Clara HD How do I identify a Clara HD Rev A vs rev B?

[Bartdude]

I'm trying to recover a frozen Clara HD. There are two available images, Rev A and Rev B. How do I determine which version of hardware that I have?

(I've attached a jpeg of the motherboard)

[DNSB]

Looking at the label above the battery in your image. the 37NB-E60U20+4C1 would indicate a rev C motherboard. The image file is mislabelled as a Rev B. The original Clara HD label reads 37NB-E60K00+4A4. The letter in the last part is the one used as the motherboard revision while the last number seems to be tied to a batch number.

[Bartdude]

Awesome, thanks for the reply. So I will use the Rev B image.

[Apollyon202]

Originally Posted by Bartdude

I'm trying to recover a frozen Clara HD. There are two available images, Rev A and Rev B. How do I determine which version of hardware that I have?

(I've attached a jpeg of the motherboard)

Interesting.
Is this an original battery? Because the manufacturing date says 2023-05-06. How is that? Brand new Clara HD after 2023?

[Bartdude]

Originally Posted by Apollyon202

Interesting.
Is this an original battery? Because the manufacturing date says 2023-05-06. How is that? Brand new Clara HD after 2023?

Yes, original battery. I thought it was a Clara, but I have replaced my Kobo reader so many times (they only seem to last a year or two before they die) that I may be misremembering the model.

The serial number is N306xxxxxxxxx, so it's probably a Nia Rev C.

Thanks @Apollyon202 for catching that!

[DNSB]

Colour me embarrassed! I should of noticed that since the serial number shows in your image. And yes, a N306 is a Kobo Nia.

[hamers]

interesting your kobos last so little. i had a mini that lasted about 5 years and now on a clara thats probably going on 3. i'm not super gentle on them either - tuck them in my back pocket to walk to park, drop them once in a while gently on my floor, etc.

[John F]

Originally Posted by hamers

interesting your kobos last so little. i had a mini that lasted about 5 years and now on a clara thats probably going on 3. i'm not super gentle on them either - tuck them in my back pocket to walk to park, drop them once in a while gently on my floor, etc.

+1

All my Kobos are still in working order, going back to a Touch, although I'm not sure of the battery on some of them.

[JSWolf]

I'm wondering what Readers released in Europe After February 18, 2027 will be like. They have to be made to have the battery be easily replaceable. And for a lot of people, that does not mean prying up the back cover, unsoldering the wires, prying the battery/glue and then having to glue the batter back in place and soldering the new wires. That's not easily replaceable.

[Bartdude]

Originally Posted by hamers

interesting your kobos last so little. i had a mini that lasted about 5 years and now on a clara thats probably going on 3. i'm not super gentle on them either - tuck them in my back pocket to walk to park, drop them once in a while gently on my floor, etc.

At least three of mine have failed because the USB charging port has come loose from the motherboard, meaning that the battery cannot be charged.

A few others have frozen (either a white screen of death, or stuck on the sleep page or a page of a book). I'm hoping to recover the WSOD by installing a new image on a new micro SDHC card. The others have already been sent to the e-waste bin.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm wondering what Readers released in Europe After February 18, 2027 will be like. They have to be made to have the battery be easily replaceable. And for a lot of people, that does not mean prying up the back cover, unsoldering the wires, prying the battery/glue and then having to glue the batter back in place and soldering the new wires. That's not easily replaceable.

Jon, once again—I think this is the fourth time you've put both feet in your mouth—read the <expletive deleted> document. So once again to quote the relevant portion of Document 02023R1542-20250731, specifically Article 11 Removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries:

A portable battery shall be considered readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless provided free of charge with the product, proprietary tools, thermal energy, or solvents to disassemble the product.

I've also attached a PDF of the English version of the document.

So, Jon, what part of "commercially available tools" do you have difficulty understanding?

Looking at Kobo ereaders:

1. The back of the ereader is removable with a spudger which is easily commercially available.
2. The battery will either use a connector so no tool needed or 2 soldered connections. A soldering iron again qualifies as easily commercially available.
3. The glue (if any) under the battery can be cut with a loop of dental floss which again qualifies as easily commercially available.
4. No specialized thermal tools needed. No proprietary tools, no solvents, no thermal energy.

So oddly, the current Kobo ereaders already qualify under that requirement as do all the older Kobo ereaders I've had apart.

No there will not be a battery door and a battery that just pops out. Quit living in the 1990s—to misquote Bruce Springsteen, "These doors are going, boys, and they ain't coming back". My apologies to any fans of the Boss who may be reading this.