Microsoft is shutting down Books in Microsoft Store

Martin Brinkmann
Apr 2, 2019
Microsoft
|
20

Microsoft revealed today on a new support page that it is closing the books category in Microsoft Store effective immediately.

Microsoft Store customers cannot buy new ebooks anymore from today on, the category is no longer listed in the Store.

Customers who have bought ebooks in the Microsoft Store will lose access to these books starting July 2019. Microsoft will give customers a full refund for any purchased books provided that the original payment method is still valid. Customer whose payment method is no longer valid and customers who paid using gift cards or Store credit receive Microsoft Store credit instead.

microsoft store ebooks

Commercial and free ebooks will be removed starting July 2019. Customers can read the books and access notes until July 2019. Customers who added notes to books will receive an extra $25 credit to their Microsoft Account.

Microsoft made Microsoft Edge the default ebook reader on Windows 10 when it launched the Creators Update back in 2017. Books in Microsoft Edge will be removed at the same time.

Microsoft did not roll out the book category of the Microsoft Store to regions outside the United States which suggests that the closure affects a limited number of users.

The book category is not the first that Microsoft removed from Store; the company discontinued Groove Music and Music Pass in 2017 and retired Groove Music for iOS and Android in 2018.

Closing Words

Microsoft customers who purchased books or downloaded free books have until July 2019 to read them. Notes will be lost when Microsoft removes access and the company has not revealed any plans to offer export options.

The discontinuation demonstrates something (again) that I have been preaching for years: online purchases may be convenient but you may lose access to digital products at any time. It is not only small companies that put your purchases at risk. If one of the world's most successful companies cannot make it, it could be any company that does so.

Microsoft refunding purchases is the only right way to deal with the closure. While that won't help customers who invested time and money in the Store much, it is better than just closing it down without proper compensation.

For Microsoft, it is the second Store consumer service that it is shutting down. Customers who use the Store to purchase digital games, apps, or media may wonder whether it is such a good idea to make purchases in the Store.

Microsoft seems to be giving up on many consumer products, Windows Phone is another example, and one has to wonder how things will look in a year or two from now.

It makes sense, to a degree at least, to drop services and products that are not lucrative but customers who used these products will feel burned, even if they receive compensation.

Now You: What is your take on Microsoft's current strategy? (via Dr. Windows / Thurott)

Summary
Microsoft is shutting down Books in Microsoft Store
Article Name
Microsoft is shutting down Books in Microsoft Store
Description
Microsoft revealed today on a new support page that it is closing the books category in Microsoft Store effective immediately.
Author
Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
Logo
Advertisement

Tutorials & Tips


Previous Post: «
Next Post: «

Comments

  1. jern said on April 3, 2019 at 4:22 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft’s financial statement for FY19Q2 shows a revenue increase in nearly every segment of its business – except Windows OEM revenue (-5%).

    Enterprise makes MS lots of money – the great unwashed masses (i.e. us) do not. I expect to see this divestment trend continue.

    Satya Nadella…
    “Our strong commercial cloud results reflect our deep and growing partnerships with leading companies in every industry including retail, financial services, and healthcare,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “We are delivering differentiated value across the cloud and edge as we work to earn customer trust every day.”

    We are just becoming an inconvenience to Microsoft.

    See…
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/earnings/FY-2019-Q2/press-release-webcast

  2. Robert said on April 3, 2019 at 2:28 pm
    Reply

    This is why copyright DRM doesn’t work. Those books should be offered to customers to download at all times from the cloud if they purchased them. I’d rather get the DRM free ones that can be used in third party readers because I have control over how long I want to keep them or delete them. NOT MICROSOFT.

    1. Clairvaux said on April 3, 2019 at 2:40 pm
      Reply

      “Those books should be offered to customers to download at all times from the cloud if they purchased them.”

      Just the way software is. There’s a lot of intellectual work in a piece of software (arguably much more than in a book), often it’s more expensive, and it’s highly susceptible to pirating, just the way ebooks are. So why should it be different with books ?

      That’s the reason I will never buy a Kindle. An ebook reader, possibly, but not a Kindle.

  3. noleft said on April 3, 2019 at 12:44 pm
    Reply

    These companies fool customers. DRM products are not products but services. The ownership is not transfered to the customer after the deal is done.

  4. ddk said on April 3, 2019 at 4:44 am
    Reply

    Awful…Linux will never catch up to Windows when it comes to stability.
    So much misinformation there.

    We have the MS Store on Win 8 but can’t use it as I have a local account so basically worthless.

    1. Ascrod said on April 3, 2019 at 3:51 pm
      Reply

      > Linux will never catch up to Windows when it comes to stability.

      Have you used Linux lately? Or Windows 10 for that matter?

    2. KKnD said on April 3, 2019 at 11:01 am
      Reply

      Yeah, you’re full of it. Linux is stable as much as Windows. MS store can be used on Win 8.

      Your comment is basically worthless.

  5. Supergirl said on April 3, 2019 at 4:18 am
    Reply

    @ FAKE —> Supergirl said on April 3, 2019 at 12:53 am

    Either that or I have multiple personalities…….

