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karthikrr · 08-09-2019, 02:23 PM

Hi,

So, I just got a "defective" Kobo Aura (N514). The person who gave it to me said she never dropped it or anything, but believes the screen died due to a recent heatwave. I am skeptical that a 40C day would simply kill a display, BUT perhaps she left it in her car, or perhaps she is lying, I do not know.

The point is I have it now, the display is definitely dead, and I know what replacement part to order and how to fix it. What I do not know is how to verify that the rest of the device still functions properly, making the replacement worthwhile. I have never used a Kobo reader before and am unsure whether this one works or not.

I see an orange/red slider on top, apparently the power switch. Sliding it and holding it makes a difference on the screen : the lower part goes black with some japanese text on it, and doing it again makes the whole screen go white, with the top part of the screen and its vertical and horizontal lines never changing. When I push the light button, it lights up fine as well. When it is in the off condition (presumably when the lower working part of the display is black), and if I plug it to the computer, the screen goes white, making me think it "connects" to the computer and so "wakes up" ... Also, there is a blinking light on the power switch at various times, whatever that means.

However, I see no indication in the eject devices popup on my computer that says an ereader is connected. I received no notification at all that a USB device was connected. Calibre does not seem to show any ereader as being connected. Kobo Reader also does not seem to detect the device. This makes me wonder if perhaps the screen is not the only thing that is dead. Reset had no effect as far as I can tell.

So, how do I know if it is working? I do not want to buy a replacement screen and do all that work only to find the motherboard is also dead! Any ideas?

Thanks,
Karthik

08-09-2019, 02:23 PM	#1
karthikrr Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2019 Device: Kobo Aura H2O (N250) / Kobo Aura (N514) / Sony PRS 600	How do I know if it is working? Hi, So, I just got a "defective" Kobo Aura (N514). The person who gave it to me said she never dropped it or anything, but believes the screen died due to a recent heatwave. I am skeptical that a 40C day would simply kill a display, BUT perhaps she left it in her car, or perhaps she is lying, I do not know. The point is I have it now, the display is definitely dead, and I know what replacement part to order and how to fix it. What I do not know is how to verify that the rest of the device still functions properly, making the replacement worthwhile. I have never used a Kobo reader before and am unsure whether this one works or not. I see an orange/red slider on top, apparently the power switch. Sliding it and holding it makes a difference on the screen : the lower part goes black with some japanese text on it, and doing it again makes the whole screen go white, with the top part of the screen and its vertical and horizontal lines never changing. When I push the light button, it lights up fine as well. When it is in the off condition (presumably when the lower working part of the display is black), and if I plug it to the computer, the screen goes white, making me think it "connects" to the computer and so "wakes up" ... Also, there is a blinking light on the power switch at various times, whatever that means. However, I see no indication in the eject devices popup on my computer that says an ereader is connected. I received no notification at all that a USB device was connected. Calibre does not seem to show any ereader as being connected. Kobo Reader also does not seem to detect the device. This makes me wonder if perhaps the screen is not the only thing that is dead. Reset had no effect as far as I can tell. So, how do I know if it is working? I do not want to buy a replacement screen and do all that work only to find the motherboard is also dead! Any ideas? Thanks, Karthik