Story HD freeze - Remedy files somewhere?

[Wanner]

story hd freezes after firmware-update - mistake
I´ve made a mistake and put the hex-file from the folder Patch (EU) in my story hd. This was the wrong one, I guess. Now nothings working. Sliding the power-buttom also does not work. Can someone help plz?

Are there "remedy files" for the story hd like there are for download for the cover? (seen on the iriver-website).

[sv8910]

Hi Wanner,

I did the same mistake.

After 15 seconds of holding Power button it starts to boot but then hangs on startup screen and nothing happens.

Did you find something about those remedy files?

[Wanner]

I send it back. It seems, there is no way to fix it at home... I was told, iriver has to open it to fix it.

[wizz]

After installing the new patch 1.27 also mine freezed and was unable to start up. I have sent it back and after 4 days i received a brand new one in return. So good service after all.
But the way they publish the patches without decent release notes, good testing and bad download service is not professional.

[frostschutz]

Ignore the patches. Always use the full firmware files.

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by Wanner

I was told, iriver has to open it to fix it.

It would be very interesting to know what they do once opened. Then maybe people could do it at home (esp. after warranty runs out).

There are JTAG test points, but they're awfully small (<1mm) and close together. Can't imagine someone actually soldering these for a repair job, as it seems fiddly even for someone with soldering experience.

According to the manual of the reference board there is a boot mode that allows booting from SD card, and the Story HD has two boot mode points on the back, maybe that's a possibility, although I'm not sure what to do with them - short them, ground them, or what. Someone over at OpenInkpot is trying to find a serial interface but as far as I can tell that's even more complicated to get to.

The Wifi model listens on several ports (ftp, telnet, login, shell, ...) but that's no good either as Wifi comes up only after the device actually booted and you go browsing in the store or checking for updates. And it wouldn't help the Basic users either way. (Also the reader just drops those connections, not sure if useful for anything.)

If anyone knows more please post

[joehill]

Hello people,
I have the same problem than you. I'm from Spain and I have recently bougth an iriver Story HD Wi-Fi in the U.S. via eBay because this is the e-reader with the best screen resolution and it's not on sale in my country. But the device automatically found a firmware update that was no correct, and now my iriver is frozen exactly like you explain here. And I don't know what to do. Will iriver fix this problem with no charge? How much will it cost to me if warranty don't cover this issue?
It would be nice if were possible to install a new firmware from the SD card, but it is not possible, is it true?

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by joehill

But the device automatically found a firmware update that was no correct

Now, that really shouldn't happen. It's bad enough that it bricks if you just download the wrong one from the iriver site. But with the automatic update too? Seriously?

Originally Posted by joehill

Will iriver fix this problem with no charge?

They ought to. It's their responsibility. Making it not accept firmwares for other models would've been trivial (the firmware file is a password protected zip file already, so all they'd've had to do was give each model its own password), as would have been a remedy through sdcard method as the original cover story apparently had.

Originally Posted by joehill

It would be nice if were possible to install a new firmware from the SD card, but it is not possible, is it true?

If it is possible, nobody has yet figured out how to do it; The device does have a serial console hidden somewhere but no one has found it yet. Or if anyone has they haven't told the tale.

[joehill]

Hi frostschutz,
yes, it happened exactly as I say... I contacted iriver customer support and they said than as iriver story hd wi-fi is not sold in Europe, I cannot accept an automatic update... But late, I accepted to download it and I think that by mistake my iriver tried to install the iriver basic firmware version, instead of the wifi version one... And now my reader is frozen and as I am in Europe I don't know how to sent the reader to repair center... It's very bad...
Thank you for answering me

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by joehill

I contacted iriver customer support and they said than as iriver story hd wi-fi is not sold in Europe, I cannot accept an automatic update... But late, I accepted to download it and I think that by mistake my iriver tried to install the iriver basic firmware version, instead of the wifi version one... And now my reader is frozen and as I am in Europe I don't know how to sent the reader to repair center... It's very bad...

Ok, that does not make too much sense to me.

The Wifi version has an automatic firmware upgrade procedure. This should work anywhere regardless of your location (I'm in Germany and I can download the US OTA firmware files fine, it does not check the geolocation anywhere). The device should not brick as long as you let it upgrade itself. You shouldn't have to do anything special to get the latest US Wifi firmware.

If on the other hand you went to the iriver homepage and downloaded a firmware for the basic version and tried to install that on your wifi device, it will brick. That's a known issue - but I still see the responsibility with iriver here as their device should not accept firmwares for another model in the first place (or alternatively, it should not brick). Therefore I hope they will agree to repair/replace it for you.

There is a wifi version of the Story HD sold in Europe by the way (in Germany). I'm not sure if there is any store that ships it internationally though; it's bound to a german bookstore instead of google books in any case. Everything else works though (you can change the system language and all) so if you don't care about buying books it doesn't really matter that it's a german reader, except that y/z keys are switched for the german keyboard layout.

[joehill]

frostschutz, I don't know, but the case is that I uploaded my reader to the latest wifi firmware version successfully downloading it from iriver site, but then when I connected the wifi in the device, it found a new firmware version and when I tried to install, I frooze the reader. As I already had the latest wifi firmware installed (the 1.21), I think what my reader detected was the basic firmware (because the latest version for basic reader is 1.28, greater than 1.21), otherwise my reader didn't find a new version... And when I contacted to iriver customer service, they told me that because the wifi version is not sold in Spain, I shouldn't have accepted an automatic upgrade...

And the problem is that the iriver technical service only accept to repair in warranty readers sold in Europe, and also I have to pay the shipping to Germany, so I suppose that this will cost a lot... I'm very upset, because I bought the reader only one month ago, and i think that is failing due to an iriver error, not by my fault...

[frostschutz]

iriver just doesn't offer the latest firmware on their homepage for the wifi models.

1.21 is an old one, if you were using that then it should download 1.25 once you start the upgrade process. And it should not brick going from 1.21 wifi to 1.25. And your location still does not matter whatsoever, if they're really telling you that, they're trying to blame you for something that isn't your fault.

Basic firmwares are not offered to wifi devices so there is no way any reader could automatically download that by itself.

If it's an US device you'd have to ship it to the US I think, the Germany based service only is responsible for Basic / German Wifi models I believe.

Shipping costs are the main reason to not import a reader from overseas, it always sucks if you need service (even if the company is willing to provide that service). It sucks double if iriver is trying to pass the blame on to you...

[joehill]

OK, you must be right, I didn't know that 1.25 version exist, but this has more sense... I suppose this one was the firmware version that my reader detected, and if it's not in iriver homepage maybe it's because it's not a final version and due this my reader froze... In any case this is a big mistake for iriver, users don't have any fault...

The iriver story HD is no longer sold in Spain, and I love this reader for its great screen resolution (because I love to read manga), and German shops or sellers don't sell to Spain (or they were quite expensive), so I bought one to the U.S. But now I see that this was not a good idea...

I have contacted to iriver's distributor in Spain and they will pick up the reader with no charge for me, but I don't know if they will make the reparation by themselves or will send it to Germany. And I don't know either if they have accepted to do this reparation due it's a known issue, or simply they haven't noticed that the reader wasn't bought in Europe... I'll know soon, and wish I do not charge much in case they consider that warranty doesn't cover the reparation of my reader...

I will tell you the end of the story... Thank you very much for all information you have given me