Preventing Wi-Fi firmware updating

[RobertJSawyer]

I know I can turn Wi-Fi off, but I like to get my new content from the Kobo store, and I want to have my Pocket articles synchronized -- but I *don't* want to have a new Firmware pushed to my device when I'm traveling, or before my favourite hacks (night mode, 2-finger brightness control for Aura HD) are updated. Is there a way I can do that? A config setting that says, "Don't update the firmware"? I would imagine that the Kobo support people must have some way of keeping units at older firmwares while otherwise accessing Wi-Fi, for testing purposes. Anybody know what the magic words are?

Thanks!

[davidfor]

If there is a hidden option to do it, I haven't found it. The only thing that did work was to change the version number in the file .kobo/version. But, I don think that this works in recent firmware. Plus it gets rewritten when you power off and on.

There is a way to prevent the actual upgrade by modifying the install script, but that won't stop the download of the new firmware. And if there is an update available, it won't sync your books because the firmware download is done first.

It might be something that patching libnickel could solve. I don't know if anyone has tried.

[TechniSol]

Booga-booga? Sim-salah-bim? Burma Shave? Buy one, get one free?

Perhaps, not. I believe there was once upon a time a text file or configuration file that stored a version number and if you changed the version to one higher than what was being pushed it would not update. Unfortunately, I think they plugged that hole.

Apparently I started later or just type slower than davidfor, likely both.

[paola]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I know I can turn Wi-Fi off, but I like to get my new content from the Kobo store, and I want to have my Pocket articles synchronized -- but I *don't* want to have a new Firmware pushed to my device when I'm traveling, or before my favourite hacks (night mode, 2-finger brightness control for Aura) are updated. Is there a way I can do that? A config setting that says, "Don't update the firmware"? I would imagine that the Kobo support people must have some way of keeping units at older firmwares while otherwise accessing Wi-Fi, for testing purposes. Anybody know what the magic words are?

Thanks!

YOu may want to have a look at the Kobo Start Menu in the developers' corner - it starts before the kobo interface is launched, and it allows you to delete any firmware update file that has been dowloaded on your machine, so even if it is downloaded when you sync for other purposes, I think you should be able to kill it before installation (see the second post in that thread).

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by paola

YOu may want to have a look at the Kobo Start Menu in the developers' corner - it starts before the kobo interface is launched, and it allows you to delete any firmware update file that has been dowloaded on your machine, so even if it is downloaded when you sync for other purposes, I think you should be able to kill it before installation (see the second post in that thread).

That is probably a better way than I was thinking of to stop the install, but, it doesn't help enough. The sync will still be blocked by the need to download and install the new firmware.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by davidfor

That is probably a better way than I was thinking of to stop the install, but, it doesn't help enough. The sync will still be blocked by the need to download and install the new firmware.

David,
Since I sync only very seldom (and did not do it since a long time), I don't know much about it. Are you saying that if you sync via wifi and your device is eligible for a new FW, the FW is downloaded, the device reboots, the FW is installed, the device reboots again, and after that, the device reconnects to the kobo server and syncs the data base?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by tshering

Since I sync only very seldom (and did not do it since a long time), I don't know much about it. Are you saying that if you sync via wifi and your device is eligible for a new FW, the FW is downloaded, the device reboots, the FW is installed, the device reboots again, and after that, the device reconnects to the kobo server and syncs the data base?

Apart from the last bit yes. If you watch the top of the screen during a sync you will see the steps done. One of the first is "Checking for updates" or something like that. If there is an update, it is downloaded and there is no way to do a sync until it is installed. And after the update is installed, it doesn't automatically start another sync.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Apart from the last bit yes. If you watch the top of the screen during a sync you will see the steps done. One of the first is "Checking for updates" or something like that. If there is an update, it is downloaded and there is no way to do a sync until it is installed. And after the update is installed, it doesn't automatically start another sync.

Thank you for the clarification!

[Ken Maltby]

As I understand it the link address that is used for the updates is one of those data fields in the "user" record of the "KoboReader.sqlite" database. If the update address were different from the sync address you could disable just the update process. As I don't want my AuraHD phoning home (or Google), I can live without a "sync" function, and just zero out them all.

Luck;
Ken

[davidfor]

There aren't any URLs in the user table. There are a lot of URLs in the config file, but none of them look like the one that have been recorded in the firmware download thread.

Looking at libnickel, it looks like the URL is:

https://api.kobobooks.com/1.0/UpgradeCheck/%1/%2/%3/%4/%5

The parameters are probably the current version, model and anything else Kobo think is useful. The result of the fetch probably includes the download URL.

There are a pile of methods that look like they are involved in the checking for the upgrade and downloading it. It should be possible to patch one of those to always return that there isn't an upgrade.

[paola]

Originally Posted by davidfor

That is probably a better way than I was thinking of to stop the install, but, it doesn't help enough. The sync will still be blocked by the need to download and install the new firmware.

Thanks for the clarification David, as you see I am naive :-)

[tshering]

Originally Posted by paola

Thanks for the clarification David, as you see I am naive :-)

I think the solution you proposed is still a good one. Because in this way you can attempt to sync without fear of getting surprised by a FW update. As long as there is no update file sent to your device, the synchronization will take place, and if there is an update sent, you can decide whether to install it and sync, or to refuse it and to do without the sync for the time being.

[arasyi]

I am not sure about this, but if the stock kernel support iptables, maybe you can block the update url as mentioned by davidfor:

https://api.kobobooks.com/1.0/UpgradeCheck/%1/%2/%3/%4/%5

[paola]

Originally Posted by tshering

I think the solution you proposed is still a good one. Because in this way you can attempt to sync without fear of getting surprised by a FW update. As long as there is no update file sent to your device, the synchronization will take place, and if there is an update sent, you can decide whether to install it and sync, or to refuse it and to do without the sync for the time being.

I see - so the trick is to have the Start Menu installed before sync, while the problem existst if somebody has done a sync (and downloaded the update file) before isntalling your software, is this correct?

[tshering]

Originally Posted by paola

I see - so the trick is to have the Start Menu installed before sync,

This is true. However, the problem DavidFor correctly pointed at is that after refusing a FW update the device will refuse to sync via wifi until you agree to accept the update. That means you can only buy time, but not prevent the device from updating for ever, unless you abstain from wifi sync, that is. So at least the update cannot take you by surprise.