Bad experience with Aura HD

[susie_toronto]

I got a aura HD for 5 weeks, the the screen is frozen and showed weird, contact customer service and they said it is screen physical damage. Actually I didn't do anything hash. They wouldn't replace it. Just 5 weeks, and the ereader can't be reset. So upset. The customer service is so bad. stay away from KOBO!

[EndlessWaves]

There aren't many companies that will replace damaged components. If the screen gets cracked on almost anything that would be the normal response from the manufacturer.

If you post some pictures than other people may be able to tell whether it's screen damage, but if the screen does get even the slightest crack it will stop responding completely. That's the nature of eInk and nothing to do with Kobo.

If the screen is damaged then the only way the eReader has to show activity is it's LED - did that flash as normal when you powered it on?

[susie_toronto]

I don't know how to post picture. Hope you can see it. I left it in my car for 4 hours, I took my sony ereader to the beach, after I came back, it was like that. Do you thinke hot weather can kill the screen?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/134385538@N07/?

[robko]

Cracked substrate, you can tell by the curved/angled line in the top right. The substrate is a very thin piece of glass barely thicker than a piece of paper that e-ink "sits" on. You can search for teardown threads in forum if you want to see a picture of it. Basically any significant pressure on the screen, or more commonly twisting/bending of the device can induce micro-fractures and the temperature extreme from sitting in the car might have caused expansion that finally broke it. The initial fracture may have happened a while before the final break. E-ink devices are not as robust as a tablet.
NO SUPPLIER will replace a device with a cracked substrate under warranty, although some may occasionally replace it as a good will gesture.
And having it in a case won't prevent this kind of breakage unless it is extremely rigid and unbending not withstanding what some usual suspects are going to try and tell you.

[Sonist]

This is why I would never buy another Kobo product.

Poor workmanship and worse customer support.

I've personally had two similar issues with the Aura HD.

[susie_toronto]

Yeah. My kobo had a cover and just sit in my car for 4 hours. I took my sony ereader to the beach because I want to save aura from accident and just because it is new. Unfortunally it was killed by the sun, is it a joke? I like my sony ereader very much. it is so tough. I bought kobo only because I can use it at night. Too bad sony stoped making ereader. How come junk survived and good things discontinued? I was planing to buy aura H2O, luckly I hadn't.
Stay away from kobo!
Is it possible to install apps on kindle paperwhite to use EPUB library? I like amazon fire TV, maybe amazon ereader is good too.

[Ripplinger]

In all fairness the same thing could have happened to a Kindle. It's not due to Kobo having an inferior product or poor workmanship. The substrate is fragile in every eink reader.

The only plus if it happened to a Kindle is that Amazon is more likely to give you a free replacement or at least a discounted replacement. Their customer service is better than most everyone else though.

[susie_toronto]

My kids have been using sony ereader for years, I saw them torturing, abusing the sony ereaders, you know kids, but they survived.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by susie_toronto

Yeah. My kobo had a cover and just sit in my car for 4 hours. I took my sony ereader to the beach because I want to save aura from accident and just because it is new. Unfortunally it was killed by the sun, is it a joke? I like my sony ereader very much. it is so tough. I bought kobo only because I can use it at night. Too bad sony stoped making ereader. How come junk survived and good things discontinued? I was planing to buy aura H2O, luckly I hadn't.
Stay away from kobo!
Is it possible to install apps on kindle paperwhite to use EPUB library? I like amazon fire TV, maybe amazon ereader is good too.

You can install Koreader on Kindle devices. Also on many Android devices. You can wirelessly transfer files and progress sync between different Koreader equipped devices.

Luck;
Ken

[robko]

Originally Posted by susie_toronto

Unfortunally it was killed by the sun, is it a joke?

No, it was killed by some previous event(s) where the device got unintentionally twisted or bent. The sun likely just provided conditions (heat causing expansion) to finish it. This could have happened while it was sitting overnight beside your bed and there was a temperature change. I've dropped a few of mine (one time bending the plastic on the corner from landing on a hardwood floor), have never had one in a case, and never broke a substrate. They can handle certain "torturing, abusing", just not bending or twisting.

Lots of people with broken Sony's, Kindles, Kobo's you name it -- you'll find lots of reports on here. This is not a Kobo problem, this is an inherent problem with current e-ink. You got unlucky with your Kobo.

I realize none of this is going to convince you or Sonist, but that is the reality borne out by a huge number of posts over the years on here.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by robko

You got unlucky with your Kobo.

Was the car outdoors? If so, it wasn't luck, it was outright abuse.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by meeera

Was the car outdoors? If so, it wasn't luck, it was outright abuse.

Especially with the weather we're getting in Toronto this week.. Hot and sunny.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by meeera

Was the car outdoors? If so, it wasn't luck, it was outright abuse.

Car, beach, four hours. That's bad news. If the OP was down here with us during summer, I would assume the reader was a puddle when they came back. Anyone else left an LP* in a car?

Originally Posted by PeterT

Especially with the weather we're getting in Toronto this week.. Hot and sunny.

I just looked at the weather there, sounds pretty mild for summer Of course, I have no idea what a real winter is.

Hmm, I wonder what the weather is like in Mexico.

[Athropos]

Funny how people don't take properly care of their devices and then accuse the manufacturer. Just for the record my own Aura HD is going to be two years old, during which I took it with me everywhere I traveled to and everyday at work. It's still working as fine as when I bought it: not too bad for a poorly manufactured device.

[Sonist]

I understand that people love whatever device they bought, but this "blame the customer" is akin to going by a Kobo service rep's book.

Blaming someone for leaving the reader in the sun a bit much -- these things are sold over tablets for reading in the sun.

Kobo's build quality is definitely not as good as a Kindle DX. The Kobo squeaks and flexes noticeably at minimal pressure, while the Kindle DX does not. I have had a number of readers over the years, the Kobos are the only ones to break. For what it's worth, my Kobos were the least abused of my readers.

Plus, Kobos customer service is at a level I'd expect from a Chinese manufacturer of $30 readers. Nowhere near the level of service provided by Amazon.

Wait until you have to deal with them....