Aura Unbricking my Aura?

[GreatMagicalHat]

Alright, so I did something stupid. After replacing the screen on a Kobo Aura (first edition) that had been broken for a while, I started experimenting with it in hopes of finding a way to adjust the VCOM voltage for the new screen.

In my experiments, I used telnet to log into the device and then I decided it was good idea to copy u-boot.recovery to u-boot.mmc. I definitely was not thinking when I did that, as I feel as I should have realized how stupid it was.

Now, when I start the device, the screen flashes and then stays white. In the mean time the led near the power button just keeps flashing. The device does not respond to me trying to turn it off, so the only way to turn it off it so disconnect the battery (I never put the back cover back on, so that is easy enough to do). Resetting does work, but has the same results as turning the thing on.

Now, this device has actual internal memory that's not an SD card, so I can't just take it out and fix the problem that way. I have tried repeatedly hitting the reset button, but that didn't actually do anything so far. The device does have an sd card slot, but I don't know how to use that to my advantage.

Basically, I just don't know how to approach unbricking my device here. Does anyone have an idea as to what I could try?

[davidfor]

The pinhole reset button only restarts the device. It doesn't do a factory reset or anything. You might get it going with a factory reset. For the Aura this is:

1. Charge the device for at least an hour.
2. Make sure it is off by holding the power button down for 20 seconds. Though in your case, you might need to disconnect the battery.
3. Hold the light button down and turn it on.
4. When the power LED changes or the screen changes, release the light button.

If that doesn't work, try holding the light button down a bit longer.

There have been some reports that you can boot these from the SD card. And that the image from an Aura H2O can be used for this. But, I have never seen any real details of what needs to be done and how it works. And the last few people who might have tried haven't reported back one way or the other.

[GreatMagicalHat]

Thank you very much, this did the trick.

I was messing with the (pinhole) reset button because Kobo's manual reset page basically says you have to press it a number of times and then confirm it on the screen. It's pretty unclear about the timing you have to use, though, and it also seems to claim the reset button should turn the device on when it's off. I did use this method to reset it before I made the u-boot mistake, though I'm not entirely sure what part of my timing did the trick because I was just mashing it that time.

Anyway, I did try the light button before, but clearly I hadn't done the right thing. When I followed these very clear instructions, the screen started working again straight away. I haven't gotten it past the updating step yet, but I feel this creates enough of an opening to fix things even if they don't work immediately.

Thanks!

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by GreatMagicalHat

Thank you very much, this did the trick.

I was messing with the (pinhole) reset button because Kobo's manual reset page basically says you have to press it a number of times and then confirm it on the screen. It's pretty unclear about the timing you have to use, though, and it also seems to claim the reset button should turn the device on when it's off. I did use this method to reset it before I made the u-boot mistake, though I'm not entirely sure what part of my timing did the trick because I was just mashing it that time.

For those instructions to work, the device has to boot past a certain point. It actually counts the boots and reset the counter when fully booted. On the fourth unsuccessful boot, it offers to do the factory reset. But, your device wasn't getting to that point.

Anyway, I did try the light button before, but clearly I hadn't done the right thing. When I followed these very clear instructions, the screen started working again straight away. I haven't gotten it past the updating step yet, but I feel this creates enough of an opening to fix things even if they don't work immediately.

I'd hate to think of how many times I've messed this up. And it is even worse with the devices with only have one button. Those I've never gotten right the first time.

Anyway, hopefully it will update properly. Unless you're actually looking for an excuse to upgrade In which case I highly recommend the Clara HD. Or any of the other current Kobo devices.

[GreatMagicalHat]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Anyway, hopefully it will update properly.

I think it was just a network issue the first time. I restarted and tried again, and it completed the update this time.

Originally Posted by davidfor

Unless you're actually looking for an excuse to upgrade

On the contrary, the whole thing is as much about the experience of the repair as it is about getting my device back. I have been doing some research into (and coding with) EPDs lately. When I learned that basically of them are made by one company, I realized it was probably more or less safe to order a replacement screen on the internet. So, I decided to try to get one to work with my broken Auras.

This was the one that broke about a month ago, that I suspected the problem was the screen, but wasn't entirely sure as the screen showed little in the way of defects. As it turns out, it does work again with a new screen, so it was indeed the screen. I also have another Aura somewhere that broke several years ago somewhere, which clearly has a broken screen. I might get a screen for that one later as well.