Kobo Screen Frozen! - Page 2

Mememememe · 05-27-2010, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orochi

Has it really been 30 days? If I am not mistaken the reader was only launched at the beginning of May. There are still a couple days until June.

Mine arrived on April 29, so my math stinks. I guess I've got until Saturday.

Mememememe · 05-28-2010, 10:08 AM

Well, I took the unit to Indigo, where they confirmed it was toast. By that point, I'd resolved to replace the unit. Unfortunately, they had none in stock, which was expected.

I had thought they'd be able to re-order the unit for me ... but no. All they could do was credit my card, and I have to go to the trouble of placing a completely new order. Are you kidding me? Cripes, this unit is high-maintenance as it is, and you can't even be bothered to get a replacement in for me? Or at least offer to call when new units are in stock?

It's just not worth the headaches and the lousy customer service. I'd rather pay the extra money and get a superior product than go through the Kobo experience. Sadly for Kobo, they've ticked off a book publisher. While Kobo is by far the best ebook outlet from a publisher's perspective, I feel obligated to warn people against the eReader.

Hanzar · 05-30-2010, 05:25 PM

Hi, I'm new to the forum. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed with the Kobo ereader, and frustrated because it's so difficult to find them in stores in order to exchange.

I received my Kobo a few days ago and it locked, unresponsive after about 5 minutes of use. After that, there was nothing doing to get it to work again. It wouldn't even respond to a reset. I plugged it in, left it for 6 hours. While it's plugged in, it acts exactly like a USB drive, a very expensive one for the amount of memory you get. The red light came on after abut 20 minutes but never turned off. After the 6 hours, I ejected it and still no response. The screen is frozen with the "Plugged in..." message.

So I tried to leave it unplugged overnight, hoping to drain the battery to then recharge. After about 12 hrs of not being plugged in, the screen was still showing "Plugged in...", still unresponsive. So I plugged it in and immediately unplugged it before my laptop recognized it as a USB drive, and to my surprise, the progress bar on screen continued to progress to the 7th square. It proceed to display the library and the device seemed to be working again. The battery level showed full so I figured I didn't need to charge again for a while. But again, after about 5 minutes of use, the device locked up again. The only difference now is that a reset seems to flash the display now but only when plugged in, however the display stays frozen with "Plugged in..." So now I'm trying different things and I think there may be hope.

One question for everyone, and I think this may be part of the problem, for those people whose Kobo has crashed as above, when you brought it home, did you immediately plug it in to charge without trying to use it or did you try to play around with it first?

My experience was that when I opened the box, the device looked like it was already on. I checked the battery level and it showed full, so I figured it came pre-charged. So I didn't let it charge before starting to use it. Now I realize that the e-ink display may not need battery power to display text, but rather only to change text on the screen. The battery reading may have been incorrect. I shouldn't have tried to use it before charging. Then when it started working again (who knows why?), I made the same mistake by trying to use it again before charging. If I could only get it respond again, I would immediately charge it. But I'll keep monitoring my local store for stock so I could exchange it. Whichever comes first.

So I think it may be a battery memory issue. Possibly attempting to drain the battery completely will work but if it takes 8000 page turns to drain it, how long will it take if I can't turn any pages or do anything with it? Probably more than 30 days. If you can think of a way to drain the battery more quickly other than by using it, I'd appreciate your input.

artificial · 05-30-2010, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanzar

Possibly attempting to drain the battery completely will work but if it takes 8000 page turns to drain it, how long will it take if I can't turn any pages or do anything with it? Probably more than 30 days. If you can think of a way to drain the battery more quickly other than by using it, I'd appreciate your input.

I wish it took 30 days and/or 8000 page turns to drain the battery! In my personal experience it takes 1000 page turns or 5 days, and that figure has been backed up by numerous people on this forum.

As to your questions about fast ways to drain the battery, my suspicion (and it's only a suspicion) is that loading books (by loading, I mean opening a book for reading) puts a severe strain on the battery. You could try opening a book, then another, then another, and so forth.

Or just page repeatedly through a book. A page turn takes about one second, so you should drain the battery within an hour (I'm cynically assuming that no Kobo Reader can actually manage more than a few thousand page turns, and certainly not the advertised 8000).

Jelbee · 06-07-2010, 08:29 PM

Jesus.
Was reading along, and when I turned a page, the first sentence of the new page appeared. And nothing else. It was non-responsive. I couldn't turn it off and my computer didn't recognize it being plugged in.

Thankfully, the hard reset worked, but I lost my spot in a 250 page novella in which there's only one chapter-- and I was halfway through. That's a lot of page flipping. It just scares me that I've had this for a day and a half, and I've been reading through these forums and just praying that I don't have the same issues other people have been with batteries and freezing and such.

WORRIED!

Stinger · 06-07-2010, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jelbee

It just scares me that I've had this for a day and a half, and I've been reading through these forums and just praying that I don't have the same issues other people have been with batteries and freezing and such.

WORRIED!

