Aura H2O Screen somehow got broken? Need guidance fixing it!

Karmylla · 03-19-2019, 05:44 PM

Hey everyone!

A sad thing happened yesterday: I was turning my Kobo Aura H2O on - everything seemed fine, the display seemed okay - and then the screen split! A big white strip separated the screen: the bottom half worked fine while the top half is frozen as if the screen was powered off or asleep.

I went to the FNAC Clinic today, hoping for a fix, but I was told that there was nothing they could do; not only would the fix imply a new Kobo H2O - which they don't have anymore, it was discontinued - but the warranty has expired. So.

I went online and searched ways to fix my little issue, and on my research I came across many videos of people tearing their Kobo apart!
I found one that was very good, and in one of the comments, a user shared a link for H2O displays!

What I am hoping for is for some advice on how to do this, or if someone has done this before! Like, which screwdriver to use, etc., and if this display that I'm looking into buying is the correct one!
Any words of encouragement is much appreciated, I really love my Kobo H2O and I am very frightened of breaking it even more, ahahah

Thank you everyone!

meeera · 03-19-2019, 11:25 PM

Can you post a photo of the screen?

Quoth · 03-20-2019, 08:18 AM

The doing isn't too hard. Getting an economically priced screen is the issue. Also I have a suspicion there is a calibration issue with eink.

A broken screen will have "frozen" portions or lines through it depending on extent of damage. The rear can crack without damage on the front. I had a Cover Story and the mount for eink had a big gap in one area. it had cracked there. It wasn't worth fixing.
I've also seen an original H20 with a damaged screen. Looked fine on the surface, but only a small part of panel updated. Very expensive to replace and then it might not work properly.

Karmylla · 03-20-2019, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

Can you post a photo of the screen?

I'm sorry, I should have done that in the first place! It is attached to this post, now!

As you can see from the picture, I have the machine turned on, and I am able to interact with the bottom half of the screen; the blank rectangular that separates the display starts at the beginning of the "0" from the Locked Screen, and ends on the top half that is compeletly frozen. On a side note, the screen light seems to work alright.

Thank you for the help!

frostschutz · 03-21-2019, 12:23 PM

Open it - the front bezel is glued on, you have to pry it off carefully. Note the bezel must not be damaged, since its essential for touch screen functionality (the shiny parts is for infrared optics).

Then you need a small philips screwdriver to take the back plate off, and the mainboard itself.

(If you don't have any tools, search for a precision screwdriver set or a phone repair kit or sth., although phones might have even smaller screws than ereaders...)

Display has two connectors (display + frontlight), the slots they sit in have latches/hinges to hold the cable in place, so to remove the cable you have to find out how to lift the latch w/o breaking it.

Exact type of display should then be labeled on the display cable.

You're ready to order replacement when you've reached that point.

Don't remove the old display itself until the replacement arrived, it's glued on too and unless the new display has its own glue strips, you don't want those to collect dust. Also double check if it's same size / type same cable - they're called flex cables but they're not flexible at all, and tear easily, so the cable has to be made to reach the connector in the right place etc. if you got the wrong part no point in trying to use it.

Take pictures as you go so you'll know how everything was positioned. If the display is not aligned correctly and anything pushes on it, it'll just break again.

Karmylla · 03-21-2019, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Open it - the front bezel is glued on, you have to pry it off carefully. Note the bezel must not be damaged, since its essential for touch screen functionality (the shiny parts is for infrared optics).

Then you need a small philips screwdriver to take the back plate off, and the mainboard itself.

(If you don't have any tools, search for a precision screwdriver set or a phone repair kit or sth., although phones might have even smaller screws than ereaders...)

Display has two connectors (display + frontlight), the slots they sit in have latches/hinges to hold the cable in place, so to remove the cable you have to find out how to lift the latch w/o breaking it.

Exact type of display should then be labeled on the display cable.

You're ready to order replacement when you've reached that point.

