Kobo pooched - screen anomaly

Deerslayer · 04-18-2011, 07:29 AM

Well, I got almost a year's worth of joy out of it, so I guess I may have to accept things, but ...

I settled down to finish reading one of my books the other day. A chunk of the screen (about 2" square, lower left corner, top of it was ragged, right side was straight) was blank! No matter what I have tried, this never goes away. The device is now useless. It is almost like something got laid on top of that area, with a very precise edge (not even 1 pixel variation along that straight edge!) and masked it off.

Having accepted that the device is probably pooched, I would really like to know what kind of things can happen to e-ink. This Kobo is one of the earliest, I bought it the first week or so that it hit Chapters. I have always protected it, kept in a soft case, etc. If the defective area was completely regular, e.g., a rectangle, I would suspect some sort of screen driver/memory problem, but the pattern I have mystifies me. So, before I "close the chapter" on my e-book experience, I wonder if someone in KOBO support might have some thoughts on this? Or, has anyone else seen something similar? Or, is there some rare susceptibility to (UV?) that e-ink experiences?

Thankfully, I have never bought any e-books! I found lots of good stuff, much of it via feedbooks.com, to keep me entertained. I will certainly miss the ability to have all kinds of reference manual PDF's readily available (camera, car, various electronic things, other personal documents etc.) - that was a major selling point for me of KOBO vs. Kindle and some others. At least I have my Eee PC, which can do this, and more, but does have a hard disk, so one has to be more careful about its use.

I appreciate any thoughts on this matter.

digiSara · 04-18-2011, 08:54 AM

I don't know anything about the expected life of e-ink, but thought I'd mention that Kobo seems to have a policy to replace/repair the devices - according to this thread anyways: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=129277

You might try going into Chapters or calling Kobo.

PeterT · 04-18-2011, 11:55 AM

Or even open a support ticket on the Kobo web site. That was what I did and in just over a day I had the packing material to return the unit that had a broken screen.

RussMeyer · 04-19-2011, 01:15 AM

My original was 9 or10 months old in February when the screen went on it. I took it back to Coles where I bought it and they replaced it with a new Wifi model. If it's less thana year old it should be replaceable.

Deerslayer · 04-19-2011, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussMeyer

My original was 9 or10 months old in February when the screen went on it. I took it back to Coles where I bought it and they replaced it with a new Wifi model. If it's less thana year old it should be replaceable.

That is exactly what happened to me, yesterday!

Obviously, this (Chapters/KOBO) is a good outfit to be dealing with. I will certainly continue to recommend the KOBO product to friends and family. I was trying to resign myself to abandoning the system, and other alternative products really did not appeal to me.

JASR · 04-20-2011, 10:53 PM

In the first 9weeks of owning my Kobo the screen broke. Apparently the glass that sits under the e-ink screen is very sensitive. It's a big problem with most e-readers. I brought it back to the store and they replaced it. The Kobo Support can replace it if it's still under the 1yr warranty I think.

PeterT · 04-25-2011, 03:58 PM

And this morning, a rap on the door alerted me to Purolator dropping off a package. Turn around time from when I first got in touch with Kobo Support to receiving a unit was 13 days (contacted them on the 13th, received packaging material on the 15th, dropped the broken unit off a Purolator pickup at Staples on the 15th, received the new unit on the 25 th).

taming · 04-26-2011, 08:29 AM

My Kobo WiFi started acting strangely last week; the screen was toast Sunday. I brought it to Chapters (without a receipt) and 10 minutes later was back in my car with a new reader.

04-18-2011, 07:29 AM	#1
Deerslayer Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: KOBO	Kobo pooched - screen anomaly Well, I got almost a year's worth of joy out of it, so I guess I may have to accept things, but ... I settled down to finish reading one of my books the other day. A chunk of the screen (about 2" square, lower left corner, top of it was ragged, right side was straight) was blank! No matter what I have tried, this never goes away. The device is now useless. It is almost like something got laid on top of that area, with a very precise edge (not even 1 pixel variation along that straight edge!) and masked it off. Having accepted that the device is probably pooched, I would really like to know what kind of things can happen to e-ink. This Kobo is one of the earliest, I bought it the first week or so that it hit Chapters. I have always protected it, kept in a soft case, etc. If the defective area was completely regular, e.g., a rectangle, I would suspect some sort of screen driver/memory problem, but the pattern I have mystifies me. So, before I "close the chapter" on my e-book experience, I wonder if someone in KOBO support might have some thoughts on this? Or, has anyone else seen something similar? Or, is there some rare susceptibility to (UV?) that e-ink experiences? Thankfully, I have never bought any e-books! I found lots of good stuff, much of it via feedbooks.com, to keep me entertained. I will certainly miss the ability to have all kinds of reference manual PDF's readily available (camera, car, various electronic things, other personal documents etc.) - that was a major selling point for me of KOBO vs. Kindle and some others. At least I have my Eee PC, which can do this, and more, but does have a hard disk, so one has to be more careful about its use. I appreciate any thoughts on this matter.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
strange dictionary anomaly (non-rooted)	jswinden	Nook Color & Nook Tablet	0	03-23-2011 06:02 PM
Classic Anomaly with Trook and Nook?	jhempel24	Nook Developer's Corner	0	11-28-2010 12:19 PM
image zoom anomaly in iBooks	whbenson	Apple Devices	1	09-13-2010 10:51 AM
Kobo Screen	dc52	Kobo Reader	8	09-01-2010 03:10 PM
Win7 64 bit 1.4 Upgrade pooched Kobo Desktop App	Chuckels550	Kobo Reader	20	07-17-2010 12:02 PM

04-18-2011, 08:54 AM	#2
digiSara Groupie Posts: 158 Karma: 153344 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kobo wifi	I don't know anything about the expected life of e-ink, but thought I'd mention that Kobo seems to have a policy to replace/repair the devices - according to this thread anyways: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=129277 You might try going into Chapters or calling Kobo.

04-18-2011, 11:55 AM	#3
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,283 Karma: 78869092 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Or even open a support ticket on the Kobo web site. That was what I did and in just over a day I had the packing material to return the unit that had a broken screen.

04-19-2011, 01:15 AM	#4
RussMeyer Member Posts: 23 Karma: 12 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo	My original was 9 or10 months old in February when the screen went on it. I took it back to Coles where I bought it and they replaced it with a new Wifi model. If it's less thana year old it should be replaceable.

04-20-2011, 10:53 PM	#6
JASR Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo	In the first 9weeks of owning my Kobo the screen broke. Apparently the glass that sits under the e-ink screen is very sensitive. It's a big problem with most e-readers. I brought it back to the store and they replaced it. The Kobo Support can replace it if it's still under the 1yr warranty I think.

04-25-2011, 03:58 PM	#7
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,283 Karma: 78869092 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	And this morning, a rap on the door alerted me to Purolator dropping off a package. Turn around time from when I first got in touch with Kobo Support to receiving a unit was 13 days (contacted them on the 13th, received packaging material on the 15th, dropped the broken unit off a Purolator pickup at Staples on the 15th, received the new unit on the 25 th).

04-26-2011, 08:29 AM	#8
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	My Kobo WiFi started acting strangely last week; the screen was toast Sunday. I brought it to Chapters (without a receipt) and 10 minutes later was back in my car with a new reader.

Advert

Advert