A newsletter or book did not come in
Newsletters arrive by email at your private address. Books are read on your device first. Each can be turned away for its own reasons.
Symptoms
- You forwarded a newsletter and it is not in your feed after a few minutes.
- Latest mail in Settings, Capture, Newsletter inbox shows an outcome other than Saved.
- You got a bounce message back.
- You picked a book file and Lazy Reader showed a message instead of the chapter list.
Checks
For a newsletter:
- Open Settings, Capture and scroll to Newsletter inbox.
- Check that Accept newsletters is on. When it is off, the line under it says "Off. Mail sent to your address is turned away."
- Compare Your address with the address you forward to. If you pressed Rotate address, the old address no longer works.
- Read the newest line in Latest mail. It shows the outcome, the subject and when it arrived.
For a book:
- Check the file type. Lazy Reader reads EPUB and PDF.
- Read the message on screen. It says why the book was refused.
Fixes for newsletters
| Latest mail says | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Already saved | This email was saved before. | Nothing. It is in your library. |
| No article text | The mail was too short to be an article, such as a sign-up confirmation. | Nothing. |
| Too big, or the sender got a bounce | The mail is over 5 MB. | Save the newsletter's web link instead. |
| Gmail confirmation | Gmail asked to confirm forwarding. | Use the code or Open Google's confirmation link shown above, then press I confirmed. |
| Substack notice | A Substack account notice, not an article. It is left out on purpose. | Nothing. |
| Something went wrong | Lazy Reader could not save it. | Forward it again, or save its web link. |
| Nothing new in the list | The mail never reached Lazy Reader. | Turn on Accept newsletters, and forward to the address shown under Your address. |
TIP
After Rotate address, update your Gmail forwarding address and your filters to the new address. Mail to the old one is turned away.
Fixes for books
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
| "This book is copy-protected (DRM). Lazy Reader can only read books without DRM." | Use a copy without DRM. |
| "This PDF is scanned images with no text. Lazy Reader cannot read it yet. Use a text PDF or an EPUB." | Find a text PDF or an EPUB of the same book. |
| "Lazy Reader reads EPUB and PDF. Convert this book to EPUB with Calibre first." | Convert the Kindle or MOBI file with Calibre, then pick the EPUB. |
| "This file is over 100 MB." | Pick a smaller file. |
| "This book has fewer than 1,000 words of text." | Pick a longer file. |
| A message about too many words or characters | The book is over the limits. See Limits and shortcuts. |
Click Pick an EPUB or a text PDF to try a different file.
Related pages: Forward newsletters, Add a book.