Glo Need help to downgrade firmware on the Kobo Glo

[jackie_w]

Ha-ha! Thank you DNSB, that's saved me some typing. I was just about to post the same info.

@Quexos - the md5 checksum from my saved original 2.8.1 zip file is the same as DNSB's. Also the exact filesize is 85,577,947 bytes. You should be safe if both these values match bartbrat's version.

[Quexos]

Which happens to be an URL belonging to the Kobo company. Hence it is a "trusted" source (it is what I meant by "official"), regardless of Kobo not wanting this to be simply "found" on their website as I naively tried to when going there.

Originally Posted by DNSB

As you notice the links all point to download.kobobooks.com/firmwares as the first part of the link with the hardware version (kobo3, kobo4 or kobo5), a release subdirectory and then the update zip file name which makes them relatively easy to locate.

You guys are VERY computer savvy and as most computer savvy people you assume everyone knows as much.
Thank you for your advanced method of ensuring a file has not been tampered with, but the md5 checksum ??? No idea what that is.
008e0c5ad9b98aecb17f831059e446e2 ? what a cute little string of gibberish (for non savvies like me) but I have no idea where to check that. As far as I can tell, I don't remember a file somewhere that says "please check here Md5" when downloading any program or patch or anything where inside there would be that string of funny letters and numbers.

Don't get me wrong, you guys have been very helpful most of the time and that is really great and I am thankful for that but sometimes it's hard to follow for the rest of us. (Maybe it's just me cause others seem to follow without much problem)
Besides I got a reader to read and thanks to the malevolence of companies like Kobo that do not want to give us customers what we want, (And in this case, actively work to make sure independent sources as that Russian person can help us as little as possible by releasing the obviously malevolent and otherwise unnecessary 2.8.1B) we end up spending more time tweaking or fine-tuning our devices than using them for their intended purpose.
A strange irony if there ever was one.

EDIT: Lol what a joke on me. After I wrote this post, I checked that 2.8.1B download for which I have no use and by simple curiosity and there I just find a file called "manifestmd5sum" I swear to god this is the first time I notice such a file in a download.
Anyways, I don't see how this file guarantees no tampering since it can easily be edited (I opened it by adding .txt) So if I wanted to tamper with it, I'd just add the clean md5 code by editing it.

Originally Posted by jackie_w

@Quexos - the md5 checksum from my saved original 2.8.1 zip file is the same as DNSB's. Also the exact filesize is 85,577,947 bytes. You should be safe if both these values match bartbrat's version.

[jackie_w]

@Quexos,

I find the tone of your last post unpleasant and aggressive. If you want someone to try to further explain something to you, this is not the way to do it. I will not be spending any more of my free time and effort on you. Perhaps others are more tolerant.

[Aglaia]

Originally Posted by DNSB

If you have a Windows computer, you would use the Safely Remove Hardware widget to eject the ereader, on a Mac, you would drag the ereader drives to the Trash to eject them.

I have a Windows computer. I had actually forgotten about the "Safely Remove Hardware" option, so thanks for reminding me.

Originally Posted by DNSB

Yes, you will have to delete them each time. Syncing over WiFi is much iffier and I would say syncing over WiFi is not what you want to do.

That's definitely not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for letting me know. It may be a silly question, but does that mean I shouldn't purchase books over WiFi? Will the Glo automatically start to sync (and therefore force the upgrade on me) if I buy books via WiFi?

Originally Posted by DNSB

While I like having my ereader live on the bleeding edge, others would like to be able to find a firmware version they are happy with and stay there until there is a compelling reason to upgrade. At one time, you could fake the software version and prevent upgrades but that loophole has been closed for quite a while.

We're all different, that's why it's good to have options. Just my luck that that loophole has been closed! One of the main reasons I chose a Kobo is because I didn't want to be locked in to the Kindle ecosystem. After this ordeal (and realising I'm going to have to delete those files every time I sync the device), I'm not sure Kobo is worth the hassle. I had a Kindle Paperwhite and using it was a piece of cake compared to the Kobo. I returned it because there were quality control issues that I got fed up with. I also wanted an E-reader that allowed me to borrow e-books from the library, etc., etc.

I want an E-reader that's easy and enjoyable to use so I can focus on what I bought it for: reading!

