Touch Kobo Touch started freezing - Trobleshooting

cgo · 09-24-2024, 06:39 AM

Hi all,
here I am asking for some help to invoke my beloved Kobo Touch (N905C) back from the dead: it has accompanied me well in the past 13 years, so I feel it deserves it.

Since a couple of days ago the reader freezes after a few minutes of use, both when reading (tested with epub and kepub) and when just navigating the interface. Sometimes it will answer to the touch a few minutes later, sometimes it will just get stuck until I force shutdown. In those situations, the home button is non-functional as well. After a freeze, it's often not possible to turn it on for a while (the blue light will flash for a little and then turn off). Firmware is updated to the latest version (and has been so since June), and the only mod I did is the log in bypass. I already tried soft and hard reset.

On the hardware side, I should mention that a few months ago the original motherboard got bricked because of some tragic trip to the washing machine. The machine I'm currently using is a ship-of-Theseus assembly of the original screen (which survived the great flood) and of a motherboard, microSD, case and battery coming from a donor reader (bought for cheap with a broken screen). Since both the battery and the microSD of the original reader are still working, I also tried all of the steps described above (including factory reset) using them instead of the donor ones, still observing the same problems.

Puzzling enough, the reader has been working perfectly well in the last months after the damage and new assembly, and started misbehaving all of a sudden.

I'm suspecting some problem with the screen itself, or with the donor motherboard, but any further hint would be more than welcome in helping me avoid turning in e-waste a machine I'm deeply attached to.

Thank you for any possible feedback!

cgo · 09-26-2024, 10:46 AM

For future reference, seems like the problem was on the software side. Downgrading the firmware from 4.38.23038 to 4.38.21908 or using Plato/KOReader solves everything. So, the old Kobo strikes back!

09-24-2024, 06:39 AM	#1
cgo Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2024 Device: Kobo Touch (N905C)	Kobo Touch started freezing - Trobleshooting Hi all, here I am asking for some help to invoke my beloved Kobo Touch (N905C) back from the dead: it has accompanied me well in the past 13 years, so I feel it deserves it. Since a couple of days ago the reader freezes after a few minutes of use, both when reading (tested with epub and kepub) and when just navigating the interface. Sometimes it will answer to the touch a few minutes later, sometimes it will just get stuck until I force shutdown. In those situations, the home button is non-functional as well. After a freeze, it's often not possible to turn it on for a while (the blue light will flash for a little and then turn off). Firmware is updated to the latest version (and has been so since June), and the only mod I did is the log in bypass. I already tried soft and hard reset. On the hardware side, I should mention that a few months ago the original motherboard got bricked because of some tragic trip to the washing machine. The machine I'm currently using is a ship-of-Theseus assembly of the original screen (which survived the great flood) and of a motherboard, microSD, case and battery coming from a donor reader (bought for cheap with a broken screen). Since both the battery and the microSD of the original reader are still working, I also tried all of the steps described above (including factory reset) using them instead of the donor ones, still observing the same problems. Puzzling enough, the reader has been working perfectly well in the last months after the damage and new assembly, and started misbehaving all of a sudden. I'm suspecting some problem with the screen itself, or with the donor motherboard, but any further hint would be more than welcome in helping me avoid turning in e-waste a machine I'm deeply attached to. Thank you for any possible feedback!

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09-26-2024, 10:46 AM	#2
cgo Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2024 Device: Kobo Touch (N905C)	For future reference, seems like the problem was on the software side. Downgrading the firmware from 4.38.23038 to 4.38.21908 or using Plato/KOReader solves everything. So, the old Kobo strikes back!