MobileRead Forums - Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 http://www.mobileread.com/forums Includes the PRS-500 and PRS-505 en Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:38:25 GMT vBulletin 30 http://www.mobileread.com/feeds/images/mr/misc/logo.gif MobileRead Forums - Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 http://www.mobileread.com/forums HUGE problems with USA 505 service http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73225&goto=newpost Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:41:39 GMT hi all,

just wanted to let prospective buyers know that while the 505 is a great model for reading, the amount of hassle involved in getting it serviced has been monumental!

for no obvious reason (no dropping, spilling etc; i kept it in a waterproof case) the screen on my reader started displaying incorrectly. i tried both a soft & hard reset and then when it made no difference, got in touch with sony who recommended that i post it to their repair centre in texas via registered & insured mail. i did so with the expected expenses & hassles at the post office and a couple of weeks later i received an email saying my unit had been received & to please phone to make a $30 payment for services. i did so 2 days after the email was sent and the operator took my details without any issue & made no mention of any problems.

last week (one month later) i received the unit unrepaired.

i have now made 5 phone calls to sony, none of which have come to any action. when i ask to be put through to a manager, i'm put on hold for periods up to 30 minutes (after which time i hung up). the first time i phoned, the guy said that the unit couldn't be repaired because i didn't include my warranty information (which i certainly did) and i must have given the wrong email address because they sent out an email asking for info & did not receive any response so returned the unit (this can't be right as i originally received emails from the company with no problems) . the second time i phoned, the lady said that the service center had inspected the unit & it was fine so it was returned unrepaired. the third time the guy said he would forward me details and then never did. the fourth time i was told i would have to send the unit back and make sure to provide accurate details. the fifth time i was put on hold for 30 min & have hung up.


sony refuse to give me any email contact details for customer support. on the third phonecall i was provided with a postal address in florida to which i could address my complaint.

i understood when i bought the thing that there would be some extra work if repairs were required but this is ridiculous. i'm hoping sony will just let me return it for a refund and i can go back to dead trees which bulky and time consuming as they are, don't ever cause this amount of trouble - the phone calls to america and the postage on the unit plus the cost of my time spent on hold add up to about $200 which is an awful lot of ebooks or paper books.

it's a massive shame that this has happened as i believe in ebooks and being environmentally responsible.

does anyone else have any advice about how to handle this? ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 mudfairy http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73225 <![CDATA[Battery won't charge]]> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73220&goto=newpost Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:48:42 GMT So, I've been trying to charge my Reader since yesterday. I plug it in (via usb port on my pc) which I have been doing for about a month now with no problems. The computer doesn't recognize anything and the red light is not coming on but I do have the "do not disconnect" screen. So I disconnect it and start over. This time the red light is on but with a blank screen. I let it sit connected in the first way (no red light, but the charging screen) all night. I woke to find it still has absolutely no battery power.
Any suggestions?? ]]> Reader Troubleshooting jenieliser http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73220 View pages with no margins on PRS 505 for PDFs http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73171&goto=newpost Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:23:33 GMT This is something I would like to see on my PRS-505, all the PDFs that I load (converted and native) have some margins, which makes the page smaller on an already small screen. I would like to know if there is any thing I could do to cut the margins by default so that the page is more readable without using the zoom functionality without using the external softwares. The problem with zoom functionality is that it does not show images properly formatted and it becomes less readable. This is something I would like to see on my PRS-505, all the PDFs that I load (converted and native) have some margins, which makes the page smaller on an already small screen.

I would like to know if there is any thing I could do to cut the margins by default so that the page is more readable without using the zoom functionality without using the external softwares.

The problem with zoom functionality is that it does not show images properly formatted and it becomes less readable. ]]> Reader PRS-505 Dev Corner craj999 http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73171 Help Me Please- 505 wont update firmware http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73117&goto=newpost Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:49:53 GMT Hello...while I have been lurking around here for quite some time this is my first post. I finally got up the courage to try the PRScustumizer after reading the entire thread on it and thinking I would ok.

