Sage New Device : Can not get it to work with Calibre! Please help.

ItIsMe · 10-19-2025, 03:38 AM

Hi.. I just bought a Kobo Sage and having a hell of a time trying to get it to work with Calibre.

what is happening
Basically it sees the device and has the "send to device button"... I can click it and it will "send", show the tick and eveything... but when I unplug the Sage from my computer there are no new books visible on the device. If I then plug the device back into the computer and open Calibre again, none of the books i just sent have the "green, on device" tick anymore. If I browse to the root of the dir accessible via windows explore, all the books I uploaded are there in the root.

What I have tried
I found this guide Calibre setup for Kobo ebook reader posted 12 July 2025 on a blog called "juliusunscripted".

It told me to install a plugin called "Kobo Utilities". I did this and then followed the other instructions in the post. The only thing I did different is that in Kobo Utilities I made a profile for the device, and added the "new columns" by clicking create columns and then using the default values.

<edit> Remove link to imgpur and added image as attachment DNSB

The only settings I didn't change was in the OTHER tab, as I didn't know what they were or how to use them.

After following that Blog

The blog just runs me through some steps and then says to click the "send to device button". After it is sent I can click on "device" and see the books. I try to be super careful, so I exit Calibre, then in explore right click on the kobo and select "eject" before unplugging it.

BUT...... When I plug it back in

When I plug it back in the books show as "not" on the device (no green ticks)
They are not on the device, if I click on the device button, no books are listed at all.
They are physically in the root of the drive, inside the author name subsDir. By root I mean in explore I click on the drive "KOBOeReader".

TL;DR

Q: I can not get Calibre to send files to my new Kobo Sage. How can I get this to work?

ItIsMe · 10-19-2025, 06:07 AM

I think i got this fixed.....

I uploaded the book, the way that was working but not being displayed.... (see my post above)..... then I closed Calibre, disconnected the kobo device and then rebooted it.

Once rebooted (the books are still not showing) I connected the device to the PC again, and manually, through explorer, deleted the file KoboReader.sqlite. Then I disconnected and rebooted the device.

This was as if I just opened it from the box... it asked all the startup questions, what language I wanted, my wifi password, link to my kobo account etc etc....

... but once the device got to the homepage, the books I uploaded (that couldn't be seen before) could now be seen. Also, from now on I could upload, delete and edit metadata as expected via Calibre.

So, that is who I got it all working... I "think" the problem was as there were liturgically no books on the device the reader had not "created" a database of any kind... forcing the restart of the setup process by deleting the file, as it found books during this time, built the database. So now it can update and have things loaded in and out of it, as expected.

Sirtel · 10-19-2025, 06:58 AM

Try it this way:

After the books have been sent, don't exit calibre. In the library view, click on the Device icon on the toolbar and eject your Sage from there.

Don't unplug your Sage. Wait until you see the notice about importing the books on the screen of the Sage.

After the books have been imported and you see the home screen, unplug the Sage.

Now, if you never see any notice about importing books or importing stops before reaching the end, this means a book (or several) has errors and the Sage can't process it, and therefore not any subsequent books either. In that case, try sending the books in small batches or one by one, until you find the one not imported. Open it in the calibre editor and check for errors (the bug icon).

PeterT · 10-19-2025, 08:39 AM

I presume that you did go through the Kobo setup and configuration steps, including the registering of the device and at least one WiFi sync to ensure that it has had any firmware upgrades applied, and that the time and date is correct.

I don't know why that author has you install Kobo Utilities; while it's useful it's not essential. The Driver configuration options can be reached either from Preferences | Plugins | and selecting Kobo Touch in the list of Device Interface plugins, or with the device connected selecting the little arrow by the Device Icon on the menu.

Seeing you DO have Kobo Utilities installed, is it displaying any errors regarding a corrupted database?

JSWolf · 10-19-2025, 04:59 PM

As we have a lot of people from the UK, they won't be able to see your image as imgur is no longer accessible from the UK. Please fond a different host for your image and edit your post to reflect this. Thanks.

Edit removed image link and added as attachment

meeera · 10-21-2025, 05:25 AM

Just chiming in to re-emphasise what Sirtel implied: that at no point have you talked about safely ejecting your Kobo and waiting for it to unmount and import before unplugging. If you have in fact at amy point just unplugged it without safely ejecting, you may have a corrupted database, which is going to cause all sorts of issues until you rebuild it. You rebuild it by logging out of your Kobo account on the device, then back in again.

