Frequent freezes (H2O + FW 3.12)

[arspr]

Hi, for the last two or three days I'm suffering quite a lot of random freezes in my H2O.

I'm just reading and then it gets fully unresponsible (light on, the page shown). But in one occasion, I've been able to reset it through power button long press. (In that single occasion I needed to use the reset pin button).

After the device re-boots, of course the last position in the book is not correctly recorded.

Is anyone suffering these same (or similar) issues?

I'm with FW 3.12 with no modification but the Fullscreen toggle. These issues have started happening with A Town Like Alice. Book unDRMed through you-know-which-tool and then kepubized through KoboTouch Extended driver. In Calibre everything looks fine: the book has no errors (but a non-linear item and an unused jpg, because I've changed the cover but I've also left the original one), and Kobo Utils says that my H2O database has no errors.

Any ideas?

(If it is book-related I suppose that it would be "fixed" in my next reading...).

[JSWolf]

Use Calibre with Kobo Utilities to check the SQL database to make sure it's not corrupt.

I am using a patched H2O and no freezes. But I do not read kepub and I don't have full screen enabled.

If all is well with the SQL database, try reading that eBook as a plain old ePub and see how your H2O gets on.

[arspr]

@JSWolf: I had already tested the device database. That does not seem to be the problem. About sideloaded kepubs, yes it could be a posibility, but I've been always using them and I haven't suffered any issue. And if it were a "kepub" issue, am I the only one suffering it?

Nevertheless, some strange things happened yesterday (and just now):

• In several of the freeze/reboot cycles I got a "soft" factory reset. I mean I got a select-language dialogue when powering on and the kobo ini file has been deleted (the preferences has been reset, I've lost the fullscreen option and I've lost all Web Browser favorites). I've said a "soft" factory reset, because the Kobo account has not been deleted neither the sideloaded books. (So no more FullScreen mode as a possible trigger).
• I've suffered the issue even in "Sleeping", (I mean the book didn't turn on when opening my sleepcase) and even on "home screen"...
• Just a few minutes ago, my H2O even refused to boot. I mean after a long power button press the screen has blinked to white, the power led has stared blinking and... nothing more, it stayed in that state forever. It didn't even show the five progress squares. After a pin-hole button press it seems to be restored...

I think I'm going to perform a real FULL factory reset just in case, but I'm actually thinking there's something wrong in my H2O, (maybe faulty RAM?). (Nice, it would be the second Kobo which self-destructs in three months, and I don't have news about my HD in repair yet...).

[yayo]

Stating the obvious here, but anyways. Charge the KOBO overnight (6hours+), do a factory reset and try reading a book or two, just not the one you were reading when problems started manifesting. If there's no strange behavior then the reader is probably ok, but I suspect you won't be that lucky.

[arspr]

Well, NO-SUCCESS at all.

I've performed several factory resets and even with nearly no books, and no database tricks (I forgot to tell that I had used Kobo Utils to kill some tiles like the sync one in my original installation), the freezings are just getting more and more frequent. I suspect there's something really broken in the hardware.

Nevertheless I would like to post some important info about H2O software robustness. I've gotten the freezings EVEN WHILE DOING THE FACTORY RESET. (Because of that I say I did several factory resets).

My H2O has sometimes looked completely bricked: no response to power button, power led completely on, power led on but on a lower brightness intensity than the normal one, power button led blinking madly, screen blocked in the middle of the five square booting screen, whatever you can think of... But even in these crazy situations, combinations of long press (more than 10 s) in either power button or reset pin-hole button have restored the device... You just have to be patient, and perform the long press through both systems till the device recovers (despite the in-the-middle freezings...)

I do make a lot of critics to Kobo, but in this case, I have to tell that the core recovery system of H2O is just incredible. I don't know how, when or where an image of the original system is stored, but it just works. Has anyone actually bricked one H2O? Because I cannot think any way to do it...

OTOH, by sheer luck, I've just received an answer about my previously broken Aura HD. So I think I'm going to wait with my unreliable H2O till I got my first reader replacement... (Kudos to www.redcoon.es ).

[ElWorm]

My H2O freezes about once per book. I only read side loaded books converted to kepub through Calibre. 90% of the time, just closing the cover (putting it to sleep) and opening it (waking it up) immediately solves the problem. The book will open one or two pages past where I was when trying to turn the page, so it seems to be getting the page turn commands but is not executing them until I cycle through a sleep/wake.
I am almost finished with my current read and it has not frozen yet, but it is a small novel.
It did it before and after the firmware upgrade.
Only twice have I needed to go a step further and turn the unit off and then back on.
I have never had to reset it. (Knock on wood)

[arspr]

Well,

New year and good new news!!!

