Aura Can't connect Aura to Macbook Air OS 10.11

[tommass]

I updated my Macbook Air from OS 10.10 to 10.11 and all of a sudden I can't connect my Kobo Aura (with latest firmware update) via USB. No problems at all in the past under OS 10.10. Also, I can connect the Aura normally to my wife's Mac with OS 10.9 and it appears on the desktop as usual.

When I connect the Aura to my Macbook Air via USB, I get the message on the Aura screen to press Connect, i.e. it recognizes the computer. But when I press Connect, the screen goes darker than usual, and the Kobo does not appear on the Mac desktop. The Kobo says it's charging normally.

Anyone else having problems connecting to a Mac with OS 10.11?

[meeera]

10.11.3 here, and it's all working great. Which exact OS version are you using? Have you done the usual trouble-shooting steps: connect directly (not using a hub), restart Mac, disconnect all other USB devices, swap in a different USB cable, reset SMC?

[tommass]

Thanks for the fast reply.

Unfortunately no changes. I'd tried everything except a SMC reset, but after doing that nothing has changed.

When I plug in the Kobo, it asks me if I want to connect to the computer, and it also says that it is charging via the computer's USB port.

But on my Mac, with OSX 10.11.4, the Kobo does not appear on the desktop, System Profile does not see the Kobo, and neither does Calibre.

BUT, everything works perfectly on my wife's Mac running OSX 10.10.5: it appears on the desktop, System Profile and Calibre both recognize it.

I have checked my Macbook Air's USB ports and they work perfectly with other USB devices.

No idea what's happened here. The ONLY change has been updating my operating system to OSX 10.11.4, from 10.10.5.

[meeera]

There is something you haven't tried yet - upgrading to 10.11.5. Combo update is here:

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1876?locale=en_US

[meeera]

And then it might be worth opening console and looking at what the system log says when you connect - but anything past that is well beyond my knowledge.

[tommass]

Updating to 10.11.5 seems to have done the trick. Fingers crossed.

After I updated to 10.11.5, upon first connecting the Kobo to the Mac, it appeared on the desktop, but then I got 3 popup messages on the Mac saying that the Kobo had not been ejected correctly - even though it was always plugged in - while the Kobo image on the desktop appeared and disappeared.

I opened Calibre, which recognized the Kobo immediately.

The Kobo image remains on the desktop, but I get an occasional message saying it has not been ejected properly. Will test with different USB cables.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by tommass

Updating to 10.11.5 seems to have done the trick. Fingers crossed.

After I updated to 10.11.5, upon first connecting the Kobo to the Mac, it appeared on the desktop, but then I got 3 popup messages on the Mac saying that the Kobo had not been ejected correctly - even though it was always plugged in - while the Kobo image on the desktop appeared and disappeared.

I opened Calibre, which recognized the Kobo immediately.

The Kobo image remains on the desktop, but I get an occasional message saying it has not been ejected properly. Will test with different USB cables.

Fingers crossed for you! Might be worth doing a database check while you're there? (and definitely swap in different cables)

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by tommass

Updating to 10.11.5 seems to have done the trick. Fingers crossed.

After I updated to 10.11.5, upon first connecting the Kobo to the Mac, it appeared on the desktop, but then I got 3 popup messages on the Mac saying that the Kobo had not been ejected correctly - even though it was always plugged in - while the Kobo image on the desktop appeared and disappeared.

I opened Calibre, which recognized the Kobo immediately.

The Kobo image remains on the desktop, but I get an occasional message saying it has not been ejected properly. Will test with different USB cables.

My guess would be the OS did something when it wasn't working. The filesystem has been marked as dirty and needs to be checked. I have no idea if the Mac OS can do this. If it can't find a Windows machine and plug it in and let Windows do a check.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by tommass

I opened Calibre, which recognized the Kobo immediately.

The Kobo image remains on the desktop, but I get an occasional message saying it has not been ejected properly. Will test with different USB cables.

I always got that message so I asked Apple about it and they said go to the disk utility (sorry on holiday so working from memory here) and disconnect there, then if it's still showing in Calibre (probably isn't) eject it there, but whatever you do eject from Disk utility first.

[melovesflying]

Originally Posted by tommass

I opened Calibre, which recognized the Kobo immediately.

The Kobo image remains on the desktop, but I get an occasional message saying it has not been ejected properly. Will test with different USB cables.

