Update 2.1.1 available for MAX2/MAX2 Pro - Page 2

Faeryink · 05-01-2019, 04:32 PM

The new update messed up all my notes (sidenotes) which correlated to pages within a document. Now I am trying to get back to the older version. I really dont like the new update to sidenotes function, why can't Onyx let the user decide whether the notes correlate to specific pages within a document or to the whole document???
For me the new updates have really wrecked my user experience. I hope I can downgrade as the Onyx website has the previous firmware version for Max 2 but not for Max 2 Pro (Limited Edition). Writers and researchers be weary of this change in case it affects your note-taking and research style.

plusz · 05-02-2019, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faeryink

The new update messed up all my notes (sidenotes) which correlated to pages within a document. Now I am trying to get back to the older version. I really dont like the new update to sidenotes function, why can't Onyx let the user decide whether the notes correlate to specific pages within a document or to the whole document???
For me the new updates have really wrecked my user experience. I hope I can downgrade as the Onyx website has the previous firmware version for Max 2 but not for Max 2 Pro (Limited Edition). Writers and researchers be weary of this change in case it affects your note-taking and research style.

Hello, are you saying that now the sidenotes are not related to pages or is it only a broken import of your notes made under the previous firmware? I mean, when you open a sidenote in the new firmware do you see a note for that page or it's like opening a notebook app side-by-side with your document where you have to write down yourself what page your note refers to, much like using a physical note book.

I didn't upgrade yet, so I would be grateful for the clarification.
Thanks!

EDIT:
By the way, after reading the other thread, where the NeoReader 3.0 on NOVA was discussed, I'll try first to extract the NeoReader 3.0 from the new firmware and side-load it on my existing firmware to see how it works. Actually it's a pity that Onyx does not release app updates but just a whole new firmware. With the app update it's always possible to revert to the original one but when you flash a new firmware you're stuck.

Faeryink · 05-03-2019, 02:37 AM

I am sorry for the delayed reply. I am afraid that the sidenotes no longer correlate to specific pages within the document now. I tried it with a new document, and saw the same behaviour.
There is a manual on the Onyx Boox website for 2.1, in which it confirms that sidenotes now relate to WHOLE DOCUMENT, and no longer correlate to the specific pages. Here is the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SAt...ew?usp=sharing

I emailed Onyx Boox support to help me return my Max 2 Pro (4GB version) back to firmware 2.0. I hope that my annotations will be compatilble after downgrading.

If you are using the sidenotes for making notes relating to specific pages within the document, I would advise you not to upgrade and perhaps contact Onyx to get further clarification.

Once again sorry for the delayed reply and hope its not too late!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by plusz

Hello, are you saying that now the sidenotes are not related to pages or is it only a broken import of your notes made under the previous firmware? I mean, when you open a sidenote in the new firmware do you see a note for that page or it's like opening a notebook app side-by-side with your document where you have to write down yourself what page your note refers to, much like using a physical note book.

I didn't upgrade yet, so I would be grateful for the clarification.
Thanks!

EDIT:
By the way, after reading the other thread, where the NeoReader 3.0 on NOVA was discussed, I'll try first to extract the NeoReader 3.0 from the new firmware and side-load it on my existing firmware to see how it works. Actually it's a pity that Onyx does not release app updates but just a whole new firmware. With the app update it's always possible to revert to the original one but when you flash a new firmware you're stuck.

plusz · 05-03-2019, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faeryink

I am sorry for the delayed reply.

Many thanks! Indeed I saw it in the changelog on Onyx web

Quote:

5. Sidenote now is associated with documents instead of pages.

I would like to try just installing the new apk side-by-side but the firmware for Max2 is not available so I cannot extract the new file. The download link is empty on the page

I have extracted Neo Reader from my Max (attached). You can try to install it but I guess the android will complain that you have already a newer version installed. I have tried to modify the apk id from "com.onyx.kreader" to "com.onyx.kreader.2.0.1" in AndroidManifest.xml using Apktool and signing by following this recipe but the modfied apk was rejected by Android with "Parse error"

I guess there's something wrong with the Apktool. There was some error during the assembling, something related to app compat v7 library, which I resolved somehow with ideas from Stackoverflow and successfully assembled and signed the apk. I guess the solution was not good. Too bad as I would be very interested to know if it can run on the latest firmware. At this moment I can't spend more time on this.

