Kindle multiple devices question

[kellia]

Hi, we are getting our sons Kindles for their bday and I will add them to my Amazon account. If we buy a book, can they both read it on their devices at the same time? What about if we got Amazon Prime and get the free book to "borrow"? Can they both read it at the same time or can only one device use it?

Also, is there a way to keep their books and my books separate?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Granny square]

They can both read the purchased book at the same time. But I am not sure about the borrowed books.

 

[pl71]

If we buy a book, can they both read it on their devices at the same time? What about if we got Amazon Prime and get the free book to "borrow"?

Yes, but you might want to turn off syncing so they don't go to the wrong place in the book (if one has read further than the other).

What about if we got Amazon Prime and get the free book to "borrow"?

Yes, but you can only read these free books on actual kindles, not using kindle apps.

Also, is there a way to keep their books and my books separate?

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anyway to do this. It would be great if there was a way!

 

[Marionnette]

Hi, we are getting our sons Kindles for their bday and I will add them to my Amazon account. If we buy a book, can they both read it on their devices at the same time? What about if we got Amazon Prime and get the free book to "borrow"? Can they both read it at the same time or can only one device use it?

Also, is there a way to keep their books and my books separate?

Thanks for any help!

Yes, but they will run into problems if they stay connected to wi-fi. The Kindles will try to sync to the wherever the last person reading the book left off. So if son #1 is on page 106 and then son #2 starts to read and leaves off on page 78, son #1's Kindle will open to page 78 when he begins to read again. The problem can be solved by turning off the wi-fi. It's a good idea to turn it off when you're not using it, as it saves the battery.

Unfortunately, there's no way to keep your books separate from theirs if you are all on the same account. I have heard that there are aps for placing different family members' books into separate libraries, but I haven't tried any. Even so, that would not stop the kids from having access to your books.

 

[kellia]

Thank you for explaining that! I never thought about it syncing!

 

[NotUrsula]

FWIW, the new Nook models are set up to have lockable user accounts so that family members can share devices but keep libraries separate.

As to Prime, don't buy it for the ebook lending feature, because it's awful. Prime only allows you "borrow" one title per month, even if the title is a kiddie book with 5 words per page. Total waste of time and money Borrow ebooks and kidvid from your public library instead, no matter which reader you end up buying.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Prime is still worth having though for the free 2 day shipping. I buy a lot from Amazon and love it. And if you have Kindle Fires, you can watch movies and tv shows for free. I like the book borrowing feature myself.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

As to Prime, don't buy it for the ebook lending feature, because it's awful. Prime only allows you "borrow" one title per month, even if the title is a kiddie book with 5 words per page. Total waste of time and money Borrow ebooks and kidvid from your public library instead, no matter which reader you end up buying.

I'm not sure anyone would pay for Prime just for the lending library, although if you were able to borrow expensive (rather than purchasing the Kindle version) titles, you would come out ahead with Prime.