Libra 2 Serious buyer's remorse with Libra 2

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by shamanNS

Yeah, I have a never revision of Libra, I checked that using Terminal in KOReader when I bought the device.

And what is a "factory firmware" on my device should be newer than 4.34.20097 (as 20148 > 20097, and October vs September).
I didn't let it connect to WiFi after doing the "manual factory reset" so it couldn't download and install any updates

Oops. I misremembered that as 20048 when I was looking at the firmware download page. My bad. 4.35.20400 would be the next version up then.

[shamanNS]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Either you're mistaken or the Libra 2 is faulty.

And what exactly was the reason you had to ask for a warranty services for a Libra 2 somewhere near the end of year 2022? I came across you comment on some other forum thread (that you are waiting to hear about warranty replacement).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by shamanNS

Yeah, I have a newer revision of Libra, I checked that using Terminal in KOReader when I bought the device.



And what is a "factory firmware" on my device should be newer than 4.34.20097 (as 20148 > 20097, and October vs September).
I didn't let it connect to WiFi after doing the "manual factory reset" so it couldn't download and install any updates

But yeah, when I unboxed the device in 15th of December 2023 I registered and logged into a Kobo account and to do that I had to connect to WiFi and thus it instantly proceeded to download and install 4.38 without asking me anything So I that was what I was using.

Now as a last-ditch effort I've tried to see if the factory reset itself + downgrade back to what was initial firmware out of the box will have any impact on battery life.

Not really holding my breath for that.. this is how the device worked since the day 1, and I didn't do anything special with it (added 1 epub & 1 kepub to compare stock firmware, then proceeded to "install" KOReader and I've been mainly using that, stock software I've used only for the purposes of comparing battery drain) after it auto-updated to the latest firmware.
And even now when I've charged it today (in preparation to doing factory reset) I noticed that in like 2 minutes time from supposedly 88% full to 97% full. The battery indicator is clearly not that reliable...

Maybe using KOReader right off didn't give the battery indicator a chance to be properly calibrated.

[shamanNS]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Maybe using KOReader right off didn't give the battery indicator a chance to be properly calibrated.

First 2 charges I've done while it was sitting on Kobo's stock homescreen. I haven't used it at all for reading on anything before I fully charged it. I've started reading on it 2 days after it arrived and thus was instantly negatively surprised when I saw that battery indicator was already on something like 90%. Before I even added a single book, let alone installed KOReader.

This charge I've done today (and this is the 5th time I was charging it since I got the device on 15th of December) was the first time that I've charged it while KOReader was open or more correctly suspected while the device sleeps and charges.

The first ever charge was done with charger that supports 5V 2A (= what Libra 2 is rated for, and the charger was NOT a "quick charger" in a sence that it doesn't supports stuff like QuickCharge 3.0 or USB PowerDelivery, 9V, 12V...) and when that resulted in horrible battery life next couple of charges I've intentionally done using an ever older charger that is 5V 850 mA (with the logic of "slower charging > maybe slower discarding later?" ).
And today I've reverted back to using 5V 2A charger. Since I was in a hurry to charging it and then backup koreader folder and other stuff before doing a factory reset.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by shamanNS

...I've intentionally done using an ever older charger that is 5V 850 mA (with the logic of "slower charging > maybe slower discarding later?" )

That's what I've always used for charging my ereaders, since I bought it back in 2011 with my first Kindle. Because that's the only suitable charger I have. Anyway, it works well even after a dozen years and I haven't had any egregious battery problems (by your standards, most of my ereaders have probably had an appalling battery life, but nothing out of the ordinary for me).

[shamanNS]

Well, older Kindles all used 500 mA max, PW5 is I think the first Kindle eInk devices that bumps that to 2A (as if was also definitely the first with USB-C connector).

Originally Posted by Sirtel

(by your standards, most of my ereaders have probably had an appalling battery life, but nothing out of the ordinary for me).

My e-reader ownership history looks like this: Kindle 3 (aka Kindle Keyboard) > Kindle PW1 > Kindle PW3 > 3x Kindle PW5.
I still have that PW1, my father "uses" it (like 4 times a year ).

All of those had ok battery life and I never managed to discharge any of them in less than 20 days, and I think most of them averaged minimum of ~23-25 hours of reading.
If I used it at least 4 days a week (that is my average for most of the year) the average was somewhere around 30-35 days.
PW5 is significantly better than all my previous Kindle but that is probably not that surprising since it has the biggest battery capacity since Kindle 3 days while also having more power efficient processor and now having that super special "deep sleep" state.

