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Kindles do a great job with their main function, but other than reading books you can't do anything else with them. That USB port on the bottom only supports charging and file transfer, but you can connect a few specialized accessories to your Kindle, especially if you have an older model.
1
USB dust plugs
A USB dust cap may seem like the most useless accessory, but it can come in handy if you're taking your Kindle to the beach or just looking for a cool keychain to decorate your Kindle e-reader with.
You can get Dust plugs with very cute cat designsbut they only work with new Kindles equipped with USB-C ports. Fortunately, there is also Dust plugs for micro USB ports if you have an older Kindle with a micro USB port.
2
Kindle audio adapter
Back in 2016, Amazon released Audio adapter for Kindle e-books this allowed owners to connect a pair of wired headphones to the Kindle and use VoiceView. This accessibility feature allows you to read e-books aloud and provides menu navigation using text-to-speech.
The need for a physical adapter ended with the release of the eighth generation of Bluetooth-equipped Kindle devices, so Amazon did not make those devices compatible with the adapter.
So, if you have a Kindle 8, Kindle Paperwhite 4, second-generation Kindle Oasis, or a newer Kindle, you can try connecting the Kindle audio adapter to your e-reader, but it won't work. The adapter also does not work with sixth-generation Kindles and older because they do not have enough RAM. VoiceView requires 512 MB of memory, but older Kindles only have 256 MB.
On the other hand, if you have a Kindle Paperwhite 3 or the original Oasis, all you have to do is take a Kindle audio adapter, plug it into your Kindle, and then plug a pair of headphones into the adapter. As soon as you plug in your headphones, your Kindle should start reading menus out loud and telling you how to use the VoiceView feature.
The adapter also works with Kindle Voyage, but you'll have to find and download the voice file needed for the VoiceView feature to work. Not sure which Kindle device you have? Eat easy way to determine this.
3
USB sound card
The Kindle Audio Adapter is essentially universal USB audio converteronly under the Amazon brand. In other words, you don't have to purchase an official Amazon adapter to use VoiceView on your Kindle Paperwhite 3, first-generation Kindle Oasis, or Kindle Voyage with a pair of wired headphones.
You can plug any standard USB sound card into the device, connect a pair of headphones to the adapter, and use VoiceView that way. You will also need USB-A to micro-USB adaptersince almost every USB audio adapter has a USB-A or USB-C connector.
The entire setup could cost you less than $10, as you can find a cheap USB audio adapter on Amazon for around $5—the same price you'll have to pay for a micro USB-to-USB-A adapter. This is if you already have a pair of wired headphones.
4
Computer mouse (view)
If you have a jailbroken Kindle e-reader that supports a physical audio adapter from Amazon (Paperwhite 3, first-gen Oasis, or Voyage) or you're ready jailbreakyou can connect a USB mouse to it and turn it into a remote page turner.
One resourceful user on the MobileRead forums compiled USB mouse modules and created an application that recognizes mouse clicks and turns them into page-turning actions on a connected Kindle e-reader.
They also included a guide explaining where to extract the files needed to get it working, with reports showing the app working on jailbroken Kindle Paperwhite 3, Kindle Voyage, and first generation Kindle Oasis devices.
The functionality of the mouse is quite limited. Clicking the left mouse button or turning the scroll wheel down takes you to the next page, and clicking the right mouse button or turning the scroll wheel up takes you to the previous page. But hey, it works!
Other forum users tried to get USB keyboards to work, but unfortunately they didn't make much progress.
The good news is that you don't need an old jailbroken Kindle and a wired mouse to turn pages remotely. There are a number of remote page turners that work with almost all Kindle models, as well as other e-readers, and you can get one for just $10.
These page turners do not plug into your Kindle's USB port. Instead, they come in two parts: the first one attaches to the Kindle and simulates finger touch, and the second serves as a remote control that controls the part that attaches to the Kindle.
5
You can connect your Kindle to your Android phone and use it as a flash drive
Last but not least, you can connect your Kindle to your Android phone using a USB cable and use your Kindle as the biggest USB drive ever. In this configuration, the Kindle acts as an accessory, but I wanted to include it because, frankly, it's pretty cool.
The catch is that not all Android phones support this. For example, my Galaxy S21 FE running Android 15 didn't recognize my Kindle Paperwhite 4 as a USB drive, but my old Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 running Android 9 did. I was able to transfer several files from Mi Mix 2 to Kindle without any problems.
However, in both cases the phone charged the Kindle. This way, even if you can't transfer files from your phone, you'll likely be able to charge it, which can come in handy in a pinch.
Kindle e-readers are great devices, but they are quite limited and have limited software. However, their USB ports may open them up a bit. You can use text-to-speech with wired headphones instead of Bluetooth on some models by connecting a USB sound card to your Kindle's USB port.
You can even use a wired mouse to turn pages if you have the right Kindle model and are willing to jailbreak it. But still, Kindle e-readers, as well as other e-readers like Kobo, come with fairly limited operating systems, so if you want to do more with your e-reader, you should purchase an Android e-reader instead.
