Pocketbooks and Overdrive

[rcentros]

Just a quick question... A user posting in the Kobo forum bought a Pocketbook InkPad 3 and can't get it to work with Overdrive borrowing. I don't own a Pocketbook so am asking if anyone here uses Overdrive and how is it done in a Pocketbook? (I use the Tolino browser to download Overdrive books directly and it looks like Pocketbook might work the same, but I'm having trouble confirming that.)

Thanks for any information.

[nola2london]

Sorry !!! That was me ! I will move my question here

Hi,

Hopefully someone here can help me as the Pocketbook support has been really awful. I am having trouble side-loading my public library books from Overdrive on to my ereader. I am able to download them on to ADE and from there I transfer the file to my ereader.

My ereader keeps telling me to create an Adobe ID and the file might be corrupted or protected? But when I go to accounts/synchronization I see the Adobe ID there (it's the one connected to the Pocketbook cloud).

So I am completely lost as to what the problem is as from everything I have read it should work.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by nola2london

So I am completely lost as to what the problem is as from everything I have read it should work.

It's also possible that the Pocketbook works like the Nook Glowlight with ADE (the Nook Glowlight also has ADE "built-in"). You download and open the book in ADE on your computer, then simply "send" the ePub (not the ASCM) to your Pocketbook. (I don't know if this would work, but it's another possibility.)

https://help.overdrive.com/en-us/1219.htm

[Lykke]

No, you log in with your Adobe account on the Pocketbook and transfer the ACSM file via USB. Don't transfer the EPUB. Just open the ACSM file in Pocketbook and the EPUB will be downloaded. You don't need to open the ACSM in the desktop app first.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Lykke

No, you log in with your Adobe account on the Pocketbook and transfer the ACSM file via USB. Don't transfer the EPUB. Just open the ACSM file in Pocketbook and the EPUB will be downloaded. You don't need to open the ACSM in the desktop app first.

Okay, thanks, so it's basically the opposite of the way the B&N Nook does it. Just curious why you couldn't download the ASCM file directly using the Pocketbook browser? Seems like a computer with ADE is kind of "redundant" in this process.

[nola2london]

Originally Posted by Lykke

No, you log in with your Adobe account on the Pocketbook and transfer the ACSM file via USB. Don't transfer the EPUB. Just open the ACSM file in Pocketbook and the EPUB will be downloaded. You don't need to open the ACSM in the desktop app first.

Thank you for the explanation I will double check when I get home. But I currently have two adobe IDs listed in my eReader. One connected with my Pocketbook cloud account and my own one. Which one should be default as currently the pocketbook cloud one is?

I will try again and make sure to move the ACSM file. Do I even need to move it to ADE first or should I just transfer it from my computer directly to the ereader?

[Lykke]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Okay, thanks, so it's basically the opposite of the way the B&N Nook does it. Just curious why you couldn't download the ASCM file directly using the Pocketbook browser? Seems like a computer with ADE is kind of "redundant" in this process.

You most likely can download the ACSM file with the Pocketbook browser too, but I haven't tried to. As far as I know, Pocketbook cannot decrypt the EPUB file that you get from opening the ACSM file from Digital Editions, so you need to open the ACSM file directly from your Pocketbook eReader.

[EastEriq]

I do download the .acsm with the pocketbook browser (clicking on the button named "Download EPUB ebook"), and opening it the first time from the Downloads folder, it downloads the epub which appears as a regular book. I forgot how I set up the ADE profile in the first place, but it mustn't have been such an hassle. I find the overdrive UI pretty unwieldy anyway; the pocketbook browser doesn't make it more unusable than it already is.

[Lykke]

Originally Posted by nola2london

just transfer it from my computer directly to the ereader

This.

[nola2london]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Okay, thanks, so it's basically the opposite of the way the B&N Nook does it. Just curious why you couldn't download the ASCM file directly using the Pocketbook browser? Seems like a computer with ADE is kind of "redundant" in this process.

I finally got it to work and you can download the ACSM file using the browser ! Thanks for the tip.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by nola2london

I finally got it to work and you can download the ACSM file using the browser ! Thanks for the tip.

Glad to hear it. Pocketbooks look like nice readers.

[Lykke]

Adobe DRM is a nice functionality. You don't have to use dubious tools for removing DRM from purchased books, and you're not locked to Amazon. If course watermarks would be preferred.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Lykke

Adobe DRM is a nice functionality. You don't have to use dubious tools for removing DRM from purchased books, and you're not locked to Amazon. If course watermarks would be preferred.

I like the eReaders (like the Tolinos and, it appears, the Pocketbooks and, in the past, Sonys) that allow you to bypass ADE on your computer altogether. To me it's just more convenient to have ADE right on the Reader.

[kyrilson]

Originally Posted by Lykke

No, you log in with your Adobe account on the Pocketbook and transfer the ACSM file via USB. Don't transfer the EPUB. Just open the ACSM file in Pocketbook and the EPUB will be downloaded. You don't need to open the ACSM in the desktop app first.

Oh man!!! I apologize for resurrecting an old thread, but I found this while googling, and this is what I've been doing wrong with my Pocketbook and ADE!!! I've been trying to figure out why I can't get my library books to work with Pocketbook for weeks now and it's been driving me nuts!! I was opening the .acsm file into the ADE program and then transferring from there to my pocketbook reader and it kept telling me it wasn't authorized, even though everything was. I didn't realize I need to copy the .acsm file directly to the pocketbook reader through windows explorer and open that in Pocketbook from there. I just did it and it WORKED!!! There really should be clear instructions to do it this way somewhere.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by kyrilson

... I didn't realize I need to copy the .acsm file directly to the pocketbook reader through windows explorer and open that in Pocketbook from there. I just did it and it WORKED!!! There really should be clear instructions to do it this way somewhere.

I guess it was easier for me because that's also the way the Tolinos work. You can also use the Send To PocketBook feature to send .ascm files to the PocketBook wirelessly — though, if you're near you computer, it's faster to just transfer the file via USB. You can also download the .ascm file directly from Overdrive with the PocketBook's built-in browser (if you're out on the road without a computer). The PocketBook browser will even remember your password, so logging into Overdrive is a little faster than the Tolino in this regard. (The PocketBook has a better browser overall but it's still an eInk browser.) If you have a smartphone it would probably be easier to borrow the book on that that, download the .ascm and Send To PocketBook via your email.