Anyone else having trouble using Overdrive on a Sony reader?

[tropicallie]

This is indeed sad. The T1 was my travel reader because of the ability to directly download library books. My understanding was the Sony wifi models were the only ereaders capable of this. Are there others I don't know about?

[4691mls]

My library never even bothered to respond to my last email to confirm that Sonys would no longer work with Overdrive.

I started a thread in the "which one should I buy" forum asking about other options. Apparently there's not much out there - the only suggestions were the Kobo Aura One or an e-ink Android tablet that could run the Overdrive app.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=282021

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by tropicallie

This is indeed sad. The T1 was my travel reader because of the ability to directly download library books. My understanding was the Sony wifi models were the only ereaders capable of this. Are there others I don't know about?

The latest Kobo (Aura One) can borrow books from the library without needing to use a computer. It doesn't work the same way as it did on Sony models and is a little less seamless but it can be done.

Originally Posted by Colin Grant

It is indeed sad and disappointing that Sony have decided to cease supporting the PRS-Tx readers only 4 years after the last ones were sold.
Sony used to have a reputation for supporting legacy devices (such as the Walkman) by maintaining compatibility with changes in software systems.

I think the difference is Sony are completely out of the ereader market, whereas that's not true for portable music. It's unfortunate but its a bit unfair to expect Sony to provide a firmware update for a market they left 4 years ago.

[tropicallie]

Kobo bought the remnants of the Sony reader software and since that time has directed ebook traffic to the Kobo store via the big Kobo button that resides on our home screen. I had never bought any books from Kobo prior to that and have been happy with the Kobo service. I find it perplexing though that Rakuten (who owns both Overdrive AND Kobo) would purposely put out an update that hobbles the Sony reader from which they receive revenue. Is it coincidence that Kobo came out with an ereader capable of downloading library books directly to the device prior to releasing the new Overdrive? Kind of like -Oh hey, so sorry about your Sony but here - lookee what we've got.

[robko]

Originally Posted by tropicallie

Kobo bought the remnants of the Sony reader software and since that time has directed ebook traffic to the Kobo store via the big Kobo button that resides on our home screen. I had never bought any books from Kobo prior to that and have been happy with the Kobo service. I find it perplexing though that Rakuten (who owns both Overdrive AND Kobo) would purposely put out an update that hobbles the Sony reader from which they receive revenue. Is it coincidence that Kobo came out with an ereader capable of downloading library books directly to the device prior to releasing the new Overdrive? Kind of like -Oh hey, so sorry about your Sony but here - lookee what we've got.

It's possible, but since the reason given was "security" and it moved from using http to https the actual given reason is probably the reality. That change also meant that older versions of, for example, desktop ADE didn't work, so it wasn't specifically aimed at Sony devices. Unfortunately time moves on and security requirements change and with a manufacturer abandoned hardware you're left out in the cold. It's not reasonable to expect them not to increase security based on the number of massive hacks of companies we've seen in the past few years.

[DoctorM]

I was wondering if it was possible for there to be some sort of proxy used to get the .acsm file from overdrive and then send it in non-https to our ereaders.

Beyond my skill, but just a thought.

[T3reader]

I've got a T3 and been spending some time trying to download directly to my ereader. I'll describe my experience to hopefully help someone here.

My situation has been complicated because I primarily use a Linux operating system on my PC. Sideloading to the Linux PC through Adobe Digital Editions has also recently stopped working with the version of ADE that works under Linux (ADE 1.7). Now ADE give an error when I try to add the .ascm file I downloaded from my library through a web browser on the PC.

What is interesting about my attempts to sideload with ADE is that I can now go back to my library's web site on the Sony and download the epub. Prior to attempting to load the .ascm file on the PC the library web site said "Download to app" (or similar). After I attempt to load the .ascm in ADE the library website offers a "Download epub" link.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by T3reader

Sideloading to the Linux PC through Adobe Digital Editions has also recently stopped working with the version of ADE that works under Linux (ADE 1.7).

FYI, some folks have posted that they've been able to get 2.0.1 working in Wine.

[radius]

Originally Posted by T3reader

I've got a T3 and been spending some time trying to download directly to my ereader. I'll describe my experience to hopefully help someone here.

It works for me too, though it's a bit painful.

Instead of using the "Public Library" pseudo-app, I just go straight to the library through the Sony web browser.

