Glo How can I downgrade FW of my Kobo Glo?

[drjd]

After a wi-fi upgrade to FW 4.5.9587 my Glo(non HD) is not connecting to computer through USB. I can not read/write any file on it. It is rendered practically non-modifiable. Various attempts to connect it through different cables/computers have failed. Only charging the battery is possible. The device is working normally otherwise. Restarting the device many times also does not solve the issue. Did anyone else experience this connectivity problem?

I want to revert back to my earlier FW 3.19.5761, where my life was not that miserable. Please suggest me how can I go back or solve the connectivity issue? After a full day of chagrin I'm feeling a hopeless sense that the situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with at my level. Please help!! I'll be highly thankful.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by drjd

After a wi-fi upgrade to FW 4.5.9587 my Glo(non HD) is not connecting to computer through USB. I can not read/write any file on it. It is rendered practically non-modifiable. Various attempts to connect it through different cables/computers have failed. Only charging the battery is possible. The device is working normally otherwise. Restarting the device many times also does not solve the issue. Did anyone else experience this connectivity problem?

I want to revert back to my earlier FW 3.19.5761, where my life was not that miserable. Please suggest me how can I go back or solve the connectivity issue? After a full day of chagrin I'm feeling a hopeless sense that the situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with at my level. Please help!! I'll be highly thankful.

The first step is to factory reset your Glo which will wipe the internal storage. While it is factory resetting, downloading the 3.19.5761 firmware for it ( http://download.kobobooks.com/firmwa...-3.19.5761.zip ). Once the factory reset is finished, connect to your computer and use the Kobo desktop application to add your account, sync any Kobo purchased books and update firmware. After all this is done, close the Kobo desktop application without ejecting your Glo. Look on your Glo's internal storage and delete the following 3 items from the .kobo directory:

upgrades (directory)
KoboRoot.tgz (file)
manifest.md5sum (file)

Then copy the same 3 items from the .zip file you downloaded into the .kobo directory.

Disconnect and let the update run. You should now be on the 3.19.5761 release. Patch your Kobo including the "Block WiFi firmware upgrade" patch. If you use the Kobo desktop application and it updates your firmware, simply delete the directory and two files before ejecting your Glo. I would suggest disabling WiFi (I've never tested the block firmware upgrade patch) and not using the Kobo desktop application which will require that you download and sideload your books -- preferably using Calibre.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I want to revert back to my earlier FW 3.19.5761, where my life was not that miserable. Please suggest me how can I go back or solve the connectivity issue? After a full day of chagrin I'm feeling a hopeless sense that the situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with at my level. Please help!! I'll be highly thankful.

This doesn't sound like a firmware update problem; when you connect your Glo do you get the Charge/Connect prompt ? What O.S. is your computer using.

If I were you I would first of all try a simple Factory Reset. Don't have Wi-Fi switched on as you don't at this stage want to update. If you can then connect you could follow DNSBs instructions above, however if you can connect it might be worthwhile to do an update using the Kobo desktop.

As a first shot I would try a factory reset and then see if you can get your computer to connect to the Glo. Don't switch on the Wi-Fi as that will initiate an update.


BobC

[oren64]

The way I downgrade firmware is:

1) Factory reset, after process is done and you select a language, you have two ways to connect the device Wifi and PC, connect via PC.
2) Extract the firmware files to .kobo folder, disconnect and unplug the USB cable, it will install the firmware.
3) Connect again via PC and copy the patch file KoboRoot.tgz with the patch 'Block WiFi firmware upgrade' enabled to .kobo folder, disconnect and unplug the USB cable, it will patch the firmware.
4) Connect via Wifi, and register, it will check for update and say "your device is up to date"

[JSWolf]

What I suggest is a factory reset. When that is done, try the Reader with the computer. If that works, try an update to 4.5.9587 and see if that works. If that works, then proceed to load all of your content.

By trying the latest firmware again, you can check if there might be an issue with your Glo or not.

[drjd]

Finally, I was able to resurrect my Kobo Glo, thanks to all of you for your stepwise guidance and help!

The procedure I followed is as below:

1. Wrote an stock disk image file sent by davidfor on an empty SD card.
2. Opened the back cover of Kobo and replaced the card, powered on the device which asked for setup through Wifi or PC.
3. Instead of choosing the Wifi, I selected setup through PC, and connected the USB.
4. The device demanded a connection to Kobo desktop, which I ignored, and as could see the internal SD card through windows explorer now, I copied the firmware files of FW 3.19.5761 to .kobo folder, disconnected and unplugged the USB cable. The device started setup.
5. After the setup, the device again asked for a Wifi or connection to Kobo desktop. I reconnected the USB and copied the patch file KoboRoot.tgz 'Block WiFi firmware upgrade' enabled in the .kobo folder, and disconnected the USB.
6. After a few minutes, the setup was completed and asked again for Wifi. This time I connected to Wifi and after initial logins, the device prompted an 'upto date FW' status, and came back to life.

