Did a book suddenly disappear from your Kindle? How to fix it fast

Summary

A glitch can remove books from the Kindle, showing an “Item Not Available” message, but no panic needed.
Delete the offending file, reboot the Kindle by long pressing the sleep/wake button, and then restore content.
Re-download the book from the library to fix the error, or contact Kindle Support if the issue persists.

The Kindle family of e-readers offer a truly spectacular way to read, no matter whether

reading comics and graphic novels
. However, like any tech device, they’re not immune from glitches, and one particularly nasty one has been known to fully remove books from Kindle devices seemingly without warning, while flashing an “Item Not Available” message on the screen.

This error seems to occur spontaneously, and can happen whether you send your own ePub files to your Kindle or purchase books directly from Amazon through the Kindle Store.

If this happens to you, fret not. Your content isn’t actually gone and fixing this issue is actually fairly easy thanks to the Kindle’s cloud-saved library. Here’s how to fix it in less than 5 minutes.

Because you will be adding and removing a download from your device, your Kindle will need to be connected to Wi-Fi during this process.

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Remove the book that is producing the error message

Get rid of the offending file

The first step towards getting your book back is by deleting the offending file from your device. To do this, simply tap the three dots next to the book and then select Remove download.

The image of the book will still be on your Kindle, but it will no longer attempt to open the file when you select it, instead prompting you to download it instead. Which you’ll do eventually, but not yet.

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Reboot your Kindle

Just turning it off and on again won’t work here

Because Kindles have such long battery lives, you may not know that you can actually power off, restart, and reboot your device. To fix this issue, you’ll need to do a full reboot, which only takes a few minutes.

To start the process, long press the sleep/wake button at the bottom of your unit for ten seconds. You’ll see a pop-up that prompts you to restart your device or turn the screen off (as seen above). Ignore this pop-up and continue holding the button. You’ll then see the Kindle logo flash and that’s when you can let go of the button. The device will then reboot, which will take two to three minutes, during which time you’ll see a progress bar.

Once the reboot is complete, you’ll see your familiar home screen once again.

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Restore your content from your library

Now’s the time to hit that download button

Once your Kindle has rebooted, find the book that was causing issues and press the three dots on the cover, opening up the menu. Select the Download option from the menu and your book should be restored in just a few moments.

It’s rare, but if your book still isn’t opening, and you have purchased it from the Kindle Store, there may be a licensing issue. Contact Kindle Support and if this is indeed the case, you may be able to request a refund for the book.