Koreader on Nook Glowlight 4 plus

[onizuko]

Originally Posted by apastuszak

I just got a Nook Glowlight 4 Plus from Amazon today (refurbished $99). Got KOReader on it. Got fonts, got plugins.

The only thing not working is the frontlight controls. I'm on KOReader 2026.7.1.

The frontlight is on, bui I can't adjust it or the warmth.

Anyone found a way to do this?

The way I fixed it (which I don't remember that well) was to enable the com.nook.partner.service.GlowLightService.
I remember AI telling me to enable it through ADB (yes, I'm not that tech savvy), but I thing I actually used the launcher I installed to open Android settings and enable Glowlight service from there.

That I think fixed the brightness slider partially. I did something else (I can't remember) to fix that you only had to go to like 25% of the slider to get 100% brightness. Somehow I lowered the maximum value from the brightness slider.

I also had issues with turning it off an on via tapping the bottom left corner, so turn it off I just slide the brightness to 0.

For warmth, that's a difference service apparently and I didn't fix it. Since I rarely adjust it, I just go to the Nook default software to change it and relaunch koreader.

If it sounds annoying and confusing, it's because it is. Sadly not that much info.
The link I put on my previous message seems to be the solution to all these issues, but I could never find out why the creator made it arm64 if the device apparently isn't (which makes me sound crazy).

I did manage to replicate his deep sleep fix, albeit with some extra difficulties with the buttons.

Sorry I can't be more helpful

[apastuszak]

Ok, I used this thread, reddit and some help from Claude and got KOReader working on my Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. Here is my Claude-assisted guide.

Installing KOReader on a Nook GlowLight 4 Plus

Model: BNRV1300. Tested flow uses a Mac with ADB over USB. No root required.

1. Install ADB on your computer

macOS

brew install android-platform-tools

Windows

Option A, with winget (Windows 10/11):

winget install Google.PlatformTools

Open a new terminal afterward so adb is on your PATH.

Option B, manual download:

1. Download SDK Platform-Tools for Windows from https://developer.android.com/tools/...platform-tools.
2. Unzip it, for example to C:\platform-tools.
3. Open PowerShell in that folder and run commands as .\adb devices. Or add the folder to your PATH so plain adb works from anywhere.

If adb devices never lists the Nook, Windows may need a USB driver for it. Try a different cable or port first.

Linux

Debian / Ubuntu:

sudo apt install adb

Fedora:

sudo dnf install android-tools

Arch:

sudo pacman -S android-tools

Or download SDK Platform-Tools for Linux from the same Google page above, unzip it, and run ./adb from that folder.

If adb devices shows the Nook as no permissions or lists nothing, you may need a udev rule for the device. Reconnecting the cable and running adb kill-server first often clears it.

Check that it works on any system

adb version

2. Turn on USB debugging on the Nook

1. Tap the top-right corner, then See All Settings.
2. Go to page 2 (lower-right arrow), then About.
3. Tap the Nook logo 5+ times quickly.
4. Newer firmware asks for a password. The one found for the GlowLight 4 is NOOK-BNRV1100. If it fails on the 4 Plus, try NOOK-BNRV1300 (a guess based on the model number).
5. Open Android Development Settings and turn on USB Debugging.

3. Connect and authorize

Plug in the USB-C cable. Ignore the USB-mode popup for now.

Run:

adb devices

If it shows unauthorized, tap Allow debugging on the Nook.

4. Download KOReader Nightly

I tested this on the following nightly build: 2026.07.2-217-gb44e9b7. It should work on newer builds.

• Get the arm (32-bit) Android APK from koreader.rocks or the GitHub releases page. Do not use arm64.
• For working front light control, use a nightly build, not stable. Stable v2026.07.1 (Aug 1, 2026) predates the Nook 4 Plus light fixes. Use a nightly built on or after Sep 28, 2026. The build date is in the APK filename.
• Brightness also needs the permission grant in step 6, on top of using a nightly.

