I think I bricked my VOX

UrbanNightmare · 01-09-2012, 09:08 PM

So I was trying to get the market on my vox. I installed the apk's in the system dir. One of them was the one that goes through the setup of you google account. It asks to touch the android to continue. I tried this but it wouldn't work. Tried a few cold boots but still nothing. I then tried the volume up+power on to get back to factory. After that it just keeps rebooting. It does this reboot (showing the Kobo screen with the start up sound) four times. It then stops and just has the back light on. None of the buttons work. It does this every time I try and turn it on. I tried doing the volume up+power a couple of more times but still the same result.

So instead of proving I'm insane (repeating expecting different results) I thought I would ask here if there is anything I can try. I would prefer not to return it as it may have my user name and passwords for a few sites and so on. If I do have to try and return it is there any way to blank the data first.\

Thanks
Urban Nightmare

Cdesja5 · 01-09-2012, 09:21 PM

Try to format it on the computer. See the thread about formatting:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ght=vox+format

UrbanNightmare · 01-09-2012, 09:29 PM

Thanks for the link but it doesn't seem to work.

I searched on format and came up with a lot of links. They say to plug in the usb and just format the drive. This won't work for me as it never gets to a point where I can mount the internal or external SD cards.

terranq · 01-09-2012, 10:42 PM

Yup, you bricked it. Until Kobo brings out a proper recovery option, there's nothing (to my knowledge) you can do to fix it.

Contact Kobo support, see if they have a solution for you - besides factory reset. That seems to be their solution to everything, but it's less than useless in this situation.

EDIT:
Reading this, and it might be worth a shot

BWinmill · 01-09-2012, 11:14 PM

Are you comfortable with disassembling your Vox to pull out the internal SD card?

UrbanNightmare · 01-09-2012, 11:20 PM

Thanks for the advice and link. That did the trick. I started up just like the first time I booted it. What I did was hold down the volume down button while powering on. When it started flashing my finger double clicked the power button by accident so I'm not sure if that mattered. Any way it seems to be back now.

Thanks again for the help.

terranq · 01-10-2012, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UrbanNightmare

Thanks for the advice and link. That did the trick. I started up just like the first time I booted it. What I did was hold down the volume down button while powering on. When it started flashing my finger double clicked the power button by accident so I'm not sure if that mattered. Any way it seems to be back now.

Thanks again for the help.

Hooray!

mickeymental · 01-10-2012, 01:46 PM

WIndmill, what were you going to suggest? My vox is unusable and there is no help from tier 2 support in sight, so I am willing to try anything. I know how to remove the internal sd card. What next?

mickeymental · 01-10-2012, 02:47 PM

Never mind. I actually got the trick in the other thread to work. I have probably tried 100 times over the last couple of weeks with no success, but I apparently got the timing right this time! My vox is now like it was fresh out of the box with the Welcome to your Kobo ereader message.

mickeymental · 01-10-2012, 02:49 PM

Oops! BWinmill, I also just noticed that my phone autocorrected your name in my first message. My apologies.

BWinmill · 01-11-2012, 11:02 PM

Prior to tearing it apart, I'll suggest doing the standard factory reset. If it shows the factory reset screen, chances are that enough of your system is intact to run the update process.

You need to put two files in /cache/recovery in order to do an update. If your Vox isn't booting, you'll need to pull the SD card out of it and use a card reader on a PC. You will also need to use Linux to add files to /cache/recovery since it uses a Linux filesystem. A Linux live CD will work wonderfully.

One of the files that you need to copy to /cache/recovery is called 'command', and it contains the line:

Code:

--update_package=/cache/recovery/eng.CAN.20111219.094110.40397.signed.zip

The other file is an update file from Kobo.

Once the files have been copied to the SD card, remove it from the PC, reinstall it in your Vox, power the Vox up, and it should reimage the system. Make sure the Vox is plugged into the wall while it is reimaging the system since I think it updates the bootloader and kernel too.

(Incidentally, this reimaging process works even if the version of the update file is identical to the version of the software currently installed on your Vox.)

jefftheworld · 01-11-2012, 11:37 PM

Wait!

Don't format or worry about any of that stuff! First just try removing the setup.apk that you replaced! I did this myself (putting the original setup apk back on my device, not sure if that's required) and it worked again.

sskarst · 03-17-2012, 09:44 PM

After bricking my Vox, I was able to do a complete factory reset by first holding down the vol (-) button and at the same time pressing the power button until initial green light, then continuously clicking the power button (while still holding the vol - down) until the screen showed a Start up error message. From there, the system was able to reset to original factory settings. Hope this helps save a little time.

