Kobo not charging?

gonatgo · 04-29-2011, 11:32 AM

Hello
I got a Kobo on April 16 for my birthday. I first charged it for over three hours, and the light never turned blue. I just assumed there was something wrong with the lights. I used it a few times, then it needed to be charged. So I left it charging overnight, again light never turned blue. I didn't use it for a few days and the next time i picked it up it said I needed to charge the battery. Plugged it into my computer and it froze at the start up page. I reset it, but it kept freezing. So on Tuesday I took it back to wear I bought it and got a new one. I just opened my new one last night and decided to charge it right away. Plugged it in and left it charging over night. I woke up this morning and the light is still red and the battery indicator is still at half way. Its now been plugged in for almost 12 hours! Now I'm thinking it's not the Kobo that's not working, it's me or my computer. What would prevent my Kobo from charging? Oh, I also have it on the "manage library" option to charge it.

siraks · 04-29-2011, 11:38 AM

is your computer recognizing the kobo. does it show up in my computer?
if it does then it should charge fine. if you're not seeing the kobo then maybe you're missing a driver and that's where your problem is.

if you have an ipod charger or charger that plugs into the wall, i use my android charger. just plug the usb into that and use the wall charger to see if there's a difference. try eliminating charging spots to see where the problem is.

as for charging out of the box, that's one thing i never did. used straight out of the box for almost a month.

ltr · 04-29-2011, 11:40 AM

Do you perhaps have your computer going to sleep and the USB port isn't active anymore?

G0AT · 04-29-2011, 11:58 AM

Is it possible that the USB port you are using is unpowered? I haven't seen one in a long time, but some USB ports are unable to supply power to the plugged device. If that's the case, you would still be able to mount the Kobo on the computer and transfer books, but the battery would not be charging.

Try charging using another computer, or a cable box, or a PS3/XBOX360. Alternatively, as suggested above, use a USB/AC power converter, which comes with blackberry's, kindles, and other devices. You can buy one for $5-10 at a computer store.

Asawi · 04-29-2011, 12:05 PM

I would suggest you try and use an AC charger, or one of those AC USB adapters. My laptop was not keen on charging the Kobo I had here. It took forever if it worked at all. Plugged the lead into one of those AC/USB thingys and it was charged it a couple of hours! It was like the USB port only worked "on demand", and when just leaving the Kobo idle there was no "demand". Or something like that...

gonatgo · 04-29-2011, 12:11 PM

It is showing up under "my computer". I'm thinking maybe it had to do with my computer going to sleep? The screen saver comes on after 10 minutes so I disabled it to see if that works. I'm not sure if the USB port has trouble charging as I never charge anything else via USB ports. I think I'll try a blackberry charging if nothing happens before I go to work.
When it's plugged in tho and I had it on the 'keep reading' mode the battery icon did show that it was charging.
The only reason I charged right out of the box was to see if it's something wrong with my computer, or the Kobo.

IcecreamLtDan · 04-29-2011, 09:16 PM

The USB port shutting down is a distinct possibility, my laptop did that until I changed the power settings in Windows. You can go into the power settings in windows and click on the plan your computer is using, once there you can click on the advanced settings and change how your USB ports act when the computer goes to sleep. Sorry I can't be anymore descriptive than that, but what setting it is or where it is at depends on what version of windows you're running and I think whether it's a laptop or desktop is also different. If you're computer literate at all though it shouldn't be hard to figure out.

gonatgo · 04-30-2011, 02:18 PM

I tried using the USB cable and an ac adaptor to charge my kobo and it worked! The light changed colour and the battery charged. So I'm thinking it's something to do with my laptop. Thank you to whoever suggested using an ac adaptor! I like this way of charging much better than charging with my laptop. I have a feeling it's something to do with the settings on my laptop, it's all set to use energy efficient settings so that must be why it soundly charge

Asawi · 04-30-2011, 02:26 PM

I'm glad you got it working!
I also appreciated hearing I'm not the only one having trouble charging from the computer.

HarleyB · 04-30-2011, 08:33 PM

A few months ago I got a new computer and the energy saving settings were different. It took me ages to work out why my Kobo would charge sometimes (when I was using the computer) and not others (when it went to sleep!)
I was almost ready to take my computer back and complain about the "faulty" USB port when I worked it out.

DaleDe · 04-30-2011, 09:38 PM

Wall chargers are so cheap these days and they will charge faster. It is the best way to go. I only use a pc to charge in an emergency or my accident while I happen to have the unit cabled to my computer.

Dale

Gerggory · 04-09-2012, 11:14 AM

Our Kobo Touch Ereader wasnt charging. I pulled the back panel off and removed the battery, then plugged the Reader in and replaced the battery. Poof it came back to life.

Hope this helps.

RareBird · 04-09-2012, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerggory

Our Kobo Touch Ereader wasnt charging. I pulled the back panel off and removed the battery, then plugged the Reader in and replaced the battery. Poof it came back to life.

Hope this helps.

I thought the battery wasn't removable. How did you do it?

clsdclsd · 04-09-2012, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RareBird

I thought the battery wasn't removable. How did you do it?

Not removable (glued on) but the cable detachable.
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/wp...uch-inside.png

RareBird · 04-09-2012, 06:22 PM

Good to know. I thought I was missing something.

