Unable to open books on Vox

arlenec · 11-26-2011, 01:32 PM

Hi, I recieved my Vox about 3 days ago and have not been able to read any books that I have purchased thru Kobo. Every time I try to open them, I receive the following message "Sorry!, We couldn't open this item. We're working to fix the problem-- please try again later." I am beyond frustrated with this. I tried Kobo customer help last night and it was not a pleasant experience, I'm hoping some here may be able to explain what the heck is going on.
thanks Arlene

hpulley · 11-26-2011, 02:27 PM

Haven't heard of that one. Can you see the books in your library but they don't open on your Vox? Do they open in a PC reader?

taming · 11-26-2011, 03:01 PM

Are you talking about ePUBs with Kobo's DRM (AKA kepubs) or books with Adobe Adept DRM, or DRM free books? You need to be sure that your usernames and passwords match up for both the Kobo account and for your Adobe account. The ADE books cannot be opened on the Kobo App for the Vox. I use Aldiko for those.

arlenec · 11-26-2011, 03:37 PM

Since my original post I have downloaded Aldiko and imported my digital editions, now I can read the books on the Vox.
I am very disappointed with KOBO, you should not have to import applications in order to complete basic tasks.

arlenec · 11-26-2011, 03:39 PM

Yes the books appear in the library on the Vox but will not open. I am able to read them from my Kobo desktop.

taming · 11-26-2011, 08:19 PM

Kobo's tech specs do not include DRM ePUBS as supported file formats for Kobo on the VOX. I know a lot of people use magic to remove the DRM and read the books using the Vox Kobo app. IMO, this is one of the differentiators between the Vox and the Touch. If the Touch couldn't make use of Adobe DRM books, it would be a much bigger deal.

The Kobo Vox App is an early version. Things change fairly dramatically over time. This could change in the future.

http://www.kobobooks.com/kobovox_tech

DoreyR · 12-04-2011, 11:38 AM

I sent a Kobo Vox to my elderly Mom as a gift. She successfully purchased new books from Kobo but is unable to read them. She gets the message "Sorry, we couldn't open this item ..." just like the original poster.
I am halfway across the country and cannot help her. The Kobo support folks on the phone told her it would be "an indeterminate amount of time" before the issue is fixed.
I can't implement the suggestion here to add some 3rd party app because I am too far away.
Up until now I was a satisfied Kobo customer. Anytime I had an issue it was fixed.
But now, my Mom is beside herself with frustration that she can't use her new toy and she feels ripped off for spending money on books she can't read. My ravings about how wonderful Kobo usually is are falling on deaf ears.
Not good, Kobo. Not good at all.

Jesslynne · 12-04-2011, 12:19 PM

I'd just helped a customer with this problem, though he was in to buy the vox for the Third time. The first time he told me he had this problem, he returned it after waiting days for it to fix itself. He never did tell me what happened with the second one for him to return it.

But that was the first time I'd heard of it, but now I know it wasn't only him experiencing it. I hope he doesn't have any further problems..

pokee · 12-05-2011, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoreyR

I sent a Kobo Vox to my elderly Mom as a gift. She successfully purchased new books from Kobo but is unable to read them. She gets the message "Sorry, we couldn't open this item ..." just like the original poster.
I am halfway across the country and cannot help her. The Kobo support folks on the phone told her it would be "an indeterminate amount of time" before the issue is fixed.
I can't implement the suggestion here to add some 3rd party app because I am too far away.
Up until now I was a satisfied Kobo customer. Anytime I had an issue it was fixed.
But now, my Mom is beside herself with frustration that she can't use her new toy and she feels ripped off for spending money on books she can't read. My ravings about how wonderful Kobo usually is are falling on deaf ears.
Not good, Kobo. Not good at all.

In your particular case, I'd have her exchange the Vox for another (hopefully it's within the 30 day period, if it was bought at BB or FS. If you bought it from Kobo or Chapters, she can exchange her Vox at a local Chapters) if she can do that herself. I know my eldery mom would not be able to even manage downloading the books, let alone solve a technical issue herself, so I don't buy such gifts!!!

DoreyR · 12-06-2011, 06:10 AM

My Mom will exchange it at Chapters as soon as I can get the receipt to her. I don't hold any hope that this will work because
1. the customer service rep did not suggest it (usually they do)
2. the original poster fixed it by loading a 3rd party app, which we cannot do

Fingers crossed.

pokee · 12-06-2011, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoreyR

My Mom will exchange it at Chapters as soon as I can get the receipt to her. I don't hold any hope that this will work because
1. the customer service rep did not suggest it (usually they do)
2. the original poster fixed it by loading a 3rd party app, which we cannot do

Fingers crossed.