    I so totally didnt write whats above this.

    I think Ill stop using this handle as this mailbox is full now anyways. Or do i just like to lie about what i type on this website.

    After 9-11 I looked in on bomb making & jihadi websites…..Just out of curiosity. You know, know thine enemy.

    $1000 worth of laptops etc destroyed by a Microsoft supplied UEFI virus & 2 years{2013&14} of frustration to make it all the way to Linux heaven. I’m so incompetent, because, I’ve have a UEFI Win8 comp with a nasty UEFI virus….I blame Microsoft BIOS was pretty safe until They got involved. I can’t blame myself for being incompetent. And not understand how to update a BIOS without getting a UEFI virus.

    That makes sense don’t you think….?!?!?!?

    Youse guys, and me are SOoo Totally Pwned !!!!

    Im sorry for laffin so hard….

    “All your Computers are belong to us!!

  6. Chris said on April 3, 2019 at 3:52 am
    Reply

    Why are many of the most vocal gHacks visitors such a miserable lot?

    This is digital book burning? Really? C’mon.

    Enjoy life and try not to be miserable. Happiness is often a choice.

  7. Supergirl said on April 3, 2019 at 12:53 am
    Reply

    Clown Car Microsoft Strikes Yet AGAIN!!
    Youse guys,are SOoo Totally Pwned !!!!
    “All your Computers are belong to us!”
    Maybe you should all buy Linux from the Micro$oft store..LoL
    Buy now! before its Too Late!!!
    Yadda,Yadda,Yadda….

    Martin Wrote:
    “Microsoft refunding purchases is the only right way to deal with the closure.”

    I disagree… they should continue to Honor their agreement.
    Its not like they cant afford it.
    Its what.. a $1/year worth of webspace…

    Linux would Never do this..
    Linux Cannot do this… unless youre dumb enough to buy it.

    Next time some pusbag gripes about ‘Piracy’ please remind them of T H I S !!!!!!

    Microsoft will NEVER EVER use me as their diaper again..

  8. Graham said on April 3, 2019 at 12:50 am
    Reply

    They had a books category?

  9. ULBoom said on April 3, 2019 at 12:05 am
    Reply

    NO! Candy Crush Friends Race to the Finish is my favorite!
    That’s a book?

    If this represents an effort to remove all the junkware included with windows and they continue until the OS is all that remains, Halleluia!

    Looks like, with edge no longer serving as a reader, it will be relegated to background work with the Chromedgium browser being chrome, not a meld of the two. One less opportunity for disfunctional updates.

  10. VioletMoon said on April 2, 2019 at 10:31 pm
    Reply

    No money in books. Better to enter the global arms dealership; that being said, MS appears to be pursuing AWS:

    “However, in its recent Q4 FY 2018 earnings report Microsoft reported that revenue generated from Azure grew at 89% compared to Q1 FY 2017, which follows a similar growth (97%) they reported in their Q4 FY 2017 earnings report, marking a growth rate that’s nearly double what AWS achieved.”

    It doesn’t make business sense to offer commodities with thinning profits.

  11. New Tobin Paradigm said on April 2, 2019 at 9:06 pm
    Reply

    So Microsoft is effectively requiring your digital books to be burned. Nice!

  12. billie joe bob said on April 2, 2019 at 8:58 pm
    Reply

    makes sense. it’s 2019. books are completely useless…

  13. Anonymous said on April 2, 2019 at 8:43 pm
    Reply

    “Microsoft customers who purchased books or downloaded free books have until July 2019 to read them. Notes will be lost when Microsoft removes access and the company has not revealed any plans to offer export options.”

    A good reminder to never purchase anything with DRM. It seems that illegal file sharing doesn’t have this problem. Once yours, forever yours.

  14. Clairvaux said on April 2, 2019 at 8:36 pm
    Reply

    The lesson is clear here : only buy DRM-free ebooks, or ebooks you can remove the DRM from. Convert them to some universal format that can be read by any open-source program.

    “Customers who added notes to books will receive an extra $25 credit to their Microsoft Account.”

    Extreme stupidity and contempt. Money cannot replace lost notes and work.

  15. Barry said on April 2, 2019 at 8:24 pm
    Reply

    That is why Microsoft is called Microshaft. It’s better to have books as printed media, rather than digital media. What happens when you get locked out of kindle and kobo account? you lose access to the books you’ve purchased, Email hacked and unable to access it, or email provider goes out of business. Not to mention that Amazon has a habit of Digital book burning. Favourite books by favourite authors banned.

    Back to the topic. My opinion. Microsoft is trying other things, at the same time discontinuing other things. “Okay this shit is not working out for us. Let’s try another thing.”

  16. peerer said on April 2, 2019 at 7:58 pm
    Reply

    MS IS BANNING BOOKS

    1. Marti Martz said on April 3, 2019 at 3:28 pm
      Reply

      “Digital Book Burning” \*sigh\*

Leave a Reply

Check the box to consent to your data being stored in line with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

We love comments and welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion. Rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please stay on-topic.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately after you post it.