Aura HD dead with Kobo Start Menu

[pecuchet]

I've had a sort of bricked Kobo Aura HD for some time now. It run out of battery with nickel on and I haven't been able to turn it back on. I've had it plugged, I've tried the pin reset and the power/light buttons reset. When I try to power it on the LED tuns on for about 10 seconds.
I think it had fairly new versions of both Kobo firmware and KSM.

Does anybody have any idea of what happened or how can I bring it back to life?

[Ken Maltby]

Have you charged it overnight? You may need to try a different wall charger for a number of hours, to try and effect the charging, as it adapts a little to what it is fed. It is unlikely that KSM could cause such a problem.

Luck;
Ken

[tshering]

How did you know that the the battery run out? What is on the screen now? What colours did the led show when you tried the power/light button reset?

Are you certain that the screen has not broken?

[pecuchet]

Thanks for your reply.

Yes I charged it for long periods of time the past weeks.

I'm not saying it got bricked because of KSM, but it happens to be installed.

Maybe I'll have to ask for an SD card image to try to flash it.

I've been putting aside trying to fix the reader because I don't have much time or expertise, but I found myself looking to buy a new one today because I miss it and thought it's probably better to fix it if it's within my means.

[pecuchet]

I just assumed it ran out of battery because that's what usually happens to me.

The screen wasn't broken, but I can't rule that out because I have a little girl a bit too adept at throwing things.

The LED goes the usual white.

On the screen it shows 'Sleeping', the cover of the last book I read, and '99% read'.

Thanks for your reply.

[Ken Maltby]

What is concerning is that you can't use the buttons to do a "Factory Reset". That is a pretty low level hardware boot function. It should work, under almost any situation.

Luck;
Ken

[tshering]

My first guess was that you successfully did one or several factory resets, but that you were not aware of it, because the screen substrate is broken, and therefore there were no changes on the screen.
But ...

Originally Posted by pecuchet

The LED goes the usual white.

If I remember correctly, the led goes also red, blue and green during a factory reset. Therefore, I am not so sure what really is happening.
Try to inspect your screen for uncommon patterns. You can find some images of broken screens on this forum, if you do not know how they look like.

[pecuchet]

The screen looks fine, but there is a slight bruise on the bottom right corner that I hadn't noticed, so that might be it.

It doesn't look very difficult to replace, and it can be bought from China, but for 85€ which is expensive considering I'm not sure the screen is the (only) problem.

Thanks for your help, I'll try to change the threat title to reflect reality.

[tshering]

I think the screen does not look broken. Maybe people with more experience can tell better.

[Ken Maltby]

Your image is too big, max is 600x600 for images imbedded in the post. The Aura HD doesn't have colored lights, it does blink faster when starting the factory reset.

Luck;
Ken

[frostschutz]

E-Ink "bruise" looking similar to yours can be caused by magnets but it's not permanent damage, goes away with refresh.

It's odd to not have the display at least refresh on poweron/reset; by all means try replacing the SD card.

As for photos you shot yourself, you should just Attach them to your post.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by pecuchet

I've tried the pin reset and the power/light buttons reset. When I try to power it on the LED tuns on for about 10 seconds.

Did you make sure the device was off before the factory reset? The power/light button combo only works if it is off.

[pecuchet]

The LED does not blink and it hasn't since the freeze. Having performed some factory resets, I would have noticed.

I don't know that the device is off, but having tried so many times it should have happened by chance. Maybe something keeps it on?

I opened the device yesterday and disconnected the battery. Upon reconnection the LED turned on for about 10 seconds.

I'll try to reflash the SD card. Should I start another thread asking for an image?

Thanks to all for your replies.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by pecuchet

The LED does not blink and it hasn't since the freeze. Having performed some factory resets, I would have noticed.

I don't know that the device is off, but having tried so many times it should have happened by chance. Maybe something keeps it on?

I opened the device yesterday and disconnected the battery. Upon reconnection the LED turned on for about 10 seconds.

All that tells me you haven't followed the factory reset steps correctly. And with the way the device works, there is not going to "happen by chance". The steps are:

- Charge the device for at least an hour.
- Hold the power switch in the off position for 20 seconds.
- Hold the light button down and turn it on.
- When the LED starts to flash, or the screen changes, release the light button.

If it doesn't work, try again, but hold things a bit longer.

I'll try to reflash the SD card. Should I start another thread asking for an image?

That's the one thing you shouldn't do. There is thread for the requests for each device model. But, as it is being discussed, this is the appropriate place. And, I have sent you a PM with the link.

[pecuchet]

All that tells me you haven't followed the factory reset steps correctly. And with the way the device works, there is not going to "happen by chance".

I'm pretty sure I've gone through the motions correctly many times, and still no blinking LED.

That's the one thing you shouldn't do.

Sorry to sound dumb here but, should I not try to reflash the SD card or should I not start a new thread? I'll assume it's the thread, since you sent me the link, thank you.