5. Install it

adb install -r "/path/to/koreader-android-arm-....apk"

• -r is needed when KOReader is already installed. Without it you get INSTALL_FAILED_ALREADY_EXISTS.
• If you get a signature-mismatch error, back up /sdcard/koreader/ with adb pull, run adb uninstall org.koreader.launcher, then install again without -r.
• Uninstalling resets the brightness permission from step 6, so run step 6 again after any uninstall and reinstall.

6. Allow KOReader to change brightness (required for brightness control)

On the 4 Plus, KOReader sets brightness through Android's system settings, and Android refuses that unless the app has the WRITE_SETTINGS permission. Without it, the brightness slider moves and shows a "brightness changed" popup, but the light does not change. Warmth is not affected.

Grant the permission:

adb shell appops set org.koreader.launcher WRITE_SETTINGS allow

Check it:

adb shell appops get org.koreader.launcher WRITE_SETTINGS

The output should start with WRITE_SETTINGS: allow. (A rejectTime value after it is only a record of the last time Android refused the app. It is not an error.)

Then fully close KOReader (swipe it away from the app switcher) and reopen it. Brightness should now work from both the Frontlight menu and the edge swipe.

7. Launch it

• Option A: adb shell monkey -p org.koreader.launcher 1
• Option B: install a launcher such as Olauncher with adb install, press the Nook's home button, and pick it. This gives you an app list on the device.

8. Map the page-turn buttons

Create event_map.lua (plain text, no .txt extension):

return {
    [141] = "RPgBack",
    [142] = "RPgFwd",
    [140] = "RPgBack",
    [139] = "RPgFwd",
}

Then push it:

adb push event_map.lua /sdcard/koreader/settings/

Or copy it to the Nook with your computer's file manager.

The Nook connects over MTP. Windows and Linux support MTP, so the Nook shows up in your file manager and you can copy files over. On a Mac you need an extra app. OpenMTP works, but I found it unreliable. I recommend either the adb command line or MandroidTransfer, which puts a full GUI on ADB file management.

Force-stop and reopen KOReader. If the buttons are reversed, swap the RPgBack and RPgFwd values.

9. Add books

Copy them over USB (MTP) or push them:

adb push book.epub /sdcard/

10. Caveats

• If you can't adjust the brightness after installing a newer nightly of KOReader, run the step 6 command again.

11. Brightness/warmth panel (optional)

On nightly builds, the brightness/warmth dialog uses native Android sliders. If you prefer the KOReader-style widget used on Kindle and Kobo devices, install this user patch:

-- Use KOReader's own FrontLightWidget (the Kindle/Kobo-style sliders)
-- instead of the native Android light dialog on Android devices.
-- Requires WRITE_SETTINGS to be granted to org.koreader.launcher on the Nook GL4 Plus:
--   adb shell appops set org.koreader.launcher WRITE_SETTINGS allow

local Device = require("device")

if not Device:isAndroid() then
    return
end

local UIManager = require("ui/uimanager")
local logger = require("logger")

function Device:showLightDialog()
    -- Delay to the next tick, like the stock implementation does, so the
    -- event loop can drain the input queue first.
    UIManager:nextTick(function()
        local FrontLightWidget = require("ui/widget/frontlightwidget")
        UIManager:show(FrontLightWidget:new{})
    end)
end

logger.info("nook-frontlight-widget: Device:showLightDialog replaced with FrontLightWidget")

Save it as 2-nook-frontlight-widget.lua and copy it into the koreader/patches/ folder on the Nook. If patches doesn't exist, create it. With adb:

adb shell mkdir -p /sdcard/koreader/patches
adb push 2-nook-frontlight-widget.lua /sdcard/koreader/patches/

Then fully close and reopen KOReader.

[apastuszak]

Also, Amazon has refurbished Glowlight 4 Pluses for $99 right now, at least in the US.