Key Takeaways
Only a few Kindle models support wireless charging. But with an inexpensive adapter, you can easily add wireless charging to any Kindle model to enjoy cable-free charging.
With the release of the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition in 2021, Amazon introduced the first Kindle with wireless charging. If you have any other Kindle, here's how to add wireless charging to it.
Why Would You Want Kindle Wireless Charging?
You can certainly get by without updating your Kindle to support wireless charging. Unlike phones, where you need to recharge the battery every day, eReader batteries last for days, even if you're a heavy reader (and weeks if you're not).
But wireless charging is pretty cool, and even if you aren't inclined to replace your Kindle with a Signature Edition at this moment, maybe you want the convenience of setting your Kindle down on a charging pad instead of fussing with the cable.
Speaking of the cable, Amazon has been very slow to update the Kindle lineup to use USB-C charging. As of early 2023, the only Kindle models that support USB-C are the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, the 11th generation 2021 Kindle Paperwhite, and the Kindle Scribe. All other Kindle models use a micro USB connection instead of USB-C. So if USB-C is a must-have feature for you, now you know which Kindle to buy.
Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
If you want all the updates and improvements of the new Paperwhite line, along with an auto-adjusting front light, 32 GB storage, and wireless charging right out of the box, this is the Kindle for you.
One of the biggest reasons manufacturers have moved away from the micro USB standard is because the port is fragile and a point of frequent failure. There's a good chance nearly everyone reading this has had a phone or tablet at some point that would only charge if you wiggled the cable a certain way, all thanks to a cheap micro USB port failing.
Adding wireless charging to your Kindle, especially if you have an older Kindle with a micro USB port, is an easy way to ensure you don't have to scrap the Kindle because the micro USB port gave up the ghost.
And, better yet, if you get in the habit of putting your Kindle on the charging pad when you're not reading, then you'll never find yourself in that unenviable position of having 3% battery life left when you're deeply absorbed in a book.
By the way, although we're talking about Kindles here---both because that's the eReader I'm actually updating, and because they're the most popular models around---this trick will work with any eReader. If you're in the #Nook4Life crowd, you can follow along without any problem.
Finally, while we think this hack is terribly clever, there is one group of people that will want to skip it. If you frequently tether your Kindle to your computer with a USB cable to sideload books using an app like Calibre, then blocking the port on your Kindle with a wireless charging adapter will create more headaches than it solves.
How to Add Wireless Charging to a Kindle
Wireless charging might seem like magic, but ultimately it's actually a simple little physics trick. When you place a device with wireless charging on a wireless charging pad, energy radiates up from the pad into the back of the device, where a tightly coiled copper wire absorbs it and converts it to electricity to charge the device's battery. It seems like magic, but it's a process called magnetic induction.
In fact, you can simply buy an inexpensive adapter to add wireless charging to your phone, Kindle, or any other device with a compatible port. The adapter is just the coil, covered in plastic so it looks like a little travel tag, and a very thin ribbon cable connected to a port adapter.
While you could buy one of the highly-rated adapters we recommend in our guide to adding wireless charging to your phone, there is one additional consideration when shopping for a wireless charging adapter for your Kindle. Despite how slender phones have become in recent years, Kindles are still much skinnier than smartphones.
Because of that, I shopped carefully for a wireless charging adapter with the absolute smallest port adapter I could find. I settled on the DiGiYes Universal Slim Wireless Charger Receiver, and you'll want to purchase that one or something similar should it vanish off Amazon. Finding a USB-C style wireless receiver with a slim profile is a lot trickier, but this particular model eschews the tear-drop shape common on most of them for a more compact oval.
DiGiYes Universal Ultra Slim Wireless Charger Receiver
When it comes to pairing a wireless charger receiver with your Kindle, you want one with an ultra slim connector like this model.
The photo below shows how petite the connector of the wireless adapter is compared to a regular micro USB cable. Most wireless adapters have a fairly small connector, but the one I bought is even half that size and scarcely wider than the micro USB plug itself.
To add the wireless charging adapter to your Kindle, simply remove your Kindle from its case and firmly insert the adapter into your Kindle's charging port.
The photo below shows that the adapter doesn't lie perfectly flat against the Kindle. The adapter we purchased had a tiny bit of adhesive on it, but we opted to leave the cover on the adhesive to avoid sticking anything to our Kindle.
When you put the case back on, it does a more than satisfactory job pressing the adapter down firmly against the back of the Kindle. Just put the cover on slowly to keep the adapter aligned in the center.
Once we had the cover back on, the next step was to test it. After all, a wireless charging hack that doesn't wirelessly charge isn't much of a time-saving hack.
Just pop your modified Kindle onto any handy wireless charging pad and check that it begins to charge. The charging pad seen in this tutorial is an Anker Wireless Charging Station for Apple Products. I love mine, but if you keep it on your nightstand as I do, I recommend putting some Light Dims over the insanely bright LED indicator lights. I've been using Light Dims for years and can't say enough good things about them.
When you put your Kindle on the charger, you'll want to reference the status light on the bottom of the Kindle to ensure you've lined things up correctly and it is actually charging.
Unlike other devices you wireless charge, such as your phone or smartwatch, the Kindle has zero haptic feedback, so you'll never get a subtle buzz indicating you've lined it up correctly.
Still, it's not much hassle to do so. In fact, you'll probably find it becomes a routine habit to pop your phone off the wireless charger every morning and drop the Kindle on to charge.