Wearing out my Kobo ???

[drawson1]

I know that e-ink devices do degrade over time . . . but my Aura Edition 2 is only about 13 months old and appears to be fading. The text still looks clean, but the shutdown images are all starting to fade - mostly losing contrast. When I examine them with a magnifier, they're noticeably grainy.

Is this common?

FYI, I read a LOT - a couple of hours a day EVERY day normally. I don't deliberately mistreat the reader (ie, leave it on a sunny car seat), but I'm not particularly careful about the environment.

Thanks!

Dan

[RobertJSawyer]

I have Kobos that are much older than that and haven't noticed any degradation. But if you're only having a problem with the sleep-time display of book covers, I'd suggest simply turning off the display of book covers. Under recent firmware, that setting is:

Settings / Energy saving and privacy / Sleep and power off / Show current read

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by drawson1

The text still looks clean...

Then I wouldn't worry about it.

[drawson1]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I have Kobos that are much older than that and haven't noticed any degradation. But if you're only having a problem with the sleep-time display of book covers, I'd suggest simply turning off the display of book covers. Under recent firmware, that setting is:

Settings / Energy saving and privacy / Sleep and power off / Show current read

I'm actually (mostly) running Coolreader, so the sleep images are those stored in .adds/vlasovsoft/sleep. I just moved them - I'll try running without for a while.

Thanks!

Dan

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by drawson1

I'm actually (mostly) running Coolreader, so the sleep images are those stored in .adds/vlasovsoft/sleep. I just moved them - I'll try running without for a while.

I'm with RobertJSawyer on this. None of my Kobo devices are showing anything like what you describe. But, they are all running the latest Kobo version firmware with no modifications. Maybe this is something that Coolreader is doing. Or whatever is generating the images that are being displayed.

[mathil]

Yeah, we have different Kobo devices around the house, and the screens have all held up very well with no sign of discoloration (the oldest is a 2012 Kobo Glo, which is still being used every day). They all mount Kobo's stock firmware and we've been careful not to leave them out into the sun etc. basic electronics maintenance, in short.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by drawson1

I know that e-ink devices do degrade over time

Do they?
Flash memory certainly does "fade" and separately has a maximum number of writes (reads are no problem). See "wear levelling".
I know two people with really old pre-touch Kindles, both fine.
A Kindle Touch June 2013, Kindle DXG Oct 2013 and an old PRS350 all have good screens too.
I've seen a Storybook Cover & Kobo H2O with cracked screens. Unlike LCD, the screens are a high proportion of price and also there may be "calibration", so I'd not replace a broken eInk panel unless replacement was < $15.

I've never heard of eInk "fading".
LCD (two reasons) and OLED certainly do fade. Eventually, colour usually shifts first, though I have some 18+ yo LCD that are OK. LCD and OLED do also suffer "burn in" (dye fade on LCD and phosphor ageing on OLED), though not as much as CRTs.

Edit: I may use my original Kobo H2O over 30 hrs a week sometimes.

[filmo]

Battery will need replacement eventually. My Sony T1 battery needs replacement but it isn't easy to find.

[Nascarfan1972]

Filmo,

Try this site: https://e-ink-reader.ru/accum_en.php

It lists the battery for the Sony T1.

Thanks
Nascarfan1972