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Tarmacsurfer · 09-26-2023, 06:05 PM

Hello there, I'll try and avoid ranting here being a newbie and all.

Just registered here to add my tuppence on the subject after stumbling across this post via duckduckgo. I bought my Forma in November 2018 while on honeymoon in Japan, it was the only way to get the 32gb variant at the time (I'm in the UK) and it was something I really wanted. Plus finding one online in a foreign country and the trip to buy it made some good memories. It's seen an awful lot of use and I don't begrudge the battery wearing out, these things happen. What does leave a sour taste is the way kobo seem to expect us to simply bin the unit and buy a replacement.

I've come here after spending twenty minutes on the "help" chat on the Rakuten site. Suffice to say the chatbot at the beginning was more attentive and helpful than the agent I finally spoke to. When they reached the end of the script they simply closed the chat window on me - no answer to a direct and simple question (could you please supply information as to the battery model fitted to the kobo forma so I can effect replacement).

Having spent over a week troubleshooting, researching and attempting to solve the issue as my unit is well outside of both it's home region and warranty period I've tried all the usual fixes (and some less so), to no avail. It's simply a fact that the battery has degraded over time and use.

I'm saddened to be honest. After having tried my best over the years to avoid the grasp of Amazon (I've gone through two Nook readers and now the Forma) I'm probably going to look at one of the lesser known Chinese manufacturers if I can't source a battery and fix my old friend. While the Kobo hardware is excellent in use it seems a tad fragile (my second Nook Glowlight still runs fine after a battery transplant) and the company itself does nothing to support the end user beyond encouraging us to simply dispose and replace. To me that's not acceptable and I get the impression that my money is the only thing Rakuten will listen to.

Rant (rant-ette?) over. It'll be a few weeks until I have the space to open my unit up and delve further but I'll come back and update the community if I get anywhere with a repair - I haven't seen anything beyond a partial teardown online so I'm flying blind unless anyone has further information that I've not seen on my travels.

All the best!

09-26-2023, 06:05 PM	#9
Tarmacsurfer Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 42946 Join Date: Sep 2023 Device: Kobo Forma	Hello there, I'll try and avoid ranting here being a newbie and all. Just registered here to add my tuppence on the subject after stumbling across this post via duckduckgo. I bought my Forma in November 2018 while on honeymoon in Japan, it was the only way to get the 32gb variant at the time (I'm in the UK) and it was something I really wanted. Plus finding one online in a foreign country and the trip to buy it made some good memories. It's seen an awful lot of use and I don't begrudge the battery wearing out, these things happen. What does leave a sour taste is the way kobo seem to expect us to simply bin the unit and buy a replacement. I've come here after spending twenty minutes on the "help" chat on the Rakuten site. Suffice to say the chatbot at the beginning was more attentive and helpful than the agent I finally spoke to. When they reached the end of the script they simply closed the chat window on me - no answer to a direct and simple question (could you please supply information as to the battery model fitted to the kobo forma so I can effect replacement). Having spent over a week troubleshooting, researching and attempting to solve the issue as my unit is well outside of both it's home region and warranty period I've tried all the usual fixes (and some less so), to no avail. It's simply a fact that the battery has degraded over time and use. I'm saddened to be honest. After having tried my best over the years to avoid the grasp of Amazon (I've gone through two Nook readers and now the Forma) I'm probably going to look at one of the lesser known Chinese manufacturers if I can't source a battery and fix my old friend. While the Kobo hardware is excellent in use it seems a tad fragile (my second Nook Glowlight still runs fine after a battery transplant) and the company itself does nothing to support the end user beyond encouraging us to simply dispose and replace. To me that's not acceptable and I get the impression that my money is the only thing Rakuten will listen to. Rant (rant-ette?) over. It'll be a few weeks until I have the space to open my unit up and delve further but I'll come back and update the community if I get anywhere with a repair - I haven't seen anything beyond a partial teardown online so I'm flying blind unless anyone has further information that I've not seen on my travels. All the best!