New Kobo Firmware "April 2019" v4.13.12638

[EmperorMittens]

Originally Posted by Semwize

This firmware has many bugs, especially for books in the epub

What I unsuccessfully explain 2 page. Roll back to 4.12 the most correct option. Advantages in addition to the new language in this firmware no. If you read mainly the epub of the book, I would not recommend 4.13. Everything works fine with kepub.

And Kobo is not the first time making mistakes for epub books, unfortunately.

Unfortunately, this didn't work. My problem seems to have gone beyond this version now. I am not sure what happened, but I rolled back to both 4.12 and then 4.9 and neither corrected the problem I described that started with this update.
I think I have to do a factory reset, but it will have to wait until I can get back to my computer with my library to put books back on.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by EmperorMittens

Unfortunately, this didn't work. My problem seems to have gone beyond this version now. I am not sure what happened, but I rolled back to both 4.12 and then 4.9 and neither corrected the problem I described that started with this update.
I think I have to do a factory reset, but it will have to wait until I can get back to my computer with my library to put books back on.

It didn't work because the problem as you described it in no way matches the problem @Semwize has been talking about. One of them sort of does, but, that could be that particular book matches whatever it is that is triggering the problem @Semwize is reporting.

What is most likely is that the database on the device is corrupt. Your description of books missing, and reading locations not updating is usually caused by database problems. This is unlikely to have been caused by the update. It is probable that the database has been corrupted for a while, but, the restart needed during the firmware update means the database was reread. If you want to check, you can use my Kobo Utilities plugin in calibre to check the database. But, I expect that if you connect to calibre, you will get an error about the corrupt database when it tries to get the list of books on the device.

The fix for this, is to sign out of the Kobo account and back in again. This will create a fresh database and import the sideloaded books. It will mean you lose the reading status of the sideloaded books, but that will happen with a factory reset as well.

If you have a recent good backup of the database, restoring that should also work.

Originally Posted by EmperorMittens

Edit: The "Home" page changed on me too.
I used have a larger single "recently read" on the upper left. A cascading of covers showing new books in the upper middle. I don't remember what was on the right side or lower as I never used them.
Now it is 4 recently read on the upper half with a "my books" that seems to be cascading covers for "new" in the lower left and then it seems to be same author cascading covers in the lower right.

What firmware version were you running before? That sounds like the old tiled home screen. This a replace with the current home screen in firmware version 4.4. And that was released nearly two years ago.

[Semwize]

Originally Posted by EmperorMittens

I think I have to do a factory reset, but it will have to wait until I can get back to my computer with my library to put books back on.

Try to just delete the file KoboReader.sqlite and reload e-reader

Without resetting to factory defaults, this will fix your base and save the downloaded books.

You will need to re-enter your Kobo login and password.

[EmperorMittens]

Originally Posted by davidfor

It didn't work because the problem as you described it in no way matches the problem @Semwize has been talking about. One of them sort of does, but, that could be that particular book matches whatever it is that is triggering the problem @Semwize is reporting.

What is most likely is that the database on the device is corrupt. Your description of books missing, and reading locations not updating is usually caused by database problems. This is unlikely to have been caused by the update. It is probable that the database has been corrupted for a while, but, the restart needed during the firmware update means the database was reread. If you want to check, you can use my Kobo Utilities plugin in calibre to check the database. But, I expect that if you connect to calibre, you will get an error about the corrupt database when it tries to get the list of books on the device.

The fix for this, is to sign out of the Kobo account and back in again. This will create a fresh database and import the sideloaded books. It will mean you lose the reading status of the sideloaded books, but that will happen with a factory reset as well.

If you have a recent good backup of the database, restoring that should also work.

Thanks. This should be easier to do.

What firmware version were you running before? That sounds like the old tiled home screen. This a replace with the current home screen in firmware version 4.4. And that was released nearly two years ago.

I was running a very old version. I bought the kobo aura about a year after it came out. Updated it at that point then turned off wifi and never looked back. Almost all my books are from drm-free purchases and loaded through calibre or dem ones through adobe digital editions. I was on holiday and wanted to load some pocket articles I had so I connected and forgot to turn it off so it auto-updated.

[EmperorMittens]

Originally Posted by EmperorMittens

Thanks. This should be easier to do.



