New Kobo Problems

[outlander78]

Hi.

I bought a used Kobo Touch (the 'c' model) recently. It seems to be in good shape, and its battery holds a charge. It is running the 3.11 firmware.

My problem is that it freezes after every few minutes of reading - every 5 or 10 pages, it seems. This happens with both kobo-purchased and loaded books, and side-loaded epubs. I have tried using an sd card and not, using caliber to side-load and not, reading with wireless enabled or not, and cannot pinpoint the cause.

This is my first Kobo ereader, and I am wondering if this is a common experience with the touch, or perhaps just with the 3.11 firmware, or if I have a broken unit on my hands.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[Joeldmtl]

Originally Posted by outlander78

Hi.

I bought a used Kobo Touch (the 'c' model) recently. It seems to be in good shape, and its battery holds a charge. It is running the 3.11 firmware.

My problem is that it freezes after every few minutes of reading - every 5 or 10 pages, it seems. This happens with both kobo-purchased and loaded books, and side-loaded epubs. I have tried using an sd card and not, using caliber to side-load and not, reading with wireless enabled or not, and cannot pinpoint the cause.

This is my first Kobo ereader, and I am wondering if this is a common experience with the touch, or perhaps just with the 3.11 firmware, or if I have a broken unit on my hands.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

I had this exact problem with my 2 year old Kobo Touch and could never resolve it. My wife's Touch (same vintage. same books, same account) never experienced that problem.

First line Kobo Customer service was of no use. All they kept telling me was to "do a factory reset" or "it's a hardware problem". Look up my postings you'll see how I proved it wasn't a hardware problem (Thanks to Davidfor).

Finally after 6 weeks I finally got through to someone higher up at Kobo, and either because of my persistsnce or the fact that I proved it wasn't a hardware problem or because we buy all our books directly from KOBO, they promptly and VERY SATISFACTORILY, exchanged my 2 year old defective Touch for a Kobo Glo.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=247449

Let me know if this helps you.

[darryl]

Sounds like "caveat emptor" applies if it was a private purchase. If it was, say, a PC or Notebook, my primary suspect would be a memory issue. If so, I doubt it would be worth fixing. Joe's post was interesting, and you would seem to have little to lose by trying different firmware versions. However, I don't think Joe's actions proved there were no hardware issues or anything beyond that it would work with a different firmware version. The problem was in fact never identified, and the solution was for Kobo to supply a new device. Not, I think, a likely scenario in your case.

[Tyreless]

I purchased three new kobo glo's earlier this year and one of them had your issue. It was replaced (there was a bit of a saga getting it RMA'd and then getting the replacement but that's another story).

[Joeldmtl]

Originally Posted by darryl

Sounds like "caveat emptor" applies if it was a private purchase. If it was, say, a PC or Notebook, my primary suspect would be a memory issue. If so, I doubt it would be worth fixing. Joe's post was interesting, and you would seem to have little to lose by trying different firmware versions. However, I don't think Joe's actions proved there were no hardware issues or anything beyond that it would work with a different firmware version. The problem was in fact never identified, and the solution was for Kobo to supply a new device. Not, I think, a likely scenario in your case.

I don't agree with you when you say that because my Touch worked with an earlier FW version that it doesn't prove that it wasn't a hardware problem. What are you basing this on?

The only thing I can think of is that the memory in my Touch had some type of PARTIAL failure, so that it could not handle the requirements of the new FW. But not being a computer hardware engineer and not knowing the Touches memory hardware configuration, I don't know if this is a possibility.

[GeoffR]

More recent firmware versions use some hardware features that the earlier firmware versions didn't, so if the device had a hardware fault affecting a feature used only by the newer firmware, the device might still work okay with old firmware.

One example I know of is the 'Thumb" instruction set, which is available on all the current Kobo e-ink devices, but maybe not on the very early models. Up until version 2.4.0 the firmware didn't make use of thumb instructions, so if there was a CPU fault in the thumb circuitry then it might not affect the device. But some time after 2.4.0 (2.5.0 I think) the firmware began being compiled to make use of thumb instructions, so such a fault could show up then.