I had firmware version 1.1.01.25200. which was not supported so I did option 7 to try and reload the firmware from sony to 1.1.00.18040. I followed all of the instructions on sony's site. My reader was fully charged. But now I have been stuck on "installing new software" for around 3 hours.


What do I do now? Shouldnt have messed around with it since I have never had any problems until now. And I was in the middle of a REALLY good book too.

thanks in advance for any help!!
K. ]]> Reader Troubleshooting kimah http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73117 New computer, have I got this right? - Please Help http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73091&goto=newpost Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:09:18 GMT I am just about to get a new laptop. This runs Windows 7 64 bit. My 505 is currently only authorised on my current P.C. and I want to eventualy get rid of this (the P.C. not the 505).

Is it just a matter of installing the 505 on my new laptop, downloading ADE and as long as I remember my login details I can carry on as before? Please bear in mind that I am in the U.K.

Also, do I have to bother with the Sony Library? I currently use Calibre to sort what is on my reader.

If it's more complicated than this could someone please point me to a previous post which gives an idiots guide. I can assure you that I need it.

Thanks in advance to all you helpful posters out there ]]> Reader Troubleshooting DerbyBoy http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73091 <![CDATA[Barnes & Noble on the Sony 505]]> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73086&goto=newpost Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:20:24 GMT I've tried downloading B&N eBooks but they shoqw up as .pdb format which does not import to my Sony eBook Library. Is there any way to download them in ePub format? ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 cassidym http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73086 Sony 505, doesnt turn off, doesnt charge ,,help http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72992&goto=newpost Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:49:51 GMT i have had my Sony 505 for about 1and half year and i love it.. but now i need lots of help. all was ok untill i travelled with it ( 9 hrs flight) after landing i tried to turn it on and it wont..after charging it on the computer it would turn off immediatly after. do this kind of things get virussss ............ when i got back home, i bought a new battery,( not original, didnt know where to get the original - i live in Germany). my current battery, wont turn off, even after a whole night of charging it directly, it goes of within an hour... am so confused...i can only read when its charging... Germany -sony customer service told me its not worthy to send it for repair ..imagine imagine they broke my heart ((or is it tooo old?? help i have had my Sony 505 for about 1and half year and i love it..

but now i need lots of help.

all was ok untill i travelled with it ( 9 hrs flight) after landing i tried to turn it on and it wont..after charging it on the computer it would turn off immediatly after. do this kind of things get virussss ............

when i got back home, i bought a new battery,( not original, didnt know where to get the original - i live in Germany).

my current battery, wont turn off, even after a whole night of charging it directly, it goes of within an hour...

am so confused...i can only read when its charging...
Germany -sony customer service told me its not worthy to send it for repair ..imagine imagine they broke my heart ((or is it tooo old??

help ]]> Reader Troubleshooting kimshy http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72992 PRS 505 Battery Change http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72968&goto=newpost Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:02:11 GMT Hi all, before finding this site I took my 505 apart as t was frozen. I figured if I removed the battery for a few minutes it would reset itself - WRONG. It sat for two days with the battery disconnected and displaying the last page the for the whole duration.

Eventually I came across this site and the info here helped me get it going again, I'm very grateful!

While looking through the site I found a link to the Sony manual and though it is very useful, it's not very user friendly, so I wrote a supplement to it which I hope will help anyone thinking of replacing the battery themselves.

It's not a difficult job but It does require some dexterity and patience, so read the WHOLE document before deciding whether to tackle it yourself!

The attached document is in Microsoft Word format.

