Overdrive syncing (or not)?

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Really, how do they connect your OverDrive App account to your library login then?
I didn't watch the video though. (I am on my ereader. )

You log into the app on your device (in my case, my iPad) using your Overdrive login then from that app, you log into your individual library accounts, and there you can download the books from the individual libraries. This much works just fine. It's the syncing that doesn't work, reading on the Overdrive Read link on the library website, and the Overdrive app on the device, despite the fact that you are logged into both accounts simultaneously on the device app.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

You log into the app on your device (in my case, my iPad) using your Overdrive login then from that app, you log into your individual library accounts, and there you can download the books from the individual libraries. This much works just fine. It's the syncing that doesn't work, reading on the Overdrive Read link on the library website, and the Overdrive app on the device, despite the fact that you are logged into both accounts simultaneously on the device app.

You're logged into both accounts simultaneously, but they are different accounts. One for the library and one for the Overdrive app. These two accounts don't communicate because they are for different things.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

You log into the app on your device (in my case, my iPad) using your Overdrive login then from that app, you log into your individual library accounts, and there you can download the books from the individual libraries. This much works just fine. It's the syncing that doesn't work, reading on the Overdrive Read link on the library website, and the Overdrive app on the device, despite the fact that you are logged into both accounts simultaneously on the device app.

Oh really.

Basically this:

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

You're logged into both accounts simultaneously, but they are different accounts. One for the library and one for the Overdrive app. These two accounts don't communicate because they are for different things.

You may be logged into both at the same time, but that is comparable to my Firefox browser being, at this very moment, logged into both MobileRead and Google... and then expecting that as a result, MobileRead can read all my emails.

The OverDrive app downloads the book the same way ADE does -- through the .acsm -- but this is made transparent to the user, as all good apps should.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

You may be logged into both at the same time, but that is comparable to my Firefox browser being, at this very moment, logged into both MobileRead and Google... and then expecting that as a result, MobileRead can read all my emails.

The way I saw it, and the rolling eyes obviously mean that I'm an idiot, was that I gave Overdrive permission to access my library account by entering my library login information into their application.

[eschwartz]

Well, it could happen that way, but it doesn't have to... so it makes sense to check before deciding that just because you logged in in its embedded browser, that the OverDrive Account was linked to your library logins.

IIRC, when you sync the app to a new device, your known libraries are preserved, I do know for a fact though that you will have to re-login to each account. I assume it is saved as a browser cookie, and those aren't synced.

[WilburMcG]

If I can't expect Overdrive to sync between Windows and the iPad app then perhaps there is a better viewer I can use on Windows? I don't mean to sync, since I won't be able to sync, just asking if there is a better reader I should consider than the Overdrive "read in browser" functionality? I haven't explored anything other than the Kindle and Overdrive apps.

[eschwartz]

The main problem is you need one that supports ADE DRM.

[WilburMcG]

Any suggestions?

[eschwartz]

Well, I know of BlueFire reader in addition to Adobe Digital Editions, but that is the limit of my knowledge.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by WilburMcG

As a new ebook reader I have enjoyed free ebooks from my local library via Overdrive. I have the Overdrive app on my iPad where I read the most, but occasionally open the book on a Windows PC at work and read on my breaks. Supposedly Overdrive syncs to keep your place but I can't ever get the Windows browser view to work. I have to go hunt down where I left off.

Am I using it wrong? Is there a better way to read these on my Windows PC that will keep it sync'd witth my Overdrive app?

I. YOU HAVE TWO DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS: one with OverDrive, and one with your library. These are separate and distinct from each other, although you will use both when borrowing content from your library's OverDrive lending catalog, as described below, in II. (The same process applies when borrowing content via 3M Cloud Library or Axis360, and for simplicity's sake, I recommend using the same login credentials for OverDrive, 3M Cloud Library, Axis360, and Adobe Digital Editions.)

II. To borrow OverDrive media from your library:
A- Visit your library's OverDrive catalog, either from your library's website or from within your OverDrive Media Console app

B- Perform the next two steps in either order:
1. Select the content you want to borrow
2. Enter your LIBRARY's login credentials to borrow the content you selected

C- Check out the title - which process will require you to choose the:
1. Format you wish to borrow (e.g., epub v. Kindle), and
2. Platform on which you want to consume the content:
(a) by downloading to your device and consuming the content via the OverDrive app (formerly known as the OverDrive Media Console), or
(b) by downloading to your browser and consuming the content via OverDrive Read.

NOTE: You can actually choose both platforms, by repeating the above steps, but content downloaded to OVERDRIVE READ and those downloaded to OVERDRIVE MEDIA CONSOLE don't sync with each other. Not even on the same device. However, content downloaded to OverDrive Read content does sync across devices (see *,**), and content downloaded to OverDrive Media Console does sync across devices (*,**).

(*) Provided you are logged into your OverDrive account, your device is connected to the Internet, and you set up your account to sync.
(**) For each device on which you wish to consume/sync borrowed content, you have to perform all of the steps described in II.

III. You can log into your OverDrive account in either of these two ways:
A- From within the OverDrive Media Console app on any device

B-from the OverDrive website, where you'll see the following links in the upper right hand corner of the website: "Sign In | Sign Up | Search".