My kobo won't sync no matter what

NightStar76 · 05-16-2020, 10:31 PM

My kobo won't sync. When I try to sync over the wifi, it can spend 24 hours just on the updating section. When I try to sync over pc, it can spend 24 hours on starting sync. Nothing I do works. I'm really frustrated because I just bought some books and I'd like to read them. What do I do? I don't want to replace a kobo because of some minor glitch like this. Can anyone help me?

It's a kobo clara HD, if that helps.

issybird · 05-16-2020, 11:07 PM

Have you tried signing out of your account on the device and then signing back in?

PeterT · 05-16-2020, 11:38 PM

Do you use calibre? If so do any errors show up if you do a check database using the Kobo utilities plugin?

Have you reached out to Kobo for help? It makes me think that something might be corrupted with your account on the Kobo website.

rcentros · 05-16-2020, 11:39 PM

[Deleted]

I didn't read the the original post close enough.

davidfor · 05-17-2020, 01:57 AM

@NightStar76: Some suggestions are above, but, here is the list of things to try. This is basically in order of ease:

Check the date and time on the device. It should be synced, but, if it is to far out for some reason, this can fail. And then cause other issues.
Restart the device.
Remove the WiFi, restart and connect again.
Check the database. If you are a calibre user, then my Kobo Utilities plugin is the simplest way to do this. Otherwise, any SQLite database manager will let you do it.
Use the account repair function. This is on the Device information page of the settings.
Manually reinstall the current firmware. This should help, but, it occasionally does.
Sign out of the Kobo account. This will clean up the database, generate a new one and start downloading the books again. Unfortunately, this clears all information about the sideloaded books and then reimports them.
Do a factory reset from the Device information page of the settings. This wipes the books partition and does the setup again. (Note: Personally, I skip this and use the next method.)
Do a manual factory reset or enable developer mode and do it from that page. This is more thorough than the above as it also wipes root partition and then installs the factory firmware.

The other possibility is external to the device. If your connection to the internet has issues, it can cause this sort of problem. This happened to me for some time. My ADSL service was a bit flaky. Sometimes the sync to minutes, other times it was unending. When that happened, I could prove connectivity issues. Clearing them up and restarting the sync would solve it. I don't have this problem now as my internet is completely different and very reliable.

NightStar76 · 05-22-2020, 04:34 PM

Resetting my account seemed to work, though I was hoping for a solution that didn't mean I needed to redownload any other books. But thanks, everyone, for your help.

MagdalenaR · 05-25-2020, 01:12 PM

Hi. I've joined the forum because I was having the sync problem that NightStar76 described. (Sync starts & then seems to get stuck, sometimes on software update & sometimes on updating books.)
I have tried logging out of my account, repairing the account, and just keeping the Kobo plugged in continuously to let the sync finish (10 hours, the only time this worked). I've been in touch twice with Kobo help. Both times we ended up doing a factory reset, and then the sync worked for a bit. This last time I got one sync out of the reader, and then one successful sync when the reader was linked to my desktop, but now neither method of sync is working anymore. Help!? I should add, maybe, that after the last reset I noticed that a number of PDF books I added via Adobe Digital Editions were not functional anymore, so I deleted them. I don't know if there is anything else I've imported that might be causing a problem? And I'm not sure how to check for the internet service problem that davidfor mentioned...?

Steve_White · 02-09-2023, 06:51 AM

My Kobo Aura, too, stopped synching sometime in Aug. 2022.

When I tried to do it manually, I got: "Sync Failed. Please try again." This was a misleading error message -- it should have said "Login failed".

In my case, it seems Kobo had disabled my login account. I know this, because re-setting the device *with a new account* eventually fixed the problem.

WARNING: sign-out and sign in from the device *deletes* all bookmarks, collections, and other input data (although downloaded books remain).

The error message, on attempt to log in to Kobo store: "Something happened to your internet connection" is wrong and misleading. I established that nothing was wrong with the internet connection -- the message should have said "Login failed".

The problem is, the account was disabled (for unknown reasons --- they did not attempt to contact me, despite having my e-mail address) BUT it wouldn't allow my old password. Now it wants numbers and symbols, that were not in my old password!

The device "reset" that came up when I signed out did not work right. It showed a QR code, which I was to scan with a cell phone, and a 6-digit code. I did that, but it just brought in a login page, which wouldn't take my login. I clicked on "Forgot password?", which said it would send me an e-mail. I never got any e-mail.

I typed in the 6-digit code -- in very buggy text fields on the web page, which took just one digit per box (which switched my phone's keyboard to "alphabetic" every time I typed a digit!!!) But after putting it in very carefully, and double-checking the number, it failed, too.

Finally, I made a new account. This was successful, eventually! And my Aura came up, with my books, and...

The device now syncs, and I can log into the Kobo bookstore!

BUT I lost all my bookmarks and notes, and my collections. That represented a lot of time.

This combination of mistakes on Kobo's part caused a situation where I was going to lose data that I had i had put into the device, and where I was going to lose a lot of time.
It all reflects very badly on Kobo's management. It's a pity, because the readers are great.

JSWolf · 02-09-2023, 07:40 AM

@Steve_White it could have been that you had a corrupted database. If that's the case, then the reset fixed the database.

The solution (going forward) is to use Calibre with the Kobo Utilities plugin. That will backup your database so you can have a working database to restore if you find your current database to be corrupt.

