Glo How can I downgrade FW of my Kobo Glo?

[JSWolf]

Glad the new firmware is working for you.

[the.Mtn.Man]

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.

Originally Posted by dmapr

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.

Indeed. I'm running a custom patched version of 3.12.1 on my 1st gen Kobo Aura, and I have no intent of ever changing. It works flawlessly for my purposes, and every version since has at least one, really annoying bug that always sent me back to 3.12.1. Some of us don't need the "latest and greatest (and buggiest)" to get full use out of our e-readers.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

Indeed. I'm running a custom patched version of 3.12.1 on my 1st gen Kobo Aura, and I have no intent of ever changing. It works flawlessly for my purposes, and every version since has at least one, really annoying bug that always sent me back to 3.12.1. Some of us don't need the "latest and greatest (and buggiest)" to get full use out of our e-readers.

The best version 3 firmware is 3.19.5761. If you have tried that one, what annoying bug(s) did you find? Also, it's a little bit faster than 3.12.1. So that is the version I suggest you go with if you don't want to go for the latest firmware.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The best version 3 firmware is 3.19.5761. If you have tried that one, what annoying bug(s) did you find? Also, it's a little bit faster than 3.12.1. So that is the version I suggest you go with if you don't want to go for the latest firmware.

The two-finger light adjustment is the killer for me. It works flawlessly in 3.12.1. Every version since then introduced really funky behavior, such as the light level ramping up and down slowly making it easy to overshoot your desired brightness, or it arbitrarily failing to respond and requiring a second swipe, or not changing the brightness until you remove your fingers making it impossible to fine-tune, etc.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The best version 3 firmware is 3.19.5761. If you have tried that one, what annoying bug(s) did you find? Also, it's a little bit faster than 3.12.1. So that is the version I suggest you go with if you don't want to go for the latest firmware.

I have thought of downgrading back to 3.19. firmware. Jon is there any cons? I'll have to write down all my bookmarks. I have about 100 epubs on my Glo HD. I'm tired of dealing with bugs and the battery life was better back then. I know I will have to add manual patches to my patch file. Luckily I have kept the patched file for 3.19. I'm still deciding if it would be worth it or not though.

Sent from my XT1528

[the.Mtn.Man]

On my Aura, I can freely upgrade and downgrade firmware by simply copying the appropriate firmware file(s) into the .kobo directory.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I have thought of downgrading back to 3.19. firmware. Jon is there any cons? I'll have to write down all my bookmarks. I have about 100 epubs on my Glo HD. I'm tired of dealing with bugs and the battery life was better back then. I know I will have to add manual patches to my patch file. Luckily I have kept the patched file for 3.19. I'm still deciding if it would be worth it or not though.

Sent from my XT1528

There were no gotchas that I recall that would be a good reason not to run 3.19. I found it to work well.

First backup device. Then try doing a manual install of 3.19 and see how it goes. You might find it works and you'll have all your book and all your bookmarks/highlights/annotations.

But one thing you could do is use the Kobo Utilities plugin to keep track of your reading position(s) and you could also use the Reading List plugin to keep track of what books is on the device. Then if you have to reinstall your books, you can easily put back the same books and get back your reading position(s).

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There were no gotchas that I recall that would be a good reason not to run 3.19. I found it to work well.

First backup device. Then try doing a manual install of 3.19 and see how it goes. You might find it works and you'll have all your book and all your bookmarks/highlights/annotations.

But one thing you could do is use the Kobo Utilities plugin to keep track of your reading position(s) and you could also use the Reading List plugin to keep track of what books is on the device. Then if you have to reinstall your books, you can easily put back the same books and get back your reading position(s).

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure yet still trying to see if it's necessary. It's been acting a bit buggy since 4.5 came through especially battery life.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[Phyllis41]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There were no gotchas that I recall that would be a good reason not to run 3.19. I found it to work well.

I'm not a technical person, but I have used every version of FW from 2.1.4 to 4.5.9587, and I can say that version 3.19.5761 is the most stable FW version I have seen. Minimum bugs, best battery performance, almost everything else patch-able. It was fast, did not crash unexpectedly, almost satisfying every need of a book reader. I too am planning to revert back to it.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Phyllis41

I'm not a technical person, but I have used every version of FW from 2.1.4 to 4.5.9587, and I can say that version 3.19.5761 is the most stable FW version I have seen. Minimum bugs, best battery performance, almost everything else patch-able. It was fast, did not crash unexpectedly, almost satisfying every need of a book reader. I too am planning to revert back to it.

I have noticed a huge battery drain since updating to 4.5.9587. this would be my main reason to downgrade. I've never had this issue before.

Sent from my XT1528

[hldd3n]

Originally Posted by 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.



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.

Hey there! I have the exact same problem with Kobo GLO, but it doesn't seems to work.
I followed @DNSB steps to downgrade, putting the files directly on the sdcard using my phone to access it (because USB doesnt recognise the Kobo). Downgrade went fine but after that when I choose connect to laptop instead of setup using wifi, still the Kobo Glo wouldn't be recognised by Windows 10/7 on three laptops. If I choose setup using wifi it automaticaly upgrades to the latest version again.
Connecting to the pc and charging is fine from the Kobo side. I flushed the usb descriptor fails using USBDeview before that, but still doens't work.

I would like to ask for that stock image file so I could try to format the sdcard and follow exactly drdj steps. And ofcourse if you have some opinions on wtf is happening I would be very grateful

Thanks alot in advance.

[davidfor]

@hldd3n: I have sent you a PM with the link to the image.

Do you have any non-Windows machines you can try? And other USB ports or cables? It could be the USB socket on the device is damaged. If there is a loose connection or something, it could charge, but not be able to connect as a device.

[Thargor]

Originally Posted by hldd3n

Hey there! I have the exact same problem with Kobo GLO, but it doesn't seems to work.
I followed @DNSB steps to downgrade, putting the files directly on the sdcard using my phone to access it (because USB doesnt recognise the Kobo). Downgrade went fine but after that when I choose connect to laptop instead of setup using wifi, still the Kobo Glo wouldn't be recognised by Windows 10/7 on three laptops. If I choose setup using wifi it automaticaly upgrades to the latest version again.
Connecting to the pc and charging is fine from the Kobo side. I flushed the usb descriptor fails using USBDeview before that, but still doens't work.

I would like to ask for that stock image file so I could try to format the sdcard and follow exactly drdj steps. And ofcourse if you have some opinions on wtf is happening I would be very grateful

Thanks alot in advance.

Please update us with how you get on as I am in the exact same situation as you, device descriptor fail.

[Snafu_PL]

Hello,
anybody have a old firmware for example 3.19 ?
i try update my kobo glo to new firmware 4.38.21908 (it currently is v. 2.5) and i have the same problem like in the video https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_iP4QmQ7J9M
can anyone help ?

[Aleron Ives]

You can get old Kobo firmware here:

https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html