Bernie
Attached Files
File Type: doc Sony PRS505 battery change.doc (40.0 KB)
]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 two wheels http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72968 File Association and Error message 0 http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72961&goto=newpost Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:09:16 GMT Hi, This is my first post. It seems like I have had all the problems listed on the board. Now I have one I haven't seen addressed here. This is what happened. Everything was working ! Then when I opened the Reader Library I got this message: File Association: Some file types associated with EPUB files are not associated with Reader Library. Do you want to associate them now? yes or no. I didn't know what this was so I said No and continued to download a new book. When I tried to add it got this message Error: 0
It has been this way for several days. I can't download books from my account on Sony Library or from other book files on my computer. I was able to download RTF last time I checked. Sony support didn't even tell me what the error message means! Just referred me to web. troubleshooting. Anyone got any ideas ? I have the 505 using vista home premium 32 bit ]]> Reader Troubleshooting lakewood http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72961 Battery dying http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72955&goto=newpost Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:08:17 GMT I made a big mistake buying the prs-505 from ebay - secondhand. The auction said it was as new, and I assumed (stupid me) it hadn't been used much.Since I bought it,I haven't used it all that much, instead I'd read a bit and recharge. Now I see the battery won't last five days. I can get through less than 1k of pages. :( I feel really dissapointed and ripped off. I should have bought a new one, the difference was not that great. Is there any way to replace the battery on these things?

I really am hating these Li batteries - just recently my laptopbattery died after just 15months use and they say it's normal.pfft. ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 ijrobertson http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72955 Reuse a cracked screen.. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72899&goto=newpost Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:05:31 GMT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9TQWAaKPMM

needless to say, this makes broken/cracked screens useful for something other than a paperweight. Thanks guys :)

this only works on some of the earlier screens such as the '500 and '505 but if you are careful most of the screen area can be salvaged.

shame the backplane is glued so well on the newer ones however.

i also discovered that heating up "dead" pieces recovers them to a working state so as long as the elastomer (tan brown substance) is intact and unpeeled it works fine
the front contact is easy, just scrape off elastomer and e-ink and confirm functionality with a 9v as shown.

as for connecting to it, the least painful option is to harvest elastomeric carbon loaded contacts from defunct watches or calculators (I scavenged the best ones from live test LCD poundland screwdrivers) and make a contact array on a scrap of copper clad PCB.
Once all working seal with epoxy etc (preferably something with no water content) and voila! your very own recycled e-ink display.

i toyed with the idea of using the backplane from a spare printer's LCD panel as this already has a suitable contact array but even if this worked the result would be a load of vertical lines as it has half the required contacts.



regards, -A ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 conundrum http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72899 Reader has frozen after adding SDHC card with music on!!! http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72797&goto=newpost Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:49:43 GMT Well I got a 4GB SDHC card for my PRS 505 today so I have loaded it up with about 300 songs for my reader. I put the card in and it loaded all the songs and showed them in the Audio bit. I then clicked on Audio and it has the first 10 songs but now the reader has frozen, I can't even turn it off!!! Should I just leave it?? If it won't turn off what do i do? ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 AFK_Matrix http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72797 help newbie prs-505 please http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72702&goto=newpost Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:09:54 GMT i need :help:

i got a prs-505 (slightly used). my problem is that i can't get my device to be authorised by adobe digital editions. my pc (windows xp proffessional) is authorized but the device cannot be.

when trying to transfer bought ebook (from whsmith) to device, error message: no permission to copy here.

when trying to authorize device to pc, error message:e_auth_bad_device_key and e_act_too_many_activations

does this mean that the device was activated to another pc already and needs to be deactivated? how do i fix this problem, please someone explain in simple terms, so much much want to use my reader, have it for 3 months and nothing:help:

does resetting the reader help?

also can i just use adobe to transfer and not sony library, but must have it on the pc?:help::help::help: ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 zee http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72702 Is the 505 for me? http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72644&goto=newpost Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:44:35 GMT I really like what I've read about the 505 and I'm trying to convince my wife that I need one for school, several of our textbooks came out in PDF form. But I'd like to have more than that to justify the purchase for myself. Being a student I was wondering if the 505 would let me take notes, and/or edit the PDF's that I've viewing? Also, I know that I could borrow books from the library to read on it, but is it possible on the 505 (or any reader for that matter) to read newspapers, periodicals, etc? Are these things available for e-readers? Complete novice here, appreciate any and all advice. TIA! ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 jrl007 http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72644 How many books on the the upgraded 500? http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72524&goto=newpost Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:20:57 GMT Just got my upgraded 500 back from sony. Can anyone tell me how many books the unit will hold, and how many I can load on a 2 gig SD card. I don't want to overload it. Thanks ]]> Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505 ginalola http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72524