'Also, isn't the e-ink button on the left side supposed to refresh the screen? Nothing happens when I press mine - is there a setting to change this behavior?'
Yes, in settings > buttons > eink button
You can choose between a number of functions, I've set mine to:
1 click: back
2 clicks: toggle front light on/off
Unfortunately these settings are in Chinese
There's a helpful post somewhere in this thread that translates all the options.