Because of the new-style web page, navigation is a bit difficult, but I can go to my borrowed books list, and download the acsm file. Then I open that acsm file and it loads the book into my T3's library.

I wouldn't want to browse my library using the T3 though. It's cripplingly slow to scroll and to load images.

ADE 2.0 still works for me so it's possible that my situation doesn't apply to "upgraded" libraries.

Edit: I should also note that this is through an https:// URL so apparently that works fine for a T3.

Did I say it was slow? It's slow.

Edit 2: A couple of more things. I find that the "Downloads" menu item doesn't show the acsm file, so I have to touch the top of the display to show my notifications. Then I select the acsm from there and the book gets added to the library. You only have one chance to to this because if you do something that causes the notification to be dismissed you are out of luck and have to start over again.

Also, I turn off images when using the browser at the library. First, this makes the browsing and page loading times faster. Second, it makes the links easier to hit with a finger.

[4691mls]

Radius, when you go to the Overdrive library directly on your reader and go to your Loans/checkouts, are you getting a button that says Download? Many of us no longer get a Download button, instead we get a button that says "add to app" and it doesn't work (at least on my T1). Or are you getting an "add to app" button and it works on a T3?

[DoctorM]

Is it possible to use a 3rd party browser on a rooted Reader to accomplish this task?
Heck does the ADE app work directly on these if they are rooted?
It sounds like everyone here is running non-rooted devices.

I recently bricked one of mine and along the road to recovery I'll have to downgrade the firmware... which would give me the opportunity to root it (something I originally decided not to do so as to get the benefits of the newest firmware).

Btw, has anyone else noticed that using the Reader's browser on Wikipedia will cause a lock up every single time? The page loads about 90% and then stops. You can't Stop, Reload, navigate somewhere else, close the window or anything.
I'm always forced to shut down the device just to unlock the browser.

[T3reader]

I had another go at this based on radius's comments. All my activities are through the e-reader's browser not the "Public Library app". "Public Library" just takes the reader to Overdrive's website which seems to continuously reload.

I found I definitely need to checkout e-books through my PC. I actually don't need to download the .ascm file on the PC, I just need to "checkout" the e-book. After checking out the e-book on the PC, which includes choosing the format "Adobe epub" (my library offers books in epub and pdf), I see a "Download epub" link in my reader's browser which downloads the book.

DoctorM, I hadn't noticed wikipedia locking up the reader's browser but you're right. I have the same issue on my T3. I found disabling Java script before going to wikipedia let it work smoothly. I need Java script to login to my library but I think I leave it disable and just temporarily enable it when needed.

AnemicOak, I actually got ADE 4.5 working with Wine 2.0 but I get an "authorization error" when I load the .ascm to download the epud. ADE did have my Adobe credentials loaded.

[radius]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Radius, when you go to the Overdrive library directly on your reader and go to your Loans/checkouts, are you getting a button that says Download? Many of us no longer get a Download button, instead we get a button that says "add to app" and it doesn't work (at least on my T1). Or are you getting an "add to app" button and it works on a T3?

Ah, my library must have turned that on just recently. I used to have a download button two days ago when I posted, and now I have an add-to-app button displayed. However, the alt-text is the same as it used to be.

Here are some screen shots showing:

a) my loans as they appear in my desktop browser, showing the add to app button,
b) my loans as they appear on my T3, showing that for one book the alt-text still shows download and for another book the alt-text still shows select download format, even though the graphical buttons both say add to app
c) book successfully added to T3. I didn't touch anything using the PC before downloading to device.

I guess there is some little bug fix or upgrade to the T3 that makes it work? The link still does give me the ascm file in any case. If it was a matter of https support, the T1 shouldn't display any of the page at all. I'm surprised there is a difference between the devices.

[DoctorM]

@T3Reader - Thanks. Turning off Java did the trick. Considering we have a quick link to Wikipedia while reading books, it makes sense for me to keep it off until needed.

@Radius - How did you get to that alt-text view and is that what allowed you to check the books out or were you able to check out with the 'regular' view?

[T3reader]

Radius, it looks like you are using "<library_name>.overdrive.com" as opposed to the library's own website to download your books. When I use this method I am also able to download the epub without using my PC as I described in my post yesterday. That;s good news.

In your second image (T3view) you appear to be on the library's actual website and the second book has the "pick a format to download" option instead of the "download Adobe epub" option of your first. I expect you might have difficulty with the second.