Get her to speak to the manager, and she should have no trouble if she requests it and says she's tried everything the customer service reps. have asked. If she says, 'Either you exchange it, or I am returning it' chances are, the manager will be delighted to exchange it for her...

Update: OR....tell the Chapters staff if they can get it working for her, she'll keep it - otherwise, I'll have a new one, please! Sounds reasonable to me!!!

PhilDick · 12-07-2011, 12:05 AM

I'm having the identical problem. I had an existing kobo account, purchased and free books in my kobo library which I used on my android smartphone. My wife bought me a kobo vox ereader, and most (not all) of my books either "waiting to downoad" or "downloading" with zero progress for several minutes, until it says "download complete" and moves to the next one and (usually) repeats. I've checked for firmware updates, cleared my local data (within the kobo app), refreshed the library, removed many of the books from my library, rebooted repeatedly, all to no avail. I can't figure out how to check for application updates, neither through the Manage Apps from the main screen menu or the terrible GetJar "Get Apps" app.

I've sent several emails to customer support and received no response. When I eventually got through on the phone, I was told "We're having a trouble with downloads to the Vox. We're working on it."

Perhaps I'll try an exchange before I return it. Perhaps I'll try a factory reset. There's no way I'll download a third-party app to read kobo books from my kobo account in the kobo app on my kobo hardware... I couldn't live in a world like that....

arlenec · 12-09-2011, 08:37 AM

I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier.
As an update to my original post, I have been able to correct the problem by doing a forced stop to the original KOBO app and then reloading a new KOBO app, as I suspected I probably had a corrupted file.
KOBO really really needs to improve their troubleshooting section on the help menu and their customer service.

PhilDick · 12-16-2011, 07:12 AM

I was getting ready to return mine this weekend,when I finally got an email reply from Kobo support (approx. 11 days after submitting it). They said they had "reset the files in my library", and I should refresh my library from my end. It's working much better now, but still occasionally requires a full power down and power up to download new kobo books.

It appears to be a problem limited to kobo app and service.

I was going to re-install kobo app, but couldn't figure out how to uninstall pre-installed apps (could only uninstall downloaded apps.

I'll try your recommendation on reinstalling kobo after a forced start. Did you get the new kobo app from the pre-installed GetJar/Get Apps market, or somewhere else?

PhilDick · 12-16-2011, 07:26 AM

OK, now I have a new kobo app that works much better (from GetJar). But the menu at the bottom of the home screen and the widgets still launch the old version!?!

11-26-2011, 01:32 PM	#1
arlenec Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Canada Device: kobo vox	Unable to open books on Vox Hi, I recieved my Vox about 3 days ago and have not been able to read any books that I have purchased thru Kobo. Every time I try to open them, I receive the following message "Sorry!, We couldn't open this item. We're working to fix the problem-- please try again later." I am beyond frustrated with this. I tried Kobo customer help last night and it was not a pleasant experience, I'm hoping some here may be able to explain what the heck is going on. thanks Arlene

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11-26-2011, 02:27 PM	#2
hpulley Addict Posts: 288 Karma: 29760 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Vox, Playbook32	Haven't heard of that one. Can you see the books in your library but they don't open on your Vox? Do they open in a PC reader?

11-26-2011, 03:01 PM	#3
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	Are you talking about ePUBs with Kobo's DRM (AKA kepubs) or books with Adobe Adept DRM, or DRM free books? You need to be sure that your usernames and passwords match up for both the Kobo account and for your Adobe account. The ADE books cannot be opened on the Kobo App for the Vox. I use Aldiko for those.

11-26-2011, 03:37 PM	#4
arlenec Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Canada Device: kobo vox	Since my original post I have downloaded Aldiko and imported my digital editions, now I can read the books on the Vox. I am very disappointed with KOBO, you should not have to import applications in order to complete basic tasks.

11-26-2011, 03:39 PM	#5
arlenec Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Canada Device: kobo vox	Yes the books appear in the library on the Vox but will not open. I am able to read them from my Kobo desktop.

