One of the biggest complaints about the Nook Glowlight 3 is the fact that it’s buggy with sideloaded content. Files get easily corrupted, ebooks disappear. Frankly it’s a mess.
Unfortunately the new 7.8-inch Nook Glowlight Plus suffers from the exact same problem.
I’ve been trying to sideload ebooks onto it and it’s turned into a major headache.
I’ve heard some people say that you have to wait for awhile after adding ebooks to a Nook for it to process them, but the device gives no indication of this.
Perhaps if you’re only transferring a few ebooks you might not encounter the issue, but when transferring a few dozen or more ebooks then it becomes a big problem.
I recently plugged the Nook Glowlight Plus into my computer and tried to transfer a few dozen ebooks to it, and after the files were finished copying over to the Nook, I properly ejected it. But not a single ebook appears on the Nook, and now my computer doesn’t properly recognize the Nook so I cannot transfer any files at all now.
This isn’t anything new. People have been having issues like this ever since the Nook Glowlight 3 was released in November 2017.
With the problem persisting for so long and B&N never fixing it, it makes you wonder if the poor support for non-Nook ebooks is intentional.
Either way if you’re thinking about getting a Nook to use with non-Nook books you should probably reconsider. Maybe there’s some magic formula to get sideloaded books to show up and work properly on a Nook on a consistent basis, but at this point it’s more likely your sideloaded ebooks will end up corrupted or they’ll disappear entirely.
Never had this problem with the Glowlight 3. Got the Glowlight Plus day one, sideloaded about 40 books, and been fine since. Don’t know what my secret is.
Did you eject your Nook as soon as the file transfer was finished, or did you wait awhile? Did you drag and drop or use Calibre?
Ejected right away. Used calibre.
I find that I never corrupt files if I use the device eject function that’s built into Calibre. If I use the one in the Windows taskbar there a 33% chance of corrupting something.
I’m using Windows 10.
Sounds like using Calibre is the best option to minimize the chance of encountering issues.
I didn’t have any problems, either. I also ejected right away, but didn’t use Calibre. Used the Mac OS High Sierra. I don’t doubt that the issue exists for some users, but it’s interesting that we had so many different factors in our experience and still didn’t encounter the bug.
Do you use shelves for any of your sideloaded content? If so, does it stay in them after sideloading more content.
Other things are annoying, but this is the only one that causes me problems.
No, I don’t use shelves.
I’ve never had the corrupted file or disappearing books issues, but all of my sideloaded content disappears from shelves as soon as I sideload new content. It’s extremely annoying if you’re using your reader to read books for school and are attending multiple classes at once.
There’s no reason they should still have these issues two years later. They should just open source the software and let us fix it.
It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation between the OS and the fail rate. I’m half tempted to pick up a GL3 and see if I have these issues using Linux. (I know I’ve never had the connection issues with Kobos that some people seem to have with Windows.) Regardless of its cause, it’s a known issue that should have been fixed long ago.
I was using a computer with Windows 7 to transfer the ebooks.
Successful with Windows 8 (using calibre) here.
maybe usb cable, may try wifi, dunno
There is no Wi-Fi transfer with Nooks, at least not with the stock software.
They do get corrupted at the drop of a pin. I have fought with mine now over 2 years. If you do everything right (which means waiting extra time, even if it says it’s safe to eject, even if it says it’s done processing, etc), things might go right… the first time. The second time you try to sideload, it ends up corrupting the file system 99% of the time. Sometimes the Nook will tell you it’s corrupted, other times it won’t, but when you plug it in it will show folders and files with random, nonsensical character names like “^^$&#j K-_” and then you have to reset the WHOLE thing to get it back to working. That means deregistering, erasing, reloading ALL of the content (B&N and sideloaded) and redoing all of your setup and reading settings. The whole thing reeks of poor, outsourced, done by fresh college grads with no experience UI and software design. There are many elements of poor design that just show the sheer incompetence of the software designers. As intentional as the broken sideloading might seem, the rest of it is so bad that it could actually be a legitimate bug. That they don’t fix it, however is definitely on purpose. It’s ok though, now that Eliott Management is buying B&N, as others have pointed out, the Nook will probably be dumped off to Kobo.
Don’t properly eject in windows, just unplug the usb cable. The default settings are that you can just unplug and it seems to sort this issue.
Several months ago, I could no longer access B&N-purchased books on my Glowlight 3. I went to a B&N store, where a sales rep solved the problem. I had to de-register and then re-register. Then the disappeared books appeared once again. Good B&N service,but this problem shouldn’t have occurred in the first place.
In at least several ways, Glowlight 3 software is a downgrade from Simple Touch software. The Simple Touch enabled changing font size on PDF (unscanned) docs, which at the time was better than what the Kindle provided. Can’t do that any more.
The most egregious downgrade is no longer being able to add sideloaded books to collections.While the Glowlight 3 opened up gigabytes of space for sideloaded books, what B&N gave with one hand it took away with the other.
If you cannot organize those sideloaded books onto Shelves (B&N-speak) or into Collections (Amazon-speak), that additional space is useless. Without collections/indexng, I find it practical to have only about 2 dozen sideloaded books on the Glowlight 3.
One may add sideloaded books to the Glowlight 3, but they will not remain there. This is NOT a bug , but a feature.
From Mobileread, The Amazing Disappearing Shelves comment #42:
A hardware issue is that the rubberized surface, judging from my Simple Touch, is not as durable as a conventional hard plastic surface.
WTF!?!? I am almost mad enough to take this thing back.
Incompetence is one thing. Malice is something else entirely. The day Amazon releases a Kindle with a real night mode, I am done with Nook. Till then, note taking sucks on Kobos so I guess I’m stuck.