[Joeldmtl]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

More recent firmware versions use some hardware features that the earlier firmware versions didn't, so if the device had a hardware fault affecting a feature used only by the newer firmware, the device might still work okay with old firmware.

One example I know of is the 'Thumb" instruction set, which is available on all the current Kobo e-ink devices, but maybe not on the very early models. Up until version 2.4.0 the firmware didn't make use of thumb instructions, so if there was a CPU fault in the thumb circuitry then it might not affect the device. But some time after 2.4.0 (2.5.0 I think) the firmware began being compiled to make use of thumb instructions, so such a fault could show up then.

I don't know what the "Thumb" instruction set is, but in this case it seems to me that the freezing is more of a long delay than a freezing. That's why I was thinking it was more of a memory problem.

The symptoms of my touch were that it would freeze, then after a few minutes respond to the string of input instructions I had given it (i.e. page turn forward or backward for each screen tap I did. Add/remove bookmarks ..... etc.).

[GeoffR]

I didn't mean to suggest that a Thumb fault was the cause of the problem, but it is an example of how a hardware fault can affect some firmware versions and not others, and therefore you can't conclude that the problem isn't caused by a hardware fault just because it occurs in some firmware versions and not others.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by Joeldmtl

I don't agree with you when you say that because my Touch worked with an earlier FW version that it doesn't prove that it wasn't a hardware problem. What are you basing this on?

The only thing I can think of is that the memory in my Touch had some type of PARTIAL failure, so that it could not handle the requirements of the new FW. But not being a computer hardware engineer and not knowing the Touches memory hardware configuration, I don't know if this is a possibility.

Exactly. The fact that an earlier firmware does not show the same problems cannot exclude a hardware issue. Your own example is a good one. That is, a corrupt area of memory not used or seldom used by the earlier firmware. This is not only possible, but such a fault is more likely to become apparent with later firmwares which may add additional features and consume more hardware resources, including memory. The example given by GeoffR is also a good one.

In fact, I have difficulty seeing how the problem you describe could be anything but a hardware fault of some description.

[outlander78]

Thanks for the replies.

A hardware failure seems the likely culprit. As I bought it used on ebay, I doubt Kobo will send me a free replacement - no hard feelings there.

I take it this is not a standard problem with all Kobo's? I ask because when my Sony PRS-T1 dies, I will have to choose between a Kindle and a Kobo, and while I like the Kobo's, I would not buy another one if this is the kind of nuisance all users suffer.

[Ripplinger]

Before giving up on this Kobo, I would try doing a factory reset, and load a book and see if the problem persists. I'd also try downgrading the firmware to another version. A badly formatted book can cause problems.

This is definitely not a typical problem with Kobo readers. My original reader was a Sony 350, then moved to Kobo Glo because I really wanted a front light. It's the closest to the Sony experience you'll get. I like the Glo so much that I picked up a spare for when 1 dies. I also grabbed a Kindle Paperwhite when they were on sale, and coming from Sonys and Kobos, about the only thing I do like about the Paperwhite is that it has an even white screen. I think you'd be happy with a new Kobo reader.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Before giving up on this Kobo, I would try doing a factory reset, and load a book and see if the problem persists. I'd also try downgrading the firmware to another version. A badly formatted book can cause problems.

This is definitely not a typical problem with Kobo readers. My original reader was a Sony 350, then moved to Kobo Glo because I really wanted a front light. It's the closest to the Sony experience you'll get. I like the Glo so much that I picked up a spare for when 1 dies. I also grabbed a Kindle Paperwhite when they were on sale, and coming from Sonys and Kobos, about the only thing I do like about the Paperwhite is that it has an even white screen. I think you'd be happy with a new Kobo reader.

My H2O has a creamy white, evenly lit frontlight. Frontlight tech has vastly improved since the Sony 700 or even the first PaperWhite days. I think you'll be happy with one of the newer models of Kobos (I also came over to Kobo from the Sony side).