Need help with mark 2 WIFI

[Kudalufi]

I have a Kobo Wifi that has recently developed some odd behaviour:

• When it boots up, it always displays "Updating the software on your eReader"
• No books are in the library when it does boot
• When connected to the computer, the connected drive is completely empty. Not even a .kobo directory.
• Using the device to reset to factory has no effect. The drive is still completely empty.

I tried to reconstruct a .kobo directory with a downloaded database, but while Calibre will now see the normal free books when I connect the device, the device itself still does not see anything.

I realize this is just a mark 2, but I'd still like to get it back up and running. Any advice? If anyone has a mark 2, I'd love to get a complete .zip of your .kobo directory to try and get mine back up and running.

[PeterT]

It's actually well worth while to reach out to the Kobo helpdesk. Quite a few people have of late been having issues with the Kobo WiFi that seem to be related to the most recent upgrades pushed to it.

[Kudalufi]

I tried that. They were particularly unhelpful - tech support by checklist. "Get a paperclip and push it in the little hole in the back" was about all they had. Outsourced.

What is the internal storage? Is it a microsd card inside?

If anyone has a kobo wifi and can help me with a zip of the .kobo folder it would be helpful.

[PeterT]

Well escalate it via Twitter then...

[timlb]

Did you find a solution in the end? I've got the exact same problem.

I tried to reconstruct the .kobo directory based off kobo-dir-fresh-1.4.zip in this thread https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88445 but I think those files are too old for the ereader software (v1.9.11).

Currently Kobo Desktop recognizes the ereader but it reports a 'USB error' trying to sync to it.

[Kudalufi]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find an image to restore it with. I ended up talking to Kobo again and they replaced the unit with a Kobo Touch. I was actually disappointed because I liked the old unit and it was eminently fixable. But try explaining to an offshore "tech support by checklist" worker that you don't want a new unit, you just want an image so you can fix it yourself.

Needless to say the first thing I did when I got the Touch was to take the back off, take the microSD card out and image it. And a good thing too, because I think I got a refurbished unit and there is something subtly wrong with it. I've had to restore from image twice.

I love the Kobos, but their OS and software is very fragile.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Kudalufi

Unfortunately I wasn't able to find an image to restore it with. I ended up talking to Kobo again and they replaced the unit with a Kobo Touch. I was actually disappointed because I liked the old unit and it was eminently fixable. But try explaining to an offshore "tech support by checklist" worker that you don't want a new unit, you just want an image so you can fix it yourself.

While I'm sure the support person had no idea what you were talking about, I think it is likely that they wouldn't have an image anywhere that they are allowed to hand out.

Needless to say the first thing I did when I got the Touch was to take the back off, take the microSD card out and image it. And a good thing too, because I think I got a refurbished unit and there is something subtly wrong with it. I've had to restore from image twice.

How is it "subtly wrong"?

I love the Kobos, but their OS and software is very fragile.

Well, the OS is Linux. The issue is probably the application nickel which is what we see.

[timlb]

I managed to get a sd image from another member here and flashed that to the internal sd card. That fixed my problems. See https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=230628

However, it was a real pain to open the Kobo, extract the micro SD and write the new image. I can see why Kobo just replaces any units that have this problem.