Obligation to register to use the reader creates problems

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by marp68

After registrering again and logging into Kobo, the books where on my reader, but the Collection categories and reading status were gone.

The collections should be synced to Kobo and back afterwards. But, they will only show the purchased books. Nothing about sideloaded books is synced. If you haven's synced since you created the collections, they will not be recreated.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by marp68

Thanks, yes, I know. No DRM on my books. They are sideloaded via Calibre and dedicated plug in.

So I guess it has more to do that Kobo wants you to stay logged in, with or without an connection, to be able to use the reader. Or, I don't know what else could have caused the reader to get into registration process efter logging out.

Okay, you indicated that you couldn't access your books without logging in which made me think they were DRM protected/infected. I now see what you're saying, so I guess my question is, what is causing your reader to spontaneously logout? I've owned several different Kobo devices over the past 8-years or so, and I've never had this problem. I register my device when I first power it on, log in to my Kobo account, and it just works from that point on even if I turn the WiFi off, so I'm wondering what's going on in your case.

[marp68]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

Okay, you indicated that you couldn't access your books without logging in which made me think they were DRM protected/infected. I now see what you're saying, so I guess my question is, what is causing your reader to spontaneously logout? I've owned several different Kobo devices over the past 8-years or so, and I've never had this problem. I register my device when I first power it on, log in to my Kobo account, and it just works from that point on, so I'm wondering what's going on in your case.

I logged out intentionally because I wanted to see if it would be possible to navigate to other pages despite that the Kobo page was down that day. But logging out seems to erase the registration.

[marp68]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The collections should be synced to Kobo and back afterwards. But, they will only show the purchased books. Nothing about sideloaded books is synced. If you haven's synced since you created the collections, they will not be recreated.

Yes, all my books is side loaded through Calibre

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by marp68

I logged out intentionally because I wanted to see if it would be possible to navigate to other pages despite that the Kobo page was down that day. But logging out seems to erase the registration.

Oh, okay... so, just don't ever logout and you'll be fine.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by marp68

But logging out seems to erase the registration.

The registration details are stored in the Kobo's SQLite database file in the /.kobo directory. Logging out deletes this database and replaces it with a fresh new empty version ... hence don't logout unless you have no choice or you actually wanted to cleanout the database for some reason. All notes and reading activity would also be removed with the old database.

Your books will still be intact so you won't need to reload them. If none of them have DRM they should be readable once they've re-imported themselves.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by marp68

I just don't like to be forced to register and stay logged in to a company just because I have bought a product from them. Especially if I'm not using them or their site.

In my thread about the situation yesterday someone recommended a modification in the reader's registration routine that made it possible to bypass this. Should still be possible to update the reader, even though the sync is not visible and it will of course not sync any books etc between the reader and the kobo bookstore.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...2&postcount=14

What do you think about this modification? Is is safe or is there any other good way to use the reader without having to be logged in all the time?

There are things you cannot do if you are not properly registered. No syncing and no Overdrive. There could be other things.

I keep my WiFi off. I've never had to lot out of my account. I have my database backed up using Kobo Utilities. So if I did have a need to log out, I could just restore the database and make sure the books I had loaded are on there and I'm good to go.

There has been one case where the fake registration stopped working due to a change in the firmware. And if that happens again, there won't be any instructions right away for a new fake registration and you will have to do a proper registration.

And how often would you be away from having cell data or WiFi? If I am going on vacation where I might not have Internet access all the time, I would have my Surface Pro 2 with me and I would be able to restore everything back to working.

Let's say you don't have access to a computer but you've logged out. You do have access to the Internet via WiFi or a hotspot from your phone. Your only choice is to do a proper registration. The fake registration is now not possible until you get to a computer and you also have to have a microUSB cable with you as well. So if you find you have a corrupt database because you didn't properly eject the last time but cannot fake register, HAHA!

One last note...I've been registered for almost 6 years. I've never had a reason to log out.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by marp68

I logged out intentionally because I wanted to see if it would be possible to navigate to other pages despite that the Kobo page was down that day. But logging out seems to erase the registration.

So, you brought it on yourself. There was no need to do this. When you tried connecting to WiFi, it actually prompted you as to what was happening. If you had just agreed to continue, you would have been able to use the browser with no problems.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I keep my WiFi off. I've never had to lot out of my account.

My first generation Kobo Aura has been logged in literally for years without a hitch.

[JSWolf]

I have fairly recent backups of my database. So I'm pretty well able to restore if something was to happen.

I would never log out just to test something. I would most likely ask here what to do if I was unsure.