Anyway, could you give me the latest Neo Reader from the 2.1.1 firmware?
How-to:
- assume you have adb installed
- enable debugging on Max
- run adb pull /system/app/kreader-release
- if it won't succeed, try adb shell, then ls /system/app, I bet it's still there but maybe with a slightly different name like kreader2 etc.

Don't bother if it seems to complex for you, I can wait for the opportunity to download the firmware package and extract it then.

kreader-release.apk.zip

plusz · 05-03-2019, 04:48 PM

Woohoo

I just had a second thought and it was right!! The app ID cannot contain the numbers, so instead I changed the app ID to com.onyx.kreaderold

Could you try the attached old app on the new firmware? I renamed the UI visible name to "Neo Reader fw 2.0.1". When you install it nad you try to open any pdf the lanucher should ask you which app to use. Be sure to select "JUST ONCE" so the next time the launcher ask you again.

The attachement is zipped, just unzip before copying to the reader.

NeoReaderFw2.0.1.apk.zip

Question Mark · 05-03-2019, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plusz

Could you try the attached old app on the new firmware? I renamed the UI visible name to "Neo Reader fw 2.0.1". When you install it nad you try to open any pdf the lanucher should ask you which app to use. Be sure to select "JUST ONCE" so the next time the launcher ask you again.

The attachement is zipped, just unzip before copying to the reader.

Attachment 171249

It works on my Nova Pro running the 2.1.1 firmware. I opened a PDF by long pressing the PDF and using the "Open With" otherwise it would have opened with the new NeoReader app.

Both the old and the new version of NeoReader are now visible when selecting "Open With" and both seem to work fine.

Thank you for making this available. More options are always better than fewer.

plusz · 05-04-2019, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Question Mark

It works on my Nova Pro running the 2.1.1 firmware. I opened a PDF by long pressing the PDF and using the "Open With" otherwise it would have opened with the new NeoReader app.

Great! Many thanks for testing it

plusz · 05-04-2019, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Both the old and the new version of NeoReader are now visible when selecting "Open With" and both seem to work fine.

Follow-up question, how are the side notes behaving between versions? If you open the new Neo Reader, make a side note, exit, then open the same pdf with the old Neo Reader? What happens the other way around?

Anyway it would be sufficient for me if the notes are saved and re-opened correctly in the same reader version. I can keep my pdfs organized to know which I should open with which version. The old reader works great for me, I can write much clearer notes per page (as directly on the page there's no much space between the paragraphs, etc) and when I switch pages back and forth having the side note panel visible the side notes instantly follows the pages. Moreover I can see them listed under the TOC button, click and directly open a particular note on the corresponding page.

But the new firmware has some interesting new features too, for example handwriting recognition.

Question Mark · 05-04-2019, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plusz

Follow-up question, how are the side notes behaving between versions? If you open the new Neo Reader, make a side note, exit, then open the same pdf with the old Neo Reader? What happens the other way around?

Side notes in each version seem to work as they normally do.

If you make side notes in NeoReader 3, they are associated with the book, not the page. You will not be able to see these notes if you then open up the book with NeoReader 2. However, they will still be there if you open up the book again with NeoReader 3.

Similarly, if you make side notes in NeoReader 2, they will be associated with the page, not the book. They will be there the next time you open up the book with NeoReader 2, but will not be visible if you open up the book with NeoReader 3. However, they will still be there if you go back to NeoReader 2.

But be very careful about using the Scribble function if you intend to use both versions of NeoReader with the same PDF.

Using Scribble in NeoReader 3 will work as normal. You will be able to see your scribbles in both versions of the NeoReader app. It will also not affect your side notes in NeoReader 3.

However, if you have made side notes in NeoReader 2, and then use Scribble in NeoReader 3, your side notes from NeoReader 2 will no longer be visible when you open the PDF again. I don't know if they are lost completely or just saved somewhere else one the device.

Also, if you use Scribble on a PDF in NeoReader 2, those scribbles will not be visible in NeoRedaer 3, but they will still be there if you open up the document again in NeoReader 2 UNLESS you have subsequently made some scribbles in NeoReader 3.