I'm grateful to all you guys!

Now I'm only wondering on the academic question, as to why the device became non-connectable through USB in the latest FW? Perhaps some strage reason, I guess.

Originally Posted by BobC

This doesn't sound like a firmware update problem; when you connect your Glo do you get the Charge/Connect prompt ? What O.S. is your computer using.

BobC

Yes, I got a Charge/Connect prompt. I use Windows 10 laptop duly updated. After connecting through USB, the Kobo prompted 'Connected and charging'. It did charge, but I could not anything connected in Windows explorer via USB. So you can't modify the FW or read/write anything on it.

After the downgrade, everything is back to normal.

[JSWolf]

And in another thread you said you got your Glo working and up to the newest firmware. I don't see the problem there.

You should give the newest firmware a try and see what you think. The problem with sticking with 3.19.x is not going to get you any new features or fixes.

[dmapr]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And in another thread you said you got your Glo working and up to the newest firmware. I don't see the problem there.

You should give the newest firmware a try and see what you think. The problem with sticking with 3.19.x is not going to get you any new features or fixes.

Or any new bugs. My wife's Glo is still running 2.8.x and she's happy as a clam with it. I can't think of any feature added since then that she would consider a must have.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And in another thread you said you got your Glo working and up to the newest firmware. I don't see the problem there.

Yes, the device had upgraded to FW 4.5.9587, and I was not unhappy with the upgrade, till I found that the device is not recognized by the PC through USB connection. Perhaps it was too early on my part to report the upgrade success in the forum that time.

I tried my best to establish the connection to the PC, but all in vain. As I was not able to apply patches or transfer the files to Kobo through Calibre, the device became stale for me. I again did a factory reset through Wi-Fi, but resulted in same FW and same problem. So I decided to revert back to FW 3.19.5761, which was well tried and trusted by me in the last one year.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You should give the newest firmware a try and see what you think. The problem with sticking with 3.19.x is not going to get you any new features or fixes.

I would have definitely given the new FW a good try and see the new features if it was at all connectable to a PC. I actually don't understand how Kobo introduces silly bugs in the upgraded firmware, and even many bugs which were resolved earlier are reintroduced again, as I read from the other posts of the members.

I would still be glad to try the latest FW if the USB connectivity is solved.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by drjd

I would still be glad to try the latest FW if the USB connectivity is solved.

As far as USB connectivity with FW 4.5.9587 on the Glo goes I can say that that has never been a problem for me. I have a Glo and updated it successfully. That revealed a bug related to Kepubs on an external MicroSD card but not with USB connectivity.

So long as you are not using an external microSD card I'd give the upgrade another go.

BobC

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by drjd

I would have definitely given the new FW a good try and see the new features if it was at all connectable to a PC. I actually don't understand how Kobo introduces silly bugs in the upgraded firmware, and even many bugs which were resolved earlier are reintroduced again, as I read from the other posts of the members.

I would still be glad to try the latest FW if the USB connectivity is solved.

But, the USB connectivity isn't a problem. The few issues that have been reported have mostly been on the computer side. Of the ones that were not the computer, I think yours is the only one that wasn't resolved with a factory reset and upgrade to the current firmware. I can't see if you tried another PC to see if it did connect there.

Kobo have changed things in the firmware for the USB connectivity since 3.19.5761, but, that was because Microsoft broke it first in the Win10 Anniversary Edition. MS did eventually fix that, but, there have been other issues in MS updates since then that seem to be causing problems.

And thinking of the problems with Windows, and what you have done, how many times have you connected the device since the factory reset? One of the problems related to a Windows change, meant you could connect once or twice after a factory reset, but then Windows would reject the device.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by davidfor

But, the USB connectivity isn't a problem. The few issues that have been reported have mostly been on the computer side. Of the ones that were not the computer, I think yours is the only one that wasn't resolved with a factory reset and upgrade to the current firmware. I can't see if you tried another PC to see if it did connect there.

Kobo have changed things in the firmware for the USB connectivity since 3.19.5761, but, that was because Microsoft broke it first in the Win10 Anniversary Edition. MS did eventually fix that, but, there have been other issues in MS updates since then that seem to be causing problems.

And thinking of the problems with Windows, and what you have done, how many times have you connected the device since the factory reset? One of the problems related to a Windows change, meant you could connect once or twice after a factory reset, but then Windows would reject the device.

