Kobo Libra Colour - "On Device" column not working after reconnect

Goose · Yesterday, 09:57 AM

When I send books to my Kobo Libra Colour over a USB cable, the "On Device" column in Calibre changes to a green tick (which is the correct behaviour).
However, after disconnecting then reconnecting the Kobo, the "On Device" column is back to being empty despite the books being available on my device.

How can I fix this? Is there something else I need to do in Calibre to set this up?

Thanks!

theducks · Yesterday, 11:19 AM

(I only have a Libra 2 so take this with salt)
There should be 2 files in the root folder of the Kobo with 'calibre' as part of their name.
These identify that a (specific) Calibre PC has inventoried and indexed the books. If you delete, then the indexing process must start over. best wait for instructions before deleting.

Also note that if you did anything in Calibre that changed the title, series name or Author. There may be a newer version using that on the device, so no Match

Also, if you had a older Calibre (like 6 or 7) and did a big jump. There were driver changes and the default path changed. I had to fix mine to include 'MyBooks/'

Code:

MyBooks/{series}/{series_index:0>2s}-{title}-{authors}

FWIW Calibre finds the books, but sending again results in (2 books) in the tick column

Goose · Yesterday, 04:42 PM

Thanks, against your advice I tried deleting those two files but it didn't help, so I ended up just factory resetting my Kobo (I just got it yesterday anyways) and it fixed itself.

DNSB · Yesterday, 10:02 PM

When you send the books to a Kobo ereader, the On device green check lets you know the books have been sent. When you reconnect, the green check is generated from the database contents. If the books have not been imported on the Kobo to generate the database entries, they will not show as on device. The import screen is basically a black screen with a progress bar that goes from 6% to 94% as the books are imported.

meeera · Yesterday, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goose

When I send books to my Kobo Libra Colour over a USB cable, the "On Device" column in Calibre changes to a green tick (which is the correct behaviour).
However, after disconnecting then reconnecting the Kobo, the "On Device" column is back to being empty despite the books being available on my device.

Did you safely eject the Kobo and wait until the Kobo had detected it had been unmounted before disconnecting the cable?

Did you see the Importing screen on the Kobo (black screen with Importing progress bar)? This may. be very quick if you've only put one or two books on it.

Was the book present on the Kobo after the Importing screen?

Goose · Today, 01:35 AM

Yep, I ejected it, waited a few seconds, then disconnected. At that point the import bar appears and runs and then all the books I sent are available to read.

This has been resolved now (see my earlier reply), not sure how to change the status of the post.

meeera · Today, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goose

Yep, I ejected it, waited a few seconds, then disconnected..

What did the Kobo display show in those "few seconds"? It can take longer than that for a full safe unmount.

I know you've resolved this event, I'm trying to help it not happen again.

Goose · Today, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

I know you've resolved this event, I'm trying to help it not happen again.

Aah okay.

After ejecting it from my PC, the screen on my Kobo was still the one that appears when you first connect it - it says something like "remember to eject your device before you unplug it". It's only after unplugging that the import screen appears.

I did also try waiting around 30s after ejecting before unplugging but even then the screen didn't change.

Sirtel · Today, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goose

Aah okay.

After ejecting it from my PC, the screen on my Kobo was still the one that appears when you first connect it - it says something like "remember to eject your device before you unplug it". It's only after unplugging that the import screen appears.

I did also try waiting around 30s after ejecting before unplugging but even then the screen didn't change.

How do you eject? From calibre or from the computer?

meeera · Today, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goose

Aah okay.

After ejecting it from my PC, the screen on my Kobo was still the one that appears when you first connect it - it says something like "remember to eject your device before you unplug it". It's only after unplugging that the import screen appears.

I did also try waiting around 30s after ejecting before unplugging but even then the screen didn't change.

OK, it sounds like it's not unmounting cleanly, which is a ticket to database corruption (this is solved with either a factory reset or by logging out of your Kobo account on the device and back in again, both of which will lose data).

