Touch Picked up refurbed or overstocked kobo touch - doesn't work

christopher22 · 02-01-2015, 03:17 PM

I saw a Kobo touch cheap (it was either overstocked or refurbished - the salesman didn't know but they had a bunch of them) it was in the Powered off state when I looked at it but it wouldn't turn on, many of them actually didn't turn on but I took this one. He said it just need's to be recharged so I took his word, bought it and brought it home. Besides the obvious of returning it and exchanging it for another what can I try to get it working and save me a trip.

I plugged it in and all I get is a blue and green flashing light. Nothing seems to work. Tried soft reset factory resetting but it doesn't change from the powered off screen. If I slide the power on for 10sec. (while plugged in) the light flashes off for a split second then it's back to green and blue.

Unplugging it the light goes out (obviously).
Sliding it back to on the light quickly flashes blue. I can do that multiple times and I get the same thing, so at least it must have a bit of battery juice. I read someone's fix https://thoughtsviewsopinions.wordpr...uch-crash-fix/ was to take the back off and remove the battery for a few minutes and then try again.

Perhaps I should try that failing anything else if I can't get it working in the next hour.

Any thoughts?

christopher22 · 02-01-2015, 03:46 PM

Actually that fix link above is for pushing the connector a little bit more snuggly to the kobo. The remove back and unplug battery and try again I'm not sure where I saw that.

.. I have removed the back and indeed unplugged the battery. It is a 3.7V Li-ion battery and is currently at 3.35V. A battery considered dead is one that is at 80% of it's rating - so in this case 2.96V so it has plenty of charge in it.

I'm hoping disconnecting the battery will indeed unlock it somehow, I will try another cable before giving up and exchanging it.

christopher22 · 02-01-2015, 04:29 PM

Yes!

Put it all back together and nothing.

I was just about to head out the door and take it back when I saw my phone usb cable plugged into the wall outlet. I thought what have I got to loose now? So I plugged it in and ..wouldn't you know it? It sprung to life!

I don't know why or how it worked but it did. Possibly it had a higher charge rate than the usb ports and just gave it that extra oomph. Or could just simply be the cable. Will try the cable again later to see what happens but for now I'm happy.

meeera · 02-01-2015, 10:11 PM

I was about to say "How long did you charge it for, and did you do this from a wall outlet?" So there it is!

christopher22 · 02-01-2015, 11:08 PM

I had it plugged in for maybe 30 minutes, the computer wasn't recognizing it and it kept flashing green and blue.

After I removed the back cover and disconnected the battery for 10 minutes then reconnected and put the cover back I reconnected with thekobo usb cable and it still flashed green and blue, wouldn't recognize the kobo and would not come out of power off.

Connecting to the usb outlet to the wall plug through my usb phone cable did the trick indeed.

Was that a tip in the tips and tricks? If it was, I missed it. If it isn't? It should be put in.

I'm not exactly sure what the flashing green and blue light is, but I think it means your battery is too low and you need to plug your kobo into a usb wall plug charger. Not sure it will work for everyone but perhaps it should be in the list of things to try if it isn't.

JSWolf · 02-01-2015, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christopher22

I had it plugged in for maybe 30 minutes, the computer wasn't recognizing it and it kept flashing green and blue.

After I removed the back cover and disconnected the battery for 10 minutes then reconnected and put the cover back I reconnected with thekobo usb cable and it still flashed green and blue, wouldn't recognize the kobo and would not come out of power off.

Connecting to the usb outlet to the wall plug through my usb phone cable did the trick indeed.

Was that a tip in the tips and tricks? If it was, I missed it. If it isn't? It should be put in.

I'm not exactly sure what the flashing green and blue light is, but I think it means your battery is too low and you need to plug your kobo into a usb wall plug charger. Not sure it will work for everyone but perhaps it should be in the list of things to try if it isn't.

It's not just a Kobo tip/trick. Charging via a USB wall wart has been the recommendation for a long time. Long before Kobo had a Reader. Computer USB ports are too unpredictable in the power output and if your computer goes to sleep and the Reader is plugged in, it can back charge and discharge the battery. Some newer computers/laptops have a charge while sleeping feature so if you plug in something to the USB port and the computer goes to sleep, the USB port will still charge.

rcentros · 02-04-2015, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christopher22

I was just about to head out the door and take it back when I saw my phone usb cable plugged into the wall outlet. I thought what have I got to loose now? So I plugged it in and ..wouldn't you know it? It sprung to life!

I run into this problem every now and then, especially when the device's battery is totally discharged. I have one 2 AMP charger that usually can get just about anything charging -- even when they are giving me trouble on the other chargers.

Alastair_S · 02-05-2015, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christopher22

I'm not exactly sure what the flashing green and blue light is, but I think it means your battery is too low and you need to plug your kobo into a usb wall plug charger.

Mine flashes green and blue when you switch it on so I don't think it has anything to do with the battery level. It would be nice to know what the LED flashes signal, the only one I know is that if you factory reset the device a red LED flashes.

davidfor · 02-05-2015, 05:49 PM

It depends on how long the LED flashes and what happens next. It it flashes a couple of times and turns off but nothing else happens, the battery needs to be charged before doing anything else. Continuous flashing and nothing on the screen probably means it can't boot and needs a factory reset via the buttons.

Alpha o · 02-05-2015, 07:13 PM

The Kobo I returned didn't even flash. I tried every trick known (except for removing battery) for getting a recalcitrant cell phone to charge. The screen just showed it needed a charge and that was that.

I didn't attempt to remove battery as it looked like the tablet would have to go back.

