Does Anyone Have Any Alternative Kobo Wifi Uses?

omro · 11-15-2021, 03:49 PM

Hi All,

I've recently found my very first Kobo. A Kobo WiFi N647 to be exact. Shockingly, it still works.

Does anyone have any alternative uses for this device?

A use that occurred to me was that I could turn it into a (slightly cumbersome) display, maybe with a daily quote or something.

Has anyone hacked these devices into a new life? If so, how did you do it and what did you end up using it for?

Thanks!

davidfor · 11-15-2021, 06:52 PM

Turning ereaders into other things has been done, and there has been plenty of discussion about it here. One fairly common and simple use I can think of was as weather display. I would suggest searching the developers forum. They will be a few years old as there hasn't been much recent discussion of the WiFi.

omro · 11-15-2021, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

Turning ereaders into other things has been done, and there has been plenty of discussion about it here. One fairly common and simple use I can think of was as weather display. I would suggest searching the developers forum. They will be a few years old as there hasn't been much recent discussion of the WiFi.

Thank you. I've seen that when I google searched, but that's way more advanced than I think I would ever need, plus several of the links don't seem to work anymore sadly.

Lynx-lynx · 11-15-2021, 09:25 PM

In this smart world, ereaders really are dumb things aren't they. The interactivity is really minimal and base.

I was thinking if you'd want to try it as clock, but nothing else came to mind. And really there are far better choices of old smart stuff to use as a clock, or an alarm.

It's a good point though, how to get extended use out of old ereaders (and I've got maybe 5 old ereaders, (lol)

omro · 11-15-2021, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

In this smart world, ereaders really are dumb things aren't they. The interactivity is really minimal and base.

I was thinking if you'd want to try it as clock, but nothing else came to mind. And really there are far better choices of old smart stuff to use as a clock, or an alarm.

It's a good point though, how to get extended use out of old ereaders (and I've got maybe 5 old ereaders, (lol)

You're certainly right about that. My thought was, I could stick some magnets to the back and put it on the fridge and it could be like a little --- something. It's too old and pointless be be anything truly interactive, but something glanceable... perhaps.

If I could work out how to turn off the sleep mode, then could just load a pdf onto it, or something easy.

davidfor · 11-18-2021, 01:01 AM

I was looking for something else in the Wiki, and stumbled on https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kobo_WiFi_Hacking. That might give you some ideas. And some links to follow, if they still exist.

Quoth · 11-18-2021, 08:08 AM

Gave mine to one of the grandchildren.

martinot · 11-18-2021, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

Gave mine to one of the grandchildren.

Probably the best thing to do!

davidfor · 11-18-2021, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

Gave mine to one of the grandchildren.

Do they realise that means they are not one of the favoured grandchildren?

Rid · 11-18-2021, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omro

You're certainly right about that. My thought was, I could stick some magnets to the back and put it on the fridge and it could be like a little --- something.

That's fantastic thinking with the magnets!

I have been converting word doc and hand written recipes into epub cookbook. The fridge is the perfect spot!

I guess you could also use it as a countdown timer but the oven, the microwave, the scales, the dedicated timer and the phone has one...

omro · 11-18-2021, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rid

That's fantastic thinking with the magnets!

I have been converting word doc and hand written recipes into epub cookbook. The fridge is the perfect spot!

I guess you could also use it as a countdown timer but the oven, the microwave, the scales, the dedicated timer and the phone has one...

So...

I did order a strip of magnetic tape (arriving tomorrow).

I've decided it will be a running tally of my budget and spending. This is tracked a large font PDF and displays pretty nicely. I just wish I could kill off the sleep mode, as that reduces the size of the PDF. Still quite legible though.

I can update the PDF easily with an old SD card, so I don't even need to take it off the fridge often.

I'm fine with something this basic. I really don't have the wherewithal to learn how to hack this or program something more interesting and more interactive.

Again, I just wish I could turn off the sleep mode.

omro · 11-18-2021, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

I was looking for something else in the Wiki, and stumbled on https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kobo_WiFi_Hacking. That might give you some ideas. And some links to follow, if they still exist.

Thanks, I found that, but most of that takes me way out of my depth lol

omro · 11-18-2021, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

Gave mine to one of the grandchildren.

My son is 20 months, so even he's a little young for it

11-15-2021, 03:49 PM	#1
omro Addict Posts: 375 Karma: 452000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hamilton, On Device: Kobo Aura HD	Does Anyone Have Any Alternative Kobo Wifi Uses? Hi All, I've recently found my very first Kobo. A Kobo WiFi N647 to be exact. Shockingly, it still works. Does anyone have any alternative uses for this device? A use that occurred to me was that I could turn it into a (slightly cumbersome) display, maybe with a daily quote or something. Has anyone hacked these devices into a new life? If so, how did you do it and what did you end up using it for? Thanks! Last edited by omro; 11-15-2021 at 04:35 PM.

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11-15-2021, 06:52 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	Turning ereaders into other things has been done, and there has been plenty of discussion about it here. One fairly common and simple use I can think of was as weather display. I would suggest searching the developers forum. They will be a few years old as there hasn't been much recent discussion of the WiFi.

11-15-2021, 09:25 PM	#4
Lynx-lynx Treachery of images ... Posts: 4,116 Karma: 92523791 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Australia Device: Sony 650, Kobo Glo, H2O, Aura One, Forma, Libra 2, Libra Colour	In this smart world, ereaders really are dumb things aren't they. The interactivity is really minimal and base. I was thinking if you'd want to try it as clock, but nothing else came to mind. And really there are far better choices of old smart stuff to use as a clock, or an alarm. It's a good point though, how to get extended use out of old ereaders (and I've got maybe 5 old ereaders, (lol)

11-18-2021, 01:01 AM	#6
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	I was looking for something else in the Wiki, and stumbled on https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kobo_WiFi_Hacking. That might give you some ideas. And some links to follow, if they still exist.

11-18-2021, 08:08 AM	#7
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,948 Karma: 103895653 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	Gave mine to one of the grandchildren.

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