01-09-2012, 09:08 PM	#1
UrbanNightmare Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 12 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Pocketbook IQ	I think I bricked my VOX So I was trying to get the market on my vox. I installed the apk's in the system dir. One of them was the one that goes through the setup of you google account. It asks to touch the android to continue. I tried this but it wouldn't work. Tried a few cold boots but still nothing. I then tried the volume up+power on to get back to factory. After that it just keeps rebooting. It does this reboot (showing the Kobo screen with the start up sound) four times. It then stops and just has the back light on. None of the buttons work. It does this every time I try and turn it on. I tried doing the volume up+power a couple of more times but still the same result. So instead of proving I'm insane (repeating expecting different results) I thought I would ask here if there is anything I can try. I would prefer not to return it as it may have my user name and passwords for a few sites and so on. If I do have to try and return it is there any way to blank the data first.\ Thanks Urban Nightmare

01-09-2012, 10:42 PM	#4
terranq Member Posts: 18 Karma: 318 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kobo Vox	Yup, you bricked it. Until Kobo brings out a proper recovery option, there's nothing (to my knowledge) you can do to fix it. Contact Kobo support, see if they have a solution for you - besides factory reset. That seems to be their solution to everything, but it's less than useless in this situation. EDIT: Reading this, and it might be worth a shot Last edited by terranq; 01-09-2012 at 10:46 PM.

01-11-2012, 11:02 PM	#11
BWinmill Nameless Being	Prior to tearing it apart, I'll suggest doing the standard factory reset. If it shows the factory reset screen, chances are that enough of your system is intact to run the update process. You need to put two files in /cache/recovery in order to do an update. If your Vox isn't booting, you'll need to pull the SD card out of it and use a card reader on a PC. You will also need to use Linux to add files to /cache/recovery since it uses a Linux filesystem. A Linux live CD will work wonderfully. One of the files that you need to copy to /cache/recovery is called 'command', and it contains the line: Code: --update_package=/cache/recovery/eng.CAN.20111219.094110.40397.signed.zip The other file is an update file from Kobo. Once the files have been copied to the SD card, remove it from the PC, reinstall it in your Vox, power the Vox up, and it should reimage the system. Make sure the Vox is plugged into the wall while it is reimaging the system since I think it updates the bootloader and kernel too. (Incidentally, this reimaging process works even if the version of the update file is identical to the version of the software currently installed on your Vox.)

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01-09-2012, 09:21 PM	#2
Cdesja5 Wizard Posts: 1,117 Karma: 2094306 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Montreal, Canada Device: Lots and lots of electronic gadgets...	Try to format it on the computer. See the thread about formatting: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ght=vox+format

01-09-2012, 09:29 PM	#3
UrbanNightmare Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 12 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Pocketbook IQ	Thanks for the link but it doesn't seem to work. I searched on format and came up with a lot of links. They say to plug in the usb and just format the drive. This won't work for me as it never gets to a point where I can mount the internal or external SD cards.

01-09-2012, 11:14 PM	#5
BWinmill Nameless Being	Are you comfortable with disassembling your Vox to pull out the internal SD card?

01-09-2012, 11:20 PM	#6
UrbanNightmare Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 12 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Pocketbook IQ	Thanks for the advice and link. That did the trick. I started up just like the first time I booted it. What I did was hold down the volume down button while powering on. When it started flashing my finger double clicked the power button by accident so I'm not sure if that mattered. Any way it seems to be back now. Thanks again for the help.

01-10-2012, 01:46 PM	#8
mickeymental Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Edmonton, AB Device: kobo vox	WIndmill, what were you going to suggest? My vox is unusable and there is no help from tier 2 support in sight, so I am willing to try anything. I know how to remove the internal sd card. What next?

01-10-2012, 02:47 PM	#9
mickeymental Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Edmonton, AB Device: kobo vox	Never mind. I actually got the trick in the other thread to work. I have probably tried 100 times over the last couple of weeks with no success, but I apparently got the timing right this time! My vox is now like it was fresh out of the box with the Welcome to your Kobo ereader message.

01-10-2012, 02:49 PM	#10
mickeymental Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Edmonton, AB Device: kobo vox	Oops! BWinmill, I also just noticed that my phone autocorrected your name in my first message. My apologies.

01-11-2012, 11:37 PM	#12
jefftheworld Groupie Posts: 190 Karma: 157090 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: Kobo, Kobo Vox	Wait! Don't format or worry about any of that stuff! First just try removing the setup.apk that you replaced! I did this myself (putting the original setup apk back on my device, not sure if that's required) and it worked again.

03-17-2012, 09:44 PM	#13
sskarst Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: Kobo Vox	After bricking my Vox, I was able to do a complete factory reset by first holding down the vol (-) button and at the same time pressing the power button until initial green light, then continuously clicking the power button (while still holding the vol - down) until the screen showed a Start up error message. From there, the system was able to reset to original factory settings. Hope this helps save a little time.