Aura Why no updates on kobo.com?

[petercreasey]

I see multiple newer versions being made available various places, but I clicked on sync today at kobo.com and it said no updates...thereby leaving me on 4.3.8945.

Why is kobo releasing version improvements to various other sites but withholding them from its own kobo.com site?

[davidfor]

Probably for the same reasons given the other times you asked the question.

[petercreasey]

david, it seems strange for kobo to release improvements elsewhere but not on their own site.

Why do you think they are using this strategy?

(I don't recall prior questions or explanations!)

[PeterT]

As weve said before, updates get staged by afiiliates; not all releases are depolyed to all affiliates.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

I see multiple newer versions being made available various places, but I clicked on sync today at kobo.com and it said no updates...thereby leaving me on 4.3.8945.

Why is kobo releasing version improvements to various other sites but withholding them from its own kobo.com site?

What do you mean "Why is kobo releasing version improvements to various other sites but withholding them from its own kobo.com site"? All updates to devices download directly from Kobo, they don't get downloaded from other sites. Like most manufacturers updates aren't sent out to every device at the same time. The way Kobo controls this is by activating it for various affiliates at various times.


You are of course always able to download the update files directly from Kobo and manually update if so desired. Links to the newest firmware are in the following thread...
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=285433

...or if you can find out what affiliates are currently getting the update (usually not hard to find out) you can change your devices affiliate to that and sync for the update.

[davidfor]

@petercreasey: You have asked the question before about what is the current version of the firmware. In fact, you have asked the question more than once. There were responses in those threads about how Kobo distributes firmware. Including speculation on why they do this. It has also been discussed here many times over the years I have been here. It comes up most times Kobo release new firmware, so there is usually a comment in the thread created for each thread.

But, as you seem to be insisting...

Kobo do not announce their firmware releases. The devices check for an update whenever they sync to the Kobo server. If there is an update, it is downloaded and installed. If you do the sync manually, you will be prompted whether to do the install or wait until later. If it is part of an automatic sync, the firmware is installed automatically.

Kobo do not release the firmware to all devices immediately. The release schedule appears to be based on the affiliate of the Kobo account used on the device and geolocation using the IP address. The affiliate is usually associated with were the device was purchased. The exact order of release is not known and seems to have changed. But, Kobo usually start with a Canadian affiliate. There is probably some agreement between Kobo and the affiliates as to when the firmware is released to them. It is possible they do their own testing or just let others be the guinea pigs. I don't know what the geolocation rules are except that Australia, or at least my ISP, is way down the list of places to receive updates.

The releases can be device model specific. This is something Kobo commonly does when releasing a new device. The update check sends the serial number of the device, so they can update one specific device if they want to.

There is probably also some load balancing done to prevent overloading their servers or links.

As to Kobo releasing firmware to other sites, they don't. There is only one site used for firmware releases. ALL Kobo devices query that site to determine the version for available to it at that point in time.

Why they do this, I don't know, but I can think of a few reasons:

- Small initial release in case of problems.
- Spread load on their servers/links over time.
- Agreements with their affiliates.

[petercreasey]

Thanks for the follow up dialogue.

Okay, the reason I'm curious is that I've seen discussions about multiple releases from other affiliates that provided improvements.

Yet, when I have my KA1 go to kobo.com for syncing, none of these newer versions are made available to me.

It seems that if the versions are good enough to go to affiliates, then they should be provided at some point at kobo.com and they haven't been...at least not to my KA1. At kobo.com, I'm still stuck on 4.3.8945.

Just seems curious so I thought I would ask what the possible reason is for kobo.com to keep some users so far behind.

If this question was asked before, then I missed it and any "why for" explanations.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

Thanks for the follow up dialogue.

Okay, the reason I'm curious is that I've seen discussions about multiple releases from other affiliates that provided improvements.

Yet, when I have my KA1 go to kobo.com for syncing, none of these newer versions are made available to me.

It seems that if the versions are good enough to go to affiliates, then they should be provided at some point at kobo.com and they haven't been...at least not to my KA1. At kobo.com, I'm still stuck on 4.3.8945.

Just seems curious so I thought I would ask what the possible reason is for kobo.com to keep some users so far behind.

If this question was asked before, then I missed it and any "why for" explanations.

What you're missing from what David said is that ALL AFFILIATES get the update from kobo.com. The ONLY place the updates come from is kobo.com. The updates are rolled out to devices on a schedule that is known only to Kobo...some people install the updates to their devices manually by downloading from kobo.com to their PC and loading it to their reader over USB. You've stated that you don't want to do this...and that's fine. It does, however put you at the mercy of Kobo's rollout schedule, which, again, nobody but Kobo knows the details of.

Shari

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

Just seems curious so I thought I would ask what the possible reason is for kobo.com to keep some users so far behind.

It's called a "rolling release". Update a few devices at a time and you lessen the impact if there's a major bug and the firmware has to be rolled back. And I'm not sure what you mean by "keep some users so far behind". Barring major problems, it is traditionally less than a week from initial release until all users have access to the update over wifi. If you want it sooner, find the thread with links to the firmware and sideload it yourself.

[petercreasey]

Thanks again!

And, yes, I understand what's being done.

What I don't understand is why kobo.com still tells me the version for my KA1 is 4.3.8945 which was released multiple versions and weeks ago.

But not a big deal...just a curiosity! Moving on!

[davidfor]

I'm pretty sure the later firmware is going out to devices with Kobo as the the affiliate, but as I said, the location the device is in, has an affect on when it is received by a device.

But, there is another timing issue I didn't mention.

Kobo pushed two or three versions out to everyone quickly. I think 4.3.8945 was the last of these. When they released the next one, it seemed to be on the longer release schedule. But, they replaced that with another version. That started the release schedule again. That means anyone who wasn't in earlier part of the release, missed out and had to wait again.

And generally, we don't know why particular versions are released. If it is adding a new feature, they can take their time. But, if they found a problem and need to replace it, then stopping the rollout and starting it again will get it to the devices that need it quickly.

[rogerinnyc]

Pete,
My guess is that the missing connecting piece you're looking for is this: Kobo wants you to get updates through the over-the-air affiliate feeds. The piece-meal roll-out, as Davidfor said, is for testing and making sure there no major bugs before everyone gets it. My guess is that they don't make it available at kobo.com until the affiliate roll-out is over and they're satisfied the roll-out is free of major bugs.
Not sure that's correct, but it is what theoretically makes sense to me.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Probably for the same reasons given the other times you asked the question.

i would say the meaning and tone is pretty obvious here, but of course it's open to individual interpretation.

best wishes koboy

[petercreasey]

roger, I guess that makes sense but it seems to put most KA1 customers at a disadvantage (most KA1 users don't come here and learn about things like downloading from affiliates).

[PeterT]

Peter. Stop being so dense. The affiliate is set to whoever you bought the device from. Regardless of where the device is bought from it only checks at the Kobo.com website. Traditionally Kobo had stated that they waited for the approval of a given affiliate before releasing the upgrades to them. Whether they still do that we don't know. As has been said before upgrades are rolled out in a staggered manner. Again we don't know the exact parameters used here.

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