I was running a very old version. I bought the kobo aura about a year after it came out. Updated it at that point then turned off wifi and never looked back. Almost all my books are from drm-free purchases and loaded through calibre or dem ones through adobe digital editions. I was on holiday and wanted to load some pocket articles I had so I connected and forgot to turn it off so it auto-updated.

I signed out and back in and everything worked. Thank you.
I lost the reading positions, annoying, but I can deal with it.
And the collections for the most part, far more annoying, but I can wait until I get back to my calibre library and fix that.

I hadn't restaretd the kobo for a couple years, just plugged in and transferred books now and then. Calibre didn't seem to say anything about a database issue, but the last couple months it was behaving oddly and I had to transfer books several times to get them to stick and show up.

Thank you very much for the help.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Semwize

davidfor,
I repeat, can change the book, but...

If everything worked fine on 4.12 and earlier firmwares, and does not work on 4.13 Can still Kobo roll back the changes and not users will spend a bunch of their time?

Your book works fine, but I've explained to you in private messages that this is, unfortunately, a massive problem, far from one book.

Sorry, but where have I told you to go and edit all your books? I haven't, and I wouldn't until we know what the actual cause is. There is a change in the firmware. But, is it deliberate or not? Is it actually fixing something? Was the old behaviour actually an error based on what is in the books? (No, I don't think so, but it has to be considered.)

Now, I might suggest that if this is important to you to edit the book you are reading, or the next one to fix it. But, again, that would mean we knew what in the book was triggering the behaviour. I'm doing some testing and have an idea that I'm following. I'll do some more testing tomorrow.

[Semwize]

Originally Posted by davidfor

your books

These are not my books (not only me) Such behavior in this firmware for ALL epub books - converted, bought in a store, downloaded from specialized books resources.

Before writing the error message, I checked by downloading several books for the test.

[davidfor]

I have done some testing, and the problem @Semwise is seeing is triggered by having entries in the NCX that point to anchors. If there are no references to anchors, everything works fine. Where there is a reference, when you use the navigation bar to jump between chapters, if you reach a ToC entry that points to anchor, it gets stuck there.

The attached test book demonstrates this. This has some chapters with anchors, and some without. The chapter names indicate which type it is. If you start at the beginning, open the navigation bar and tap the right double arrow a few times, it gets to "Chapter 3 - With anchor" and gets stuck. You have to page out of the chapter for the right double arrow to work again. Then it stops on "Chapter 4 - With anchor". Page through some more, and it gets at "Chapter 6.1 - With anchor". And then "Chapter 9 - With anchor".

Within Chapter 4 and Chapter 6, the behaviour is worse as there are multiple ToC entries in each of these files. But, this is what happens in 4.12.12111.

So, there is a change in behaviour with 4.13.12638. It affects a particular style of building the ToC. I haven't seen it as I strip out unnecessary anchors if I see them. But, a lot of my books don't have them at all.

[psom0ne]

Originally Posted by FrustratedReader

Share is gone from text selection options. It was wrong. No company should be enabling such a toxic and law breaking service built-in. There should be account options to send text to your log-in email address or a user entered one and maybe a web site URL (so your own blog or any so called "Social Media" can be used).

And I just wanna say thank you for all the other information you provided. Bravo.

[gabryele]

Originally Posted by davidfor

That has an option to set the language separately. This option is on the "Extended" tab of the options. That might be what is triggering the problem on the device.

maybe



"replace content language code"?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by gabryele

maybe

"replace content language code"?

Yes, that is the option I was referring to.

[Cootey]

I’ve got a new problem with this current firmware release. The previous release fixed the WiFi issues for me, but they’re back.

1. The KA1 keeps forgetting the password.
2. The KA1 tells me that it’s connected but there is no internet connection. This is false. I am accessing the internet on the same network with my iPhone, my Mac, Netflix, etc.
3. The KA1 fails to sync. Obviously, because it can’t find the internet.
4. The KA1 had no problems with this network with the previous firmware.
5. The network has not been altered in any way for the past year or more. Rock solid internet access.
6. The KA1 can connect to my iPhone’s hotspot and sync just fine.

To fix this I could a) just use my iPhone’s pokey slow hotspot to sync. It’s not as convenient because I have to set things up on my iPhone first. And there’s that pokey slowness that irks. Or b) I could downgrade to the previous firmware.

