. Choose the one you like. Or if you have any other better choice, leave a comment to share with others.

Grace Sue A reading enthusiast. Always pay close attention to the world of Ebook. Devote myself to share everything about e-book and favorably receive any suggestions.