This Kobo Libra 2 battery history looks like this : 7 days, 10 days, 16 days and most recently 21 days. I been using it less often since the middle of January (I read last 2 books on my Kindle, and overall have been reading less and watching TV shows more) . Number of of days is insignificant by itself... I still haven't managed to come close to reading more that 550 screens/pages on one charge. My 11 year old Kindle PW1 lasts longer than that...


Battery life is only one of the things that I dislike on this Kobo device. Availability, quality and bulkyness of 3rd party cases (no way I would ever pay 40€ for the official sleep case, I bought a 3rd parry "origami style" one for 11€) is another letdown. It can even be reliably used to wake up and put the device to sleep.

Using microSD card as internal storage is also something that I dislike and it is bound to severely limit the longevity of the device. And also Kobo soldering battery wires directly to the motherboard is also disgusting move.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by shamanNS

My e-reader ownership history looks like this: Kindle 3 (aka Kindle Keyboard) > Kindle PW1 > Kindle PW3 > 3x Kindle PW5.

I have never used a Paperwhite, because buttons are a must for me. No Keyboard either (I started my ereading journey in 2011; my first ereaders were cheap, basic Kindles, whose battery life was not particularly good. Then I had the Voyage (don't remember how long its battery lasted, as I didn't use it for long), then all 3 Oases, again with not so good battery life, a Nook (used little, as I hated the software) and then Kobos - Libra 1, Sage and Libra 2. The Sage has extremely poor battery life (still acceptable to me), the Libras were/are better than the Sage and the Oases, so I'm fine with them).

So you could say I've never had an ereader with a truly outstanding battery life, because other factors are and have always been far more important to me.

Battery life is only one of the things that I dislike on this Kobo device. Availability, quality and bulkyness of 3rd party cases (no way I would ever pay 40€ for the official sleep case, I bought a 3rd parry "origami style" one for 11€) is another letdown. It can even be reliably used to wake up and put the device to sleep.

I have not used covers with my ereaders since the Oasis 2 in 2017. They make the devices bulky and heavy, so I use them without a cover and put them in a box or a sleeve when not in use. I only read at home, mostly on my sofa, so dropping them is not an issue (and I have never dropped one in 12 years).

[shamanNS]

Basic Kindle models always had small battery capacity. Oasis also probably sacrificed battery capacity because of thinness and lightness.

I don't care at all for psychical page turn buttons. Haven't had or used them since my first Kindle and now on Libra I used them just because they're there and because that avoids smudges on the screen. Maybe if I had a habit of holding reader in my hand when I read it would be less of an effort to switch pages using button's (since that would probably require at most moving only my thumb some smaller distance) but since I almost never hold them in my hand then when I have to change a page my hands needs to move in front of me and then it is not that much of a difference if it need to go to press a button or to tap on a screen 2cm further. If using the screen that takes even less of an effort and aiming since the target area is much larger



This is how I read while I"m sitting in my bed with my legs pulled up. When I lie down on my side I prop my reader also to be horizontal

But even though I rarely get to hold my readers Kobo case's bulkyness still annoys me.
This free case that comes with Kindle's Paperwhite Kids is much less bulky and doesn't bother me. And I very very much like how they magnets keep the front part immobile when you fold it back!
Font cover on Kobo case is terribly flimsy and flaps around

I don't use cases for drop protection, I use them to stop the dust collecting on the screen and use it for magnets to save me having to press the power button.
I also only ever read in my room.

[Sirtel]

Sleeves are a good protection against dust, and I don't have to put up with added bulk when reading.

I used covers when I had 6'' readers (up until the Oasis 2); since then I've used only 7'' and 8'' devices and I've found cases make them too uncomfortable to hold. I only ever hold my ereader in my hand when reading, as I'm nearsighted. I also have 3 cats, so keeping a fragile eink device somewhere else than in my hand while I read is pretty dangerous.

[shamanNS]

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by shamanNS

Nice! Boy or girl?

[Quoth]

They can be catastrophic

[shamanNS]

@Sirtel Boy

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Quoth

They can be catastrophic

Yeah. One of my current ones managed to destroy a 300€ network drive, a drying rack, a vase, a few carpets and probably other things I no longer remember. He also liked to scoop the water out of the drinking bowls when he was younger. A real Terminator. He's a bit calmer now that he's older, fortunately.

[shamanNS]

That's a bad kitty