I finally have the Kobo WiFi N647 1.9.12 firmware.

[bizzybody]

I bought another N647 on eBay, this seller was happy to check the firmware version.

Got it yesterday, took it apart around 1:00 AM today. Made a backup copy of the card as-is as a backup in case the thing corrupted itself like my first N647 did.

Put the card back in and it got to the welcome screen. I rebooted it and waited for it to get to the setup screen then I powered it off. Unplugged the battery before removing the card.

I used both Vconsole.com USB Duplicator Image Creator and USB Image Tool from alexpage.de to make images of the clean card.

So, where can this backup be put for other people to get for their Kobo Wifi N647?

I do not know if it will work with the N647B. Could try writing it to a 2GB or larger card and putting it into one of that model.

Why did I spend around $50 buying two old Kobo e-readers, one that arrived with a busted display and firmware 1.9 and this one with the power and D-pad gone all gummy and gooey, but with the final firmware version?

Because Rakuten's total abandonment to the point of not even providing the last firmware really p!$$ed me off. Try and stop people from getting this firmware? Not happening.

Now my plan is to swap the buttons and d-pad from my original thrift store find pink and white device to this latest all black one.

There's a 3D printable D-pad file available but not one for the power button. Perhaps I'll design one.

[DNSB]

No, the N647 and N647B are different hardware and the firmware image from one will not work on the other.

If you want to place the image online temporarily and PM me a link to the image file, I can add it to my image collection with known firmware versions.

[bizzybody]

Now I just need to find the broken screen one to transplant the rubber bits over, and buy a couple of 32 gig micro SD cards and I'll have two expanded old Kobos.