05-16-2020, 10:31 PM	#1
NightStar76 Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 7940 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Nook	My kobo won't sync no matter what My kobo won't sync. When I try to sync over the wifi, it can spend 24 hours just on the updating section. When I try to sync over pc, it can spend 24 hours on starting sync. Nothing I do works. I'm really frustrated because I just bought some books and I'd like to read them. What do I do? I don't want to replace a kobo because of some minor glitch like this. Can anyone help me? It's a kobo clara HD, if that helps.

05-17-2020, 01:57 AM	#5
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	@NightStar76: Some suggestions are above, but, here is the list of things to try. This is basically in order of ease: Check the date and time on the device. It should be synced, but, if it is to far out for some reason, this can fail. And then cause other issues. Restart the device. Remove the WiFi, restart and connect again. Check the database. If you are a calibre user, then my Kobo Utilities plugin is the simplest way to do this. Otherwise, any SQLite database manager will let you do it. Use the account repair function. This is on the Device information page of the settings. Manually reinstall the current firmware. This should help, but, it occasionally does. Sign out of the Kobo account. This will clean up the database, generate a new one and start downloading the books again. Unfortunately, this clears all information about the sideloaded books and then reimports them. Do a factory reset from the Device information page of the settings. This wipes the books partition and does the setup again. (Note: Personally, I skip this and use the next method.) Do a manual factory reset or enable developer mode and do it from that page. This is more thorough than the above as it also wipes root partition and then installs the factory firmware. The other possibility is external to the device. If your connection to the internet has issues, it can cause this sort of problem. This happened to me for some time. My ADSL service was a bit flaky. Sometimes the sync to minutes, other times it was unending. When that happened, I could prove connectivity issues. Clearing them up and restarting the sync would solve it. I don't have this problem now as my internet is completely different and very reliable.

05-25-2020, 01:12 PM	#7
MagdalenaR Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 103950 Join Date: May 2020 Device: Kobo Aura One	More Kobo Sync Problems Hi. I've joined the forum because I was having the sync problem that NightStar76 described. (Sync starts & then seems to get stuck, sometimes on software update & sometimes on updating books.) I have tried logging out of my account, repairing the account, and just keeping the Kobo plugged in continuously to let the sync finish (10 hours, the only time this worked). I've been in touch twice with Kobo help. Both times we ended up doing a factory reset, and then the sync worked for a bit. This last time I got one sync out of the reader, and then one successful sync when the reader was linked to my desktop, but now neither method of sync is working anymore. Help!? I should add, maybe, that after the last reset I noticed that a number of PDF books I added via Adobe Digital Editions were not functional anymore, so I deleted them. I don't know if there is anything else I've imported that might be causing a problem? And I'm not sure how to check for the internet service problem that davidfor mentioned...?

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05-16-2020, 11:07 PM	#2
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,229 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Have you tried signing out of your account on the device and then signing back in?

05-16-2020, 11:38 PM	#3
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,167 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	Do you use calibre? If so do any errors show up if you do a check database using the Kobo utilities plugin? Have you reached out to Kobo for help? It makes me think that something might be corrupted with your account on the Kobo website.

05-16-2020, 11:39 PM	#4
rcentros eReader Wrangler Posts: 7,443 Karma: 48453105 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Boise, ID Device: PB HD3, GL3, Tolino Vision 4, Voyage, Clara HD	[Deleted] I didn't read the the original post close enough.

05-22-2020, 04:34 PM	#6
NightStar76 Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 7940 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Nook	Resetting my account seemed to work, though I was hoping for a solution that didn't mean I needed to redownload any other books. But thanks, everyone, for your help.

02-09-2023, 06:51 AM	#8
Steve_White Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Potsdam, Germany Device: Kobo Aura	My Kobo Aura, too, stopped synching sometime in Aug. 2022. When I tried to do it manually, I got: "Sync Failed. Please try again." This was a misleading error message -- it should have said "Login failed". In my case, it seems Kobo had disabled my login account. I know this, because re-setting the device with a new account eventually fixed the problem. WARNING: sign-out and sign in from the device deletes all bookmarks, collections, and other input data (although downloaded books remain). The error message, on attempt to log in to Kobo store: "Something happened to your internet connection" is wrong and misleading. I established that nothing was wrong with the internet connection -- the message should have said "Login failed". The problem is, the account was disabled (for unknown reasons --- they did not attempt to contact me, despite having my e-mail address) BUT it wouldn't allow my old password. Now it wants numbers and symbols, that were not in my old password! The device "reset" that came up when I signed out did not work right. It showed a QR code, which I was to scan with a cell phone, and a 6-digit code. I did that, but it just brought in a login page, which wouldn't take my login. I clicked on "Forgot password?", which said it would send me an e-mail. I never got any e-mail. I typed in the 6-digit code -- in very buggy text fields on the web page, which took just one digit per box (which switched my phone's keyboard to "alphabetic" every time I typed a digit!!!) But after putting it in very carefully, and double-checking the number, it failed, too. Finally, I made a new account. This was successful, eventually! And my Aura came up, with my books, and... The device now syncs, and I can log into the Kobo bookstore! BUT I lost all my bookmarks and notes, and my collections. That represented a lot of time. This combination of mistakes on Kobo's part caused a situation where I was going to lose data that I had i had put into the device, and where I was going to lose a lot of time. It all reflects very badly on Kobo's management. It's a pity, because the readers are great.

02-09-2023, 07:40 AM	#9
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,983 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	@Steve_White it could have been that you had a corrupted database. If that's the case, then the reset fixed the database. The solution (going forward) is to use Calibre with the Kobo Utilities plugin. That will backup your database so you can have a working database to restore if you find your current database to be corrupt.