Read AO3 offline, on any device
Planes, bad signal, a long AO3 outage: the answer to all three is the same. Put the fic on your device as an EPUB and it is yours to read anywhere, with no connection and no site that can go down.
Updated
Step one: get the file
Open any work on ao3.life and tap Download EPUB; no account needed. The full walkthrough, and AO3's own download options, are in Download AO3 fics as EPUB.
Step two: put it on your device
- iPhone, iPad, Mac
- Tap the downloaded EPUB in Files or Safari’s downloads and choose Books. It stays in your library, offline.
- Android
- Open the EPUB with Google Play Books (upload it from the app) or any EPUB reader such as KOReader or Moon+ Reader.
- Kindle
- Send the EPUB with Amazon’s Send to Kindle (app, web page or email). Amazon converts it and it syncs to your Kindle and the Kindle app.
- Kobo
- Connect the Kobo by USB and copy the EPUB onto it, or add it through Dropbox or Google Drive if your model supports it.
- KOReader, PocketBook, other e-ink
- Copy the EPUB into the device’s books folder. EPUB is their native format.
- Windows, Linux
- Calibre (free) opens and organises EPUBs, and can send them to most e-readers.
Kindle has accepted EPUB files through Send to Kindle since 2022. Older guides tell you to convert to MOBI first; you no longer need to. Amazon's Send to Kindle page.
Reading in the browser instead
If you'd rather not manage files, signed-in readers can read any work right on ao3.life: one chapter at a time, with text size, serif or sans, and light, sepia or dark pages. Your place in each work is saved on that device. This needs a connection; for real offline reading, use the EPUB.
Tips for long fics
- Big works (over 100k words) are still small files; download whole series parts ahead of a trip.
- Turn on dark or sepia mode in your reader for night reading.
- Many readers show “time left in chapter”. At 250 words a minute, a 100,000-word fic is about six and a half hours.
- Too tired to read? Listen instead.