Firmware Update - 4.6.9960

[gtim108]

Kobo has released (strange) firmware version 4.6.9960. Somehow it's still dated as July 2017 build. And zip file sits in July 2017 folder.

The release notes are:

New in version 4.6:

Introducing the Manage Books feature:
· Under My Books, you can now select several books at once, mark them as finished or unread, remove them, or add them to collections.
· To get started, tap the ‘...’ icon in the grey bar near the top of the screen, and choose Manage books.

My Books section:
· Enjoy a cleaner layout of information, including the Filter and Sort menus.
· Access options for a book by long-pressing on its cover or tapping ‘...’ next to it.
· Jump to any section page by tapping Go to page at the bottom of your screen.

Reading:
· Tap the middle of your page to open reading menus, access the Table of Contents, or adjust Reading Settings.
· If you haven’t selected a preferred font face, you’ll see the Publisher Default.
· Your screen will refresh after every chapter instead of every six pages. You can change this in Reading Settings any time.

Issues we’ve resolved:
· Archived books could remain synced to your Kobo eReader.
· Date Published was not displayed on books’ item

You can use http://geek1011.github.io/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html to view/download the firmware.

Mark 3 - http://download.kobobooks.com/firmwa...e-4.6.9960.zip

Mark 4 - http://download.kobobooks.com/firmwa...e-4.6.9960.zip

Mark 5 - http://download.kobobooks.com/firmwa...e-4.6.9960.zip

Mark 6 - http://download.kobobooks.com/firmwa...e-4.6.9960.zip

[jiminrussell]

updating my Glo HD now by Syncing, will wait for the patches before I do my Aura One.

[davidfor]

NOTE: This firmware has been pulled from the automated rollout due to performance issue discussed in this thread. It is still available for manual download and installation. See this post for details.


As has been discovered, there is a new firmware, version 4.6.9960. There are a number of changes as listed in the first post. The links given are correct at the moment, but Kobo might fix them soon to correct the month in the URL. If they do this, the devices will download the firmware correctly as they query the server for the address before attempting to download it.

I believe this will be rolling out to all devices except the Mini. It should also be going to all locations, but Kobo will use there usual deployment strategy (one or two affiliates and gradually deploy to other affiliates and nations).

As well as the listed changes, the other things I can think of are:

• Major improvement in the speed of opening the Collections list. My 50-odd pages of collections was taking nearly a minute to open. It is now down around 10 seconds.
• Large Print mode: Uses a much larger font in the interface
  • Option to turn it on is in the "Beta Features".
  • Overall, this works well, but there are a few places where text overlaps (eg. firmware version on the Device Information page). This is why it is a "Beta feature".
  • Does not affect the text in a book, only the interface.
• Book list changes:
  • Page numbers have been moved to bottom of the screen and "Go to page" is added.
  • The filters menu shows how many books are in each filter.
  • The book menu can be opened by tapping the three dots on the right opens the menu for the book. A long press on the book will still open the menu.
• Screen refresh:
  • Now has "Chapter" and from 1 to 10 pages. The "Chapter" option works very well on my devices.
  • Seems to be a lot less ghosting. With the "Chapter" option set, I was able to page back and forth several times through a 20 page chapter with no real decrease in readability.
• Can choose the page forward and back actions. Choices are "Tapping or swiping" and "Swiping only".
• There are changes to handle sorting of books named with Japanese characters. I have no idea how this works.
• When reading, buttons for the ToC and Reading Settings have been added to the bottom bar.
• When adjusting light level using sideswipe, if the format being read displays the title, the light level is displayed instead of the title.
• If an ACSM file is found on the device when importing books, a message will be displayed. The book will not be downloaded from the Adobe Server.

