T68 - Multiple problems with reboots

[dnastase]

Originally Posted by smayonak

I had the same issues as you (WiFi disconnect/looping/touchscreen issues). Battery calibration (draining) and updating to the latest (9/02) firmware fixed the issue, but I can understand your hesitance.

At times the touchscreen still seems inaccurate - I'm not sure why. It comes and goes. Most of the time it functions perfectly.

Did the update fix all the above issues or just one ?

I upgraded too to 9/2 and all the issues that I had w/ the Lynx firmware are still present. (which make me believe that either firmwares are not that different at the core or that they are hardware issues).

[Areinu]

I had the same issues as you (WiFi disconnect/looping/touchscreen issues). Battery calibration (draining) and updating to the latest (9/02) firmware fixed the issue, but I can understand your hesitance.

Is there even 9/2 for Lynx? I have 9/2 for original Boox. Lynx haven't updated since June, I believe. All they "fixed" was touchscreen, which is now borderline acceptable. Before that it took me 30 minutes to even enter WiFi password and then into update...

I won't pay for a device that doesn't work and just hope that it will work someday. For $199 it should work from the start. A few devices out of a large number will always have a problem but to have so many that have numerous defects is just bad business. If it works now after an update they should have delayed production until now.

If anyone asked me if they should buy Boox device I would answer "HELL NO". For about the same amount of money you can have Kobo Aura HD, or maybe even H2O. It has whiter screen, much better touchscreen accuracy and no problematic issues. Sure, you can't install your own apps, but if the price to install your own apps is having device that doesn't work on so many levels then I prefer closed system.

[q]I used a simple, time-tested battery calibration technique for getting rid of my boot loops. After flashing a new firmware, I use the T68 until it starts boot looping. Then I let the battery discharge to 0. When the device runs completely out of juice, I then charge it to 100% (not 99%). This isn't good for battery health, but it did get rid of boot loops for me.

It also takes about four or five refills before the problems went away.[/q]
I'm trying to get it to 100% -> drain -> 100%. I'm using an app that generates useless wifi and BT traffic to drain it faster, but it still takes about 10h to get it drained.

I don't know if it means anything, but I noticed that when close to full charge the battery voltage was higher(4500mv if I recall correctly). Now it dropped to 3666mv. Is it normal, or could it be the cause of problems?

Edit: It went down to 9% and started bootloop. Yay for broken piece of awful hardware that pretends to be an ebook reader.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Areinu

Is there even 9/2 for Lynx? I have 9/2 for original Boox. Lynx haven't updated since June, I believe. All they "fixed" was touchscreen, which is now borderline acceptable. Before that it took me 30 minutes to even enter WiFi password and then into update...


If anyone asked me if they should buy Boox device I would answer "HELL NO". For about the same amount of money you can have Kobo Aura HD, or maybe even H2O. It has whiter screen, much better touchscreen accuracy and no problematic issues. Sure, you can't install your own apps, but if the price to install your own apps is having device that doesn't work on so many levels then I prefer closed system.

[q]I used a simple, time-tested battery calibration technique for getting rid of my boot loops. After flashing a new firmware, I use the T68 until it starts boot looping. Then I let the battery discharge to 0. When the device runs completely out of juice, I then charge it to 100% (not 99%). This isn't good for battery health, but it did get rid of boot loops for me.

It also takes about four or five refills before the problems went away.[/q]
I'm trying to get it to 100% -> drain -> 100%. I'm using an app that generates useless wifi and BT traffic to drain it faster, but it still takes about 10h to get it drained.

I don't know if it means anything, but I noticed that when close to full charge the battery voltage was higher(4500mv if I recall correctly). Now it dropped to 3666mv. Is it normal, or could it be the cause of problems?

Edit: It went down to 9% and started bootloop. Yay for broken piece of awful hardware that pretends to be an ebook reader.

So how do you get the battery to drain after it starts the boot loop? Mine started the boot loop when it got to 50% and I could sometimes get it to stop the boot looping but it always started boot looping again after a few minutes.

[HarryT]

I sometimes get the impression that I'm alone in having a T68 that works absolutely fine!

[Areinu]

@Purple lady: Since it was so low on energy once it started bootlooping it drained quite quickly(2h or so?). My device usually doesn't bootloop. It just reboots once.

@HarryT: if you have one then devices like that must exist. Maybe I should just force them to exchange the device to another?

[dnastase]

Originally Posted by Areinu

Is there even 9/2 for Lynx? I have 9/2 for original Boox. Lynx haven't updated since June, I believe. All they "fixed" was touchscreen, which is now borderline acceptable. Before that it took me 30 minutes to even enter WiFi password and then into update...

No, there is not 9/2 for Lynx. That's why I switched my Lynx device to Boox firmware which seems to have periodic upgrades.
Unfortunately, like I said, I think the Boox fixes are mostly cosmetic, to reader app and such, the Android core must be the same.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Areinu

@Purple lady: Since it was so low on energy once it started bootlooping it drained quite quickly(2h or so?). My device usually doesn't bootloop. It just reboots once.

