Aura ONE End of life and final patch

[Vetchy]

Hello everyone,
As I understand, support for the Kobo Aura One and other devices on the Kobo6 platform has ended, with the latest firmware being 4.38.23171.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find updated patches for this version. Moreover, the list of changes compared to 4.38.21908 is minor and doesn’t hold any value for my usage scenarios.

Here are my questions about what to do next:
- Should I roll back to 4.38.21908 and block updates with a patch (and how exactly can I perform the rollback)?
- Is there a list of incompatible patches between 4.38.21908 and 4.38.23171?
- Is there any hope for updated patches to appear, or has this branch been abandoned due to newer versions?

P.S. Special thanks to Patrick Gaskin for making it possible to get everything I wanted from my Kobo Aura One. I hope he’s doing great!

[Aleron Ives]

Old firmware is here:

https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html

Just copy KoboRoot.tgz to the .kobo folder on your device and eject to start the update to whichever firmware version you want.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Vetchy

Hello everyone,
As I understand, support for the Kobo Aura One and other devices on the Kobo6 platform has ended, with the latest firmware being 4.38.23171.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find updated patches for this version. Moreover, the list of changes compared to 4.38.21908 is minor and doesn’t hold any value for my usage scenarios.

Here are my questions about what to do next:
- Should I roll back to 4.38.21908 and block updates with a patch (and how exactly can I perform the rollback)?
- Is there a list of incompatible patches between 4.38.21908 and 4.38.23171?
- Is there any hope for updated patches to appear, or has this branch been abandoned due to newer versions?

P.S. Special thanks to Patrick Gaskin for making it possible to get everything I wanted from my Kobo Aura One. I hope he’s doing great!

There are patches available for 4.38.23171. See this thread and go to post #4. There is no need to go back to an older firmware.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=364485

Where did you get your information on the end of support for Kobo6 Readers? Kobo has been very good at supporting older devices. I just don't see support for kobo6 and earlier ending.

[Vetchy]

I have absolutely no complaints about Kobo as a company. I’ve been using their device for many years, and it continues to receive updates. My assumption that support had ended was based on the fact that, according to the version matrix (https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html), the KA1 hasn’t received any of the last five versions. However, after reviewing the full release history, I realize that this happens occasionally.

Special thanks for the link to the thread with the updated patches!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Vetchy

I have absolutely no complaints about Kobo as a company. I’ve been using their device for many years, and it continues to receive updates. My assumption that support had ended was based on the fact that, according to the version matrix (https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html), the KA1 hasn’t received any of the last five versions. However, after reviewing the full release history, I realize that this happens occasionally.

Special thanks for the link to the thread with the updated patches!

Your welcome.

[Frogm4n]

Just FWIW, it's pretty common in software to have multiple concurrent branches for different versions. Always have to take that into consideration when looking at updates. Amazon still rolls out updates for Fire OS 5 despite the current release being Fire OS 8, for example.

[geek1011]

There will be patches eventually. I haven't forgotten, it's just that a lot changed at the same time and I've also been busy. Many patches will still continue to work as-is.

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

Just FWIW, it's pretty common in software to have multiple concurrent branches for different versions. Always have to take that into consideration when looking at updates. Amazon still rolls out updates for Fire OS 5 despite the current release being Fire OS 8, for example.

The way kobo did this is part of what broke a bunch of my automation. They now have what's effectively branches on 4.38.x, 4.39+.x, and 5.x.x. This breaks kfwproxy's latest version notification as I can no longer keep track statelessly, it breaks NickelMenu's automated symbol checks (since the order of versions or even build numbers no longer has any real meaning), it breaks a bunch of my personal automation for firmware updates, and more. It doesn't help that the branches aren't ABI-compatible, that some are qt6, and that I don't have any devices capable of testing anything other than 4.38.x (which means I either have to do everything statically, or I have to put in the time and effort to backport or emulate the newer branches -- which is possible, but yet another hurdle to overcome before I can get to the fun stuff).

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by Vetchy

I have absolutely no complaints about Kobo as a company. I’ve been using their device for many years, and it continues to receive updates. My assumption that support had ended was based on the fact that, according to the version matrix (https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html), the KA1 hasn’t received any of the last five versions. However, after reviewing the full release history, I realize that this happens occasionally.

Special thanks for the link to the thread with the updated patches!

The matrix is misleading due to kobo's branched version numbers. It's sorted by version rather than release date. Kobo is releasing 4.38 versions along with 4.39+ ones.