Tablet Can a rooted NT access the free hour feature in stores?

[bfollowell]

Has anyone with a rooted Nook Tablet attempted to the read for one hour free in a B&N store feature? I was just curious if it would work with a rooted tablet? I doubt that it does but I thought someone on here might know for sure.

I rooted mine after the third day but didn't debloat it and kept the stock reader software, etc.

Anyway, just curious.

Thanks.

- Byron

[allinhi/]

No you have to be running a registered nook.

[bfollowell]

Originally Posted by allinhi/

No you have to be running a registered nook.

Well, mine was registered. Of course, that was before I rooted it and I'm sure that changes it's name & details and it probably won't show up on their network as the same device. It does still show the same serial number though.

Oh well. That stinks but that's the price I pay for wanting more capability from my NT. The added features I get by rooting far outweigh the slight negative of not being able to access this feature.

Thanks for the info.

- Byron

[Jim Lester]

If it's still registered and you are running B&N's OS (just adding in additional apps - root has so many variants/meanings at this point), as long as the Shop and Reader apps and underlying WiFi drivers are still there it might work.

On a stock Nook, when the In Store WiFi network is detected and attached to you should get a notification dialog - with a 'Connect To Shop' option.

Obviously not supported, but worth giving it a try before giving up.

[bfollowell]

Originally Posted by Jim Lester

If it's still registered and you are running B&N's OS (just adding in additional apps - root has so many variants/meanings at this point), as long as the Shop and Reader apps and underlying WiFi drivers are still there it might work.

On a stock Nook, when the In Store WiFi network is detected and attached to you should get a notification dialog - with a 'Connect To Shop' option.

Obviously not supported, but worth giving it a try before giving up.

I don't know if I'll have time to run by this weekend or not. I'll give it a try soon and post results here.

- Byron

[JxK]

If all you've done is root the device, but are still running the B&N OS, then yes. If however you have ported a custom ROM, then no. The other option is to set up a dual boot, between the stock OS and a custom ROM.

[bfollowell]

Originally Posted by JxK

If all you've done is root the device, but are still running the B&N OS, then yes. If however you have ported a custom ROM, then no. The other option is to set up a dual boot, between the stock OS and a custom ROM.

Yes, that's pretty much all I've done.

I rooted the device, I've installed the Go launcher and a bunch of apps but I didn't debloat so the original B&N Home Screen and all the original B&N apps are still available.

I think I'm going to be at a store on Tuesday so I'll give it a try then and will post results.

Thanks.

- Byron

[YoJinBro]

I can't access read-in-store with my rooted nook tablet... I debloated but the stock home, and reader, library, and shop, and I'm connected to the B&N but I don't see the option to read in store. Oh well, I can read actual books in store ^^;

[bfollowell]

The more I read about this feature, it sounds like you have to pick from a select list of 100 or so books. It's not like you can just pick any book you like and start reading it. Chances are, there probably wouldn't be anything on it I'd care to read anyway.

That and the fact that it's sounding like it may not work on my NT anyway. Oh well, I'll check it out tomorrow and post here.

For those that have used the feature, how does it work? Does it just automagically appear when you turn your Nook on in a store or do you have to do something?

- Byron

[afv011]

Originally Posted by bfollowell

The more I read about this feature, it sounds like you have to pick from a select list of 100 or so books. It's not like you can just pick any book you like and start reading it. Chances are, there probably wouldn't be anything on it I'd care to read anyway.

That's incorrect, pretty much all the books I have wanted to check out, I could.

When in store, you get a pop-up that says something along the lines of "Welcome to B&N Store", and you have the option to go to the Shop, or ignore it. If you go to the shop, any book that appears in your search list that has an "instore" label on the cover, you can read for free while in the store, for up to 1 hour.

[bfollowell]

OK, I went to Barnes & Noble today with my rooted Nook Tablet and here are the results:

I wasn't able to Read In-Store.

That being said, I'm not certain whether it was a problem they were having today or if it was because of my rooted NT. Read on and I'll post photos and document.

OK, I went into the store with my wifi turned off. Upon sitting down and turning the wifi on, I connected to the B&N network and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a little "IN-STORE" banner showing over my shop icon.






After entering the shop and looking for a selection I was interested in, I was pleased to see it was available for in-store reading.







Upon selecting the book and moving to its detailed view I saw a button marked Read in Store.







Here's where things started falling apart. I was thrilled to see a big Read In-Store window pop up explaining how the program worked. There were two buttons. One for Cancel and one for Read. As you can see, the one marked Read was grayed out and never became available.







Eventually, I guess the system just timed out because a Trouble Downloading? screen would eventually appear.







Again, I'm not sure if this is normal for a rooted Nook or if this was from some sort of network problem. I could surf the net and look around the B&N online store with no problems so there didn't appear to be a problem with their network. Then again, I was surprised to even see all of the IN-STORE banners I kept seeing everywhere. It's not like I could go up and ask for much help. I have a rooted NT after all and from what I've read, most of the B&N Associates are unhelpful at best and downright rude at worst when confronted with a rooted Nook.

Anyway, for those of you with rooted devices that have tried to Read In-Store, does this look and sound like what you experienced? If not, if you guys feel this may be from some other issue, I may give it another try. Otherwise, it sounds like everything I've read is right, you can't Read In-Store with a rooted Nook.

Thanks.

- Byron

[afv011]

The "Read" button is greyed out until the download of the book completes. Afterwards, it becomes active and, pressing it, takes you to the reader.

So, if you got that far, I would say that there was a problem elsewhere, not on your tablet. Did you try a different book? It could be a problem specific to the book, or a more generic server problem.

[bfollowell]

Originally Posted by afv011

The "Read" button is greyed out until the download of the book completes. Afterwards, it becomes active and, pressing it, takes you to the reader.

So, if you got that far, I would say that there was a problem elsewhere, not on your tablet. Did you try a different book? It could be a problem specific to the book, or a more generic server problem.

Yes, I tried several from different series and publishers but they all seemed to have the same problem. Now that I sort of know how to mask the fact that my NT is rooted, maybe I'll ask for help if have similar problems. I may give it another try this weekend.

Thanks.

-Byron

[bfollowell]

OK, I just spent over two hours at my local B&N and I can confirm that a rooted Nook Table can, yes, CAN take advantage of the Read-In-Store feature. I just spent quite a bit of time doing it.

For those that can't, I can't explain why I can and you can't. Obviously there must be something different in the way we set our tablets up, whether or not we debloated, how close to a stock NT we left our tablets or something. All I can say for certain is that my NT is rooted, running the Go Launcher, Android Marketplace, a bunch of 3rd party apps not normally available to a Nook Tablet and my NT is as close to stock as I could keep it and I am able to use the read free for an hour in the store feature.

- Byron

[Jim Lester]

Glad it's working for you Byron.