This is exactly what happened to me a couple of times before my Glo HD eventually died, although I'm on 10.10.5. I always eject it properly, making sure that the Kobo drive icon is no longer on my desktop, and yet, I get the popup that the disk hasn't been ejected. Tried different cables, restoring to factory settings multiple times, and disk repair using Disk Utility but still no dice. Kobo diagnosed it as a faulty device that needs to be replaced. But because shipping would be way more expensive than buying a new device, I didn't have it replaced. So I currently have a very expensive paperweight.

Might try tinkering with it using a Windows device to see if I can still miraculously revive it.

[ssholloway]

Originally Posted by tommass

I updated my Macbook Air from OS 10.10 to 10.11 and all of a sudden I can't connect my Kobo Aura (with latest firmware update) via USB. No problems at all in the past under OS 10.10. Also, I can connect the Aura normally to my wife's Mac with OS 10.9 and it appears on the desktop as usual.

When I connect the Aura to my Macbook Air via USB, I get the message on the Aura screen to press Connect, i.e. it recognizes the computer. But when I press Connect, the screen goes darker than usual, and the Kobo does not appear on the Mac desktop. The Kobo says it's charging normally.

Anyone else having problems connecting to a Mac with OS 10.11?

I am having the same problem with my Glo HD using the same configuration although it connected fine under 10.11.3. Kobo support says they do not yet support 10.11.5 and they have no workaround nor a timeframe in which to fix the problem. Since I bought the Glo to read Overdrive epub books from my public library and I can no longer connect to Adobe to transfer the books, this means the device is fairly useless to me at this point. Unfortunately, Kobo native support for Overdrive doesn't seem to be happening very soon either. Maybe I'll donate it to someone with a Windows machine, which Kobo support tells me is their preferred platform.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ssholloway

I am having the same problem with my Glo HD using the same configuration although it connected fine under 10.11.3. Kobo support says they do not yet support 10.11.5 and they have no workaround nor a timeframe in which to fix the problem. Since I bought the Glo to read Overdrive epub books from my public library and I can no longer connect to Adobe to transfer the books, this means the device is fairly useless to me at this point. Unfortunately, Kobo native support for Overdrive doesn't seem to be happening very soon either. Maybe I'll donate it to someone with a Windows machine, which Kobo support tells me is their preferred platform.

Can you just roll back to 10.11.3 instead?

[ssholloway]

Originally Posted by meeera

Can you just roll back to 10.11.3 instead?

Too many features on 10.11.5 that I'm already using and don't want to lose. Besides, it's not the user's responsibility to stay on an older software release because a hardware vendor can't keep up; the beta for 10.11.5 was available for many months before the general release so there was plenty of time for them to get compatible. Instead, it just shows that Kobo doesn't think Mac users are a significant factor in their business--see their remark about Windows being their preferred platform. I certainly won't be buying another device from Kobo given this attitude.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by ssholloway

Too many features on 10.11.5 that I'm already using and don't want to lose. Besides, it's not the user's responsibility to stay on an older software release because a hardware vendor can't keep up; the beta for 10.11.5 was available for many months before the general release so there was plenty of time for them to get compatible. Instead, it just shows that Kobo doesn't think Mac users are a significant factor in their business--see their remark about Windows being their preferred platform. I certainly won't be buying another device from Kobo given this attitude.

But, it's OK for Apple to screw with well accepted standards so that existing devices stop working? It is Apple, not Kobo that has stopped your device from working. Kobo will probably release an update to fix this. That is assuming that Apple haven't screwed with things to much to make it practical for them. Luckily, when Kobo do fix this, they probably update older devices, as well as those they are still selling. Of course, if Apple have broken support for current devices, what has happened for older devices and those that have no active support such as the Sony's?

And it IS the users responsibility to decide what updates to take. YOU decide whether to use particular software or hardware and have to decide which of these functions is most important to you. There are lots of people out there still running Windows XP or older because updated version didn't support hardware that they considered important to them.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ssholloway

Too many features on 10.11.5 that I'm already using and don't want to lose. Besides, it's not the user's responsibility to stay on an older software release because a hardware vendor can't keep up;

I'm not instructing you that it's your responsibility, or assigning fault or blame. Neither you or I control what Apple and Kobo do, so user-to-user I was offering one possible fix. Which is what this forum is for.