• The broken HD. After paying just 10.99 €, the price difference between the discontinued HD and the H2O, I've just received today a brand new H2O. It's been a 2 month waiting but www.redcoon.es has perfectly worked.
  I want to explicitly post that www.redcoon.es has even assumed the shipping fares. My HD went to www.redcoon.es absolutely free, and the new H2O has come completely free.
• OTOH I've just gone to the brick and mortar Mediamarkt, (where I bought the H2O acquired because of my former HD death), and they've signed me a voucher for a brand new H2O without any kind of discussion or reclamation on my behalf. I couldn't get a brand new one at the moment just because they were out-of-stock so I'll have to wait one or two weeks.

So, at the end, I'm going to have two brand new H2Os,... my wife is going to be really happy with the extra one.

Nevertheless I want to congratulate both Mediamarkt and www.redcoon.es. In the web you usually find BAD news about stores but quite seldom praises about good customer service...

(And OTOH I really think Kobo does not deserve what the retailers do for them...)

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by arspr

Has anyone actually bricked one H2O?

It's possible. There's a recovery partition but it will only be fired if the main partition's still intact enough and its bootup script gets far enough. If it still manages to display the loading squares [ ] [ ] [ ] it's a good sign and you can trigger the factory reset with the reset button at this point; if it stays blank you're probably out of luck and have to extract the SD card.

[robko]

......

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

It's possible. There's a recovery partition but it will only be fired if the main partition's still intact enough and its bootup script gets far enough. If it still manages to display the loading squares [ ] [ ] [ ] it's a good sign and you can trigger the factory reset with the reset button at this point; if it stays blank you're probably out of luck and have to extract the SD card.

If the device can get to that point, it is a good sign, but, all the Kobo devices have a way of doing a factory reset that doesn't rely on the root partition being intact. For most, you hold the second button down while turning it on. For the Aura and Mini, you tap the bottom corners of the screen immediately after turning it on.

[arspr]

I didn't recorded a list of freezing events. But as I said in former posts they were of all kind of flavours, colours and shapes. With the system even refusing to boot... But being patient and long pressing either power and pinhole button (or maybe both at the same time), after n tries, the faulty device restored itself (till the next episode...)

[anacreon]

Originally Posted by ElWorm

My H2O freezes about once per book. I only read side loaded books converted to kepub through Calibre. 90% of the time, just closing the cover (putting it to sleep) and opening it (waking it up) immediately solves the problem. The book will open one or two pages past where I was when trying to turn the page, so it seems to be getting the page turn commands but is not executing them until I cycle through a sleep/wake.
I am almost finished with my current read and it has not frozen yet, but it is a small novel.
It did it before and after the firmware upgrade.
Only twice have I needed to go a step further and turn the unit off and then back on.
I have never had to reset it. (Knock on wood)

Same for me: it mostly happens when I've been reading a few hours continuously, and since it only needs putting to sleep and waking, plus a few page back, it is not that annoying. I'm used to computers needing to be completely turned off at least once a day, and mobile phones freezing when I haven't turned them off for several weeks.

[arspr]

Originally Posted by anacreon

Same for me: it mostly happens when I've been reading a few hours continuously, and since it only needs putting to sleep and waking, plus a few page back, it is not that annoying. I'm used to computers needing to be completely turned off at least once a day, and mobile phones freezing when I haven't turned them off for several weeks.

I don't follow you. If it is frozen, how do you put it to sleep?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by arspr

I don't follow you. If it is frozen, how do you put it to sleep?

I close the cover, wait for the light to go out and then open it again.

The freeze I see is usually related to trying to select something. It usually happens when I start near the right side of the screen and move my finger to the left. It doesn't happen if I am very deliberate about it - press, hold a bit and then move my finger slowly.

[markito]

I have a similar issue with the H2O and firmware 3.12. While reading in the sun (on the beach) or in airplanes during longer flights the reader freezes and it does not react to any swipe, touch screen is not working at all. Sleep button works. Putting it in sleep mode and wait for some minutes and it reacts again for some time but after a while the same problem. Reading at home no problem at all, reader keeps stable for hours.