Bugs fixes:

• Browser download now works for all sites that I have tested it with.
  • For the filename, the browser download will use the "Content-Disposition" header if it is supplied, otherwise it will build it from the URL.
  • I don't know if DropBox works as I do not use it. GeoffR reports that downloading from DropBox works.
  • Note: Occasionally, the download progress dialog disappears, but the download continues and you will be notified when the download finishes.
• Reimporting kepubs sideloaded to SD card has been fixed.
• I think the problem where some kepub would restart the device when first opened has been fixed. The "think" is because I have not been able to reproduce it with the beta firmware.
• In an epub, if you use the navigation bar to move to another part of the book and then press the return button, it goes back to the correct place rather than a page or so earlier (Note: This might have been fixed before, I just hadn't noticed it.)
• Fix for Pocket articles that caused a restart when opened.
• Double screen refresh after selecting a word and dismissing the annotations menu

That is what I can think of at the moment. I will update it if anything else comes to mind.

calibre
Apart from the firmware version number, there are no changes that affect calibre. I should have the update included in the next calibre release. Until then, it is safe to use the "Attempt to support newer firmware versions" option in the KoboTouch and KoboTouchExtended drivers.

[tschucha]

looks like it no longer gives percentage charged on the sleep screen

[Hitesh1]

Originally Posted by gtim108

You can use http://geek1011.github.io/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html to view/download the firmware.
[/URL]

How do I know which Kobo touch I have (between A/B or C)?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by tschucha

looks like it no longer gives percentage charged on the sleep screen

Just plugged my KA1 in and put it to sleep. It is showing Charging: 94% on the sleep screen. Please note that this line is only displayed when connected to power. When unplugged, the charging line is not displayed.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Hitesh1

How do I know which Kobo touch I have (between A/B or C)?

Look at the bottom corner near the USB plug. You should see a model number. If it's N905C, you have the mark 4 model.

[Hitesh1]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Look at the bottom corner near the USB plug. You should see a model number. If it's N905C, you have the mark 4 model.

Thanks, I just checked and it is N905C

I upgraded through wi-fi though, went from 3.11 to 4.5.9587
Sluggishness is finally gone!
...it can still be faster though.....

[lightbulbjim]

My favourite feature so far is disabling page turn by tap. The edges of the screen become dead zones (other than swiping), so it's far harder to accidentally turn pages.

Some actions were very sluggish when the firmware was initially installed. For example, opening the TOC or reading settings would take ~15 seconds. It's quicker now after a power cycle.

[lightbulbjim]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Seems to be a lot less ghosting. With the "Chapter" option set, I was able to page back and forth several times through a 20 page chapter with no real decrease in readability.

Seems about the same amount of ghosting as the previous version to me. It's annoying enough (especially in sunlight) that I'm leaving the refresh option set to every page. I wouldn't say it detracts from the readability though.

[JSWolf]

Kobo Firmware 4.6.9960

Kobo firmware 4.6.9960 has been released. As of October 4, 2017, it has been released to the devices: Kobo Touch A/B, Kobo Touch C, Kobo Glo, Kobo Glo HD, Kobo Touch 2.0, Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2, Kobo Aura ONE, Kobo Aura Edition 2. It has not been released to the: Kobo Mini. The affiliates used to check these firmware versions were: kobo, rakutenbooks, bestbuyca, fnac, beta, walmartca.


Download Links

Official Links:

• Kobo Touch A/B (mark 3) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Touch C (mark 4) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Glo (mark 4) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Glo HD (mark 6) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Touch 2.0 (mark 6) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Aura (mark 5) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Aura HD (mark 4) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Aura H2O (mark 5) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 (mark 6) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Aura ONE (mark 6) - Download | Release Notes
• Kobo Aura Edition 2 (mark 6) - Download | Release Notes

You can also try these generic links at your own risk:

• Mark 3 - Download
• Mark 4 - Download
• Mark 5 - Download
• Mark 6 - Download

Generated by Kobo Firmware Download Links by Patrick G. Source Code

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by lightbulbjim

Seems about the same amount of ghosting as the previous version to me. It's annoying enough (especially in sunlight) that I'm leaving the refresh option set to every page. I wouldn't say it detracts from the readability though.

What device do you have? I'm mainly using the Aura ONE and Glo HD. But, the Aura H2O was good as well.

[lightbulbjim]

Originally Posted by davidfor

What device do you have? I'm mainly using the Aura ONE and Glo HD. But, the Aura H2O was good as well.

Aura H2O Edition 2.

[colibris79]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I believe this will be rolling out to all devices except the Mini.

No Kobo Mini...?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by colibris79

No Kobo Mini...?

There have been no official firmware releases for the Mini since 3.19.5761. Though other later versions have worked up to 4.5.9587. You can either install 4.6.9960 yourself or wait for someone else to do it and report that it's working.