Glo HD Kobo Glo HD Randomly freezing

tesseractcat · 05-30-2019, 11:07 PM

Hi,

Recently I've been experiencing an issue with my Kobo Glo HD. I've had it for a while now, and it has been starting to freeze. By freezing I mean that all touch input stops working and I have to force shut down (by holding the power button) and then turn on again. When it freezes the backlight stays on.

When this issue started I had KSM installed. I suspected that this could be a possible cause so I uninstalled it, however it did not fix it. I then tried reflashing the internal SD card with a clean SD image, which also did not fix it.

I was beginning to have battery issues at some point, so I replaced the battery with a new one, however the freezing issue only started to occur a few months later.

The freezing can occur in the main menu (not only inside books), although it seems to occur more often inside CBZ files.

If anyone can provide any advice I'd be very grateful.

davidfor · 05-30-2019, 11:12 PM

That could be a failing SD card. I had very similar problems with my Glo. I replaced the SD card and it is like new again.

NiLuJe · 05-31-2019, 03:36 PM

Is this happening at random, or after resuming from suspend?

tesseractcat · 05-31-2019, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

That could be a failing SD card. I had very similar problems with my Glo. I replaced the SD card and it is like new again.

Thanks for the tip! I replaced the built in sd card with a samsung evo microsd card I had lying around. So far it seems to have fixed the problem. Hopefully the issue doesn't return.

John F · 06-01-2019, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tesseractcat

Hi,

Recently I've been experiencing an issue with my Kobo Glo HD. I've had it for a while now, and it has been starting to freeze. By freezing I mean that all touch input stops working and I have to force shut down (by holding the power button) and then turn on again. When it freezes the backlight stays on.

...

I am getting this occasionally. The page just freezes with the light on. Pushing the button to sleep doesn't work the first couple of presses, but eventually it does and when I wake it up again it is fine.

tesseractcat · 06-01-2019, 11:50 AM

Ok, after using it for a while it seems that replacing the SD card did not fix it and the problem has returned. To answer NiLuJe's question, it happens at random while using the device, but will also happen while in suspend. This means that sometimes if I leave it sleeping for a while and try to wake it up it won't work.

I'm pretty sure the device is still on when it freezes, considering the frontlight stays on, and when I shut it down the red led only turns on after holding the power button for a while, which is consistent with how it functions when shutting it down while the device is on.

EDIT: Something to note is that when I shut down from a frozen state, it doesn't show the "Power off" screen, it just shows whatever I was doing before.

tesseractcat · 06-04-2019, 11:37 AM

Are there any logs or something I can pull from the device to gain more insight into what is causing the reader to freeze?

JAC70 · 06-04-2019, 05:10 PM

I have had random freezes on all my Kobos. I don't know whether its poorly formatted books or software glitches. I've just come to accept it.

davidfor · 06-04-2019, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tesseractcat

EDIT: Something to note is that when I shut down from a frozen state, it doesn't show the "Power off" screen, it just shows whatever I was doing before.

The "Powered off" screen is put there by the software as it shuts down cleanly. What you needed to do was to force the power off which means that didn't happen. The screen retains whatever was last written to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tesseractcat

Are there any logs or something I can pull from the device to gain more insight into what is causing the reader to freeze?

There might be a stack log file in the .kobo directory, but they don't usually get created when the device hangs. You can also turn on developer mode to get a syslog, but these aren't likely to show what you would need, and don't get written to the disk when the device is powered off.

What the problem is really depends on how random it really is. Does it happen on any screen? Does it only happen when reading? Does it happen when paging through the library? Or when new books are displayed in the reading list?

During reading suggests it is the book. The library list can again be the book as the device generates cover images.

If it is truly random, it is more likely to be hardware. The card is the only replaceable thing in the device, and if you have done that, then it is unlikely to be the problem now. Otherwise, failing memory or something else like that could be the culprit.

And for the record, the only hang I can think of recently sounds like what @John F described. For me, this happens when reading and marking text. Usually, it happens when marking from the right-side of the screen to the left. It can also happen if I fumble a page turn. For that, it usually happens when I hold the device one-handed and try to turn the page with my thumb. I think it means I didn't do a clean tap or swipe. There is probably a timing thing happening. It doesn't happen all the time, just enough to be annoying. And all I do is close the cover or press the power button, wait for the light to go off and wake it again.

tesseractcat · 06-04-2019, 10:57 PM

I have seen the issue occur in the menu without any books loaded at all (after a factory reset), which leads me to believe it's not an issue with a specific book.