I could editorialize on the baffling nature of these newly introduced problems and how WiFi handshaking shouldn’t be an issue in 2019, but then I’d be digressing. Any chance somebody has a solution to fix this?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Cootey

I’ve got a new problem with this current firmware release. The previous release fixed the WiFi issues for me, but they’re back.

1. The KA1 keeps forgetting the password.
2. The KA1 tells me that it’s connected but there is no internet connection. This is false. I am accessing the internet on the same network with my iPhone, my Mac, Netflix, etc.
3. The KA1 fails to sync. Obviously, because it can’t find the internet.
4. The KA1 had no problems with this network with the previous firmware.
5. The network has not been altered in any way for the past year or more. Rock solid internet access.
6. The KA1 can connect to my iPhone’s hotspot and sync just fine.

The message about no internet is because the device tries to fetch a file during the WiFi connection. If that fails for some reason, then it gives the no internet message. The message really just means it couldn't reach the Kobo server, or it didn't respond quickly enough. The first time I saw the message, the Kobo server was down for some reason.

If you get this message, and the internet connection is up for other devices, you can check using the browser to see if the device can reach anywhere. But, there is a good chance that syncing won't work. Syncing needs to contact the Kobo server. If that is unreachable, then you cannot sync.

I don't know about the password. One of the problems fixed in this release means you need to remove the WiFi network first and connect anew to fix things. Doing that might help. There is also a way to completely reset the WiFi store completely. That can fix some of the problems lie this. I don't have a copy of the file needed, but someone here will if to want to try it.

Other than that, I can't comment. I haven't noticed any WiFi issue with any of my devices. This is with both my home and work WiFi, plus the occasional use of the phone as a hotspot.

[mathil]

I haven't been able to successfully sync with my Glo HD for the past three firmware versions at least, current one included. I've had to use Kobo Desktop to do it. What happens is that the sync hangs at the 'searching for update' stage, and the only way to be able to get out of that is rebooting the ereader (though I've noticed that in this firmware version while not completing the sync, it at least stops on its own after 10mins). I tried with different Wi-Fi connections but I've seen no difference; my H2O v.1 is also behaving in the same way.
I've sort of resigned myself to keep using Kobo Desktop by now, but it is definitely annoying and I can't see how this is not connected to the firmware - my H2O was only updated recently and was on an older firmware version, while my Glo HD was updated to the latest one. In connecting them to the same Wi-Fi network, the H2O synced correctly, the Glo HD didn't. I haven't tried with the hotspot yet, I guess I could do that...

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The message about no internet is because the device tries to fetch a file during the WiFi connection. If that fails for some reason, then it gives the no internet message. The message really just means it couldn't reach the Kobo server, or it didn't respond quickly enough. The first time I saw the message, the Kobo server was down for some reason.



If you get this message, and the internet connection is up for other devices, you can check using the browser to see if the device can reach anywhere. But, there is a good chance that syncing won't work. Syncing needs to contact the Kobo server. If that is unreachable, then you cannot sync.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the solution. I couldn’t connect to my home network at all with the KA1, not just Kobo server.

Originally Posted by davidfor

I don't know about the password. One of the problems fixed in this release means you need to remove the WiFi network first and connect anew to fix things. Doing that might help. There is also a way to completely reset the WiFi store completely. That can fix some of the problems lie this. I don't have a copy of the file needed, but someone here will if to want to try it.



Other than that, I can't comment. I haven't noticed any WiFi issue with any of my devices. This is with both my home and work WiFi, plus the occasional use of the phone as a hotspot.

Thanks for replying. It turns out that when the new firmware downloaded, on reboot my Kobo was given an IP address already taken by another device. Therefore, it couldn’t connect to my network. Even rebooting the Kobo and the WiFi routers didn’t fix the problem. I eventually assigned a static IP to the KA1’s MAC address on the router, took them and my KA1 down, then rebooted one at a time with my KA1 last. That fixed the issue.

This would have been easier if Kobo allowed me to specify a static IP on my KA1. Was the fault with the Apple Base Station? It shouldn’t have handed out the wrong IP address. Or was it the Kobo? The Kobo retained the wrong IP address even after I deleted the WiFi entry for the router and relogged back in.

Who knows? Networking is voodoo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro