How to Remove Ads from Your Kindle (Free & Paid)

The ads on a Kindle are officially called "Special Offers." They show up mainly on the lock screen when the device is asleep, and sometimes as a small banner at the bottom of the home screen. They do not appear inside a book while you are reading, so they never interrupt the page you are on.

Amazon offers these ad-supported models at a lower purchase price than the equivalent ad-free version. That discount is the trade-off: you pay less up front in exchange for seeing promotions. Knowing this helps explain why some removal methods cost money, since you are essentially paying back the difference.

The most reliable free method is to contact Amazon customer support and ask them to remove the Special Offers from your device. Some customers, especially those who recently bought the Kindle or are long-time Prime members, have had success getting the ads removed at no charge as a goodwill gesture. There is no guarantee, but a polite request costs nothing to try.

To do this, open the Amazon help section on the website or app, start a chat or call with support, and explain that you would like the Special Offers turned off. Have your device serial number or order details ready. If the first representative cannot help, you can politely try again later, as outcomes vary between agents.

The official paid route is done through your Amazon account. Go to the "Content and Devices" section, find your Kindle under the Devices tab, and look for the Special Offers setting. From there you can select the option to unsubscribe, which applies a one-time fee to permanently remove the ads.

The exact fee depends on your model and region, and Amazon displays the current amount before you confirm. Once you pay and the change syncs, the Special Offers disappear from your lock screen and home screen, usually after the next time the device connects to Wi-Fi.

If you have not purchased yet, the simplest way to avoid ads entirely is to choose the "without Special Offers" version at checkout. Amazon lists both an ad-supported and an ad-free option for most models, and picking the ad-free one means you never deal with promotions at all.

This is worth considering if the price gap is small, because it saves you the hassle of removing ads later. Compare the two prices on the product page and decide whether the convenience of a clean lock screen is worth the difference for you.

Some online tips suggest unofficial workarounds, such as blocking Amazon servers on your home network or using third-party tools. These methods are unreliable, can break other features like syncing and cloud library access, and may violate Amazon's terms of service.

Putting the Kindle in airplane mode also does not truly remove the ads. It only prevents new promotions from downloading, so the last cached ad often keeps showing, and you lose access to buying books, syncing progress, and downloading updates in the process. Sticking to the official free request or paid unsubscribe route is the safer choice.