09-27-2014, 06:11 AM | #1 |
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[Solved] Kobo H2O Hackability
I'd like to find out how "open" or accessible the H2O is. From the specs, I'm very inclined to buy one soon, but I'd need full access to the system (which, hopefully, will be Linux) to re-write the complete user interface to my needs.
If and when someone is able to provide information on how, please put it here. Thank you! Last edited by ManDay; 09-27-2014 at 06:48 AM. |
09-27-2014, 06:19 AM | #2 |
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The H20 runs the same f/w (albeit possibly a different build) as the other recent Kobo eReaders; Touch / Glo / Mini / Aura HD / Aura.
These are eminently hackable. |
09-27-2014, 06:41 AM | #3 |
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If that's confirmedly so, then thanks! Sounds like the Kobo H2O will be the perfect device and the best we've ever seen
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09-27-2014, 06:56 AM | #4 |
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Just remember though; while people have opened other devices to restore the SD card in case of corruption, I'm not sure what effect on water-tightness opening the H2O would have.
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09-27-2014, 07:00 AM | #5 |
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09-27-2014, 07:04 AM | #6 |
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09-27-2014, 07:13 AM | #7 |
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Indeed, an important issue I overlooked! Thanks for the warning!
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09-28-2014, 02:02 PM | #8 |
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I imagine that Kobo Start Menu and coolreader and koreader will work on the H2O, can anyone confirm this?
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09-28-2014, 02:41 PM | #9 | |
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Quote:
Remember that 99% of the f/w is the same across all Kobo eInk readers. |
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09-28-2014, 10:53 PM | #10 |
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However, it's worth noting that the Kobo Aura H2O has only ONE hardware button: it has a power switch but NO light on/off switch. And so hacks that currently depend on the light on/off switch -- such as nightmode, which I find indispensable -- are, at present, incompatible with the H2O, and may in fact never be workable with that device.
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09-28-2014, 10:57 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
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09-29-2014, 09:16 AM | #12 | |
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Quote:
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09-29-2014, 09:21 AM | #13 |
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09-29-2014, 01:28 PM | #14 |
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It occurred to me, that although the device may not be opened to write to the storage directly, it most likely has some sort of BIOS/firmware to flash the storage with replacement data from a specifically crafted SD-card. Has this been considered in the past and possibly been refuted?
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09-29-2014, 01:55 PM | #15 |
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The original Kobo had the ability to upgrade it's f/w via the external SD card; however, no other device has had that ability.
Examination of any / all scripts present on the device don't show sign of it either. |
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