Don't be worried. 'Tis the nature of this forum that people comes here seeking help with problems:

Quote:

Originally Posted by artificial

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stinger

All joking aside, if you've been reading these forums you probably already know I'm one of the many people around here that is very much enjoying their Kobo. I'm sure there are MANY other people in this same boat too, but they're probably out enjoying their Kobo, not posting here about their problems.

Exactly - it is the nature of product forums that they attract people who are not completely satisfied with their purchase. As a consequence this forum is the web's best source of troubleshooting information about the Kobo Reader.

LickTheEnvelope · 06-07-2010, 09:15 PM

Just to add, i've had mine for 3 days now.

During the first day I used it down to empty battery, plugged it in and left it for 9 hours... somehow it didn't seem to charge at all? I unplugged it and had similar to what others seemed to have (whole thing froze)... I tried multiple resets and nothing. Plugged it in and my PC would no longer recognize it.

Now I have no idea why this worked, but I changed the USB cord from one USB slot to another... and it worked, instantly (and it was not a USB port issue... port works fine).

Ever since zero problems, battery life has actually been great for me compared to what ive been reading on here.

dmildon · 05-20-2011, 10:27 AM

My screen is currently frozen in `loading`and not charging at all when plugged in. Serious problems.

Milly · 08-18-2011, 12:07 PM

I've had my kobo ereader for close to a year now and I just experienced my first issue with it. I converted files over from MOBI to EPUB and put them on my memory card...my kobo froze completely..couldn't even turn it off...thanks to LickTheEnvelope and the thought of using the USB port, it now works again.

napperaj · 09-29-2011, 10:56 AM

My kobo screen is blank until I plug it into my computer and then the screen shows horizontal lines for a moment and then goes blank and is frozen again. I've recharged and have rebooted the device but nothing changed.

kingofcargo · 04-04-2012, 02:15 PM

What is the real solution to these frozen screens. Mine froze today right in the middle of reading a book. The battery life icon showed more than 1/2. I've had it plugged in now for over 3 hours and still frozen on the page I was reading.

CdnFlyer · 04-05-2012, 03:57 PM

Message deleted, and moved to new threaed

Syte · 04-07-2012, 03:44 PM

New Zealand consumer guarantees act will overide the 30 day period (in NZ obviously!) Product must be fit for purpose for a reasonable length of time... I imagine up to a year

eddie19 · 04-07-2012, 04:02 PM

I have the 1.9.17 firmware on a Touch and have experienced frozen screens. It has happened several times - reading a book, turning pages and then bamm! it freezes. I have to power OFF and ON again to clear it. The battery has been charged. On several occasions page turning becomes erratic, goes back a page instead of forward, or jumps forward two pages, and then it will freeze.

tea2 · 04-10-2012, 12:37 PM

I've been experiencing frozen screens quite a bit since the last firmware update. Either it realizes it's stuck and reboots, or I have to slide the power button until I see a light and it'll reboot. Sometimes this will happen two or three times in a row. On the bright side, I can still read the thing.

I had another kobo where the screen froze up completely and it would not do anything. No reset, no reboot, nothing. I took it back to a Chapters and they exchanged it on the spot. This was last September. It was frozen on a book screensaver and then it moved to a blank screen with some fine lines in the corner. They said something like, "Ah, the etch-a-sketch problem." From what I understand, they don't tend to do on-the-spot exchanges anymore.

05-30-2010, 05:25 PM	#18
Hanzar Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	Same problem Hi, I'm new to the forum. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed with the Kobo ereader, and frustrated because it's so difficult to find them in stores in order to exchange. I received my Kobo a few days ago and it locked, unresponsive after about 5 minutes of use. After that, there was nothing doing to get it to work again. It wouldn't even respond to a reset. I plugged it in, left it for 6 hours. While it's plugged in, it acts exactly like a USB drive, a very expensive one for the amount of memory you get. The red light came on after abut 20 minutes but never turned off. After the 6 hours, I ejected it and still no response. The screen is frozen with the "Plugged in..." message. So I tried to leave it unplugged overnight, hoping to drain the battery to then recharge. After about 12 hrs of not being plugged in, the screen was still showing "Plugged in...", still unresponsive. So I plugged it in and immediately unplugged it before my laptop recognized it as a USB drive, and to my surprise, the progress bar on screen continued to progress to the 7th square. It proceed to display the library and the device seemed to be working again. The battery level showed full so I figured I didn't need to charge again for a while. But again, after about 5 minutes of use, the device locked up again. The only difference now is that a reset seems to flash the display now but only when plugged in, however the display stays frozen with "Plugged in..." So now I'm trying different things and I think there may be hope. One question for everyone, and I think this may be part of the problem, for those people whose Kobo has crashed as above, when you brought it home, did you immediately plug it in to charge without trying to use it or did you try to play around with it first? My experience was that when I opened the box, the device looked like it was already on. I checked the battery level and it showed full, so I figured it came pre-charged. So I didn't let it charge before starting to use it. Now I realize that the e-ink display may not need battery power to display text, but rather only to change text on the screen. The battery reading may have been incorrect. I shouldn't have tried to use it before charging. Then when it started working again (who knows why?), I made the same mistake by trying to use it again before charging. If I could only get it respond again, I would immediately charge it. But I'll keep monitoring my local store for stock so I could exchange it. Whichever comes first. So I think it may be a battery memory issue. Possibly attempting to drain the battery completely will work but if it takes 8000 page turns to drain it, how long will it take if I can't turn any pages or do anything with it? Probably more than 30 days. If you can think of a way to drain the battery more quickly other than by using it, I'd appreciate your input. Last edited by Hanzar; 05-30-2010 at 08:25 PM.