10-19-2025, 03:38 AM	#1
ItIsMe Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2025 Device: Kobo Sage	New Device : Can not get it to work with Calibre! Please help. Hi.. I just bought a Kobo Sage and having a hell of a time trying to get it to work with Calibre. what is happening Basically it sees the device and has the "send to device button"... I can click it and it will "send", show the tick and eveything... but when I unplug the Sage from my computer there are no new books visible on the device. If I then plug the device back into the computer and open Calibre again, none of the books i just sent have the "green, on device" tick anymore. If I browse to the root of the dir accessible via windows explore, all the books I uploaded are there in the root. What I have tried I found this guide Calibre setup for Kobo ebook reader posted 12 July 2025 on a blog called "juliusunscripted". It told me to install a plugin called "Kobo Utilities". I did this and then followed the other instructions in the post. The only thing I did different is that in Kobo Utilities I made a profile for the device, and added the "new columns" by clicking create columns and then using the default values. <edit> Remove link to imgpur and added image as attachment DNSB The only settings I didn't change was in the OTHER tab, as I didn't know what they were or how to use them. After following that Blog The blog just runs me through some steps and then says to click the "send to device button". After it is sent I can click on "device" and see the books. I try to be super careful, so I exit Calibre, then in explore right click on the kobo and select "eject" before unplugging it. BUT...... When I plug it back in When I plug it back in the books show as "not" on the device (no green ticks) They are not on the device, if I click on the device button, no books are listed at all. They are physically in the root of the drive, inside the author name subsDir. By root I mean in explore I click on the drive "KOBOeReader". TL;DR Q: I can not get Calibre to send files to my new Kobo Sage. How can I get this to work? Attached Thumbnails Last edited by DNSB; 10-20-2025 at 07:43 PM. Reason: Removed image link and added as an attachment

10-19-2025, 04:59 PM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,789 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	As we have a lot of people from the UK, they won't be able to see your image as imgur is no longer accessible from the UK. Please fond a different host for your image and edit your post to reflect this. Thanks. Edit removed image link and added as attachment Last edited by DNSB; 10-20-2025 at 07:44 PM. Reason: Edit removed image link and added as attachment

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10-19-2025, 06:07 AM	#2
ItIsMe Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2025 Device: Kobo Sage	I think i got this fixed..... I uploaded the book, the way that was working but not being displayed.... (see my post above)..... then I closed Calibre, disconnected the kobo device and then rebooted it. Once rebooted (the books are still not showing) I connected the device to the PC again, and manually, through explorer, deleted the file KoboReader.sqlite. Then I disconnected and rebooted the device. This was as if I just opened it from the box... it asked all the startup questions, what language I wanted, my wifi password, link to my kobo account etc etc.... ... but once the device got to the homepage, the books I uploaded (that couldn't be seen before) could now be seen. Also, from now on I could upload, delete and edit metadata as expected via Calibre. So, that is who I got it all working... I "think" the problem was as there were liturgically no books on the device the reader had not "created" a database of any kind... forcing the restart of the setup process by deleting the file, as it found books during this time, built the database. So now it can update and have things loaded in and out of it, as expected.

10-19-2025, 06:58 AM	#3
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 14,002 Karma: 243829945 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Try it this way: After the books have been sent, don't exit calibre. In the library view, click on the Device icon on the toolbar and eject your Sage from there. Don't unplug your Sage. Wait until you see the notice about importing the books on the screen of the Sage. After the books have been imported and you see the home screen, unplug the Sage. Now, if you never see any notice about importing books or importing stops before reaching the end, this means a book (or several) has errors and the Sage can't process it, and therefore not any subsequent books either. In that case, try sending the books in small batches or one by one, until you find the one not imported. Open it in the calibre editor and check for errors (the bug icon).

10-19-2025, 08:39 AM	#4
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,703 Karma: 79983758 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	I presume that you did go through the Kobo setup and configuration steps, including the registering of the device and at least one WiFi sync to ensure that it has had any firmware upgrades applied, and that the time and date is correct. I don't know why that author has you install Kobo Utilities; while it's useful it's not essential. The Driver configuration options can be reached either from Preferences \| Plugins \| and selecting Kobo Touch in the list of Device Interface plugins, or with the device connected selecting the little arrow by the Device Icon on the menu. Seeing you DO have Kobo Utilities installed, is it displaying any errors regarding a corrupted database?

10-21-2025, 05:25 AM	#6
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,862 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Just chiming in to re-emphasise what Sirtel implied: that at no point have you talked about safely ejecting your Kobo and waiting for it to unmount and import before unplugging. If you have in fact at amy point just unplugged it without safely ejecting, you may have a corrupted database, which is going to cause all sorts of issues until you rebuild it. You rebuild it by logging out of your Kobo account on the device, then back in again.

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