Using Scribble in NeoReader 3 seems to overwrite the PDF such that information associated with it from NeoReader 2 is lost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by plusz

But the new firmware has some interesting new features too, for example handwriting recognition.

Yes, this is a very handy function. The floating Navigation Ball is also very useful.

plusz · 05-04-2019, 11:23 AM

Thank you again @Question Mark. That explains everything. I am ready to upgrade my boox

plusz · 05-04-2019, 12:41 PM

OK, I don't know what's going on but perhaps the update 2.1.1 is not good quality yet and have been pulled. The links to download the firmware for Max2 and Max2 Pro point back to the page https://www.boox.com/downloads/ On my device, "Check update" causes only a message pop-up "Upgrade package does not exist".

Question Mark · 05-04-2019, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plusz

OK, I don't know what's going on but perhaps the update 2.1.1 is not good quality yet and have been pulled. The links to download the firmware for Max2 and Max2 Pro point back to the page https://www.boox.com/downloads/ On my device, "Check update" causes only a message pop-up "Upgrade package does not exist".

Yes, others have been mentioning this problem. It seems that they have pulled the 2.1.1 firmware update for the moment as some people were reporting a variety of issues on various devices.

Although I am really enjoying the 2.1.1 firmware, my Nova Pro has on occasion been behaving a bit erratically. Nothing that putting it to sleep and waking it up again couldn't so far resolve, but I have really just been using it for casual reading. Not any serious work and haven't been making much use of its note taking functions of late other than to just test them out.

I suspect that they will re-release the update or a new one once they have sorted out the bugs and made it more stable. I suspect that they may have released the last update a little prematurely due to the increasing competition from other manufacturers. If someone were using their device in a work environment or for serious study, as many people seem to be, they could potentially lose a lot of work if the system is not stable.

plusz · 05-04-2019, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Question Mark

I suspect that they will re-release the update or a new one once they have sorted out the bugs and made it more stable. I suspect that they may have released the last update a little prematurely due to the increasing competition from other manufacturers. If someone were using their device in a work environment or for serious study, as many people seem to be, they could potentially lose a lot of work if the system is not stable.

I have no doubt they will release it. There was already so much money poured to develop the new features that it's virtually impossible to abandon them. My best guess is that they have limited resources in testing, especially for the international languages. The first drop of v2.0 also had many bugs. Oh, well, I'm a professional developer so I experience first hand how the pressure for speed vs quality increases in recent years. One week we plan to continue developing something over the next 2 weeks, followed by a month of field testing, but the next week someone grab the code and build it as a beta, which magically moves to official release because the demo went quite well. Onyx behaves quite rationally and respond fast to the situation. Compare it to Microsoft or Apple pushing buggy software updates on people even though loud rumors are spreading around.

Faeryink · 05-05-2019, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plusz

Many thanks! Indeed I saw it in the changelog on Onyx web

I would like to try just installing the new apk side-by-side but the firmware for Max2 is not available so I cannot extract the new file. The download link is empty on the page

I have extracted Neo Reader from my Max (attached). You can try to install it but I guess the android will complain that you have already a newer version installed. I have tried to modify the apk id from "com.onyx.kreader" to "com.onyx.kreader.2.0.1" in AndroidManifest.xml using Apktool and signing by following this recipe but the modfied apk was rejected by Android with "Parse error"

I guess there's something wrong with the Apktool. There was some error during the assembling, something related to app compat v7 library, which I resolved somehow with ideas from Stackoverflow and successfully assembled and signed the apk. I guess the solution was not good. Too bad as I would be very interested to know if it can run on the latest firmware. At this moment I can't spend more time on this.

Anyway, could you give me the latest Neo Reader from the 2.1.1 firmware?
How-to:
- assume you have adb installed
- enable debugging on Max
- run adb pull /system/app/kreader-release
- if it won't succeed, try adb shell, then ls /system/app, I bet it's still there but maybe with a slightly different name like kreader2 etc.

Don't bother if it seems to complex for you, I can wait for the opportunity to download the firmware package and extract it then.

