Glo Need help to downgrade firmware on the Kobo Glo

[DNSB]

@Quexos:

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

I apologize if you find the content of this message offensive but my personal opinion is that someone is not willing and/or able to use Google or other search engine to try to locate information on MD5 checksums is not the type of person who should be playing with hacks.

As for the other content of your messages, your insistence that Kobo is making firmware changes as part of a malevolent plot to prevent hacking and your exaggeration (Half the page for the footer? Really?) is risible (again, my personal opinion).

Hopefully, you have now downloaded the 2.8.1 firmware file from bartbrat's link and are now happily on 2.8.1. The MD5 and SHA1 checksums for the file from that link match the checksums for the copy I downloaded from Kobo prior to the 2.8.1b release.

Regards,
David

[Quexos]

I have done that.
Also if you say the MD5 checks out and since you have proven knowledgeable about this, I will take your word for it as in the past 24 hours I have been trying to take my mind off this issue because it's proving to be fraying my nerves a bit.
On top of that, you are right about me being lazy to find out about MD5 on Google, but the truth is I fear to bump on theoretical explanations that will not help me towards understanding it and certainly not applying it. Maybe I'm stupid or something, I don't know. In any case I'll leave it there.

Just one question if I may:
Is the "long paragraph bug" and the "page breaks bug" the same thing ?
I'm asking cause in the kpg.conf there is mention of a fix to a page breaks bug. I selected it thinking of the long paragraph bug but now I am not sure about it anymore.
Thanks

Originally Posted by DNSB

Hopefully, you have now downloaded the 2.8.1 firmware file from bartbrat's link and are now happily on 2.8.1. The MD5 and SHA1 checksums for the file from that link match the checksums for the copy I downloaded from Kobo prior to the 2.8.1b release.

Regards,
David

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Quexos

Just one question if I may:
Is the "long paragraph bug" and the "page breaks bug" the same thing ?
I'm asking cause in the kpg.conf there is mention of a fix to a page breaks bug. I selected it thinking of the long paragraph bug but now I am not sure about it anymore.
Thanks

As far as I know they are the same thing -- random page breaks in long paragraphs. When I tested using Tolstoy's The Cossacks and using the alternate page break bug fix, it seems to have worked. The first page breaks bug fix seemed to work as well but on several occasions, I got a single line at the end of a chapter showing up on the next screen though the previous screen was only half filled so I switched to the alternate fix.

Others have not seen this as a side effect of the page breaks fix so it's possible that it's a combination of my font size/font/page settings/firmware version/whatever else.

Regards,
David

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by DNSB

As far as I know they are the same thing -- random page breaks in long paragraphs. When I tested using Tolstoy's The Cossacks and using the alternate page break bug fix, it seems to have worked. The first page breaks bug fix seemed to work as well but on several occasions, I got a single line at the end of a chapter showing up on the next screen though the previous screen was only half filled so I switched to the alternate fix.

Others have not seen this as a side effect of the page breaks fix so it's possible that it's a combination of my font size/font/page settings/firmware version/whatever else.

Regards,
David

The patch seems to have fixed the long paragraph bug but the end of chapter bug is still there. But hey, if that's the only reading-related bug left, I can live with it!

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

The patch seems to have fixed the long paragraph bug but the end of chapter bug is still there. But hey, if that's the only reading-related bug left, I can live with it!

It would be better to say that the patch hides the long paragraph bug From what I can tell, it fixes it by changing the character written at times the reader thinks a new screen should started. That has side effect such as preventing widows and orphans settings other than zero from working.

As an aside, the last line problem irks me more than the long paragraph bug. But, it is the programmer in me. I can't create a good test case for it. It needs the right number of lines in a chapter, the right settings on the device and something else that I haven't worked out. Very irksome.

[Aglaia]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

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).

Thanks for the information, it's appreciated! I'm still so frazzled from dealing with the firmware downgrade ordeal that I haven't dared to buy any books via WiFi. I'm a bit paranoid about doing anything that might make me have to downgrade the firmware again! Maybe I'll try it when I'm less stressed out.

[Aglaia]

Originally Posted by tshering

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

Thanks for that very useful link. I'm definitely going to try that!