11-26-2011, 08:19 PM	#6
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	Kobo's tech specs do not include DRM ePUBS as supported file formats for Kobo on the VOX. I know a lot of people use magic to remove the DRM and read the books using the Vox Kobo app. IMO, this is one of the differentiators between the Vox and the Touch. If the Touch couldn't make use of Adobe DRM books, it would be a much bigger deal. The Kobo Vox App is an early version. Things change fairly dramatically over time. This could change in the future. http://www.kobobooks.com/kobovox_tech

12-04-2011, 11:38 AM	#7
DoreyR Member Posts: 22 Karma: 220 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo, iPad 3g, iPhone 3GS, Pandigital (Black, Kobo)	I sent a Kobo Vox to my elderly Mom as a gift. She successfully purchased new books from Kobo but is unable to read them. She gets the message "Sorry, we couldn't open this item ..." just like the original poster. I am halfway across the country and cannot help her. The Kobo support folks on the phone told her it would be "an indeterminate amount of time" before the issue is fixed. I can't implement the suggestion here to add some 3rd party app because I am too far away. Up until now I was a satisfied Kobo customer. Anytime I had an issue it was fixed. But now, my Mom is beside herself with frustration that she can't use her new toy and she feels ripped off for spending money on books she can't read. My ravings about how wonderful Kobo usually is are falling on deaf ears. Not good, Kobo. Not good at all.

12-04-2011, 12:19 PM	#8
Jesslynne Zealot Posts: 141 Karma: 126 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Manitoba, Canada Device: Kobo Vox, Kobo Mini	I'd just helped a customer with this problem, though he was in to buy the vox for the Third time. The first time he told me he had this problem, he returned it after waiting days for it to fix itself. He never did tell me what happened with the second one for him to return it. But that was the first time I'd heard of it, but now I know it wasn't only him experiencing it. I hope he doesn't have any further problems..

12-06-2011, 06:10 AM	#10
DoreyR Member Posts: 22 Karma: 220 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo, iPad 3g, iPhone 3GS, Pandigital (Black, Kobo)	My Mom will exchange it at Chapters as soon as I can get the receipt to her. I don't hold any hope that this will work because 1. the customer service rep did not suggest it (usually they do) 2. the original poster fixed it by loading a 3rd party app, which we cannot do Fingers crossed.

12-07-2011, 12:05 AM	#12
PhilDick Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: kobo vox	I'm having the identical problem. I had an existing kobo account, purchased and free books in my kobo library which I used on my android smartphone. My wife bought me a kobo vox ereader, and most (not all) of my books either "waiting to downoad" or "downloading" with zero progress for several minutes, until it says "download complete" and moves to the next one and (usually) repeats. I've checked for firmware updates, cleared my local data (within the kobo app), refreshed the library, removed many of the books from my library, rebooted repeatedly, all to no avail. I can't figure out how to check for application updates, neither through the Manage Apps from the main screen menu or the terrible GetJar "Get Apps" app. I've sent several emails to customer support and received no response. When I eventually got through on the phone, I was told "We're having a trouble with downloads to the Vox. We're working on it." Perhaps I'll try an exchange before I return it. Perhaps I'll try a factory reset. There's no way I'll download a third-party app to read kobo books from my kobo account in the kobo app on my kobo hardware... I couldn't live in a world like that....

12-09-2011, 08:37 AM	#13
arlenec Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Canada Device: kobo vox	I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier. As an update to my original post, I have been able to correct the problem by doing a forced stop to the original KOBO app and then reloading a new KOBO app, as I suspected I probably had a corrupted file. KOBO really really needs to improve their troubleshooting section on the help menu and their customer service.

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12-16-2011, 07:12 AM	#14
PhilDick Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: kobo vox	I was getting ready to return mine this weekend,when I finally got an email reply from Kobo support (approx. 11 days after submitting it). They said they had "reset the files in my library", and I should refresh my library from my end. It's working much better now, but still occasionally requires a full power down and power up to download new kobo books. It appears to be a problem limited to kobo app and service. I was going to re-install kobo app, but couldn't figure out how to uninstall pre-installed apps (could only uninstall downloaded apps. I'll try your recommendation on reinstalling kobo after a forced start. Did you get the new kobo app from the pre-installed GetJar/Get Apps market, or somewhere else?

12-16-2011, 07:26 AM	#15
PhilDick Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: kobo vox	OK, now I have a new kobo app that works much better (from GetJar). But the menu at the bottom of the home screen and the widgets still launch the old version!?!