@HarryT: if you have one then devices like that must exist. Maybe I should just force them to exchange the device to another?

In fairness, I should say that I've never tried taking my T68 down to a really low battery level. I always recharge when it gets to about 50% or so.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Areinu

@HarryT: if you have one then devices like that must exist. Maybe I should just force them to exchange the device to another?

If you do that you could end up with another defective one. I remember downeaster59 saying they had to wait until the third one before they got a good one. That same username is also the one who has the most helpful review on Amazon, but neglected to say they had to go through a few defective devices before finally getting a good one. I also remember that they had to pay over $100 for one of the returns that wasn't from Amazon so it depends where you got it if you want to try to return.

[downeaster59]

When I wrote that review, I hadn't had any of these return experiences. I had actually looked to see if I could edit my Amazon review, but I couldn't find any way to do so. Someone else can enlighten me if there is a way.

Yes, I am on my third T68. I've had it for over a month now, and still no bootloops or other issues. On these boards, you're not likely to hear from contented users, but I also have the impression that problems are common. There's no way to know just how common, so we don't know what the odds are of someone getting a good one when they exchange/return their faulty one. If you are in a country where you can get one from Amazon, do so. You have a month to return it for a refund, and pay no shipping.

We all know that we could get a lemon with any device we buy, though the odds of that happening are relatively small. Companies tend to rush out devices and operating systems, and then issue updates to fix the inevitable bugs. Still, I'd agree with Purple Lady that, for the price, we should be able to expect a device with fewer problems than this.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

We all know that we could get a lemon with any device we buy, though the odds of that happening are relatively small. Companies tend to rush out devices and operating systems, and then issue updates to fix the inevitable bugs. Still, I'd agree with Purple Lady that, for the price, we should be able to expect a device with fewer problems than this.

Problems with the T68 do seem to be commonplace, but I must say that I'd buy another one without hesitation. It's still the best eInk device currently available for people who want to organise a large library on their reader, to my mind, and it shows that generic Android on eInk really can work.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Problems with the T68 do seem to be commonplace, but I must say that I'd buy another one without hesitation. It's still the best eInk device currently available for people who want to organise a large library on their reader, to my mind, and it shows that generic Android on eInk really can work.

Now that I have a T68 that works flawlessly, I must agree with you, too!

Nook e-readers have run on Android (an ancient version, I grant you) for years. Since Barnes & Noble seems to be slipping lately, their next E-Ink Nook should be generic Android 4.1 or higher. They've got nothing to lose, and they'd have a winner on their hands, IMHO.

[Areinu]

One of biggest fixes in Onyx firmware for me is... fix with the visibility of menuses in many applications. On rooted Nook and Lynx firmware many applications have invisible menu items, which makes it quite hard to use.

Well, I'm after 2 loops of full charge->0%->full charge. Now I'll try using it to see if the crashes continue. If I just can get rid of the 50% crashes I will be content. But each time it reboots I'm really mad.

[Dr. Drib]

I'm following the debate on this thread with much interest.

One question I do have is this:

Is there any owner of a T68 who has NOT had the bootloop problem who has also taken it down below the 50% level?

On a related issue, I suppose (because of this widely reported problem), that I may go ahead and wait until a (presumably) newer T68 comes out with the carta screen technology. My guess is that this will be happening not too long from now.

Too, if these issues are hardware-related (rather than a firmware issue), then the T68 name will more than likely be history when the newer/revised one is released, due (in part, I would imagine) to what appears to be an overwhelming majority of REPORTED [bold and with a heavy emphais, I might add] owners who are having issues.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

When I wrote that review, I hadn't had any of these return experiences. I had actually looked to see if I could edit my Amazon review, but I couldn't find any way to do so. Someone else can enlighten me if there is a way.

Yes, I am on my third T68. I've had it for over a month now, and still no bootloops or other issues. On these boards, you're not likely to hear from contented users, but I also have the impression that problems are common. There's no way to know just how common, so we don't know what the odds are of someone getting a good one when they exchange/return their faulty one. If you are in a country where you can get one from Amazon, do so. You have a month to return it for a refund, and pay no shipping.

We all know that we could get a lemon with any device we buy, though the odds of that happening are relatively small. Companies tend to rush out devices and operating systems, and then issue updates to fix the inevitable bugs. Still, I'd agree with Purple Lady that, for the price, we should be able to expect a device with fewer problems than this.

If you go to your account, then look for personalization, there is a link for product reviews written by you. When you click on that you should see a edit review button.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

If you go to your account, then look for personalization, there is a link for product reviews written by you. When you click on that you should see a edit review button.

Thanks! Review is now edited so that potential buyers will know up front that I have had problems.