Glo HD malfunctioning - bricked?

[melovesflying]

My Glo HD suddenly started acting up. At first I thought it was due to my sleepcover since the problems started when I open the cover to discover a frozen screen just a couple of days ago. I disabled that option and there were a few times that the screen would still freeze and only the soft reset can bring it back.

I did all the troubleshooting that was highlighted in Kobo's website. Yesterday, I plugged it in directly to a power outlet with the power off, as suggested by Kobo, but when I tried turning it on, it wasn't responding. I left it plugged in to my computer this time. As I was talking to a Kobo rep a few minutes later, I tried turning it on and it finally responded.

I did a factory reset and then copied my Calibre-produced backup to it before transferring all my 1400+ books. It all seemed fine then but it would still freeze but now at the connected and charging screen so I'd do soft resets to make it work. When it goes to the home screen, I see some books without covers and the library says that I have less than the actual number of books stored there. I'd then connect it to calibre and it would confirm that all books have been transferred. I'd disconnect and it's either it would skip processing the content or completely freeze up. I left it alone overnight but when I woke up, the device was pretty warm to touch and frozen on the sleep screen. Restarting it told me I only had 6% battery when it was fully charged before I left it alone.

I told Kobo about this and disappointingly, they would not honor my warranty since I got it off of ebay US even though I told them that technically, all their Kobo Glo HD units should still be under warranty as it was launched less than a year ago and that the only reason I got it there is because their local partner here in the Philippines did not yet have the device when I got mine as replacement for my broken Aura.

I deleted all the books and retransferring them to my device right now. Is there anyone who can help me with this? I'm really hoping it can still be fixed as I only got it in December.

[GeoffR]

What I'd do is:

* Make sure the battery is well charged
* Do a factory reset via wi-fi, to rule out corruption from a bad cable or USB port.
* Don't restore the backup database, and don't sync with the Kobo Desktop.
* Transfer a few books via wi-fi, e.g. via sync if you have some Kobo books, or via the Calibre Content server for sideloaded books.

If the problems persist with just those few books then I'd really suspect a hardware problem with the device itself.

But if the problems have gone, then I'd try transfering the books via cable, only in small batches of say 100 books at a time, and check after each batch that all the books have been processed and are showing up in the library without problems before starting on the next batch.

[melovesflying]

Looks like it really is a hardware issue since after I did a factory reset and went to the home screen, it immediately froze. I'm having issues with the warranty but that's another story. Thanks for the help.

[melovesflying]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

What I'd do is:

* Make sure the battery is well charged
* Do a factory reset via wi-fi, to rule out corruption from a bad cable or USB port.
* Don't restore the backup database, and don't sync with the Kobo Desktop.
* Transfer a few books via wi-fi, e.g. via sync if you have some Kobo books, or via the Calibre Content server for sideloaded books.

If the problems persist with just those few books then I'd really suspect a hardware problem with the device itself.

But if the problems have gone, then I'd try transfering the books via cable, only in small batches of say 100 books at a time, and check after each batch that all the books have been processed and are showing up in the library without problems before starting on the next batch.

I tried doing what you said and transferred 100 books at a time with the cable since I saw that all the books I got via the Kobo store were already downloaded via wifi after the factory reset.

All was fine at first but at the 7th time I transferred books, the processing was stuck at 94% for a long time (earlier books were processed very quickly). I waited it out and then it went to home screen but when I plugged back in the cable, it froze so I did another pinhole reset. Then I tried transferring the 8th batch but as it was doing so, I suddenly got a prompt that the eReader was not ejected properly on my Mac, even if I didn't move it around at all.

Haven't ejected it yet but it's stuck at the connected and charged screen even though my Mac no longer detects the eReader. I checked the books that I transferred during my 7th time and the books were those that I've had months before it started acting up.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by melovesflying

Then I tried transferring the 8th batch but as it was doing so, I suddenly got a prompt that the eReader was not ejected properly on my Mac, even if I didn't move it around at all.

Have you tried a different cable?

[melovesflying]

Originally Posted by meeera

Have you tried a different cable?

I did. I've tried about 3 or so.

[Dr. Drib]

Is there a compelling reason to have 1,400 books on your Reader?

