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Kindle Firmware Update 5.9.6 Lets You Install Your Own Fonts

Amazon released a new update for its ereaders this week, and it’s going to make picky readers very happy. The update adds support for Arabic-language ebooks which have been available through the Kindle Store since last fall, and it also gives readers the option to install their own font.

I haven’t had a chance to test it myself (my Kindle has a dead battery), but according to Amazon’s help pages this update adds a "fonts" folder where you can install your choice of fonts. The fonts have to be either OpenType (OTF) or TrueType (TTF), and all you have to do is copy them to that folder via USB.

I have a ZIP file of fonts over on this post, if you need them.

This is great news for anyone who needs a non-English-language font, and it’s a shame Amazon did not add this option years ago.

Amazon will be pushing the update out to Kindles over the next few weeks. If you don’t want to wait then you can download the update from Amazon and install it yourself.

Changelog

  • Read Arabic language books: Your Kindle e-reader now supports Arabic language books. Choose one from a selection of thousands on the Kindle store and enjoy reading Arabic content.
  • Read with your own fonts: You can now install your favorite fonts on your Kindle and choose one of them from the Display Settings (Aa) menu to read your eBooks. Connect your Kindle to a computer and refer to the “Read Me” file in the “fonts” folder for more information.

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Comments


carlos June 6, 2018 um 1:47 pm

Thank you. Users like me wants and like more freedom with he devices.


Frank June 6, 2018 um 3:31 pm

This is great. Before people had to jailbreak to get custom fonts, now they don’t need to hack the Kindle to get different fonts.


jhowell June 7, 2018 um 2:33 am

I was unable to get Arabic language books to download to my kindle after updating to the 5.9.6 firmware.

Checking the software updates web page, I see that Amazon has removed "Read Arabic language books" as a feature of the new firmware.


David Kudler June 7, 2018 um 9:49 pm

Wow. The apocalypse is at hand. Or maybe isn’t. I thought Bookerly was going to take over the world.

I wonder if the Kindle will start displaying embedded fonts finally?


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