Are you on a Mac, Windows or other?

What eject method are you using?

Did the Kobo icon disappear from your Finder/File explorer/OS equivalent?

Goose · Today, 03:12 AM

It's Windows 11, I ejected it from the Windows taskbar since ejecting it from Calibre kept corrupting the database.
After ejecting it, the Kobo was unmounted and could no longer be seen as a drive in the windows explorer.

I suspect something went wrong the first time Calibre setup my Kobo since I was previously using a Kindle. Since yesterday, I've added and removed multiple books and the "On Device" column works perfectly.

Sirtel · Today, 03:34 AM

Yeah, if you eject from the taskbar, then the home screen won't appear unless you disconnect.

I always eject mine from calibre. Never have had a corrupted database. I wait until the books have been imported before I disconnect. And don't connect from an open book; go to the homescreen before you connect your Kobo to calibre.

Yesterday, 09:57 AM	#1
Goose Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2025 Device: Kobo Libra Colour	Kobo Libra Colour - "On Device" column not working after reconnect When I send books to my Kobo Libra Colour over a USB cable, the "On Device" column in Calibre changes to a green tick (which is the correct behaviour). However, after disconnecting then reconnecting the Kobo, the "On Device" column is back to being empty despite the books being available on my device. How can I fix this? Is there something else I need to do in Calibre to set this up? Thanks!

Yesterday, 11:19 AM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,086 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	(I only have a Libra 2 so take this with salt) There should be 2 files in the root folder of the Kobo with 'calibre' as part of their name. These identify that a (specific) Calibre PC has inventoried and indexed the books. If you delete, then the indexing process must start over. best wait for instructions before deleting. Also note that if you did anything in Calibre that changed the title, series name or Author. There may be a newer version using that on the device, so no Match Also, if you had a older Calibre (like 6 or 7) and did a big jump. There were driver changes and the default path changed. I had to fix mine to include 'MyBooks/' Code: MyBooks/{series}/{series_index:0>2s}-{title}-{authors} FWIW Calibre finds the books, but sending again results in (2 books) in the tick column

Today, 01:35 AM	#6
Goose Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2025 Device: Kobo Libra Colour	Yep, I ejected it, waited a few seconds, then disconnected. At that point the import bar appears and runs and then all the books I sent are available to read. This has been resolved now (see my earlier reply), not sure how to change the status of the post. Last edited by Goose; Today at 01:38 AM.

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Yesterday, 04:42 PM	#3
Goose Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2025 Device: Kobo Libra Colour	Thanks, against your advice I tried deleting those two files but it didn't help, so I ended up just factory resetting my Kobo (I just got it yesterday anyways) and it fixed itself.

Yesterday, 10:02 PM	#4
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 46,463 Karma: 169098492 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	When you send the books to a Kobo ereader, the On device green check lets you know the books have been sent. When you reconnect, the green check is generated from the database contents. If the books have not been imported on the Kobo to generate the database entries, they will not show as on device. The import screen is basically a black screen with a progress bar that goes from 6% to 94% as the books are imported.

Today, 03:12 AM	#11
Goose Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2025 Device: Kobo Libra Colour	It's Windows 11, I ejected it from the Windows taskbar since ejecting it from Calibre kept corrupting the database. After ejecting it, the Kobo was unmounted and could no longer be seen as a drive in the windows explorer. I suspect something went wrong the first time Calibre setup my Kobo since I was previously using a Kindle. Since yesterday, I've added and removed multiple books and the "On Device" column works perfectly.

Today, 03:34 AM	#12
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,547 Karma: 240526511 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Yeah, if you eject from the taskbar, then the home screen won't appear unless you disconnect. I always eject mine from calibre. Never have had a corrupted database. I wait until the books have been imported before I disconnect. And don't connect from an open book; go to the homescreen before you connect your Kobo to calibre.