Should be getting a reader from Kobo itself this week.

christopher22 · 02-05-2015, 09:09 PM

I actually went back and purchased two more kobo touches for gifts down the road. Since they were refurbished kobo's I checked them out when I got home.

Both Kobos had absolutely no response when I tried to turn them on. When I plugged them into the computer .. nothing. But when I plugged them into the usb plug for the phone into the wall I got a green light. While it was plugged in I tried turning it on and nothing, after leaving it plugged in for a while (10 - 15 min.) and trying to turn it on I would get it to flash blue then green again but nothing yet. After leaving it plugged in for even longer (maybe no more than 30 min.) still plugged in while I turned it on they did come to life.

The phone charger I used was rated at 5.1V 850mA and the battery voltage was similar (phone battery is a 3.8V Lithium ion battery while the kobo touch uses a 3.7V)

02-01-2015, 03:17 PM	#1
christopher22 Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 88026 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura & Touch	Picked up refurbed or overstocked kobo touch - doesn't work I saw a Kobo touch cheap (it was either overstocked or refurbished - the salesman didn't know but they had a bunch of them) it was in the Powered off state when I looked at it but it wouldn't turn on, many of them actually didn't turn on but I took this one. He said it just need's to be recharged so I took his word, bought it and brought it home. Besides the obvious of returning it and exchanging it for another what can I try to get it working and save me a trip. I plugged it in and all I get is a blue and green flashing light. Nothing seems to work. Tried soft reset factory resetting but it doesn't change from the powered off screen. If I slide the power on for 10sec. (while plugged in) the light flashes off for a split second then it's back to green and blue. Unplugging it the light goes out (obviously). Sliding it back to on the light quickly flashes blue. I can do that multiple times and I get the same thing, so at least it must have a bit of battery juice. I read someone's fix https://thoughtsviewsopinions.wordpr...uch-crash-fix/ was to take the back off and remove the battery for a few minutes and then try again. Perhaps I should try that failing anything else if I can't get it working in the next hour. Any thoughts?

02-01-2015, 04:29 PM	#3
christopher22 Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 88026 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura & Touch	Aha! Yes! Put it all back together and nothing. I was just about to head out the door and take it back when I saw my phone usb cable plugged into the wall outlet. I thought what have I got to loose now? So I plugged it in and ..wouldn't you know it? It sprung to life! I don't know why or how it worked but it did. Possibly it had a higher charge rate than the usb ports and just gave it that extra oomph. Or could just simply be the cable. Will try the cable again later to see what happens but for now I'm happy.

02-01-2015, 11:08 PM	#5
christopher22 Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 88026 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura & Touch	I had it plugged in for maybe 30 minutes, the computer wasn't recognizing it and it kept flashing green and blue. After I removed the back cover and disconnected the battery for 10 minutes then reconnected and put the cover back I reconnected with thekobo usb cable and it still flashed green and blue, wouldn't recognize the kobo and would not come out of power off. Connecting to the usb outlet to the wall plug through my usb phone cable did the trick indeed. Was that a tip in the tips and tricks? If it was, I missed it. If it isn't? It should be put in. I'm not exactly sure what the flashing green and blue light is, but I think it means your battery is too low and you need to plug your kobo into a usb wall plug charger. Not sure it will work for everyone but perhaps it should be in the list of things to try if it isn't. Last edited by christopher22; 02-01-2015 at 11:13 PM.

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02-01-2015, 03:46 PM	#2
christopher22 Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 88026 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura & Touch	Actually that fix link above is for pushing the connector a little bit more snuggly to the kobo. The remove back and unplug battery and try again I'm not sure where I saw that. .. I have removed the back and indeed unplugged the battery. It is a 3.7V Li-ion battery and is currently at 3.35V. A battery considered dead is one that is at 80% of it's rating - so in this case 2.96V so it has plenty of charge in it. I'm hoping disconnecting the battery will indeed unlock it somehow, I will try another cable before giving up and exchanging it.

02-01-2015, 10:11 PM	#4
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,813 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	I was about to say "How long did you charge it for, and did you do this from a wall outlet?" So there it is!

02-05-2015, 05:49 PM	#9
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	It depends on how long the LED flashes and what happens next. It it flashes a couple of times and turns off but nothing else happens, the battery needs to be charged before doing anything else. Continuous flashing and nothing on the screen probably means it can't boot and needs a factory reset via the buttons.

02-05-2015, 07:13 PM	#10
Alpha o Addict Posts: 282 Karma: 2603524 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: Onyx Boox Darwin, inkBOOK Obsidian	The Kobo I returned didn't even flash. I tried every trick known (except for removing battery) for getting a recalcitrant cell phone to charge. The screen just showed it needed a charge and that was that. I didn't attempt to remove battery as it looked like the tablet would have to go back. Should be getting a reader from Kobo itself this week.

02-05-2015, 09:09 PM	#11
christopher22 Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 88026 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kobo Aura & Touch	I actually went back and purchased two more kobo touches for gifts down the road. Since they were refurbished kobo's I checked them out when I got home. Both Kobos had absolutely no response when I tried to turn them on. When I plugged them into the computer .. nothing. But when I plugged them into the usb plug for the phone into the wall I got a green light. While it was plugged in I tried turning it on and nothing, after leaving it plugged in for a while (10 - 15 min.) and trying to turn it on I would get it to flash blue then green again but nothing yet. After leaving it plugged in for even longer (maybe no more than 30 min.) still plugged in while I turned it on they did come to life. The phone charger I used was rated at 5.1V 850mA and the battery voltage was similar (phone battery is a 3.8V Lithium ion battery while the kobo touch uses a 3.7V)

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