Clara BW Kobo Update (Aug '25) bricked my Clara BW

[eSpark]

A recent update from Kobo has trashed my (old but previously reliable) Clara BW. It now cycles through the "..." startup sequence endlessly and ignores all attempts to factory reset, etc ('Hold the button for 15+ secs, release then press again', etc). The 'Powered Off' screen doesn't happen.


Does anyone have any suggestions on how to reset it? It's fully charged and since there's no pinhole and only one button I have few options - being in Europe means I can't even connect it to a laptop for 'mothership reset' (no apps available for Windows)!


Any ideas are welcome, apart from switching to a more reliable brand?

[stef]

Originally Posted by eSpark

A recent update from Kobo has trashed my (old but previously reliable) Clara BW. It now cycles through the "..." startup sequence endlessly and ignores all attempts to factory reset, etc ('Hold the button for 15+ secs, release then press again', etc). The 'Powered Off' screen doesn't happen.


Does anyone have any suggestions on how to reset it? It's fully charged and since there's no pinhole and only one button I have few options - being in Europe means I can't even connect it to a laptop for 'mothership reset' (no apps available for Windows)!


Any ideas are welcome, apart from switching to a more reliable brand?

From here follow the steps for manual reset.

Instead of the "powered off" screen I pressed the button until the power light turned off.

Read the article from here: A few things to keep in mind till the end, one time before you start.

You will start like a new device, everything from the beginning.

You will be fine.

PS. Europe too, no app, no support for my language, no interface fonts either...

[ats]

I'm having the same problem with my 2 year old Libra. It got stuck updating the latest firmware (I wanted Instapaper. Big mistake!) and after that the screen is blank and the light doesn't stop blinking.

Finally tried the manual/factory reset (hold the power button + page turn button), and while that stops the blinking light, the issue returns the moment I press power or plug it into the charger/laptop.

What a joke of a company. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's the discontinued models that are bricked now.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ats

I'm having the same problem with my 2 year old Libra. It got stuck updating the latest firmware (I wanted Instapaper. Big mistake!) and after that the screen is blank and the light doesn't stop blinking.

Finally tried the manual/factory reset (hold the power button + page turn button), and while that stops the blinking light, the issue returns the moment I press power or plug it into the charger/laptop.

What a joke of a company. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's the discontinued models that are bricked now.

I sideloaded the firmware to my Libra 2 without incident.

Is there any consistency as to the method of upgrade with those who are experiencing this issue? Any mods/hacks/etc on board?

[PHughes]

I had no issues updating my Clara BW, using the sync method. I did notice though, that the update seemed to take longer than other updates did, making me think perhaps it was not going to boot up. It seemed unresponsive. I just left it alone and it finished and booted up fine.

[ats]

*UPDATE*

After trying absolutely everything I could (thanks for the suggestions), I spoke to customer support for a while. Eventually, they offered to exchange my older unit for a free refurbished one.

FWIW, I can at least stop the white light from blinking, but the moment I try to turn it on or plug it in, the boot loop returns.

[PHughes]

Originally Posted by ats

*UPDATE*

After trying absolutely everything I could (thanks for the suggestions), I spoke to customer support for a while. Eventually, they offered to exchange my older unit for a free refurbished one.

FWIW, I can at least stop the white light from blinking, but the moment I try to turn it on or plug it in, the boot loop returns.

Glad they took care of you.