Kobo App - Trying to login with Walmart account

[Fat Abe]

When I installed the PC-based Kobo app in August 2022, I set it up with a gmail account that I also use to buy books through the Kobo web site. Recently I linked a Walmart account, which uses a different gmail email address, to the Kobo online bookstore. The online stuff works fine, and I was able to buy a book with the second account on 9/11.

However, the PC-based Kobo app is more finicky about multiple users. After logging out of the initial account for the PC-based Kobo app, I attempted to login with Sign In and Link option (using Walmart gmail email address) and the app threw this error: Something went wrong, please try again. I realize there are workarounds that bypass the Kobo app for downloading purchases, but this is inconvenient. Is this due to the Kobo app being tied to a specific reader?

[Fat Abe]

Life has gotten more confusing since Kobo and Walmart severed their business relationship. This is a not too helpful link on the Kobo site of how to deal with the end of the partnership.

https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/artic...lmart-accounts

I fear my purchases with the Walmart linked account have disappeared into the ether. If I did not have a backup of the Adobe Digital Editions Encrypted files, all the old purchases would be gone. Has anyone successfully recovered the history (cloud archive) of their previous (Walmart) linked ebooks?

[PeterT]

It doesn't seem overly complex.

Say your Walmart account was associated with name@account.com, go to the page Kobo links to https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/artic...count-password and enter name@account.com and then check your email for that account and get your new Kobo password

[issybird]

It's been a while since I've done it, but contacting customer support and getting them to merge accounts used to be painless. What you lose is the purchase history, but the books show up in your library (and sync right to your device, if that's your preference).

[Fat Abe]

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried to request a password reset using the email address I used on walmart, and never got a link from Kobo. Since I probably never registered with Kobo directly, there is no password for them to reset. Even now, I use gmail's system to qualify my email address. It seems more secure than logging in directly to kobo.com, and remembering another password in my life. Gmail will outlast kobo, barnes and noble, irex, and all the small companies that proliferate(d) the internet. But, that is just my opinion about the trash heap of civilization.

[PeterT]

Call customer support --> Canada/US: 1-800-368-5390

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Fat Abe

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried to request a password reset using the email address I used on walmart, and never got a link from Kobo. Since I probably never registered with Kobo directly, there is no password for them to reset. Even now, I use gmail's system to qualify my email address. It seems more secure than logging in directly to kobo.com, and remembering another password in my life. Gmail will outlast kobo, barnes and noble, irex, and all the small companies that proliferate(d) the internet. But, that is just my opinion about the trash heap of civilization.

Single Sign-On/ OAUTH has outlived its usefulness outside of a corporate setting. It may have made sense for some at one time to Sign-In With Google or Sign-In With Facebook when everyone had weak passwords and were scrambling to remember them all. But with password managers freely available everywhere now, SSO causes more headaches than it solves. Just create a unique account for every website.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

Single Sign-On/ OAUTH has outlived its usefulness outside of a corporate setting. It may have made sense for some at one time to Sign-In With Google or Sign-In With Facebook when everyone had weak passwords and were scrambling to remember them all. But with password managers freely available everywhere now, SSO causes more headaches than it solves. Just create a unique account for every website.

It was always evil too. I've never used it and always had unique password for every site.
OAUTH is designed to reduce privacy. It's not actually more secure, just a pain. See also MS and others attempts to "abolish" passwords.