WARING: DO THE THINGS LISTED ON THIS THREAD AT YOUR OWN RISK. I, KIWISAURUS, TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE DONE TO YOUR eREADER DEVICE. THESE STEPS, IF DONE CORRECTLY, WILL FIX MOST PROBLEMS. HOWEVER, IF THE STEPS ARE DONE THE WRONG WAY, THIS CAN CAUSE YOUR eREADER TO BE NEVER USABLE AGAIN.
AGAIN, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
INFO FROM: KOBO HELP PAGES.
It happens. And it is VERY frustrating. A bricked eReader is one of the worst nightmares of a bookworm.
In this tutorial, I will be showing you how to fix this horrible problem of bricked / boot loop (stuck at loading screen) Kobo eReaders.
Now, one of the most common reasons why this problem occurs is because of sideloading firmware.
It has happened to me before while trying to downgrade my Kobo Mini to firmware version 2.5.1 from 3.4.1.
It can happen if the firmware wasn't designed for your device and / or the update was corrupted and / or the update was interrupted.
If this has happened to you, don't panic! There is a solution.
In fact, there are multiple solutions.
Without further ado, let's dig in.
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SOFT RESET:
(TURN OFF YOUR eREADER IF POSSIBLE)
1. Take a small paper clip and unfold it until you have an inch or so of straight wire.
2. Turn your eReader over.
3. Locate the small hole on its back, near the bottom left corner (some Kobo eReaders have the hole under the back cover).
3. Slide the end of the straightened paper clip into the hole.
4. Press gently until you feel a click.
5. Your eReader will reset.
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HARD RESET (FOR KOBO AURA ONE AND AURA 2nd EDITION):
(WARNING: THIS WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR KOBO DEVICE. PERFORM AT YOUR OWN RISK)
1. Connect your eReader to a power source by doing one of the following:
2. Turn on your computer and connect the included USB power cord to your computer first, and then your eReader.
3. Plug the wall charger (not included) to a power outlet, and then connect your eReader to the wall charger.
4. Press and hold the power button until the power light on the top-right corner of your eReader turns off. You'll see a 'Powered off' screen when your eReader is turned off.
5. Release the power button.
6. Press and hold the power button on your eReader for 30 seconds.
7. Wait for the Restore screen to appear.
8. Release the power button. Your eReader screen will turn black and begin the restoring process. After the restoring process finishes, follow the onscreen instructions to set up your eReader. You'll need access to an active Wi Fi or internet connection to complete setup. You can also use the Kobo Desktop app to set up your eReader using your computer.
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HARD RESET (FOR KOBO AURA H2O AND GLO HD):
1. Turn it off first, press and hold the power button for 5 to 6 seconds;
2. Press and hold the power button;
3. With two fingers, simultaneously and repeatedly tap the bottom corners of the touch screen;
4. Continue to tap the corners repeatedly until the device begins to reset;
5. Complete the device setup after the reset completes.
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HARD RESET (KOBO TOUCH):
1. If possible, turn off your eReader.
2. Press and hold the Home button.
3. While holding the Home button, slide the power button to the right several times to turn on your eReader.
4. Continue holding the Home button and wait until the power light blinks rapidly.
5. Let go of the Home button.
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HARD RESET (FOR ALL THE OTHER KOBO e-ink eREADERS THAT WEREN'T MENTIONED ABOVE):
1.Ensure that the device is powered off.
2.Press and hold the Light button.
3.Slide the power switch to the right, hold for one second, then let go of the switch.
4.Continue to hold the Light button until the small light to the left of the power switch flashes.
5.Let go of the Light button.
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MICRO SD CARD FIRMWARE FIX (ALL KOBO DEVICES WITH MICRO SD CARDS):
1. Locate and take out the Kobo's Micro SD card. For Kobo Mini, this is located under the SnapBack cover, under the screw cover in a slot. So carefully unscrew the screws and remove the Micro SD card from where the circuit boards are if you have a Mini.
2. Get (or buy) a Micro SD to SD card adapter to plug the Micro SD into your PC.
3. When you plug the Micro SD card into your PC, go into the memory. If it says something like "Format Disk" just click "Cancel". Never, EVER format the disk, or you will lose the whole firmware.
4. Go to the website
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kobo_Firmware_Releases and download the right firmware for whatever Mark your device is in. You can also read the "Notes" or check which Mark your device is (at the top of the page) if you are not sure.
5. After downloading, unzip the file and place the components in the ".kobo" directory in the SD card.
6. Now safely eject your eReader and wait for it to reboot.
7. Your eReader should be unbricked.
8. Promise me that you will never try sideloading firmware again!
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If none of that worked, than I have bad news for you.
You will have to replace the whole Kobo image, and unfortunately I cannot provide you with that.
So do a bit of research and ask some people if they have the right image for your Kobo.
If they do, gather the right software and replace the image.
If not, I'm so sorry to tell you, but you are out of luck.
This will not be covered by accidental warranty, because "Kobo strongly advises not to manually update your eReader".
Maybe you will get a replacement with some discount.
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I hope I could be of some help.
Please don't hesitate to tell me if I missed a different method, etc.
Good luck, and have a great day!
Kiwisaurus