Earlier this week Kobo released a new software update for Kobo ereaders that adds Instapaper support, but there are a lot of reports of the update causing problems with some Kobo models where they get stuck in a boot loop and won’t restart.
If you haven’t installed the software update on your Kobo ereader yet, you might want to hold off until they get the problem sorted out. It looks like they’ve pulled the update for some of the models so hopefully that’ll help contain the issue.
It appears to affect the newer models, the Clara BW, Clara Colour, and Libra Colour, along with some of the older models, including the Kobo Aura Edition 2 and Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2.
After installing the update, some users have reported that their Kobo gets stuck in a boot loop where it just keeps showing the loading screen but nothing ever happens.
Apparently the problem is so severe it’s turning perfectly functioning Kobo ereaders into bricks that are no longer usable at all. But it sounds like there is a way to trigger a factory reset so you can get your Kobo working again if this happens, but everything will get deleted and you’ll have to start over again with a factory reset device.
It’s been almost a full year since Kobo last updated their older models. They’ve really been slacking off on updates going back a few years now compared to how frequently they used to release updates. That is clearly coming back to bite them now. Trying to pinch pennies on software development is going to inevitably cause a lot of problems down the line, especially when they have to update over two dozen different models released over 14 years. At some point they’re going to have to pull the plug on updating some of the older models whether people like it or not. It’s unrealistic to expect the software developers to keep testing updates on that many different models.
Boot Loop Fix – Manual Factory Reset
If your Kobo ereader gets stuck in a boot loop after the latest software update and won’t turn on, you can try to trigger a manual factory reset to fix it. But this will wipe everything from your device and you’ll have to set it up again.
See this help article on Kobo’s webiste for directions on how to manually reset your Kobo ereader. The process is different for certain models, but you can find a link to directions for each model toward the bottom of that page.
The Clara HD has been updated without problems, but I will wait to install the new firmware on my other devices.
Forma and Sage updated with no issue.
I wonder if it makes a difference whether or not you used the Pocket feature which is now replaced with Instapaper.
Don’t know. I heavily used Pocket though.
No issues with either the Clara BW or Libra Colour I updated yesterday. They booted without issue and each of them asked me about Instapaper after the reboot.
I wonder if there’s any relation to patches applied? Or if there’s certain vendor codes (FNAC, etc)?
My Kobo readers without problems came straight from. Kobo and have the Kobo vendor code.. The thread on mobileread.com shows no common thread – some people had Libra 2’s, for example.
Thank you so much for the warning. Our WiFi is intermittent at best and I only have it on to download new books. To lose everything would be a nightmare. I have all of my books downloaded to my Clara. I will wait until it is reported that this has been fixed. Thank you again, Nathan.