Questions for Kobo owners

The Old Man · 05-19-2026, 10:50 AM

I am thinking of purchasing a Kobo Clara bw 6” reader. Can I load non-DRM ebooks onto the reader directly from Google Drive or must I use my Windows PC via Calibre? If I load an ebook into the Kobo app on my iPad will it synch onto the Kobo Reader?
Thanks.

PeterT · 05-19-2026, 11:15 AM

If your Kobo supports Google Drive and/or DropBox then as long as you place your book(s) in the appropriate folders on those devices you can sync it to your Kobo.

Kobo does not sync content between different devices.

pepperminttree · 05-19-2026, 01:08 PM

1. On the Clara models, Google Drive/Dropbox are not officially supported but I think you can sideload them onto your device if you’re willing to tinker a bit. Otherwise, there is a website send.djazz.se which allows for wireless transfer of DRM free files via another device + the inbuilt browser.

2. No, Kobo does not support syncing for sideloaded books, only Kobo store bought or Libby borrows IIRC (can’t confirm the latter, it’s not a supported feature in my country).

JSWolf · 05-19-2026, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepperminttree

1. On the Clara models, Google Drive/Dropbox are not officially supported but I think you can sideload them onto your device if you’re willing to tinker a bit. Otherwise, there is a website send.djazz.se which allows for wireless transfer of DRM free files via another device + the inbuilt browser.

2. No, Kobo does not support syncing for sideloaded books, only Kobo store bought or Libby borrows IIRC (can’t confirm the latter, it’s not a supported feature in my country).

Overdrive/Libby borrows should be able to be synced as long as you sync the eBooks from Kobo.

The Old Man · 05-19-2026, 03:20 PM

So it looks like the answered to my questions are No, No. If I plug a USB flash drive into the Kobo USB port will the device see it?

JSWolf · 05-19-2026, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Old Man

So it looks like the answered to my questions are No, No. If I plug a USB flash drive into the Kobo USB port will the device see it?

I have no idea. I've never read of anyone doing that.

The Old Man · 05-19-2026, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have no idea. I've never read of anyone doing that.

My iPad (depending upon the app) will “see” a flash drive and share any drm free ebook with any reader app.

Aleron Ives · 05-19-2026, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Old Man

If I plug a USB flash drive into the Kobo USB port will the device see it?

No. AFAIK Kobo devices don't support USB OTG. You can either copy/paste your books over USB to the Kobo and the iPad separately, or you can use something like Calibre Web to sync books over Wi-Fi, but all your devices will have separate books and reading progress.

The Old Man · 05-19-2026, 05:13 PM

Thanks all.

DNSB · 05-19-2026, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Old Man

So it looks like the answered to my questions are No, No. If I plug a USB flash drive into the Kobo USB port will the device see it?

Your Kobo is a USB device and does not have the capability out of the box of acting as a USB host. There were a couple of projects involving modified firmware and the use of USB OTG adapters but none of them were very satisfactory. The ones I played with attempting to connect a keyboard were about as stable as a pyramid balanced on it's tip.

rantanplan · 05-20-2026, 02:51 AM

Every Kobo supports Dropbox, you just may need to install Nickelmenu to get access to the menu item.

05-19-2026, 10:50 AM	#1
The Old Man Guru Posts: 622 Karma: 1606819 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Hampshire Device: iPad Mini	Questions for Kobo owners I am thinking of purchasing a Kobo Clara bw 6” reader. Can I load non-DRM ebooks onto the reader directly from Google Drive or must I use my Windows PC via Calibre? If I load an ebook into the Kobo app on my iPad will it synch onto the Kobo Reader? Thanks.

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05-19-2026, 11:15 AM	#2
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,958 Karma: 82520964 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	If your Kobo supports Google Drive and/or DropBox then as long as you place your book(s) in the appropriate folders on those devices you can sync it to your Kobo. Kobo does not sync content between different devices.

05-19-2026, 01:08 PM	#3
pepperminttree Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2026 Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Boox Palma 2, Woxter Scriba 195 S	1. On the Clara models, Google Drive/Dropbox are not officially supported but I think you can sideload them onto your device if you’re willing to tinker a bit. Otherwise, there is a website send.djazz.se which allows for wireless transfer of DRM free files via another device + the inbuilt browser. 2. No, Kobo does not support syncing for sideloaded books, only Kobo store bought or Libby borrows IIRC (can’t confirm the latter, it’s not a supported feature in my country).

05-19-2026, 03:20 PM	#5
The Old Man Guru Posts: 622 Karma: 1606819 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Hampshire Device: iPad Mini	So it looks like the answered to my questions are No, No. If I plug a USB flash drive into the Kobo USB port will the device see it?

05-19-2026, 05:13 PM	#9
The Old Man Guru Posts: 622 Karma: 1606819 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Hampshire Device: iPad Mini	Thanks all.

05-20-2026, 02:51 AM	#11
rantanplan Weirdo Posts: 1,098 Karma: 12503116 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Wuppertal, Germany Device: Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2, reMarkable PaperPro	Every Kobo supports Dropbox, you just may need to install Nickelmenu to get access to the menu item.