Kobo Aura One - Buy Now or Wait?

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Some people got told to wait for the new firmware to fix the battery drain and yes, that has fixed it. Could it be an issue with the sleep cover?

Yes, Jon, it is a cover problem. None of the sleep covers work reliably, be they official or third party. They don't always shut the reader down and sometimes even cause random page turns.

I really hope Kobo is fixing this with the next firmware upgrade.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Yes, Jon, it is a cover problem. None of the sleep covers work reliably, be they official or third party. They don't always shut the reader down and sometimes even cause random page turns.

Which third party cover is causing page turns? I don't remember any mention of this anywhere. And my reading of the third party covers that don't put the device to sleep is that it is the covers fault. The ones I can think of were that the cover is lose enough that it doesn't always position the magnet in the right place. If the cover lines up properly, the device will go to sleep.

I really hope Kobo is fixing this with the next firmware upgrade.

I know Kobo are looking at it, but I'm not convinced there is a good solution. Part of the problem with the official cover is how part of the cover can touch the screen before the part with the magnet. I don't know how you can detect a touch like that while still having the correct sensitivity for normal touches.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Which third party cover is causing page turns? I don't remember any mention of this anywhere. And my reading of the third party covers that don't put the device to sleep is that it is the covers fault. The ones I can think of were that the cover is lose enough that it doesn't always position the magnet in the right place. If the cover lines up properly, the device will go to sleep.

I¡'ve got an alleged sleep cover, and the problem is the cover magnet. I think they are not well placed, at least this. I got a fridge magnet and I put over the screen. At a certain point, the ereader always went to sleep. However, if I pass the magnet over the upper side of the cover, the magnet is not aligned with that position.

Originally Posted by davidfor

I know Kobo are looking at it, but I'm not convinced there is a good solution. Part of the problem with the official cover is how part of the cover can touch the screen before the part with the magnet. I don't know how you can detect a touch like that while still having the correct sensitivity for normal touches.

Which is the difference between an Aura and Aura One in terms of screen? I've got to check at home, but I never have had any problem with my Aura and the sleep cover.

[erikssenmar867]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The battery issues were due to firmware issues that have been fixed.

I don't understand why you continue to repeat this, as your manthra....
They did NOT solve it. In the specific thread, people continued to bother.
It's useless to talk with some of you... it seems we lie about our problems, bah...

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Which is the difference between an Aura and Aura One in terms of screen? I've got to check at home, but I never have had any problem with my Aura and the sleep cover.

I use a cheap Chinese case for my Aura, and it sleeps very reliably when the case is closed. There is a magnet inside the flap approximately 4.5cm up from the bottom and 3cm from the side (i.e. the right hand side of the reader). So the magnet is not in the Aura's "bezel" area, but actually behind the text on screen.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by erikssenmar867

I don't understand why you continue to repeat this, as your manthra....
They did NOT solve it. In the specific thread, people continued to bother.
It's useless to talk with some of you... it seems we lie about our problems, bah...

And there have been plenty of people reporting that their problems were fixed. But, Jon is the only person claiming that Kobo fixed all the battery issues. Kobo know they didn't and are working on the next set of fixes.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Which is the difference between an Aura and Aura One in terms of screen? I've got to check at home, but I never have had any problem with my Aura and the sleep cover.

It's not the screen, it's the fact the official Aura ONE cover bends. If the left side hits first, something is touching the screen when the magnet should trigger sleep. If the right side hits first, then it should trigger sleep before anything else.

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by davidfor

It's not the screen, it's the fact the official Aura ONE cover bends. If the left side hits first, something is touching the screen when the magnet should trigger sleep. If the right side hits first, then it should trigger sleep before anything else.

Most third-party covers don't have a bend/fold in them, and sleeping doesn't seem to work correctly for them either. The assumption is that it is mispositioning of the magnet or that the magnet isn't strong enough - but whether that's a problem in the covers or the reader is not clear.

Actually lets clarify that there seem to be two distinct problems here:

1. Sleeping doesn't work at all,
   
2. Sleeping works, but some phantom page turns occur first.

Third party covers shouldn't be vulnerable to the second problem because they don't have the fold, but they all seem to suffer from the first problem.

[erikssenmar867]

Originally Posted by davidfor

And there have been plenty of people reporting that their problems were fixed. But, Jon is the only person claiming that Kobo fixed all the battery issues. Kobo know they didn't and are working on the next set of fixes.

I swear new firmware did not solve my battery problems. I installed it after a factory reset, as it was suggested, but the battery behaviour was the same as previous firmware. I replaced the unit two times but it was always the same and it was very frustrating.
I experimented the 10% sudden drain, the same described here in the forum.
It was impossible for me to read on a train for example: after two hours reading, the battery went from 70% to 30% (fw 4.1.). Sorry but i think this is hardware problem.

