Kobo standalone? (never want to connect to Kobo, or activate)

[tshering]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

You have to get rid of it and insert your own. Just inserting does not (always) work.

I admit that I am surprised! I always thought the whole check consist in ascertaining whether there is a second user record.

[Ken Maltby]

I have always replaced the first line with my new one by removing the old first line.

What surprises me about frostschutz's post is that he just uses " " (a quoted space) for all the fields (both alphanumeric and binary [true/false]). While there would be no need for the database to concern itself with content, there is normally a need for "Data Type" conformity.

Luck;
Ken

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

What surprises me about frostschutz's post is that he just uses " " (a quoted space) for all the fields (both alphanumeric and binary [true/false]).

Empty string, actually.

If you .dump the Kobo database you'll see they often use the string 'false' or 'true' for those so-called binary fields. It should be 0 (for false) or 1 (for true) instead. Or at least, that's what the SQLite documentation recommends for boolean types which it doesn't have. Since Kobo uses strings, that's probably the correct thing to do for the Kobo.

It works, so whatever...

[frostschutz]

I'd also like to add, that with this empty user setup, a Kobo sync not only won't work, it also won't abort, which means as long as the sync is running, the wifi will be always on. I'm abusing this property when I need to work with telnet on the Kobo.

On the other hand, if for some reason the "automatic sync" feature is enabled, you will wake up with your Kobo's battery mysteriously drained. That's because even when the device looks like it's in standby, it's still attempting to sync and the wifi eats the battery within a few short hours.

[philie]

Hello, I have a kobo glo 905C is there any way for one of the Guru to create a file or update that we can copy inside the new purchase kobo glo and not have to create a kobo account ( bypass the first time activation ). An easy novice way for mortal newbee ...

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by philie

Hello, I have a kobo glo 905C is there any way for one of the Guru to create a file or update that we can copy inside the new purchase kobo glo and not have to create a kobo account ( bypass the first time activation ). An easy novice way for mortal newbee ...

When you get a new Kobo and plug it into your PC to charge it and in response to the pop-up, you should be able to navigate to "KOBOeReader(?)\.kobo\KoboReader.sqlite" and do the following:

If you just want to read your ebooks and do not want to use any of the sync features then you can use your Kobo device without registering. [This is what I have done all along. My memory may not be the greatest anymore but even I can find my place in a book I am reading on multiple devices. Sync is not of much use if you read a book from a single device.]

1. The tool you need.


2. This should let you use the sqlitebrowser File>Open database function to find the "KoboReader.sqlite" file in the .kobo folder of your device.

4. Tshering's original description of the procedure:

"there are several explanations at this forum. I cannot find them myself right now. Anyway, in order to initialize the reader without registering you can add a new line to the "user" table of the database. Fill in any fitting values. Depending on your reset firmware version, the number of values varies.
Example for FW 1.9.12:

Code:
INSERT INTO user VALUES ("0", "0", "0", "0", "0");Example for FW 2.5.0:

Code:
INSERT INTO user VALUES ("0", "0", "0", "0", "0", "0","false")

I think you use the SQLite Database Browser. Right? Open the database file "KoboReader.sqlite". Select "Browse Data" and choose the table "user". Look at line 1 and try to establish whether the values of one of the two examples might fit or whether you have to make some modifications. I guess the second example might be correct for the Mini. Choose Execute SQL, enter the command "INSERT INTO user VALUES ..." and press "Execute query".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tshering"

For my user for AuraHD 3.1.1:

INSERT INTO user VALUES ("0", "0", "0", "0", "0", "0","false","false","false")

You can just paste the above string into the "SQL string:" box in the "Execute SQL" tab.
Then click on the "Execute query" button.

5. After you have a zeroed out user and have saved the file, just restart your device and you should be good to go.

Luck;
Ken

[very_rude_Turnip]

FYI I just got a new Kobo Aura and used this procedure to bypass registration.

I plugged it into my Linux system and mounted the vfat filesystem like so:

sudo mount -L KOBOeReader -o fmask=0000,dmask=0000 /mnt/kobo/
sudo umount /mnt/kobo/



Then edited the sqlite DB:

sqlite3 /mnt/kobo/.kobo/KoboReader.sqlite

delete from user;
insert into user values ('','','','','','','','','','','','','','','','',' ','');
.quit


Result:

sqlite> select * from user;
UserID =
UserKey =
UserDisplayName =
UserEmail =
___DeviceID =
FacebookAuthToken =
HasMadePurchase =
IsOneStoreAccount =
IsChildAccount =
RefreshToken =
AuthToken =
AuthType =
Loyalty =
IsLibraryMigrated =
SyncContinuationToken =
Subscription =
LibrarySyncType =
LibrarySyncTime =


Then umount the filesystem and unplug the USB. Reboot if needed.

