How to open a .mobi file
Mobipocket ebook · Ebook
A .mobi file is an older Kindle ebook format. Calibre opens and converts it. Note that Amazon stopped accepting MOBI through Send to Kindle in 2022, so converting to EPUB is now the practical move.
What a .mobi file actually is
MOBI was the Kindle format for years, later joined by AZW and AZW3. Amazon has since moved to EPUB and KFX, leaving MOBI as a legacy format people still have in their libraries.
The format itself is not going anywhere on your disk. What changed is that the easy path onto a device closed.
Why it will not open
No desktop reader handles MOBI by default, and since 2022 emailing one to your Kindle no longer works because Amazon dropped MOBI from Send to Kindle.
Renaming it to an extension you can open will not help: changing the extension does not convert the file, it only changes what Windows tries to open it with.
Step by step
Windows
- 01Install Calibre, which is free, and open the .mobi to read it on the computer.
- 02To get it onto a Kindle, convert it to EPUB in Calibre first, then use Send to Kindle with the EPUB.
- 03If the book refuses to open or convert, it carries DRM and is tied to the account that bought it. Read it in the Kindle app on that account.
macOS
- 01Calibre has a macOS build and works identically.
- 02Apple Books does not read MOBI, so convert to EPUB first if you want to use it.
What usually goes wrong
Send to Kindle no longer accepts MOBI
Amazon removed MOBI support from Send to Kindle in late 2022 in favour of EPUB. Guides that tell you to email a .mobi to your Kindle address are out of date. Convert to EPUB in Calibre and send that instead.
Programs that open .mobi
Our pick, in order. Every one links to the publisher's official download URL and the SHA-256 hash of the installer. Once you have downloaded it, you can check the file against our index before you run it.
If you end up downloading one of these from somewhere other than the publisher, what you can and cannot verify about that is worth two minutes.
Common questions
- How do I send a MOBI file to my Kindle?
- Convert it to EPUB in Calibre first, then use Send to Kindle. Amazon dropped MOBI from Send to Kindle in 2022, so the old advice of emailing the .mobi no longer works.
- What is the difference between MOBI and EPUB?
- MOBI is the older Kindle-oriented format, now legacy. EPUB is the open standard that everything reads, including modern Kindles. For anything new, EPUB is the right choice.