Don't remove the old display itself until the replacement arrived, it's glued on too and unless the new display has its own glue strips, you don't want those to collect dust. Also double check if it's same size / type same cable - they're called flex cables but they're not flexible at all, and tear easily, so the cable has to be made to reach the connector in the right place etc. if you got the wrong part no point in trying to use it.

Take pictures as you go so you'll know how everything was positioned. If the display is not aligned correctly and anything pushes on it, it'll just break again.

Thank you so much for the explanation, frostschutz! Very detailed, just how I like them! :P

One question though: you stated that the exact type of display is labelled on the display cabe; I assumed that all the Kobo H2O would have the same type of display, or am I wrong?

Again, thank you for the help! Much appreciated!

frostschutz · 03-21-2019, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karmylla

I assumed that all the Kobo H2O would have the same type of display, or am I wrong?

I don't know. Sometimes there are hardware revisions within the same product line.

And on Aliexpress there are different products all declared to be for H2O.

Doesn't help that Kobo has more than one H2O either. (Even in these forums it's sometimes confusing which H2O people are referring to. H2Ov1 or H2O2 or ...)

Before you spend money for a replacement part see if you can open yours (w/o damaging anything else). Cause if this step fails then no need to spend for parts either. ;-) And once open it does not hurt to check what kind of display is actually inside.

Good luck

Karmylla · 03-21-2019, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Cause if this step fails then no need to spend for parts either. ;-)

Can't argue with that reasoning, you're quite right, ahahahah

I'll do as you say, better safe than sorry! Thank you for helping out!

Karmylla · 03-21-2019, 04:52 PM

One extra question: I'm trying to sync my Kobo to my PC, but since the display isn't working properly, I can't make a connection; as such, my computer isn't able to find the device.
Is there a work around?

frostschutz · 03-21-2019, 06:33 PM

If the touchscreen still works, you should be able to make a connection, just have to (blindly) hit the [Connect] button in the [Cancel] [Connect] dialog. Might take a few tries (from screen center downwards) but should work.

Karmylla · 03-22-2019, 06:05 PM

Since I can't move from the Locked Screen, even though I try to blindly press the password keys, I assume I won't be able to connect my machine as I normally do.
Is there another way I can do this?

frostschutz · 03-22-2019, 06:43 PM

Oh, Pin lock? You'd have to enter that blindly too... difficulty intensifies.

Once you have it open you could just put the internal SD card into a PC cardreader and dump the partition #3 (#1 is kobo OS and #2 is kobo recovery, #3 is user data)

Karmylla · 03-22-2019, 07:05 PM

Ah, that's great then!
Thank you for all the help and, hopefully, I won't break my baby :P

JohhnyMix · 03-23-2019, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Oh, Pin lock? You'd have to enter that blindly too... difficulty intensifies.

Once you have it open you could just put the internal SD card into a PC cardreader and dump the partition #3 (#1 is kobo OS and #2 is kobo recovery, #3 is user data)

Hmm you sure the H20 models have a sd card as internal because from my understanding its a nand chip.

Karmylla · 03-23-2019, 05:28 PM

Well, I'm happy to inform that I was able to bypass the Pin Lock by entering the numbers blindly! You can't imagine my screech as I saw the bottom half of the screen light up with the front menu, HUZZAH!

I was able to save a new database, but now I wonder if I should save all my books to a SD card... What do you guys think? And how would I go around it? Do I just copy all the folder that are currently in my KOBOeReader and paste them into the SD Card?

Thanks again for the help

03-21-2019, 12:23 PM	#5
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	Open it - the front bezel is glued on, you have to pry it off carefully. Note the bezel must not be damaged, since its essential for touch screen functionality (the shiny parts is for infrared optics). Then you need a small philips screwdriver to take the back plate off, and the mainboard itself. (If you don't have any tools, search for a precision screwdriver set or a phone repair kit or sth., although phones might have even smaller screws than ereaders...) Display has two connectors (display + frontlight), the slots they sit in have latches/hinges to hold the cable in place, so to remove the cable you have to find out how to lift the latch w/o breaking it. Exact type of display should then be labeled on the display cable. You're ready to order replacement when you've reached that point. Don't remove the old display itself until the replacement arrived, it's glued on too and unless the new display has its own glue strips, you don't want those to collect dust. Also double check if it's same size / type same cable - they're called flex cables but they're not flexible at all, and tear easily, so the cable has to be made to reach the connector in the right place etc. if you got the wrong part no point in trying to use it. Take pictures as you go so you'll know how everything was positioned. If the display is not aligned correctly and anything pushes on it, it'll just break again. Last edited by frostschutz; 03-21-2019 at 12:28 PM.