[Arios]

Quexos,

The problem is not to be computer savvy or not, cause the solution is to be just a little bit curious. Guess what happens if you do a google search? You will find an answer and probably a program to help you!

[robko]

Originally Posted by Quexos

(And in this case, actively work to make sure independent sources as that Russian person can help us as little as possible by releasing the obviously malevolent and otherwise unnecessary 2.8.1B)

And exactly where are you getting this from? If it's only purpose was to do this I'm sure a) they'd have found a better way to lock it down (a la newer Sony firmware), and b) push it to all devices rather than just those upgrading from a factory reset etc. Just because there is no obvious change to you doesn't mean it doesn't fix something on some devices. I would suspect nearly any small change made in the firmware could break the patcher because it would no longer be putting things where it should.

[Quexos]

Except this one does not get a proper number for instance 2.8.2
Nope it's maliciously hidden behind 2.8.1 as if to confuse those that might use that patch thinking it's going to work fine on their 2.8.1 and then, I don't know, whatever goes wrong due to the fact that this firmware is not letting the patch work, maybe a bricked reader for all we know.

Also when a new firmware is released, there is a list of the bugs it fixes or improvements it applies.
Please tell me what improvements or bug fixes 2.8.1b brings with it, I'd love to know ?
Until then, this endeavor by Kobo seems rather malevolent.

Originally Posted by robko

And exactly where are you getting this from? If it's only purpose was to do this I'm sure a) they'd have found a better way to lock it down (a la newer Sony firmware), and b) push it to all devices rather than just those upgrading from a factory reset etc. Just because there is no obvious change to you doesn't mean it doesn't fix something on some devices. I would suspect nearly any small change made in the firmware could break the patcher because it would no longer be putting things where it should.

[Quexos]

You misunderstand me, it was unpleasant towards the Kobo policies to release stuff like a huge screen (AuraHD) then make it half empty (wasted space issue) then do nothing about it to further exasperate people, then finally when someone like that Russian person creates a patch, suddenly come out of the shadows and release a discrete counter patch to make it impossible for people to actually benefit from that patch because god forbid, people could end up enjoying their reader !
The whole string of events is exasperating, please understand this.
And most importantly understand that it was not against you or any other member in this forum. I thought it was clear but I guess it may have not.

In which case please accept my apologies Jackie_w

Originally Posted by jackie_w

@Quexos,

I find the tone of your last post unpleasant and aggressive. If you want someone to try to further explain something to you, this is not the way to do it. I will not be spending any more of my free time and effort on you. Perhaps others are more tolerant.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by Quexos

In which case please accept my apologies Jackie_w

In which case, apology accepted

P.S. As regards your other complaint, I'm afraid this is just a fact of life with hacks & patches. Every time a new firmware appears the hackers need to jump through hoops again to try and reproduce their previous good works. Some hackers are in for the long haul, others get bored and give up rather sooner. Either way, as they work for free, we have no entitlement to their long-term commitment. None of this is specific to Kobo, just check the Sony and Kindle forums.

[robko]

Originally Posted by Quexos

Except this one does not get a proper number for instance 2.8.2
Nope it's maliciously hidden behind 2.8.1 as if to confuse those that might use that patch thinking it's going to work fine on their 2.8.1 and then, I don't know, whatever goes wrong due to the fact that this firmware is not letting the patch work, maybe a bricked reader for all we know.

Also when a new firmware is released, there is a list of the bugs it fixes or improvements it applies.
Please tell me what improvements or bug fixes 2.8.1b brings with it, I'd love to know ?
Until then, this endeavor by Kobo seems rather malevolent.

Kobo has done small releases with no firmware number change in past to fix issues with a small number of devices. If they don't change the firmware number it doesn't get pushed to everyone, but anyone upgrading to that firmware version gets the new version, but others (for whom the fix doesn't affect anything) don't need to bother getting it. In this case the Kobo devs have said it was to fix an issue with demo units, so it doesn't make sense to push it to every device.
You can argue whether it's right or wrong if you want, but the reality is that the convenience to the majority of users of not having to download a new update (which will do nothing obvious for them) outweighs the potential risk of a small number of users having an issue with an unofficial patch.
As jackie_w said, this isn't malicious, it's just a reality that if they change something in the firmware plugins/other patches may not work until they get updated to point to the right place again.