My current/original software version = 4.0.7523 (9/2/16)

[pluma]

Originally Posted by very_rude_Turnip

delete from user;
insert into user values ('','','','','','','','','','','','','','','','',' ','');
.quit

LMAO!!!

We should call this ('','','','','','','','','','','','','','','','',' ','') THUG LIFE! (in reference to interweb meme)

brutal, I thought some values where required, good to know for future firmware updates!!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pluma

LMAO!!!

We should call this ('','','','','','','','','','','','','','','','',' ','') THUG LIFE! (in reference to interweb meme)

brutal, I thought some values where required, good to know for future firmware updates!!

You have to be a bit careful. If you look at the history of modifying the user information to avoid registration, you'll notice the number of values has changes with different firmware revisions.

Personally, I'm a fan of the 'fanciful' email address technique since this makes syncing for firmware upgrades and downloading free ebooks much simpler. Nothing like registering your Kobo ereader with im.a.pseudonym@erehwon.org to give you the feeling that very little work has been done on verification routines.

[besucherin]

As of software version 4.2.8110 (4f749ed9be, 12/12/16) on the Aura One, you need to add a whole extra ,'' for the empty user entry to work.

Is there a specific reason one of those strings has a space instead of being empty?

BTW, the new schema:
TABLE user(UserID TEXT NOT NULL,
UserKey TEXT NOT NULL,
UserDisplayName TEXT,
UserEmail TEXT,
___DeviceID TEXT,
FacebookAuthToken TEXT,
HasMadePurchase BIT DEFAULT FALSE,
IsOneStoreAccount BIT DEFAULT FALSE,
IsChildAccount BIT DEFAULT FALSE,
RefreshToken TEXT,
AuthToken TEXT,
AuthType TEXT,
Loyalty BLOB,
IsLibraryMigrated BIT NOT NULL DEFAULT true,
SyncContinuationToken TEXT,
Subscription INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
LibrarySyncType TEXT,
LibrarySyncTime TEXT,
SyncTokenAppVersion TEXT,
PRIMARY KEY (UserID));

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

I'd also like to add, that with this empty user setup, a Kobo sync not only won't work, it also won't abort, which means as long as the sync is running, the wifi will be always on. I'm abusing this property when I need to work with telnet on the Kobo.

On the other hand, if for some reason the "automatic sync" feature is enabled, you will wake up with your Kobo's battery mysteriously drained. That's because even when the device looks like it's in standby, it's still attempting to sync and the wifi eats the battery within a few short hours.

I turned off wi-fi and automatic sync is off and my Kobo still drained overnight.

[very_rude_Turnip]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I turned off wi-fi and automatic sync is off and my Kobo still drained overnight.

Same thing happened me a day or two ago after upgrading the to the newest OS. It seems to be okay today though. Might have been a one-off problem, or maybe this registration workaround has caused some bug that eats CPU. Will let you know if it happens again.

Note that I have my wifi configured off, and physically disabled on the board, so I don't think that had anything to do with it.

[pluma]

kobo firmware 3.20 reference.

What would it be the fields to set given the following:

CREATE TABLE user(UserID TEXT NOT NULL,
UserKey TEXT NOT NULL,
UserDisplayName TEXT,
UserEmail TEXT,
___DeviceID TEXT,
FacebookAuthToken TEXT,
HasMadePurchase BIT DEFAULT FALSE,
IsOneStoreAccount BIT DEFAULT FALSE,
IsC$ildAccount BIT DEFAULT FALSE,
RefreshToken TEXT,
AuthToken TEXT,
AuthType TEXT,
Loyalty BLOB,
IsLibraryMigrated BIT NOT NULL DEFAULT true,
SyncContinuationToken TEXT,
Subscription INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
PRIMARY $EY (UserID));

Where would it go the fancyful email address here while keeping everything else empty?

thanks

[kido.resuri]

The above is just the creation of the table. You need to INSERT or UPDATE.

Why would you keep the email address while the others are empty?

Anyhow, you would need an sqlite query something like this:

INSERT INTO "user" VALUES('','','','put.your@email.here','','','','', '','','','','','','','');

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by pluma

kobo firmware 3.20 reference.

Any reason for using 3.20? I can think of a lot of reasons for not using it, but none for choosing it specifically.