Kobo has just released a new firmware update for all of their e-readers that addresses a number of bugs. The most notable thing they solved was if a software update was found during automatic sync, the user was not being asked whether to apply update now or later, it was just automatically applied. Also, a number of lighting issues have been fixed. This update will gradually be pushed out to all Kobo e-readers in the next few days.
New Features
- Added [Help > Troubleshooting missing books] section – Walks customer through syncing, confirming correct account ID, repairing, factory reset, contacting kobo.com/help, Customer Care)
- Hotspot login improvements (especially in cases were you saw a blank hotspot login page, or a button or field could not be tapped)
- Display Checkmark on Sync icon if sync completed within the last 5 minutes
- In Sync menu, show number of books added (eg. ‘Sync complete. Added: 2 books.’)
- If user has not synced in 60+ days, display ‘Got time to Sync?’ dialog with ‘Later’ and ‘Sync now’ buttons
- If user has synced using Kobo Desktop 3 times and has no saved Wi Fi networks, show ‘Connect to Wi Fi’ dialog with ‘Later’ and ‘Add Wi Fi network’ buttons
- Sync errors; inform user if sync failed due to network connectivity, or a problem with syncing
- Added interstitial screen when signing out/factory resetting device
- [Kobo Desktop] Some free books that did not have cover images were not appearing in My Books
- [Kobo Desktop] Clearer sync messaging toast, and add a Cancel button
Fixed:
- If a software update was found during automatic sync, user was not being asked whether to apply update now or later (update was applied immediately)
- Light could remain on when device should be sleeping, causing battery to drain
- On some devices, swiping to adjust brightness could only go down to 1%, instead of 0%
- Repair wasn’t always prompting you to connect to Wi Fi
- Repair could cause Known networks to be removed
- In purchase path, Keyboard might have appeared when it shouldn’t
- Authors view: ‘Recent’ sort was not always working
- Authors view: Number of books sort was ordering lowest-to-
If you simply cannot wait for the firmware update to be pushed out to your e-reader, you can download and manually update from one of the links below.
Official Links:
- Kobo Touch A/B (mark 3) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Touch C (mark 4) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Glo (mark 4) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Glo HD (mark 6) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Touch 2.0 (mark 6) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Aura (mark 5) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Aura HD (mark 4) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Aura H2O (mark 5) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 (mark 6) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Aura ONE (mark 6) – Download | Release Notes
- Kobo Aura Edition 2 (mark 6) – Download | Release Notes
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
