Kobo Clara BW freezing and resetting?

fogice · 03-30-2025, 02:16 PM

My wife's Clara BW has had the following happen twice: while in the middle of reading, the screen will lock up completely. Tapping the screen or the power button does nothing. Somehow, while trying to get it past this point by holding down the power button, the device does a full factory reset and erases all the content and settings.

I know that the last time this reset, the Kobo was plugged into the wall to charge it to see if that would unfreeze it.

The first time, I had installed a few hacks. The second time, it only had some alternate fonts installed. This time, I'm not installing anything non-stock. All books are sideloaded kepubs from Calibre (still on Calibre 7.24, so using KoboTouchExtended 3.7.3.)

I have looked at the code of the books where it locked up, and I could not find anything suspicious.

I have a Libra 2, and it has never reset itself. I have had an occasional reboot, but very rarely.

Any ideas on how to prevent this device from hard locking like this? If it loses all content while we are on vacation, I'm a dead man.

rashkae · 03-30-2025, 02:21 PM

If it's still an option, I would try to return that device at the point of purchase as soon as possible.. (if you are still within retailer return window for deffective electronic.)

Aleron Ives · 03-30-2025, 04:26 PM

Yeah, that's not normal. Maybe the SD card is faulty? My Libra 2 has crashed several times, but the crashes don't force a factory reset.

shuvashish76 · 03-30-2025, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Yeah, that's not normal. Maybe the SD card is faulty?

There is no SD Card in recent models. Not in Clara BW either.

DNSB · 03-30-2025, 10:36 PM

Entirely possible the eMMC chip is having issues (search infant mortality in electronics). I would suggest returning the unit if possible.

fogice · 03-31-2025, 10:50 AM

Thanks for everyone's feedback on this. I have started an RMA process with Kobo.

SamLoki · 03-31-2025, 01:03 PM

I had my Kobo Clara BW freeze up twice and eventually reboot. I did not loose any books but it wiped the list of books in Collection. The Collection headings were still there but there were no books assigned to each collection. I had start adding books to the collection again. I do not have tons of ebooks but about 200. But that is still a lot of time to invest re assigning books to the categories in Collection. Has not happened since.

DNSB · 03-31-2025, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamLoki

I had my Kobo Clara BW freeze up twice and eventually reboot. I did not loose any books but it wiped the list of books in Collection. The Collection headings were still there but there were no books assigned to each collection. I had start adding books to the collection again. I do not have tons of ebooks but about 200. But that is still a lot of time to invest re assigning books to the categories in Collection. Has not happened since.

If you use calibre to manage your collections, the books would be restored to the collections when you send metadata to your Kobo.

meeera · 04-01-2025, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fogice

My wife's Clara BW has had the following happen twice: while in the middle of reading, the screen will lock up completely. Tapping the screen or the power button does nothing. Somehow, while trying to get it past this point by holding down the power button, the device does a full factory reset and erases all the content and settings.

I know that the last time this reset, the Kobo was plugged into the wall to charge it to see if that would unfreeze it.

Just addressing the factory reset issue: the problem was having it plugged into the wall while you inadvertently performed the correct button presses to tell the device to factory reset.

"Connect your eReader to a power source by doing one of the following:[...]

- Press and hold the power button until you see the words “Powered off” on the screen and until the power light turns off.
- Release the power button.
- Hold the power button down until the power light blinks rapidly"

https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/artic...-Kobo-Clara-BW

03-30-2025, 02:16 PM	#1
fogice Addict Posts: 241 Karma: 12092 Join Date: May 2014 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Kobo Clara BW freezing and resetting? My wife's Clara BW has had the following happen twice: while in the middle of reading, the screen will lock up completely. Tapping the screen or the power button does nothing. Somehow, while trying to get it past this point by holding down the power button, the device does a full factory reset and erases all the content and settings. I know that the last time this reset, the Kobo was plugged into the wall to charge it to see if that would unfreeze it. The first time, I had installed a few hacks. The second time, it only had some alternate fonts installed. This time, I'm not installing anything non-stock. All books are sideloaded kepubs from Calibre (still on Calibre 7.24, so using KoboTouchExtended 3.7.3.) I have looked at the code of the books where it locked up, and I could not find anything suspicious. I have a Libra 2, and it has never reset itself. I have had an occasional reboot, but very rarely. Any ideas on how to prevent this device from hard locking like this? If it loses all content while we are on vacation, I'm a dead man.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Clara HD Freezing	WarrenC	Kobo Reader	2	08-22-2024 07:11 PM
Clara 2E Malfunctioning Clara 2E resetting reading process after being ejected	yur	Kobo Reader	0	11-01-2023 06:00 AM
Resetting A Kobo Question ...	Libri	Kobo Reader	2	09-06-2019 08:55 AM
Kobo Glo Self Resetting?	jacksecho	Kobo Reader	1	12-15-2017 06:38 PM
Kobo touch resetting by itself	The Terminator	Kobo Reader	2	09-10-2011 04:03 PM

03-30-2025, 02:21 PM	#2
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,267 Karma: 5935030 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	If it's still an option, I would try to return that device at the point of purchase as soon as possible.. (if you are still within retailer return window for deffective electronic.)

03-30-2025, 04:26 PM	#3
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,644 Karma: 16302664 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Yeah, that's not normal. Maybe the SD card is faulty? My Libra 2 has crashed several times, but the crashes don't force a factory reset.

03-30-2025, 10:36 PM	#5
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 44,475 Karma: 167902649 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Entirely possible the eMMC chip is having issues (search infant mortality in electronics). I would suggest returning the unit if possible.

03-31-2025, 10:50 AM	#6
fogice Addict Posts: 241 Karma: 12092 Join Date: May 2014 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Thanks for everyone's feedback on this. I have started an RMA process with Kobo.

03-31-2025, 01:03 PM	#7
SamLoki Retired-Ham Op-Audiophile Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2025 Location: Bronx New York Device: Kobo Clara BW, Boox Page	I had my Kobo Clara BW freeze up twice and eventually reboot. I did not loose any books but it wiped the list of books in Collection. The Collection headings were still there but there were no books assigned to each collection. I had start adding books to the collection again. I do not have tons of ebooks but about 200. But that is still a lot of time to invest re assigning books to the categories in Collection. Has not happened since.

Advert

Advert