04-05-2012, 03:57 PM	#27
CdnFlyer Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Hamilton, ON Device: Kobo Touch	Kobo Touch Frozen Message deleted, and moved to new threaed Last edited by CdnFlyer; 04-05-2012 at 05:31 PM.

04-10-2012, 12:37 PM	#30
tea2 Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 864936 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura 2nd ed, Kindle 2, iPad Mini 4, Aura One.	I've been experiencing frozen screens quite a bit since the last firmware update. Either it realizes it's stuck and reboots, or I have to slide the power button until I see a light and it'll reboot. Sometimes this will happen two or three times in a row. On the bright side, I can still read the thing. I had another kobo where the screen froze up completely and it would not do anything. No reset, no reboot, nothing. I took it back to a Chapters and they exchanged it on the spot. This was last September. It was frozen on a book screensaver and then it moved to a blank screen with some fine lines in the corner. They said something like, "Ah, the etch-a-sketch problem." From what I understand, they don't tend to do on-the-spot exchanges anymore. Last edited by tea2; 04-10-2012 at 12:40 PM.

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05-28-2010, 10:08 AM	#17
Mememememe Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 7542 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo	Well, I took the unit to Indigo, where they confirmed it was toast. By that point, I'd resolved to replace the unit. Unfortunately, they had none in stock, which was expected. I had thought they'd be able to re-order the unit for me ... but no. All they could do was credit my card, and I have to go to the trouble of placing a completely new order. Are you kidding me? Cripes, this unit is high-maintenance as it is, and you can't even be bothered to get a replacement in for me? Or at least offer to call when new units are in stock? It's just not worth the headaches and the lousy customer service. I'd rather pay the extra money and get a superior product than go through the Kobo experience. Sadly for Kobo, they've ticked off a book publisher. While Kobo is by far the best ebook outlet from a publisher's perspective, I feel obligated to warn people against the eReader.

06-07-2010, 08:29 PM	#20
Jelbee Member Posts: 15 Karma: 28 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	Jesus. Was reading along, and when I turned a page, the first sentence of the new page appeared. And nothing else. It was non-responsive. I couldn't turn it off and my computer didn't recognize it being plugged in. Thankfully, the hard reset worked, but I lost my spot in a 250 page novella in which there's only one chapter-- and I was halfway through. That's a lot of page flipping. It just scares me that I've had this for a day and a half, and I've been reading through these forums and just praying that I don't have the same issues other people have been with batteries and freezing and such. WORRIED!

06-07-2010, 09:15 PM	#22
LickTheEnvelope Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	Just to add, i've had mine for 3 days now. During the first day I used it down to empty battery, plugged it in and left it for 9 hours... somehow it didn't seem to charge at all? I unplugged it and had similar to what others seemed to have (whole thing froze)... I tried multiple resets and nothing. Plugged it in and my PC would no longer recognize it. Now I have no idea why this worked, but I changed the USB cord from one USB slot to another... and it worked, instantly (and it was not a USB port issue... port works fine). Ever since zero problems, battery life has actually been great for me compared to what ive been reading on here.

05-20-2011, 10:27 AM	#23
dmildon Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: kobo	My screen is currently frozen in `loading`and not charging at all when plugged in. Serious problems.

08-18-2011, 12:07 PM	#24
Milly Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kobo	I've had my kobo ereader for close to a year now and I just experienced my first issue with it. I converted files over from MOBI to EPUB and put them on my memory card...my kobo froze completely..couldn't even turn it off...thanks to LickTheEnvelope and the thought of using the USB port, it now works again.

09-29-2011, 10:56 AM	#25
napperaj Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: kobo	My kobo screen is blank until I plug it into my computer and then the screen shows horizontal lines for a moment and then goes blank and is frozen again. I've recharged and have rebooted the device but nothing changed.

04-04-2012, 02:15 PM	#26
kingofcargo Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Model N905B	What is the real solution to these frozen screens. Mine froze today right in the middle of reading a book. The battery life icon showed more than 1/2. I've had it plugged in now for over 3 hours and still frozen on the page I was reading.

04-07-2012, 03:44 PM	#28
Syte Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Kobo	New Zealand consumer guarantees act will overide the 30 day period (in NZ obviously!) Product must be fit for purpose for a reasonable length of time... I imagine up to a year

04-07-2012, 04:02 PM	#29
eddie19 Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: Kobo Touch	I have the 1.9.17 firmware on a Touch and have experienced frozen screens. It has happened several times - reading a book, turning pages and then bamm! it freezes. I have to power OFF and ON again to clear it. The battery has been charged. On several occasions page turning becomes erratic, goes back a page instead of forward, or jumps forward two pages, and then it will freeze.

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