Important: i tried to do some tests: I put firmware 4.0, then firmware 4.1 on my new H2O (copying only the koboroot.tgz).
Well, there was no battery problem with these two fws, and i tried for a lot of hours...

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by erikssenmar867

I swear new firmware did not solve my battery problems. I installed it after a factory reset, as it was suggested, but the battery behaviour was the same as previous firmware. I replaced the unit two times but it was always the same and it was very frustrating.

I've made no attempt to say that there aren't still problems. But, some of the issues were fixed. And a lot of people are not having the problems. And a lot of people who decided it was a hardware issue exchanged the device and didn't see the problem again.

I experimented the 10% sudden drain, the same described here in the forum.
It was impossible for me to read on a train for example: after two hours reading, the battery went from 70% to 30% (fw 4.1.). Sorry but i think this is hardware problem.

If you think it is, then you should exchange the device again. Or decide it is a design flaw and get your money back.

Important: i tried to do some tests: I put firmware 4.0, then firmware 4.1 on my new H2O (copying only the koboroot.tgz).
Well, there was no battery problem with these two fws, and i tried for a lot of hours...

As someone who used 4.0 on all my devices, I can tell you it there were problems with battery life. There were several issues, but the most noticeable were never-ending sync. These were fixed in 4.1. I didn't notice as many problems with 4.1. Some of the problems left in 4.1 are probably Aura ONE specific things. Hopefully those will be fixed with 4.2.

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Which third party cover is causing page turns? I don't remember any mention of this anywhere. And my reading of the third party covers that don't put the device to sleep is that it is the covers fault. The ones I can think of were that the cover is lose enough that it doesn't always position the magnet in the right place. If the cover lines up properly, the device will go to sleep.

My el cheapo China one did. But it wasn't a slimfit cover, it was one of those that has the bezel covered and it was a bit too large/loose, too. I don't remember if I wrote about it in a post or not.

I know Kobo are looking at it, but I'm not convinced there is a good solution.

Well, given the autosleep doesn't work properly, they should! I have two third party covers for my original Aura and both work just fine. Having a sleepcover putting the device to autosleep has been industry standard for a couple of years now and I don't think they can uphold their bold claim "the best ereader of all time" at all. So why not do something really revolutionary and make the damn thing work allright? You might have heard this before: It's not the size that counts...

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Well, given the autosleep doesn't work properly, they should! I have two third party covers for my original Aura and both work just fine. Having a sleepcover putting the device to autosleep has been industry standard for a couple of years now and I don't think they can uphold their bold claim "the best ereader of all time" at all. So why not do something really revolutionary and make the damn thing work allright? You might have heard this before: It's not the size that counts...

You might want to actually read all of what I said. I gave a reason for why I think there could be a problem fixing this. Specifically, the design of the official cover, is such that it might not be possible to completely fix it in software.

And as to third party covers, great, you have two that work for the Aura. I have one for my Aura H2O that doesn't work about half the time. It is badly made and if I'm not careful closing the cover, the magnet doesn't line up. The official cover works perfectly. So, Kobo do know how to make them. Whether a third party cover works with a particular device is really up to the whoever made the cover getting it right.

And size does count. The extra size can make it harder to get everything lined up.

[filmo]

I think part of sleep cover alignment problem is cover switch location at far right bottom corner as any small movement at hinge side of cover is increased at far right bottom corner.

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by davidfor

You might want to actually read all of what I said. I gave a reason for why I think there could be a problem fixing this. Specifically, the design of the official cover, is such that it might not be possible to completely fix it in software.

And as to third party covers, great, you have two that work for the Aura. I have one for my Aura H2O that doesn't work about half the time. It is badly made and if I'm not careful closing the cover, the magnet doesn't line up. The official cover works perfectly. So, Kobo do know how to make them. Whether a third party cover works with a particular device is really up to the whoever made the cover getting it right.

And size does count. The extra size can make it harder to get everything lined up.

Is it a hardware problem then? And is the device hardware faulty too? If so I would like to know so I'd be able to sell it then as long as the thing is in high demand. I love the real estate, but I'd like the reader even better, if it were up to par with all the others.

And you really made my day, being the first guy I ever heard acknowledging something women have know forever

size does count.

[julia5]

i have my 4th kobo aura one now. uptil now i could just easily change it for a new one. i am using the original sleepcover. this ereader is with the new firmware. i noticed the battery drain and thought the problem wasn't solved. i have talked with kobo customer service. me trying to be polite. she told me that the problem could be the sleepcover and was i willing to try the kobo aura one not using the sleepcover but put it to sleep manually just for a week and see if that solves the battery drain. it's been a week. and yes the battery works fine. she also told me that somewhere in november kobo would come with a new firmware that would solve the sleepcover issue. i am still waiting. in the meantime i love reading my books on the aura one.