Aura H2O Help! NEED KOBO H2O factory sd image

[davidfor]

PM sent.

[rmgvs]

I like to have the sd image for the H2O too. Thanks a lot.

[davidfor]

PM sent.

[rmgvs]

I had a H2O that became less responsive, some fields on the screen were hard to get response of. After some time I got the message 'water on the screen, try to wipe it off' (something along that lines). Switching to sleeping mode and back to normal solved the case.

But it got worse. I did a factory reset and after that I only got the 'water on front' message immediately after start-up and the screen is totally dead. Everthing else works: leds on, turn on-off works etc. But I couldn't get past the error message.

Putting the H2O into the PC wouldn't work either. I gave the message 'PC recognized, tab ...' but of course I couldn't give permission to link because of the non-responsiveness of the screen. So no possibility to read the memory card.

That's why I suspected the SD-card was bad. And I replaced it with a new one with new image (from Davidfor). This went okay because I now got the opening screen (with the choose language page). But again, straight to the 'Water on front' error and a dead screen.

So I gave up. Don't know what to do. The screen seems to have no scratches or marks on visual inspection. Nothing else to see with the naked eye either.

Have a spare battery now, that's all I can say.

Any ideas?

[frostschutz]

You can turn off the water detection in the settings.

However if you get that warning it usually means something is obstructing the touch screen. Any dirt anywhere (inside or outside), or bad alignment of the bezel (those strange fins of the bezel are part of the IR optics).

If you're unlucky it could be a dead IR emitter/sensor on the board itself. You'd have to buy a broken display H2O on ebay and hope it comes with a good mainboard you can use ...

[rmgvs]

Thanks, good diagnosis.

Well, can't turn it off in the setting, because .... you know.

A pity that these ereaders lack some kind of physical button (some readers have them for page turning) that also can be used as a pointer of mouse. In that case the reader would not be dead without touch-functions.

Most probable it has something to do with the IR-sensors or something that controls them on the board.

The fins seem allright to me, but that is only on visual inspection (thought that these were just plastic things to put the screen in place?). The fins themselves seem to be glued onto the back of the screen so not part of the green motherboard. Where or what are the IR sensors then? Can I check them on the motherboard?

Well, this all becomes way too complicated anyway. I am not so naïve in thinking that you can solder yourself some replacement smd-part onto the board.

[rmgvs]

Just in case I can get my hands on another broken H2O:

what's the way to take off the screen-connector from the mainboard? There is a flat cable that connects mainboard with the screen. Can I gently pull it away? Or is there some lever that clicks is into place? What tool to use?

(I tried a very small screwdriver and put it in the small holes and wriggled a bit, but no movement at all in the connector)

It's very fragile and there is not much room to 'test and try' I guess ...

[rmgvs]

Here a picture with the screenconnector(s). Like to hear some steps to take it apart.

[frostschutz]

They both have levers. It's better to use some flat plastic than a screwdriver which is more likely to damage cables. I can't open mine to take another picture, sorry.

For the small connector it's the light brown part that should flip up. You should be able to see the hinges if you look closely enough.

[rmgvs]

Thanks. And done. I put some pictures to see what's it like.

The IR transmitters/receivers are at the back of the mainboard alongside the borders of the board. Nothing to see there with the naked eye.

So now the search for another cheap 2nd hand mainboard can begin ...

(Luckily I have my older Aura 6 inch to continue reading, so no hurry).

[rmgvs]

Didn't see the images, so another try.

[frostschutz]

There isn't really any way (that I know of) to check the IR sensors. It's invisible.

The optics in the bezel (the black shiny plastic which is translucent) well, you could use a flashlight and see if there's light I guess not sure what to expect there, never did it myself.

Well, can't turn it off in the setting, because .... you know.

You could edit the .kobo/ Ereader settings file directly. But that alone won't fix a broken touchscreen...

Some time ago I posted an illustration of how I believe the IR touchscreen works in another thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...80#post3120480

For you, if it's not the emitter/sensor itself, it has to be obstructed somewhere along the way.

[rmgvs]

Your link about how the IR touchscreen (probably) works is interesting. Based on this idea I cleaned all plastic parts (back and cover) with water and tried as good as I could to rub all parts from dust particles etc.

Many of the intermediate tests I did earlier were without the bezel on. Hard to believe this plastic part is a crucial element in the chain of the IR journey? So not surprising then that I alway get the 'water on front' message.

So did I understand that correctly: the plastic bezel at the front is needed to function properly?

Anyway, here is the thing, after reassambly I got some parts of the screen for some moment of time working again! But inconsistently so, one time some working, at next boot-on nothing etc.

So: could it be the case that some part of the bezel has some bending (maybe even not to be seen with the eye, internal bending?). Or that the screen is less than perfect straight? Of that the bezel lies on top of the screen just a mm too low or too high?

I scraped all glue leftovers from the bezel, I tried to make it as clean and flat as possible. Of course I did not try to glue/attach it yet so just tested with the bezel on front by pressing with my hands.

See attachment for possible failures?

How can I test the situation with some other trick or substitute bezel?

And now I'm wondering also how it is possible that so many people did tear their H2O open (not easy! lot of prying and bending of the bezel needed, see some video's on the net) and could reassemble it again to get a working unit again!

Seems to me that IR-technology (in this way) is very vulnerable. If this is all true I would opt for capacitive touchscreen next time.

[rmgvs]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

You could edit the .kobo/ Ereader settings file directly. But that alone won't fix a broken touchscreen...

Oh, and do you have a link to where I can find how to modify the settings (by putting the sd card in my pc) for turning the 'water at front' message off?

Thanks for all the info.

[frostschutz]

the plastic bezel at the front is needed to function properly?

Yes.

The Water on Screen message is normal with the bezel off.

As for substituting it, other than using the bezel of another H2O, I have no idea.

The screen won't bend, it would crack instead. Only the light layer atop the screen might bend, but that would probably be visible (especially with the light on).