Microsoft is Killing its eBooks Service on Windows 10
Microsoft is officially killing the eBook service you never knew it had. You won’t be able to access books purchased from Microsoft after July 31st, but the company is offering refunds.
Did you know Microsoft sold eBooks? Probably not. We did cover it when Microsoft first added eBooks to its Store a couple of years back. But if you’re looking to check it out now, forget it. Microsoft this week announced that it is no longer selling eBooks. If you bought some, the company will be sending out refunds as you will no longer be able to access the books after July 31st.
Starting April 2, 2019, the books category in Microsoft Store will be closing. Unfortunately, this means that starting July 2019 your eBooks will no longer be available to read, but you’ll get a full refund for all book purchases.
Microsoft Removing eBooks from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10
Part of a reason for canceling the book service is to streamline the focus of its Microsoft Store. When the company rolled out its eBook service, it didn’t have much of a strategy for competing with other services like Apple Books, Google Play Books, and the big one, Amazon. At the time of our initial look at the service, we mentioned that the services’ lack of options didn’t bode well for its future.
So, it’s not too surprising that Microsoft is ending its books section. No one was buying them as there was nowhere to read them – other than on Windows 10 in Edge. The service was never multiplatform. Microsoft never released a mobile app for iOS or Android so you could read while on-the-go. It had a smaller library than its competitors. And it lacked features like book preview, self-publishing tools, and a lending library.
Now, if you did purchase books from Microsoft and annotated or marked up and have saved notes, you will also receive an additional $25 credit to your Microsoft account. Also, you can continue to read your purchased books via the Edge browser until the service is shut down in July.
If you have bought books from Microsoft and want more information on when you will get refunds and other concerns, check out Microsoft’s FAQ page.