The freezing occurs about once every 5-40 minutes of usage, so I doubt that it is typical Kobo freezing.

Something that I failed to mention is that about half the time when I shut down and restart, the screen doesn't turn on, and only the power led turns on (and stays on, until I shut it down). When I try to plug the kobo into the computer at this stage, my computer recognizes it as "SE Blank megrez," for whatever reason. Perhaps this is related to this issue at hand?

davidfor · 06-05-2019, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tesseractcat

I
Something that I failed to mention is that about half the time when I shut down and restart, the screen doesn't turn on, and only the power led turns on (and stays on, until I shut it down). When I try to plug the kobo into the computer at this stage, my computer recognizes it as "SE Blank megrez," for whatever reason. Perhaps this is related to this issue at hand?

That is something people see when the card is missing or has failed. I think it means the device cannot find anything to boot from.

I think I'd try another card. Or at least reseat it just in case.

tesseractcat · 06-05-2019, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

That is something people see when the card is missing or has failed. I think it means the device cannot find anything to boot from.

I think I'd try another card. Or at least reseat it just in case.

I can try another card, but I've tried 2 cards by now and it hasn't fixed it. Is it possible that the card reader itself is broken? If so, would it be possible to replace the component?

Lichterfee · 12-12-2019, 05:08 AM

Hi,
I've the same problem.
Did the replacement of the SD Card work for your Kobo?

05-30-2019, 11:07 PM	#1
tesseractcat Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Apr 2017 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Kindle Voyage	Kobo Glo HD Randomly freezing Hi, Recently I've been experiencing an issue with my Kobo Glo HD. I've had it for a while now, and it has been starting to freeze. By freezing I mean that all touch input stops working and I have to force shut down (by holding the power button) and then turn on again. When it freezes the backlight stays on. When this issue started I had KSM installed. I suspected that this could be a possible cause so I uninstalled it, however it did not fix it. I then tried reflashing the internal SD card with a clean SD image, which also did not fix it. I was beginning to have battery issues at some point, so I replaced the battery with a new one, however the freezing issue only started to occur a few months later. The freezing can occur in the main menu (not only inside books), although it seems to occur more often inside CBZ files. If anyone can provide any advice I'd be very grateful.

06-01-2019, 11:50 AM	#6
tesseractcat Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Apr 2017 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Kindle Voyage	Ok, after using it for a while it seems that replacing the SD card did not fix it and the problem has returned. To answer NiLuJe's question, it happens at random while using the device, but will also happen while in suspend. This means that sometimes if I leave it sleeping for a while and try to wake it up it won't work. I'm pretty sure the device is still on when it freezes, considering the frontlight stays on, and when I shut it down the red led only turns on after holding the power button for a while, which is consistent with how it functions when shutting it down while the device is on. EDIT: Something to note is that when I shut down from a frozen state, it doesn't show the "Power off" screen, it just shows whatever I was doing before. Last edited by tesseractcat; 06-01-2019 at 11:54 AM.

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05-30-2019, 11:12 PM	#2
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	That could be a failing SD card. I had very similar problems with my Glo. I replaced the SD card and it is like new again.

05-31-2019, 03:36 PM	#3
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Is this happening at random, or after resuming from suspend?

06-04-2019, 11:37 AM	#7
tesseractcat Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Apr 2017 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Kindle Voyage	Are there any logs or something I can pull from the device to gain more insight into what is causing the reader to freeze?

06-04-2019, 05:10 PM	#8
JAC70 Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: Kobo Clara HD	I have had random freezes on all my Kobos. I don't know whether its poorly formatted books or software glitches. I've just come to accept it.

06-04-2019, 10:57 PM	#10
tesseractcat Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Apr 2017 Device: Kobo Glo HD, Kindle Voyage	I have seen the issue occur in the menu without any books loaded at all (after a factory reset), which leads me to believe it's not an issue with a specific book. The freezing occurs about once every 5-40 minutes of usage, so I doubt that it is typical Kobo freezing. Something that I failed to mention is that about half the time when I shut down and restart, the screen doesn't turn on, and only the power led turns on (and stays on, until I shut it down). When I try to plug the kobo into the computer at this stage, my computer recognizes it as "SE Blank megrez," for whatever reason. Perhaps this is related to this issue at hand?

12-12-2019, 05:08 AM	#13
Lichterfee Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2019 Device: Kobo Glo HD	Hi, I've the same problem. Did the replacement of the SD Card work for your Kobo?

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