How I moved an ebook in Mobi format to Kindle apps across devices

I have the Kindle app on my iOS and Android devices as well as on my Macbook Air because I always love the convenience of reading ebooks on whichever device I have at the moment. Google did a good job of allowing my reading progress to sync across all devices so I could pick up wherever I left off, regardless of which device I am using.

But (and it is a big but), sync does not work seamlessly for many other things aside from your reading progress. I discovered that it does not sync Collections well (in fact, it does not sync from a mobile device to Kindle for Mac at all!). And recently, I found another thing that did not sync properly.

I had received a free ebook in Mobi format and I wanted it on all my devices. I was able to add it to Kindle for Mac just by downloading the file onto my Macbook Air, then opening the file using the Kindle for Mac app.

Getting the Mobi file onto an iPad

Next, I tried to get it onto my iPad by using the Kindle Sync feature on my Mac. It didn’t work! So much for syncing….

These were the steps I had to do to get the ebook into my Kindle on the iPad:

1. Download the ebook (Mobi format) into the iPad.
2. Manually look for the file in your file manager app (I use My Files).
3. Move the file to the Books folder (found in Local Storage-Device Storage-Books).
4. Open the Kindle app and voila! Your ebook is already in the app.

Getting the Mobi file into my Android devices

I thought my problem was solved once the ebook was on my iPad’s Kindle. I thought “Syncing should do the trick to get it on all my other devices now”. Wrong! Even after several syncing attempts, all my Android devices did not show the ebook on the Kindle app. I had to find still another way to get that ebook on each of my devices.

I tried the process above to get the ebook on my iPad but it would not work for my Androids. Each time I tried to download the Mobi file into local storage, the download would be in .txt format instead of .mobi. I really could not figure out why. I had to find a workaround.

And I did. With this gadget. A USB flash drive that plugs into a USB slot on one end and into an Android device on the other end.

So here’s how I did it (mind you, I had to do this for EVERY Android device because sync just would not work.

1. Insert USB flash drive into laptop and copy MOBI file. Eject USB flash drive from laptop.
2. Insert USB flash drive into Android device.
3. Copy MOBI file into the Books folder of your device. Eject USB flash drive from device.
4. Open Kindle app. You should now be able to see your ebook inside.

This was such a painful, roundabout way of getting just ONE ebook into all my Kindle apps. There may be quicker ways and if you found a shortcut of your own. I’d love it if you can share that in the comment section below.

For now, I am happy with the results. If you ever encounter a similar situation like mine, try these steps out and let me know.