Error Communicating With Device

kgavin · 03-09-2020, 06:07 PM

I have read a number of threads out there going back to 2011 about this Calibre error. I have tried a lot of the suggestions offered. None of them have worked. There seems to be a variety of reasons for this error all centered around why Calibre cannot communicate with your device or at least why Calibre thinks it cannot communicate with your device. I got so frustrated I ordered a new Kobo Forma (on sale) because my Kobo Aura One is pretty old and I thought that maybe my ereader was just broke.

Of course I then stumbled on the solution after ordering my new Kobo. My solution is not out there that I can see so I thought I'd post it so others can consider it as a potential solution. The book I was currently reading was corrupted. The magical IT fairies corrupted my book and Kobo had a fit when I tried to open it. It was fine yesterday. I deleted it. I then plugged my Kobo back into my computer and Calibre is now happy with it. The error msg is gone. I hope this helps someone.

davidfor · 03-09-2020, 08:36 PM

Sorry, I don't see a solution in your post. Effectively you have said to get the IT gods to corrupt a book and things will be fixed when you try to open it. I'm not sure if that is a practical solution

Or are you asking for help to know what happened to fix things?

If so, it would help to know what was going on if you had posted the error message you saw. The "error communicating with device" is a fairly generic error, and the detail will tell more about what is happening. And it depends on when the error happened. Was it during the initial connect, when updating metadata or sending a book?

For a Kobo device, the most common reason is a that the firmware has been updated but the calibre version hasn't been updated to match. The next most common is a corrupt database on the device. To fix that, you usually need to log out of the Kobo account on the device, or restore a backup of the database. Issues with individual books are usually because or DRM or errors in the book. The latter will happen if you are using the extended driver to send books as kepubs.

The "Kobo had a fit" doesn't say much. If it meant the device restarted and redid the setup, then that would suggest a corrupt database. The setup process creates a new database and reimports the sideloaded books. That would fix a lot of errors.

03-09-2020, 06:07 PM	#1
kgavin Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2019 Device: onyx nova pro, kobo aura one	Error Communicating With Device I have read a number of threads out there going back to 2011 about this Calibre error. I have tried a lot of the suggestions offered. None of them have worked. There seems to be a variety of reasons for this error all centered around why Calibre cannot communicate with your device or at least why Calibre thinks it cannot communicate with your device. I got so frustrated I ordered a new Kobo Forma (on sale) because my Kobo Aura One is pretty old and I thought that maybe my ereader was just broke. Of course I then stumbled on the solution after ordering my new Kobo. My solution is not out there that I can see so I thought I'd post it so others can consider it as a potential solution. The book I was currently reading was corrupted. The magical IT fairies corrupted my book and Kobo had a fit when I tried to open it. It was fine yesterday. I deleted it. I then plugged my Kobo back into my computer and Calibre is now happy with it. The error msg is gone. I hope this helps someone.

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03-09-2020, 08:36 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	Sorry, I don't see a solution in your post. Effectively you have said to get the IT gods to corrupt a book and things will be fixed when you try to open it. I'm not sure if that is a practical solution Or are you asking for help to know what happened to fix things? If so, it would help to know what was going on if you had posted the error message you saw. The "error communicating with device" is a fairly generic error, and the detail will tell more about what is happening. And it depends on when the error happened. Was it during the initial connect, when updating metadata or sending a book? For a Kobo device, the most common reason is a that the firmware has been updated but the calibre version hasn't been updated to match. The next most common is a corrupt database on the device. To fix that, you usually need to log out of the Kobo account on the device, or restore a backup of the database. Issues with individual books are usually because or DRM or errors in the book. The latter will happen if you are using the extended driver to send books as kepubs. The "Kobo had a fit" doesn't say much. If it meant the device restarted and redid the setup, then that would suggest a corrupt database. The setup process creates a new database and reimports the sideloaded books. That would fix a lot of errors.

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