Kobo CS: Do they even READ your question?

[SameerH]

Originally Posted by ficbot

Sameer, I have sent you a PM with two more problem books. Unacceptable! Four books in a week! One has random periods in the middle of the sentences, and the other has no quotation marks at all.

yep, replied.

Content team is asking for the publisher for each book if you can manage it (the link to the book on kobo.com would be fine too) since some of them have multiple editions.

[ficbot]

Thanks, Sameer. I have replied.

[Ayukawa]

After waiting for two weeks to get a response on ticket #162198 which had been escalated to tier-2 support due to my on-going SD/SDHC card issues, I finally got back a canned knowledge-base article that explained once more how to add books to the SD card.

Of course, I *know* all this. I just want to know why nobody else is having the problems with using these cards like I am when I'm following the same exact steps.

Incredibly frustrating. I purchased an extended replacement plan for this reader and I've been told I can't use that yet because it's still under manufacturer's warranty. That doesn't help when the manufacturer won't even respond to my requests.

[SameerH]

Hi Ayukawa,

Could I trouble you to describe the exact issue you are experiencing and the steps you are taking? Also, please include which device you are on (Wireless version or not).

Sorry you had that experience, I'll try and get it sorted asap.

Thanks,
Sameer.

[Ayukawa]

I have been having great difficulties adding epubs to an SDHC card with the following methods:

1. Putting the card in the kobo and using the "send to card" feature in calibre. When I attempt this, the entire device disconnects from the computer and a failure dialog is given. No books end up actually on the card.

2. The "supported" method of inserting the card into a card reader, copying epubs to it, and then placing the card in the kobo: The kobo detects new content but many books are missing, and others are corrupted. Placing the card back into the card reader afterward shows that several books now have file names consisting of garbage characters.

I have tried these methods (and any others I could think of) on several SDHC cards ranging from 1gb to 8th and only had partial success with two sandisk "ultra" cards. Reading and posting on this forum has lead me to see that most people with this device are able to use any card without error, which makes me think my kobo has an issue.

My device is a kobo wireless purchased in December 2010. Thank you.

[ficbot]

Update: I got an email of someone higher up at Kobo, after I blogged on Teleread about this, and they have refunded me the books. I also told them I had in the past hesitated reporting because I heard that Amazon cuts you off if you complain too many times, and I was assured this was not an issue. If you truly do have a book with mistakes, they want to know about it so they can fix it. That said, the fixing may take some time since they have to wait for the publishers to do it.

[Dave@Kobo]

Originally Posted by Ayukawa

I have been having great difficulties adding epubs to an SDHC card with the following methods:

1. Putting the card in the kobo and using the "send to card" feature in calibre. When I attempt this, the entire device disconnects from the computer and a failure dialog is given. No books end up actually on the card.

2. The "supported" method of inserting the card into a card reader, copying epubs to it, and then placing the card in the kobo: The kobo detects new content but many books are missing, and others are corrupted. Placing the card back into the card reader afterward shows that several books now have file names consisting of garbage characters.

I have tried these methods (and any others I could think of) on several SDHC cards ranging from 1gb to 8th and only had partial success with two sandisk "ultra" cards. Reading and posting on this forum has lead me to see that most people with this device are able to use any card without error, which makes me think my kobo has an issue.

My device is a kobo wireless purchased in December 2010. Thank you.

Hello Ayukawa,

I apologize if you mentioned this in a previous post but have you tried just loading the ePubs on the device directly? I'd like to try to narrow down if the problems you are experiencing are related to the flash media or the reader itself.

[Ayukawa]

Originally Posted by Dave@Kobo

Hello Ayukawa,

I apologize if you mentioned this in a previous post but have you tried just loading the ePubs on the device directly? I'd like to try to narrow down if the problems you are experiencing are related to the flash media or the reader itself.

I am able to load content onto the kobo device itself without a problem. Just as an update, I have received a response from support and it appears I'm being issued an RMA.

[NightBird]

Sameer - I have a question about formats. I sent 2 tickets about this and received a response but not an answer to my question.

I have purchased several books that do not show up in my I'm Reading section of my Library at the website; they only show up in the Purchased section. Consequently I am not able to read these on my iPOD Touch. The listings for these books show the same available formats as all the other books I have purchased that DO show up in my I'm Reading section.

If certain books are not available for reading on iPOD Touch, how can this be determined before purchasing? If there IS something about this in the Help files, please refer me to that section, as I have read all of them and have not found it.

Thanks for any help with this.

[DNSB]

I've been around this issue twice with Kobo customer service. Same reply each time about doing the restore to factory then reloading books.

Easy way to describe the issue:

I start reading a book on a Kobo WiFi.

80% of the way through the book, the low battery screen pops up

I connect to the power supply, choose to manage and leave it charging.

Come back later, the Kobo is charged but the book I was reading has disappeared from the I'm Reading list and when I locate it in the Books list, it is showing as unread.

Just curious as to if anyone else has seen this same issue? For me, it happens both with books downloaded from the Kobo store and books added via Calibre or manually. The major annoyance was a 400 page book from a freebie site which had no chapters -- about 700 clicks to get back to the page I was reading when battery went low.

[dmacmart]

DNSB - I think so. It appears that when the low battery pops up, the current bookmarked states have not been saved, but the Kobo reverts back to a previous state. In my case, the wrong chapter in my current book. In your case, back to before you opened the current book for reading.

[sabredog]

I have had that as well. It only remembers the last bookmark and not the current page you are on BEFORE the warning pops up.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by dmacmart

DNSB - I think so. It appears that when the low battery pops up, the current bookmarked states have not been saved, but the Kobo reverts back to a previous state. In my case, the wrong chapter in my current book. In your case, back to before you opened the current book for reading.

Sounds like the same glitch. Latest from Kobo CS is that I should charge the battery before this happens. Suggested next firmware version should save bookmark state before popping up the battery low screen.

[m_bisson]

Originally Posted by SameerH

We are ramping up our customer care to meet the growing demand. It certainly has been a challenge but we are fixing it.

Ramping up the customer care? By hiring more people? Properly training the ones you have?

Unless you expected the company to fail then you should have had a business model that allows for growth, both within the company and the consumer side. If the communication is THIS poor between the customer service and the most important people in your business: US, then it makes me wonder how much worse things are inside the company.

It took me 2 months of back and forth with several different people only to be ignored one final time..... my issue has not yet been solved. I was the first person in my family to get an eReader, and I told them if I liked it I'd recommend it to them as well. They asked how I liked it, and I said the technology is great but don't get a Kobo. The company is run by monkeys.
Good job!!!!!!!!

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by m_bisson

They asked how I liked it, and I said the technology is great but don't get a Kobo. The company is run by monkeys.
Good job!!!!!!!!

Damn harsh that. Whilst I sympathised about the issue you had earlier. Making comments like that evaporates any sympathy really quickly.

Sameer and other Kobo reps have been pretty active in this forum to assist as they can. Do you see Sony or Amazon reps participating in their respective forums here?