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03-19-2019, 05:44 PM	#1
Karmylla Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: KOBO Aura H2O (v1)	Screen somehow got broken? Need guidance fixing it! Hey everyone! A sad thing happened yesterday: I was turning my Kobo Aura H2O on - everything seemed fine, the display seemed okay - and then the screen split! A big white strip separated the screen: the bottom half worked fine while the top half is frozen as if the screen was powered off or asleep. I went to the FNAC Clinic today, hoping for a fix, but I was told that there was nothing they could do; not only would the fix imply a new Kobo H2O - which they don't have anymore, it was discontinued - but the warranty has expired. So. I went online and searched ways to fix my little issue, and on my research I came across many videos of people tearing their Kobo apart! I found one that was very good, and in one of the comments, a user shared a link for H2O displays! What I am hoping for is for some advice on how to do this, or if someone has done this before! Like, which screwdriver to use, etc., and if this display that I'm looking into buying is the correct one! Any words of encouragement is much appreciated, I really love my Kobo H2O and I am very frightened of breaking it even more, ahahah Thank you everyone!

03-19-2019, 11:25 PM	#2
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,716 Karma: 66666666 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Can you post a photo of the screen?

03-20-2019, 08:18 AM	#3
Quoth the rook, bossing Never. Posts: 12,359 Karma: 92073397 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper11	The doing isn't too hard. Getting an economically priced screen is the issue. Also I have a suspicion there is a calibration issue with eink. A broken screen will have "frozen" portions or lines through it depending on extent of damage. The rear can crack without damage on the front. I had a Cover Story and the mount for eink had a big gap in one area. it had cracked there. It wasn't worth fixing. I've also seen an original H20 with a damaged screen. Looked fine on the surface, but only a small part of panel updated. Very expensive to replace and then it might not work properly.

03-21-2019, 04:52 PM	#9
Karmylla Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: KOBO Aura H2O (v1)	One extra question: I'm trying to sync my Kobo to my PC, but since the display isn't working properly, I can't make a connection; as such, my computer isn't able to find the device. Is there a work around?

03-21-2019, 06:33 PM	#10
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	If the touchscreen still works, you should be able to make a connection, just have to (blindly) hit the [Connect] button in the [Cancel] [Connect] dialog. Might take a few tries (from screen center downwards) but should work.

03-22-2019, 06:05 PM	#11
Karmylla Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: KOBO Aura H2O (v1)	Since I can't move from the Locked Screen, even though I try to blindly press the password keys, I assume I won't be able to connect my machine as I normally do. Is there another way I can do this?

03-22-2019, 06:43 PM	#12
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	Oh, Pin lock? You'd have to enter that blindly too... difficulty intensifies. Once you have it open you could just put the internal SD card into a PC cardreader and dump the partition #3 (#1 is kobo OS and #2 is kobo recovery, #3 is user data)

03-22-2019, 07:05 PM	#13
Karmylla Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: KOBO Aura H2O (v1)	Ah, that's great then! Thank you for all the help and, hopefully, I won't break my baby :P

03-23-2019, 05:28 PM	#15
Karmylla Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: KOBO Aura H2O (v1)	Well, I'm happy to inform that I was able to bypass the Pin Lock by entering the numbers blindly! You can't imagine my screech as I saw the bottom half of the screen light up with the front menu, HUZZAH! I was able to save a new database, but now I wonder if I should save all my books to a SD card... What do you guys think? And how would I go around it? Do I just copy all the folder that are currently in my KOBOeReader and paste them into the SD Card? Thanks again for the help

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