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by Aglaia

That's definitely not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for letting me know. It may be a silly question, but does that mean I shouldn't purchase books over WiFi? Will the Glo automatically start to sync (and therefore force the upgrade on me) if I buy books via WiFi?

I'm not 100% certain about this, but from what I have seen the "sync" that is done when you buy a book via wifi is not the same as the full sync that results from pressing the sync button. Although it says "Starting sync" or something similar when you buy the book, it doen't go through all the normal steps of a full sync, but only downloads the book you have just bought. I have found that even if I have other books waiting to download from a prior website purchase, they will not download when I buy another book via wifi, but instead I need to press the sync button to get them to download. This makes me think the firmware would not update just as a result of buying a book via wifi. (However I am usually so impatient to get the latest firmware that I can't wait for it to arrive by sync and sideload it instead, so haven't tested this myself).

[DNSB]

@Quexos

I tend to agree with jackie_w that your messages are getting annoying.

As for the MD5 checksums, they have been in the Kobo firmware archives for years though they only cover the contents of the upgrade directory.

Personally, I use a program called WinMD5 since it is the easiest to use for a single file and another called FileVerifier++ when I want to generate a text file of the checksums or compare the checksums of existing files to such list. FV++ does offer a choice of multiple checksum/CRC variants which I find useful. Quite a few sites I download from routinely supply the MD5/SHA1/whatever checksums either on the web page or as a separate file so you can test a copy of their file downloaded from another site for corruption or modification.

A quick google search on MD5 will give you more information than most people could want. Even the Wikipedia article is useful though it concentrates more on the vulnerabilities in MD5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5.

Regards,
David

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Quexos

Except this one does not get a proper number for instance 2.8.2
Nope it's maliciously hidden behind 2.8.1 as if to confuse those that might use that patch thinking it's going to work fine on their 2.8.1 and then, I don't know, whatever goes wrong due to the fact that this firmware is not letting the patch work, maybe a bricked reader for all we know.

And if you already have 2.8.1, it will not be upgraded to 2.8.1b. Going by what little Kobo has said, it is a very minor update though looking at the 2.8.1b and the 2.6.2 files, it appears that they are making fairly large changes in the nickel and libnickel files.

Originally Posted by Quexos

Also when a new firmware is released, there is a list of the bugs it fixes or improvements it applies.

Not a necessity for a new firmware release though very nice to have. Kobo has been notoriously close mouthed about what changes are made by their firmware updates.

Originally Posted by Quexos

Please tell me what improvements or bug fixes 2.8.1b brings with it, I'd love to know ?
Until then, this endeavor by Kobo seems rather malevolent.

Boot time with an external uSD card with a large number of books has been reduced is one improvement I've noted.

As for your insistence on malevolence, I doubt that Kobo's developers have been deliberately breaking Metazoa's patcher. In my opinion, you are mistaking indifference for malevolence.

If they were malevolent, 2.8.1b would be being pushed to all of Kobo ereaders currently running 2.8.1.

Regards,
David

[tshering]

Originally Posted by Aglaia

After this ordeal (and realising I'm going to have to delete those files every time I sync the device), I'm not sure Kobo is worth the hassle.

You might be interested in this post, and some follow-up posts.

[Quexos]

That is a bit hurtful and unnecessary since I already had settled this issue with Jackie_w

Originally Posted by DNSB

@Quexos
I tend to agree with jackie_w that your messages are getting annoying

If I were on 2.8.1 I would not be "annoying" you and the others. Obviously I'm on 2.8.1b

Originally Posted by DNSB

And if you already have 2.8.1, it will not be upgraded to 2.8.1b.

I guess you have a point there. Then let me blame it on misfortune for this "B" update came at the worst time for me, just when I moved on to 2.8.1 to try the patch, 2.8.1b had to knock at my door just then and of course the "benevolent" Kobo company did not give me a choice ...

Originally Posted by DNSB

If they were malevolent, 2.8.1b would be being pushed to all of Kobo ereaders currently running 2.8.1.

I guess as a conclusion that I will wait for an update to the patch and try to install it myself, without help because I don't want to be an annoyance to anyone.
And thanks for the previous help, it was indeed helpful though if I had known I were annoying I would have refrained from asking it.