.MOBI file not readying properly in Calibre (prior to conversion)

Saylan · 02-01-2021, 01:31 PM

Hi,

I tried searching and I'm sorry if I've missed a spot for this but I have a .MOBI file (from my Kindle account directly) that will import into Calibre but when viewed is simply gibberish. This is prior to any conversion attempts and the file doesn't give any errors when importing so I can't even point to that as a way to figure out what is wrong.

In attempting to do free online conversions to .AZW3, I've noticed some websites read the file as MOBI and others read it as AZW4 (I'm new to all of this so maybe those are the same thing and I'm just really dumb, sorry!).

Obviously if the initial input is gibberish, any conversions are as well, but when I search for issues with MOBI importing, the results are almost about post-conversion issues rather than initial ones or are due to a pirated book, and this one came directly from Amazon.

I also pulled up the file in a text editor and the first like does include "BOOKMOBI" in the beginning (another suggestion I found on the forums).

The book reads fine on the Kindle for PC app, and I have tried removing the book and re-downloading it from Kindle as well.

Maybe I'm missing something to try, which is why I came here. Sorry if I'm just dumb and missing the obvious!

Thanks,

Saylan

jhowell · 02-01-2021, 06:50 PM

If the book is in fact a .azw4 file then it is actually a PDF inside a MOBI wrapper. If that is the case then the kindleunpack plugin can be used the extract the embedded PDF file.

Saylan · 02-01-2021, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhowell

If the book is in fact a .azw4 file then it is actually a PDF inside a MOBI wrapper. If that is the case then the kindleunpack plugin can be used the extract the embedded PDF file.

This worked perfectly! Thank you so much for your help!

02-01-2021, 01:31 PM	#1
Saylan Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2021 Device: PC/Android PDF Reader	.MOBI file not readying properly in Calibre (prior to conversion) Hi, I tried searching and I'm sorry if I've missed a spot for this but I have a .MOBI file (from my Kindle account directly) that will import into Calibre but when viewed is simply gibberish. This is prior to any conversion attempts and the file doesn't give any errors when importing so I can't even point to that as a way to figure out what is wrong. In attempting to do free online conversions to .AZW3, I've noticed some websites read the file as MOBI and others read it as AZW4 (I'm new to all of this so maybe those are the same thing and I'm just really dumb, sorry!). Obviously if the initial input is gibberish, any conversions are as well, but when I search for issues with MOBI importing, the results are almost about post-conversion issues rather than initial ones or are due to a pirated book, and this one came directly from Amazon. I also pulled up the file in a text editor and the first like does include "BOOKMOBI" in the beginning (another suggestion I found on the forums). The book reads fine on the Kindle for PC app, and I have tried removing the book and re-downloading it from Kindle as well. Maybe I'm missing something to try, which is why I came here. Sorry if I'm just dumb and missing the obvious! Thanks, Saylan

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02-01-2021, 06:50 PM	#2
jhowell Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,560 Karma: 84810789 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Tampa Bay, Florida Device: Kindles	If the book is in fact a .azw4 file then it is actually a PDF inside a MOBI wrapper. If that is the case then the kindleunpack plugin can be used the extract the embedded PDF file.