[Elswyth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

To revert to the older version, you will first need to do a factory reset.

Since your Glo is working, the easiest way to do this is to use the factory reset from the Settings menu.

Check the Direct Links to Kobo Firmware link in the Kobo Developer's Corner or download the 2.5.1 firmware from this link: http://download.kobobooks.com/firmwa...date-2.5.1.zip.

After the factory reset, connect your Glo to your computer and let the Kobo Desktop application do it's thing. After that has finished and the eject your ereader pops up, do not eject your Glo. Instead close the Kobo desktop application. You will now need to locate the .kobo directory in the root of your Glo's internal storage (under Windows, you can find it through (my) computer. If you have a Mac, you will need to play some games to see the .kobo directory since *nix style operating systems hide directory names starting with a ".".

In that directory, delete the upgrades directory, the KoboRoot.tgz and the manifest.md5sum files. Open the 2.5.1 firmware zip file and copy it's contents to the .kobo directory (same directory and filenames as you just deleted). Now you can eject your Glo and then allow the firmware update to run.

You will not be able to sync over WiFi after this. When you sync via the Kobo Desktop application, it will attempt to "upgrade" your firmware so you will need to delete the upgrade folder and the two upgrade files before ejecting your Glo.

Good luck!

David

Thank you so much for providing this rundown. I just downgraded my Aura HD from 2.10 to 2.8.1 because of its awful font rendering. You saved my (reading) life!

[Alicesays]

(Sorry to update an old thread but I don't find it useful to open a new topic)
Yesterday I tried to downgrade my Kobo Glo 3.8.0 to 2.5.1 and I did everything correctly - downloaded the official firmware, pasted it in the correct .kobo folder, ejected - but after updating, the screen kept stuck on the black dots forever. Luckily I could hard reset it and go back to 3.8. Did that happen because my Kobo Glo is the model N613? I don't understand why that could be a problem though.

I tried again this morning and the same happened. I wish I could go back to the old UI from the 2.5.1 firmware

[robko]

Did you factory reset before you downgraded? Going from 3.8 back to 2.5 may not work otherwise.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Alicesays

(Sorry to update an old thread but I don't find it useful to open a new topic)
Yesterday I tried to downgrade my Kobo Glo 3.8.0 to 2.5.1 and I did everything correctly - downloaded the official firmware, pasted it in the correct .kobo folder, ejected - but after updating, the screen kept stuck on the black dots forever. Luckily I could hard reset it and go back to 3.8. Did that happen because my Kobo Glo is the model N613? I don't understand why that could be a problem though.

I tried again this morning and the same happened. I wish I could go back to the old UI from the 2.5.1 firmware

Going back to an earlier firmware version, I'd recommend doing a factory reset and then upgrading to the version you want to use. There are changes made during the updates so the factory reset undoes those changes.

So:

1. Factory reset

2. Connect to your computer and go through the Kobo setup. When it is done, do not eject your ereader.

3. Open the .kobo directory on your Glo, delete the upgrade directory and the KoboRoot.tgz and manifest.md5sum files.

4. Copy the directory and files from inside the firmware .zip file you downloaded into the .kobo directory and then safely disconnect/eject it from your computer. Unplug the USB cable and it should update to the version you sideloaded.

Personally, I now prefer the newer UI and the added features but à chacun son goût.

Regards,

David

Usual disclaimer: replace directory with folder if that's your preference.

[Alicesays]

Originally Posted by robko

Did you factory reset before you downgraded? Going from 3.8 back to 2.5 may not work otherwise.

Yup, I did a factory reset before downgrading.

[davidfor]

DNSB's instructions should work. But, try them in two steps. Do the first three steps and then disconnect the device. This will boot to the factory firmware. Check it is working and then connect and copy the files for the desired firmware level to the .kobo directory.

And make sure you remove all the files and put all the replacements in. You description makes me think you might not have replaced the "upgrade" directory with the one from 2.5.1. The contents don't change for all firmware versions, but the ones in 3.8.0 is not compatible with 2.5.1.

[dixieknits]

Just curious, why do you want to go back in versions?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by dixieknits

Just curious, why do you want to go back in versions?

From the original message, a desire to go back to the carousel home page.

Regards,

David