Libra 2 Very unstable Libra 2 with 4.33.19611

[Rkob]

Hi,

I got a new Libra 2 last week. I really like the device, but it has been very unstable and crashes often, to the point of being barely usable.

When I intially started the device, it ran 4.30.18838.
I played a bit with the settings, logged in to Overdrive and Pocket, tried to read a few articles and a few pages from an Overdrive book. Everything seemed to work fine.
I got a pop-up asking me to update, I accepted, and the device restarted with 4.33.19611.
After this point, the device became very unstable:

• Many freezes followed by restarts (even with very light use or when I did not touch anything at all)
• A restart while sleeping

I tried a factory reset, but it didn't help.
I also did a manual reset yesterday, and observed the same as during the initial "out of the box" start :

• Device came up with 4.30.18838 after the reset. Everything seemed stable
• Got an upgrade pop-up which I cancelled ("Upgrade Later" or something)
• Used the device a bit more without problem
• Let the device alone for a couple of hours
• When I took it again, it had upgraded to 4.33.19611 and now crashes constantly.

I noticed that the device generated some stack traces (.kobo/stack_*.log), which indicate Segmentation Faults (SIGSEGV) in the nickel process.

I would really appreciate some help/guidance from this forum! 😊

• Can I safely assume that the HW is fine, since the device seems OK with 4.30.18838?
  I was considering exchanging it, but it may not help if the crashes are due to a weird combination of firmware + specific settings / actions.
• What could I do to investigate this further?
  I could probably try a downgrade to 4.30.18838 again, to see if the device is stable there. But I guess I would need to patch the firmware ("Always show confirmation dialog before upgrading") to avoid an automatic upgrade as soon as I look the other way?
  Other ideas of things I could try, to confirm that this is not a HW issue?
• I cannot do much with the stack traces without the source code. What is the best way to send to the Kobo dev. team?
  I saw a mention of the help@kobobooks.com address on an old thread. Is it still active and monitored by someone from Kobo? Would it help to send my traces there?

Regards,
--
Rkob

[AnnaKelly1987]

Everything seems fine with your device. It seems to be more of a software issue. I'd downgrade the system and turn off the wifi if it's possible. It's unfortunately the only way to prevent system updates.

[rashkae]

Originally Posted by Rkob

[*]Can I safely assume that the HW is fine, since the device seems OK with 4.30.18838?

You can't safely assume that at all. This kind of instability is not typical of the device with firmware 4.33, (either in my own experience, or related here.).. so the problem is either with the content you are loading on the device triggering a software bug, or the software exposing a hardware problem. If you you are still within DOA return period for whatever retail channel you purchased the kobo, I would return it for an exchange. (This will be more difficult if purchased directly from Kobo, but at least you will have the full warranty period if it comes to that.)

[Quoth]

Try 4.32.x
Scroll to bottom of page and click Versions here https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html

April 2022 4.32.19501 Download for Libra 2 (hover on link on page)
If it's still bad, then either the database is damaged (check it in Calibre) or some other problem has developed.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Try 4.32.x
Scroll to bottom of page and click Versions here https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html

April 2022 4.32.19501 Download for Libra 2 (hover on link on page)
If it's still bad, then either the database is damaged (check it in Calibre) or some other problem has developed.

It's best to check the database with Kobo Utilities (plugin for Calibre) before doing anything with the firmware. Because if the database is corrupt, who know s what would happen trying to swap the firmware.

[RobertJSawyer]

Yes, my Kobo Libra 2 has been unstable with recent firmwares, too. It was fine with 4.30.18838, but freezes with irritating frequency when, for instance, switching books or going to the main settings page, with all subsequent firmwares.

[Rkob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's best to check the database with Kobo Utilities (plugin for Calibre) before doing anything with the firmware. Because if the database is corrupt, who know s what would happen trying to swap the firmware.

The database is OK, according to Kobo Utilities.
But I did at least one manual reset yesterday. Wouldn't I get a fresh database then? Or do you mean that the database could have been corrupted just after (or before) the upgrade to 4.33.19611?

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

Yes, my Kobo Libra 2 has been unstable with recent firmwares, too. It was fine with 4.30.18838, but freezes with irritating frequency when, for instance, switching books or going to the main settings page, with all subsequent firmwares.

Hmm… If other people are seeing similar behaviours, it could strengthen the theory that the firmware is buggy and that my HW is fine. But of course, it could also be a coincidence and my crashes could be due to something completely different! 😊

I will try to run 4.30.18838 for a while, probably patched with "Always show confirmation dialog before upgrading" to avoid an immediate upgrade to 4.33.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Rkob

I will try to run 4.30.18838 for a while, probably patched with "Always show confirmation dialog before upgrading" to avoid an immediate upgrade to 4.33.

Go for 4.32. and not 4.30. I've run 4.32 and had no problems.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Go for 4.32. and not 4.30. I've run 4.32 and had no problems.

I have no problems with 4.32 either.

[windirt]

My Libra 2 running 4.33.19611 is very stable and has not crashed for several days, as long as nanoclock is not installed.

[meeera]

I only upgraded to 4.33[...] today, but I then read for about three hours with no problems at all. Also connected to Calibre and loaded a couple of books, no issues.

[Rkob]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

I tried 4.30.18838 yesterday evening and read for about one hour. It crashed "only" 2 times, when reading a Pocket article. Reading an Overdrive book seemed OK. It was way, way better than 4.33 (but not perfect).

I will try 4.32 tonight and see how it goes. Then 4.33 again tomorrow.

⇒ Question to those of you who run without crashes on 4.32 and 4.33: do you use the Pocket integration? Overdrive?
I've only tried the Libra 2 with those two integrations enabled, and only read documents from there. Not sure how / what people usually read, so I wonder if it could explain why it crashes so much for me (apart from a HW fault?).
I could probably return the Overdrive book, not activate Pocket and try a sideloaded EPUB book instead, to see how it behaves on 4.33.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Rkob

⇒ Question to those of you who run without crashes on 4.32 and 4.33: do you use the Pocket integration? Overdrive?
I've only tried the Libra 2 with those two integrations enabled, and only read documents from there. Not sure how / what people usually read, so I wonder if it could explain why it crashes so much for me (apart from a HW fault?).
I could probably return the Overdrive book, not activate Pocket and try a sideloaded EPUB book instead, to see how it behaves on 4.33.

I do not use Pocket or Overdrive with my Libra 2.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I do not use Pocket or Overdrive with my Libra 2.

Me neither.

[RobertJSawyer]

I'm a huge user of Pocket but don't use Overdrive; perhaps that has something to do with why I still see instability in the latest firmware on my Libra 2.

I also almost exclusively read .kepub books bought directly from Kobo; I almost never use plain .epub (so my rendering is done my Nickel, not RMDSK).