JBL has frozen on me....

[clerky96]

Was reading a book and it just froze up. No page turn, nothing. Couldn't even turn it off. I had installed new batteries 2 days ago (not rechargeables). It will turn on and go to the first page, (jetBook-Lite), but goes no further. I guess I will try contacting Ectaco. I bought it from Newegg, so hope Ectaco will honor my warranty.
Should have said that I got it in Jan and was still running firmware 14 (something). I didn't upgrade because I was afraid this would happen.

[Ken Maltby]

You might try just removing one of the batteries, then turning the JBL back on (I know
it won't actually come on, but it will insure that there is no residual power in the JBL).

Then reinstall the battery and see if it will do a normal cold startup. There will be a
pause after the "JBL Page" before the "Stack of Books Page" first appears. A cold start
requires a little more patience than the normal start.

Luck;
Ken

[clerky96]

Thanks Ken. I will try that. I left it sitting on the jetBook-Lite page for over 15 min and it didn't ever do anything. I think I am going to have to end up sending it back for repair.
Took one battery out and it didn't do anything. Put it back in and it still never goes past the start up page. Took batteries out and will wait until tomorrow. If it still won't come on I guess I will have to contact Ectaco and return it.

[Kaysclie]

Did you try plugging it into your computer by the usb cord? Sometimes that will give it a jump start. Just a thought that worked for me.

[clerky96]

Did you try plugging it into your computer by the usb cord?

I read that somewhere on here, so I tried it. First I get a message from my computer saying that one of the devices connected to my usb port has malfunctioned. Then the jbl start-up page comes on and it goes no further. It seems to be "frozen" there. I left it for quite some time, but the green light just goes off and it sits there on that page; doing nothing. I even tried installing new batteries, even though the ones in there are only 1 days old. I also tried some rechargeables that I use in my camera that I just recharged yesterday. Still no go. It goes to the start-up page and sits there. Hoping that if it has no batteries in it overnight, it will do a total reset when I turn it on.

[ngrant]

Have you tried a "hard reset" like you do after a firmware update?

When the screen is on - showing the logo -- press and release Reset button (on the back of the JBL) and the JBL should turn off. Then press Power and keep it pressed. While it's pressed push the Right Arrow button (near Ok button) till the picture appears on the screen. Once it appears, release all buttons. It may take a while to get back to the main menu, but this worked for me the one time I had a freeze, and it never happened again.

On another note, I find that whenever I change batteries, I have to hold the power button in a little longer to turn back on (maybe 3 seconds) instead of just pressing and releasing it immediately. Just until the green light at the top flashes.

Hope this helps.

[clerky96]

Have you tried a "hard reset" like you do after a firmware update?

Tried it. Still doesn't go on to any other screen. I waited 15-20 minutes for it to go past the jetBook-Lite screen. After about 2 or 3 minutes the green power light goes off and nothing else seems to happen. When I would change batteries, it always took a few minutes for it to completely come back up, but the green power light would stay on, then start blinking. Now the light goes out and stays out.
Thanks for trying to help. It seems I am in an "electronics" nightmare anyway. In March the hard drive in my 3 year old Dell computer died. Two weeks ago the ac converter inside my HP laptop broke and I had to send it away to be repaired. Now this!!! When it rains it pours!

[ngrant]

Gosh, I am really sorry to hear that. I know how frustrating tech problems can be and it does seem that they come in threes...!

Since you are on the original firmware, I would try the firmware update to v15 anyway - would not hurt anything in these circumstances...
http://www.jetbook.net/upgrade_lite.php

If this fails, hope you get your JBL fixed by Ectaco and it doesn't cost you "an arm and a leg" for shipping.

[clerky96]

I tried to do the update but it didn't work either. Thanks for the suggestion.
I contacted Ectaco and have it boxed and ready to ship tomorrow. They are going to replace it for me.

[heffe2001]

So I guess they DO honor the warranty on purchases from Newegg (like I've said for months), so hopefully now we can put that rumor to bed once and for all ...

[jblitereader]

Originally Posted by heffe2001

So I guess they DO honor the warranty on purchases from Newegg (like I've said for months), so hopefully now we can put that rumor to bed once and for all ...

I'm pretty sure they used to not honor the warranty if you got it from somewhere else. Enough people had reviewed and shared their experience in this regard for it just to be a rumor. I'd say they changed the policy just so they wouldn't appear like jackasses.

[clerky96]

I'm pretty sure they used to not honor the warranty

I'm just a little confused on how they could not honor a warranty even if it wasn't purchased from their website. When the other company sold it, was it considered a "resold item"? So happy they are going to honor it. It was less than 4 months old.

[jblitereader]

Whatever happened, Ectaco is still a commercial entity. And like all commercial entities, they will scam you if you let them. In a capitalist system, there is no such thing as a kind hearted company.

They refused to honor the warranty to some people because they saw that they could. Then, when this fact caught on to some people, they decided that they couldn't continue this scam without losing profit, so they started honoring the warranty.

[Number_6]

Originally Posted by livingenzyme

Whatever happened, Ectaco is still a commercial entity. And like all commercial entities, they will scam you if you let them. In a capitalist system, there is no such thing as a kind hearted company.

Of course WITHOUT a capitalist system you WOULDN'T have an eBook reader OR a computer to post comments to a forum like this!

[jblitereader]

Originally Posted by Number_6

Of course WITHOUT a capitalist system you WOULDN'T have an eBook reader OR a computer to post comments to a forum like this!

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against capitalism. At the same time, I just want to make sure people understand Ectaco is like any other company out there. If tomorrow they figure out a way to make a million dollar in profit by raping your wife and selling your kids into slavery, they will do it. In the world of business, there is no such thing as a conscience.

Not honoring the warranty using the excuse that "you didn't buy it from us" is one of the oldest tricks in the book. And like every company out there, they will use every trick they can to make a profit until the trick stops working.

How did you think the financial systems like Enron came crashing down in a big ball of fire? People saw a way to make a quick and large profit at the expense of everyone else, and they jumped at the opportunity. While they saw ahead that the system was about to come crashing down, they continued to encourage their investors to put money in a doomed investment while THEY bet against their own clients.

I love my JBL and I think that Ectaco has got it pretty darn good this time. Just don't let your guard down just cuz you like their product. Again, they will suck you dry and rape your loved ones just for a few bucks in profit. That's their nature as a company.