Attachment 171248

Thankyou so much for uploading the NeoReader 2 for me. I really appreciate your help. It is lovely going back to NeoReader 2. I managed to follow your instructions on extracting Kreader2. The only change I made was
run adb pull /system/app/kreader2-release

For some reason the admin have blocked the file upload (zip file). So I uploaded it on my cloud storage, here is the link (I hope this is ok):

https://pkamc-my.sharepoint.com/:u:/...zl9xA?e=sMybH2

I have random shut downs (or devices goes to sleep) since I upgraded the Onyx device to the latest firmware (2.1.1). so I am going to reset my device and see if it helps. If I can fix this issue, then I am happy to use the latest firmware for the Navigation ball which is a nice feature to help flip between apps.

I really prefer Neoreader 2.0 over 3.0 as it has a simpler UI and most importantly it suits my editing and research style. Once again thanks for sending my NeoReader 2.

plusz · 05-05-2019, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faeryink

Thankyou so much for uploading the NeoReader 2 for me. I really appreciate your help. It is lovely going back to NeoReader 2. I managed to follow your instructions on extracting Kreader2. The only change I made was
run adb pull /system/app/kreader2-release

For some reason the admin have blocked the file upload (zip file). So I uploaded it on my cloud storage, here is the link (I hope this is ok):

https://pkamc-my.sharepoint.com/:u:/...zl9xA?e=sMybH2

I have random shut downs (or devices goes to sleep) since I upgraded the Onyx device to the latest firmware (2.1.1). so I am going to reset my device and see if it helps. If I can fix this issue, then I am happy to use the latest firmware for the Navigation ball which is a nice feature to help flip between apps.

I really prefer Neoreader 2.0 over 3.0 as it has a simpler UI and most importantly it suits my editing and research style. Once again thanks for sending my NeoReader 2.

Unfortunately I cannot download your file. Instead of the apk I got kreader2-release.apk_Error.txt

Code:

File is too big to download. Requested File Size: 36 MB, Max File Size Limit: 25 MB

Could you try creating multipart archive? For example using 7z you can create 2 zip volumes (20MB max each), whatever zip utility you are using I bet there is a similar option.

Code:

7z a -v20m kreader2.zip kreader2-release.apk

Anyway, I can see that I'm lucky that I didn't get the firmware update yet.

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05-01-2019, 04:32 PM	#16
Faeryink Zealot Posts: 110 Karma: 21606 Join Date: Nov 2018 Device: Onyx Boox Max 2	The new update messed up all my notes (sidenotes) which correlated to pages within a document. Now I am trying to get back to the older version. I really dont like the new update to sidenotes function, why can't Onyx let the user decide whether the notes correlate to specific pages within a document or to the whole document??? For me the new updates have really wrecked my user experience. I hope I can downgrade as the Onyx website has the previous firmware version for Max 2 but not for Max 2 Pro (Limited Edition). Writers and researchers be weary of this change in case it affects your note-taking and research style.

05-03-2019, 04:48 PM	#20
plusz Addict Posts: 384 Karma: 50008 Join Date: Feb 2017 Device: 13.3" Boox Max2, 7" Kobo H2O	Woohoo I just had a second thought and it was right!! The app ID cannot contain the numbers, so instead I changed the app ID to com.onyx.kreaderold Could you try the attached old app on the new firmware? I renamed the UI visible name to "Neo Reader fw 2.0.1". When you install it nad you try to open any pdf the lanucher should ask you which app to use. Be sure to select "JUST ONCE" so the next time the launcher ask you again. The attachement is zipped, just unzip before copying to the reader. NeoReaderFw2.0.1.apk.zip

05-04-2019, 11:23 AM	#25
plusz Addict Posts: 384 Karma: 50008 Join Date: Feb 2017 Device: 13.3" Boox Max2, 7" Kobo H2O	Thank you again @Question Mark. That explains everything. I am ready to upgrade my boox

05-04-2019, 12:41 PM	#26
plusz Addict Posts: 384 Karma: 50008 Join Date: Feb 2017 Device: 13.3" Boox Max2, 7" Kobo H2O	OK, I don't know what's going on but perhaps the update 2.1.1 is not good quality yet and have been pulled. The links to download the firmware for Max2 and Max2 Pro point back to the page https://www.boox.com/downloads/ On my device, "Check update" causes only a message pop-up "Upgrade package does not exist".

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