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Altivo · 01-05-2014, 10:59 AM

More specifics, in case anyone can use them:

Kobo Wifi (the original black and white, non-touch screen model N647?)

Previous firmware version:
1.9(r25373, Mar 29 2011) Revision 2001

Forced upgrade via wifi on Jan 4 2014:
1.9.11 (6/1/13)

Problems identified after upgrade (which device said was successful):

1. No longer recognizes external SD memory. Tried 3 different working chips, it just doesn't see them. Another identical N647 without the upgrade sees those same three chips and recognizes the epub book files on them.

2. Ebook files that were readable before the upgrade now have formatting issues. Possibly the fonts were replaced? For example, a free ebook from a commercial website now has difficulty with Italics (displays them in normal font but enclosed by |_ and _|) and cannot display an em dash in the text (substitutes a ? for it, which is a pain as this author uses a lot of dashes.) Same file still displays correctly on the N647 without the upgrade, with the dashes. (I'm not sure the older firmware handled Italics either but at least it didn't insert spurious brackets or tags around them.)

3. Display margins appear to have been eliminated, which runs the text right up tight to the screen edge. This is not as easy to read as the older version which left 1/8 or 1/4 blank margin at left and right. So it takes a few more page turns the old way, so what? The newer display format is less readable.

4. It seems odd too that the old firmware displays chapter headings with numerals and centered bold face ("Chapter 13") while the new firmware displays them right justified and spelled out in all caps, not bold ("CHAPTER THIRTEEN") even though the exact same ebook file is in use on both devices. This is a minor irritation but really seems a pointless change.

I'd report this all as bugs in the developer section of the forum, but their reporting instructions are so obtuse that I'm afraid to try. They seem to be entirely focused on the newer devices anyway.

In the end, I really want my external SD access back, and am willing to revert to the older firmware to get it, but I can't find any information on how to do that. Surely there must be a way. I do have access to another device that hasn't been upgraded. Is it possible to "clone" the internal memory over to my "upgraded" but not so usable Kobo?

01-05-2014, 10:59 AM	#9
Altivo Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 12152 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Northern Illinois Device: Generic Android tablet, Kobo WiFi, Literati, and eBookwise 1150	More specifics, in case anyone can use them: Kobo Wifi (the original black and white, non-touch screen model N647?) Previous firmware version: 1.9(r25373, Mar 29 2011) Revision 2001 Forced upgrade via wifi on Jan 4 2014: 1.9.11 (6/1/13) Problems identified after upgrade (which device said was successful): 1. No longer recognizes external SD memory. Tried 3 different working chips, it just doesn't see them. Another identical N647 without the upgrade sees those same three chips and recognizes the epub book files on them. 2. Ebook files that were readable before the upgrade now have formatting issues. Possibly the fonts were replaced? For example, a free ebook from a commercial website now has difficulty with Italics (displays them in normal font but enclosed by \|_ and _\|) and cannot display an em dash in the text (substitutes a ? for it, which is a pain as this author uses a lot of dashes.) Same file still displays correctly on the N647 without the upgrade, with the dashes. (I'm not sure the older firmware handled Italics either but at least it didn't insert spurious brackets or tags around them.) 3. Display margins appear to have been eliminated, which runs the text right up tight to the screen edge. This is not as easy to read as the older version which left 1/8 or 1/4 blank margin at left and right. So it takes a few more page turns the old way, so what? The newer display format is less readable. 4. It seems odd too that the old firmware displays chapter headings with numerals and centered bold face ("Chapter 13") while the new firmware displays them right justified and spelled out in all caps, not bold ("CHAPTER THIRTEEN") even though the exact same ebook file is in use on both devices. This is a minor irritation but really seems a pointless change. I'd report this all as bugs in the developer section of the forum, but their reporting instructions are so obtuse that I'm afraid to try. They seem to be entirely focused on the newer devices anyway. In the end, I really want my external SD access back, and am willing to revert to the older firmware to get it, but I can't find any information on how to do that. Surely there must be a way. I do have access to another device that hasn't been upgraded. Is it possible to "clone" the internal memory over to my "upgraded" but not so usable Kobo?