If you’re an avid ebook reader, you really need to read this news report carefully. Microsoft is leaving the ebook business today and is shutting down its DRM servers.

What’s the reason behind this decision, you may ask? Well, it’s the lack of profit from ebooks.

One user opened a thread on Reddit about this and said the following:

Yet another sobering reminder that data bought/hoarded with DRM is only data rented. You can – and almost certainly will – lose access to it at any time.

So, this is a very serious issue for a lot of users, because they now risk losing access to their data.

Looking for the best apps for reading ebooks with ease? Here are our top picks.

Customers will get full refunds

The good news is that you’re going to get full refunds for the books you can no longer access.

Refund processing for eligible customers start rolling out automatically in early July 2019 to your original payment method. If your original payment method is no longer valid and on file with us, you will receive a credit back to your Microsoft account for use online in Microsoft Store.

There are third-party tools for ebooks, so not all hope is lost

Still, there is a flicker of hope with Calibre, as many users reported:

Calibre with the drm stripping addon is everyone’s friend. I had a ebook once that required Adobe digital editions. Immediately searched for how to strip the drm to use with Calibre. 3 programs, and a clean interface later, freedom.

Calibre is an ebook management software where you can organize ebooks into virtual libraries. Learn more about this platform and other similar programs from our list of ebook management tools.

Do you use DRM to organize your ebooks? Do let us know in the comment section below.

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