If you’ve ever wanted to customize your Kindle with a personalized screensaver, but found yourself frustrated with complicated guides or unsightly black borders, you’re in the right place! This step-by-step tutorial will walk you through a simple and effective method to set up a full-screen screensaver on your Kindle, with no borders—just the image you want, perfectly filling the screen.

Understanding Kindle Screensavers

Before diving into the steps, it’s important to know that changing the screensaver on a Kindle isn’t straightforward. Kindle devices don’t allow you to modify the screensaver directly unless you jailbreak the device—a risky and complex process. However, we’re going to bypass this limitation using a clever workaround that doesn’t require jailbreaking.

The trick lies in creating a special e-book in MOBI format, where the cover image is the screensaver you want. When you close this book on your Kindle, the cover image will display on the screen as a screensaver, just as you envisioned!

What You’ll Need

To proceed, you’ll need a computer or laptop and a free software called Calibre. Calibre is a versatile tool for managing e-books, and in this guide, we’ll use it to create an EPUB book, add your desired image as the cover, convert it to MOBI format, and transfer it to your Kindle.

Step 1: Prepare Your Image

First, choose the image you want to use as your screensaver. Ensure that the image is in JPG or PNG format and has a resolution of 1200×1600 pixels (3:4 ratio) to perfectly fit your Kindle screen. For stunning, royalty-free images, consider visiting Pixabay—they offer a wide selection of high-quality images.

Step 2: Create an Empty EPUB Book

Next, open Calibre and create an empty book:

1. Click on ‘Add books’ and select ‘Add empty book (book entry with no formats).’
2. Name your author—consider using a consistent name like “ScreenSaver” for all your screensaver books.
3. Enter a title that makes sense to you, and click OK.

Your empty EPUB book should now appear in Calibre’s list.

Step 3: Add Your Image as the Cover

With your empty book ready, it’s time to add the image:

1. Right-click on the book and select ‘Edit metadata individually.’
2. In the ‘Change Cover’ section, browse for your image and set it as the cover.
3. Go to ‘Trim borders’ and select ‘Trim borders manually.’
4. A prompt will appear showing the image resolution—click OK without making changes, and close the trim prompt.

This ensures your cover image will display full-screen on your Kindle.

Step 4: Send the Book to Your Kindle

Now, let’s transfer the book to your Kindle:

1. Connect your Kindle to your computer.
2. In Calibre, right-click the book and select ‘Send to device’ > ‘Send to main memory.’
3. Calibre will prompt you to convert the book to MOBI format—click YES.

Calibre will handle the conversion and transfer in the background.

Step 5: Final Check

After the transfer:

1. Disconnect your Kindle and check its library—you should see the screensaver book.
2. Open the book and press the Kindle’s power button to turn off the device.

Your chosen image should now appear as the screensaver. If not, ensure the ‘Show covers on lock screen’ option is enabled in your Kindle’s settings (Settings > Screen and Brightness).

20+ FREE SCREEN SAVERS

If you don’t want to spend time creating your own screen savers, I have created 20+ free screensavers for you to test. Simply click on the link below and download the MOBI/EPUB/JPEG files. You can copy/paste MOBI files into your Kindle book and test it right away. Enjoy!

CLICK TO ACCESS 20+ FREE SCREENSAVERS!

Extra Tips and Recommendations

Create a Kindle Collection

For better organization, create a Kindle collection and move all your screensaver books into it. This will make it easier to find and manage them.

Use Calibre for Best Results

To ensure that the cover displays properly as a screensaver and in your library, always use Calibre to send the MOBI file to your Kindle. If you copy and paste it manually, the cover might not show up in the library.

Consistent Author Naming

When creating multiple screensaver books, use the same author name. This keeps them organized in one folder on your Kindle, reducing clutter and simplifying management.

Download Free Screensaver Books

As a bonus, I’ve created 20 free screensaver books available for download here. These are provided in both EPUB and MOBI formats, giving you a variety of screensavers to choose from. For the best results, send the MOBI book to your Kindle using Calibre.

Conclusion

Customizing your Kindle’s screensaver is a fantastic way to add a personal touch to your device. With these simple steps, you can enjoy full-screen images as your Kindle screensaver without the hassle of black borders or complicated processes.

If you found this guide helpful, don’t forget to check out more Kindle tips and tricks, like our guide on 10 essential Kindle hacks you might not know about. Happy reading, and enjoy your personalized Kindle experience!