After the upgrade to 4.5.9587, I tried the USB connection with 2 different laptops, both using Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, with 3 different cables. All did not work.

I tried to connect 2-3 times on each computer. Since every attempt was unfruitful, I had requested you to send the stock image file for Glo.

Now since I have a fully working system card with FW 3.19.5761 on hand, which can be used in case of any disaster, I can give another try to write the stock image on a different SD card, upgrade it to 4.5.9587 through Wifi, and see if I still get the same problem. I'll report back the outcome.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by drjd

After the upgrade to 4.5.9587, I tried the USB connection with 2 different laptops, both using Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, with 3 different cables. All did not work.

I tried to connect 2-3 times on each computer. Since every attempt was unfruitful, I had requested you to send the stock image file for Glo.

Now since I have a fully working system card with FW 3.19.5761 on hand, which can be used in case of any disaster, I can give another try to write the stock image on a different SD card, upgrade it to 4.5.9587 through Wifi, and see if I still get the same problem. I'll report back the outcome.

I think you missed the last thing I was trying to say. When Win10 AE came out, it broke connectivity for ALL Kobo devices on any firmware version. But, if you did a factory reset, it would connect and work. Then, on the second or third connection, or after restarting the device a couple of times (sorry forgotten exactly what the steps were), Windows would again reject the device.

The fault was on both sides, but more on MS's side. MS decided that something Kobo had been doing for many years was bad. What Kobo was doing was legitimate, but there were probably better ways to do it.

MS did fix the problem on their side after a month or so. And I'm pretty sure Kobo changed what they were doing at about the same time. But, that was after firmware 3.19.5761 and if this was the problem.

But, looking back at your original post, I'm not sure what was actually happening. It sounds like it was connecting but when you tried to copy something to the device, it failed for some reason. Is that right?

[drjd]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I think you missed the last thing I was trying to say. When Win10 AE came out, it broke connectivity for ALL Kobo devices on any firmware version. But, if you did a factory reset, it would connect and work. Then, on the second or third connection, or after restarting the device a couple of times (sorry forgotten exactly what the steps were), Windows would again reject the device.

The fault was on both sides, but more on MS's side. MS decided that something Kobo had been doing for many years was bad. What Kobo was doing was legitimate, but there were probably better ways to do it.

MS did fix the problem on their side after a month or so. And I'm pretty sure Kobo changed what they were doing at about the same time. But, that was after firmware 3.19.5761 and if this was the problem.

But, looking back at your original post, I'm not sure what was actually happening. It sounds like it was connecting but when you tried to copy something to the device, it failed for some reason. Is that right?

Perhaps I could not explain everything happened in proper words. I'll give details stepwise, how I encountered the problem:

1. After factory reset using the light button and power on switch, I was asked to connect to Kobo Desktop on PC or connect to a Wifi.
2. I chose to connect to Wifi. Connecting to a Wifi resulted "Checking your device for update" and the device started the update. After update the device prompted for log-in, and came to its home screen. I browsed the home scree, its menus and checked the FW version in "Device information". It was 4.5.9587. I opened few books on the device and found every thing was ok so far.
3. Then thought it was time to apply patches and use Calibre to sync. So I connected the device to laptop through usual USB cable. I got a prompt "Computer detected... Cancel/Connect".
4. I pressed the connect button, and the device showed "Connected and charging", *(but I did not hear the usual 'ding' sound from laptop indicating a USB device connected.
5. I opened the Windows explorer, but could not see any device detected. I opened the Windows control panel and checked for any unknown USB device.. nothing.
6. As there was no "Safely remove your device" in the Windows, I disconnected the USB cable.
7. The device prompted for "Importing Contents" or something like that, and a progress bar working on the Kobo. After the importing is done, the Kobo comes back to its home screen. Works normally, I can open the menus and books on device.

I repeated the whole process again and again, but same results. Then I tried 3 different USB cables, in case my cable is damaged, changed different USB ports of the laptop, even tried on another laptop, but again same result.

After all the above frustration I decided to revert back to my trusted FW 3.19.5761. After the reversal, the USB connectivity is back to normal with all the cables, all the USB ports and both the laptops.

I hope this time I have clearly explained my situation.

Still I hope I can give one more try to FW 4.5.9587, as now have another copy of the SD card image for FW 3.19.5761 prepared with me, in case of any disaster.

What do you suggest? And thanks for being patient with me.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by drjd

Still I hope I can give one more try to FW 4.5.9587, as now have another copy of the SD card image for FW 3.19.5761 prepared with me, in case of any disaster.

Today I succeeded in manual upgrade to FW 4.5.9587! This time I can connect with a PC through USB cable, and it is working normally so far. Now I am applying patches.

Thanks everyone.