Aura Can the Aura 6" be rooted? And have you done it?

[Rizla]

Can it be rooted? I appreciate it's not an actual root but overwriting the OS completely. I've seen people state that in theory it can be done, but I haven't see anybody having done it. Have you done it?

I have previously asked this, but never got an adequate answer. I'm asking again because the Aura 6" is currently on sale for the long weekend. Thanks up-front.

[PeterT]

The challenge is that, as far as I know, the Aura does NOT contain an SD card, so this leads to issues of recoverability if anything goes wrong.

[Rizla]

So no one has ever actually rooted a 6" Aura?

[PeterT]

OK... Yes... folks have "rooted" the Kobo supplied O/S to obtain Telnet access, and installed 3rd party reading applications.

However, people have NOT replaced the O/S by debian, Android or other choice.

[Ken Maltby]

"Rooted" applies to Android devices. By extension you might stretch it to a Linux device that obscured the OS, like Android does.

No rooting is required for the Kobo e-ink devices. I know of no "3rd party reading application" that requires or uses "rooting".

Luck;
Ken

PS; https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=231681

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

"Rooted" applies to Android devices. By extension you might stretch it to a Linux device that obscured the OS, like Android does.

No rooting is required for the Kobo e-ink devices. I know of no "3rd party reading application" that requires or uses "rooting".

Luck;
Ken

PS; https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=231681

I've read that thread and there is very little reference to the Aura 6".

N.B. I did qualify my use of the word 'root' in my first post to mean the over-writing of the OS with Android.

Thanks for posting anyway.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by PeterT

OK... Yes... folks have "rooted" the Kobo supplied O/S to obtain Telnet access, and installed 3rd party reading applications.

However, people have NOT replaced the O/S by debian, Android or other choice.

So it's theoretically possible, but no one's done it, or it's not possible. Who knows? Anyway, thanks for posting. The only way I think I'd find out is by trying it. I'm surprised there aren't more concrete references to "rooting" (please see my note!) an Aura 6" on the net. Which makes me suspect no one's actually done it. Shame, because it's on sale and the light looks a lot better than the Glo's in the vids I've seen.

[TechniSol]

Well, since rooting actually means to gain root user level access and privileges for/to an Android device, and the Kobos are programmed in Linux(arguably kissing cousins, but hardly the same), that probably explains why there are no references to rooting them. Two things that are equal are not necessarily the same. If I'm not mistaken the Kobo readers are basically unprotected and you have "root level" access to begin with.

What you should be searching for is something along the lines of, "Has anyone ported a version of Android over to Kobo?", or something to that effect. A quick forum search will show they have for some models. Whether the Aura is one, I cannot say. Then you can start inquiring how to root that.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Rizla

So it's theoretically possible, but no one's done it, or it's not possible. Who knows? Anyway, thanks for posting. The only way I think I'd find out is by trying it. I'm surprised there aren't more concrete references to "rooting" (please see my note!) an Aura 6" on the net. Which makes me suspect no one's actually done it. Shame, because it's on sale and the light looks a lot better than the Glo's in the vids I've seen.

The major issue for me is likely that unlike the Aura, the other Kobo ereaders (most of the Touches, all the Glos and Aura HDs) have internal uSD cards that can be removed and replaced. When I tried an Android build on a Glo, I simply replaced the existing uSD card with the one that had the Android OS. The first attempt froze the Glo. If not for the removeable uSD card, I would have had a brick on my hands.

I still play with my Aura HD but now using a kludge to allowing booting from the external uSD card. Fun with my Aura HD but not with my wife's Aura -- if I bricked the Aura, it would be 1) moderately expensive and 2) likely result in me having to check for a froth of ground glass and a sediment of fishhooks in my drinks.

In theory, you could boot from the external uSD card -- that was how the original Kobo ereader did a firmware upgrade when you dragged it into the local Chapters/Indigo to recover from a failed upgrade -- and rewrite the internal storage if you have a backup but that only works if the internal storage is still able to boot. If not, you have the nasty issue of attempting to recover when a rogue process has corrupted the internal storage and your ereader is no longer bootable.

Regards,
David

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by TechniSol

Well, since rooting actually means to gain root user level access and privileges for/to an Android device, and the Kobos are programmed in Linux(arguably kissing cousins, but hardly the same), that probably explains why there are no references to rooting them. Two things that are equal are not necessarily the same. If I'm not mistaken the Kobo readers are basically unprotected and you have "root level" access to begin with.

What you should be searching for is something along the lines of, "Has anyone ported a version of Android over to Kobo?", or something to that effect. A quick forum search will show they have for some models. Whether the Aura is one, I cannot say. Then you can start inquiring how to root that.

Sigh. While I do appreciate you taking the time to answer, I have already covered this point in two previous posts.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by DNSB

The major issue for me is likely that unlike the Aura, the other Kobo ereaders (most of the Touches, all the Glos and Aura HDs) have internal uSD cards that can be removed and replaced. When I tried an Android build on a Glo, I simply replaced the existing uSD card with the one that had the Android OS. The first attempt froze the Glo. If not for the removeable uSD card, I would have had a brick on my hands.

I still play with my Aura HD but now using a kludge to allowing booting from the external uSD card. Fun with my Aura HD but not with my wife's Aura -- if I bricked the Aura, it would be 1) moderately expensive and 2) likely result in me having to check for a froth of ground glass and a sediment of fishhooks in my drinks.

In theory, you could boot from the external uSD card -- that was how the original Kobo ereader did a firmware upgrade when you dragged it into the local Chapters/Indigo to recover from a failed upgrade -- and rewrite the internal storage if you have a backup but that only works if the internal storage is still able to boot. If not, you have the nasty issue of attempting to recover when a rogue process has corrupted the internal storage and your ereader is no longer bootable.

Regards,
David

Many thanks for your informative posts. Yes, it sounds dangerous, and I have yet to find anyone who has actually done it. Shame, because the Aura 6" is a nice device.

[TechniSol]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Sigh. While I do appreciate you taking the time to answer, I have already covered this point in two previous posts.

SIGH. While I do appreciate the hubris of adopting an air of condescension from a position indicative of a lack of knowledge, or at least terminology, I fail to respect it... Continued good luck finding a moose by describing a pygmy marmoset. The point I was trying so simply to make was that you have to ask or search for what you actually want, close only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, RPGs, and tactical nuclear weapons...