There may be a problem somewhere in that batch of books that you tried on the 7th attempt? (Or was that the 700th book [7th batch] you attempted to put on and it then froze?)

Also, are you waiting for indexing? Putting that many books on, one batch after another batch - 14 batches of 100 books per batch - would cause any ebook reader (I would imagine) to choke, gasp, heave, contort, snort....and abort.

[melovesflying]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Is there a compelling reason to have 1,400 books on your Reader?

There may be a problem somewhere in that batch of books that you tried on the 7th attempt? (Or was that the 700th book [7th batch] you attempted to put on and it then froze?)

Also, are you waiting for indexing? Putting that many books on, one batch after another batch - 14 batches of 100 books per batch - would cause any ebook reader (I would imagine) to choke, gasp, heave, contort, snort....and abort.

Uhh, because I love to read and I like the idea of having easy access to my book collection? I had more books stored on my previous Aura and I never encountered this problem.

Yes I do wait until it finishes indexing. I leave it alone for sometime until I load the next batch.

It started freezing around 5 days ago and before that, it was more than a week since I last connected it to Calibre and loaded new books (less than 20). It got worse when I plugged it into the charger, left it alone for 4 hours as per Kobo, then it wouldn't turn on for so long. Had to do multiple pinhole resets and holding the power on until it finally responded.

[filmo]

I would try removing all of the books in last batch before problem started again. If that cures the problem then load books in smaller batches to locate book causing problem.

I have 2400 books on each of my readers. Only had problem with large number of books loaded onto my Sony T1 cured by turning off cover display in Library. Poorly formatted book has also caused problems.

[melovesflying]

Originally Posted by filmo

I would try removing all of the books in last batch before problem started again. If that cures the problem then load books in smaller batches to locate book causing problem.

I have 2400 books on each of my readers. Only had problem with large number of books loaded onto my Sony T1 cured by turning off cover display in Library. Poorly formatted book has also caused problems.

I tried that same batch an hour ago and it was now successfully transferred. Left it alone for some time after that and I then tried doing it by smaller batches and now it automatically ejects itself.

I just realised that one of the causes of the freeze is when I leave it untouched for a short time. Even fresh from a factory reset and upon getting to the home screen, it would freeze just after around a few seconds to 5 minutes if I don't tap anywhere. I've been replicating that and it does happen. I've set the sleep mode to turn on after 15 minutes and it freezes way before that.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by melovesflying

I tried that same batch an hour ago and it was now successfully transferred. Left it alone for some time after that and I then tried doing it by smaller batches and now it automatically ejects itself.

I just realised that one of the causes of the freeze is when I leave it untouched for a short time. Even fresh from a factory reset and upon getting to the home screen, it would freeze just after around a few seconds to 5 minutes if I don't tap anywhere. I've been replicating that and it does happen. I've set the sleep mode to turn on after 15 minutes and it freezes way before that.

Have you tried to see if it continues to freeze with just one book on it?

If so, then there may be a corrupt system on the Reader.

[melovesflying]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Have you tried to see if it continues to freeze with just one book on it?

If so, then there may be a corrupt system on the Reader.

Yes. It would still freeze even without any books and even fresh from a factory reset. I turned it off last night and now it won't turn back on again after multiple resets.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by melovesflying

Yes. It would still freeze even without any books and even fresh from a factory reset. I turned it off last night and now it won't turn back on again after multiple resets.

I would suggest going back to the ebay seller. Hopefully you chose one with a good reputation. There may be a reason this device was sold on ebay.

[melovesflying]

Originally Posted by meeera

I would suggest going back to the ebay seller. Hopefully you chose one with a good reputation. There may be a reason this device was sold on ebay.

I did. He'll send me the receipt so that I can claim the warranty but it would be too expensive for me to have to send my Glo HD back from and to the Philippines as it would cost me around $100 for shipping. Kobo has a local partner here but apparently even local buyers would have to send their malfunctioning devices back to Canada to get a replacement. Might as well get a new device.

[filmo]

About only thing you haven't tried is removing internal uSD card and install new image.

I assume It has a good battery and eink screen someone will buy it for those parts. Sell it on ebay or Mobile Read Flea Market. The buyer would have to be in your country to make shipping costs worth while.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=124