04-29-2011, 11:32 AM	#1
gonatgo Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Kobo	Kobo not charging? Hello I got a Kobo on April 16 for my birthday. I first charged it for over three hours, and the light never turned blue. I just assumed there was something wrong with the lights. I used it a few times, then it needed to be charged. So I left it charging overnight, again light never turned blue. I didn't use it for a few days and the next time i picked it up it said I needed to charge the battery. Plugged it into my computer and it froze at the start up page. I reset it, but it kept freezing. So on Tuesday I took it back to wear I bought it and got a new one. I just opened my new one last night and decided to charge it right away. Plugged it in and left it charging over night. I woke up this morning and the light is still red and the battery indicator is still at half way. Its now been plugged in for almost 12 hours! Now I'm thinking it's not the Kobo that's not working, it's me or my computer. What would prevent my Kobo from charging? Oh, I also have it on the "manage library" option to charge it.

04-09-2012, 11:14 AM	#12
Gerggory Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: kob touch	Fixed Kobo wont Charge. Our Kobo Touch Ereader wasnt charging. I pulled the back panel off and removed the battery, then plugged the Reader in and replaced the battery. Poof it came back to life. Hope this helps.

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04-29-2011, 11:38 AM	#2
siraks use the force Posts: 575 Karma: 564666 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Ontario Device: Kobo Touch, Lenovo K1	is your computer recognizing the kobo. does it show up in my computer? if it does then it should charge fine. if you're not seeing the kobo then maybe you're missing a driver and that's where your problem is. if you have an ipod charger or charger that plugs into the wall, i use my android charger. just plug the usb into that and use the wall charger to see if there's a difference. try eliminating charging spots to see where the problem is. as for charging out of the box, that's one thing i never did. used straight out of the box for almost a month.

04-29-2011, 11:40 AM	#3
ltr Addict Posts: 399 Karma: 104628 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kindle PW-2	Do you perhaps have your computer going to sleep and the USB port isn't active anymore?

04-29-2011, 11:58 AM	#4
G0AT Addict Posts: 201 Karma: 1937857 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Ottawa Device: Kobo	Is it possible that the USB port you are using is unpowered? I haven't seen one in a long time, but some USB ports are unable to supply power to the plugged device. If that's the case, you would still be able to mount the Kobo on the computer and transfer books, but the battery would not be charging. Try charging using another computer, or a cable box, or a PS3/XBOX360. Alternatively, as suggested above, use a USB/AC power converter, which comes with blackberry's, kindles, and other devices. You can buy one for $5-10 at a computer store.

04-29-2011, 12:05 PM	#5
Asawi Gadgetoholic Posts: 1,462 Karma: 2731820 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Libra2, Tolino Vision 6	I would suggest you try and use an AC charger, or one of those AC USB adapters. My laptop was not keen on charging the Kobo I had here. It took forever if it worked at all. Plugged the lead into one of those AC/USB thingys and it was charged it a couple of hours! It was like the USB port only worked "on demand", and when just leaving the Kobo idle there was no "demand". Or something like that...

04-29-2011, 12:11 PM	#6
gonatgo Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Kobo	It is showing up under "my computer". I'm thinking maybe it had to do with my computer going to sleep? The screen saver comes on after 10 minutes so I disabled it to see if that works. I'm not sure if the USB port has trouble charging as I never charge anything else via USB ports. I think I'll try a blackberry charging if nothing happens before I go to work. When it's plugged in tho and I had it on the 'keep reading' mode the battery icon did show that it was charging. The only reason I charged right out of the box was to see if it's something wrong with my computer, or the Kobo.

04-29-2011, 09:16 PM	#7
IcecreamLtDan Groupie Posts: 178 Karma: 1928980 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: North Carolina Device: JetBook Lite, Kobo wireless, Kobo Glo	The USB port shutting down is a distinct possibility, my laptop did that until I changed the power settings in Windows. You can go into the power settings in windows and click on the plan your computer is using, once there you can click on the advanced settings and change how your USB ports act when the computer goes to sleep. Sorry I can't be anymore descriptive than that, but what setting it is or where it is at depends on what version of windows you're running and I think whether it's a laptop or desktop is also different. If you're computer literate at all though it shouldn't be hard to figure out.

04-30-2011, 02:18 PM	#8
gonatgo Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Kobo	I tried using the USB cable and an ac adaptor to charge my kobo and it worked! The light changed colour and the battery charged. So I'm thinking it's something to do with my laptop. Thank you to whoever suggested using an ac adaptor! I like this way of charging much better than charging with my laptop. I have a feeling it's something to do with the settings on my laptop, it's all set to use energy efficient settings so that must be why it soundly charge

04-30-2011, 02:26 PM	#9
Asawi Gadgetoholic Posts: 1,462 Karma: 2731820 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Libra2, Tolino Vision 6	I'm glad you got it working! I also appreciated hearing I'm not the only one having trouble charging from the computer.

04-30-2011, 08:33 PM	#10
HarleyB Fanatic Posts: 565 Karma: 1113286 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast Australia Device: Kobo (RIP), iPad, iPhone 4, Kobo Touch x2, Kobo Glo	A few months ago I got a new computer and the energy saving settings were different. It took me ages to work out why my Kobo would charge sometimes (when I was using the computer) and not others (when it went to sleep!) I was almost ready to take my computer back and complain about the "faulty" USB port when I worked it out.

04-30-2011, 09:38 PM	#11
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	Wall chargers are so cheap these days and they will charge faster. It is the best way to go. I only use a pc to charge in an emergency or my accident while I happen to have the unit cabled to my computer. Dale

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04-09-2012, 06:22 PM	#15
RareBird Addict Posts: 377 Karma: 770002 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Windsor, Nova Scotia Device: Kobo Aura	Good to know. I thought I was missing something.