Seriously wtf is wrong with these people, so what if we didn’t buy the books from you. We still paid for your product. Unbelievable!
Why do my posts not show. This is like my 10th attempt. I had no issues side loading ebooks using calibre or other means
My comments frequently don’t show either. It’s getting worse. I copy the comment before I hit submit, just in case.
For me, I have no problem sideloading, but it erases the sideloaded content from my shelves as soon as I sideload more content. The GL3 did this as well. The comment above mine says BN did that purposely.
Shelves are how I organize my textbooks by class. It’s very frustrating to have a big mess on the Nook and perfect organization on the Kindle and Onyx. If Kindle had a night mode I wouldn’t even bother with the nook. I prefer the 7 inch screen anyway.
Comments on here are hit and miss for me too. I really like this website but it needs a complete makeover.
Sorry, I don’t know what the issue is with comments not showing up. Is it happening with the desktop or mobile version of the website?
For me, desktop.
Same here with comments.
I’ve determined that it’s an overzealous spam plugin that’s denying some comments that it assumes are spam based on certain variables. I’m trying a workaround that might help so we’ll see how it goes.
It used to be just desktop, but the issue now happens on the phone as well.
Did you develop the site yourself? If so I have an idea of what it might be if we’re able to look at the back-end code.
It’s an old wootheme. It would probably help if I would install an updated theme but it’s a major undertaking so it might take a while.
It might be worth it though if this site is a major income source for you. Simply lacking a mobile version is probably hurting you in search results.
I had success in keeping my side loaded content when I moved them over with Adobe Digital Editions.
Also, when I installed a launcher thru ADB and added ES File explorer, I was able to see the ePubs. I could open them up and read them with the Nook software.
May try Calibre to see how it works for me.
Will they stay in shelves the next time you connect to the computer?
They did stay in the same location, but I noticed that I couldn’t see them with the file explorer that came with the Nook. I could still see them with the ES File Explorer.
I placed my files on the “Nook” Folder, and when I used the ES file Explorer, and then I went in the following order: storage, spsd, and Nook. After that, I was able to see the files.
Haven’t had a problem locating them after those steps.
Don’t properly ejectin windows, just unplug the usb cable. The default settings are that you can just unplug and it seems to sort this issue.
If it stops recognising your device rebooting sorted that and it’s continued to be recognised as long as you just unplug and don’t eject.
No idea about loading lots of books though. The software isn’t good enough, no chance I’m buying the 7.8 after tha hassle this has been.
Sporadic issue. What works for me even when properly ejecting from calibre. Turn off your WiFi wait a few minutes, then reconnect to WiFi and voila they start loading. I know it has nothing to do with sudeliading and WiFi but it seems to work for me.
I am unable to download a book from Calibre to either of my Glowlight Plus Nook’s. Now, I use Calibre to translate (i.e mobi to Epub), send the file from Calibre to my hard drive. Then send the file from your hard drive to your Nook (it shows up as a device under C:) You have to send it to the “Nook” sub-directory to get it into the correct storage area. Happiness is!
My Glowlight 3 hasn’t worked properly since I got it. It now does not show sideloaded content even though ADE tells me the files are on my Nook. They just. aren’t. there. I am done with B&N and am going to get a Clara HD from Kobo. My only requirement (besides actually being functional) is a temperature adjustable light. If anyone has experience with the Clara, good or bad, I’d like to hear it.
The last time I took my GL3 into a B&N store the employee told me there was nothing he could do and he no longer recommends the device. That was about a year after it came out.
I have also had problems w the Glowlight 3’s software. Such as B&N-purchased books showing but not being able to open them. I went to a B&N store for assistance. The solution was to de-register the Nook, than re-register and reinstall everything. That would be my suggestion. Pain in the neck, but it worked for me.
Offhand, I don’t recall if being unable to open a book was also an issue with sideloaded content. I suspect it may have been.
My big beef w sideloaded books on the Glowlight2 is that you cannot add sideloaded books to collections/shelves. Which means that I keep only about 30 sideloaded books at a time on the device.
In the year and a half I have had the Glowlight 3, I have had to got through the deregister-reregister-reinstall rigamarole two or three times.
If I hadn’t paid half price for it, courtesy of turning in an Original Nook, I would also have returned it.
Just bought a Nook Glowlight 3. The ebooks transfered fine (the first time) and then disappeared when I powered off the Nook. The Nook was not recognized on the next attempt to sideload.
Turned out, the device drivers on the Windows O/S were messed up. Maybe because I had a Nook Simple Touch before or maybe something was out of sync on the PC.
1. Changed a Windows parameter on the PC to view hidden devices.
2. Removed all the devices that Windows said were disconnected on the Device Manager screen (Portable devices and USB).
3. Rebooted Windows, just to clean up.
Now sideloading the Nook works! Nook is always recognized.
I have had nook e ink readers for years and have been a die-hard advocate for them. I have to agree that in all my experience with the first edition e ink reader and now with their glowlight plus, I have yet to succeed in loading epub/library content to either of these devices. I am jumped through many of the hoops of setting up adobe DRM and installing Adobe Digital Editions and even installing an android application for Mac in my futile attempts to load library content. It amazes me that there are people who say they can accomplish this with no problem and actually love their nook. At this point, I have come to loathe my nook and rarely touch the device. Just reading that someone else has been having issues with this other than myself was a breath of fresh air after I have poured hours of energy troubleshooting this feature of the nook and even communicated with nook support on a couple of occasions. It has been like one big cruel joke. And yet, I still hold out hope as I stumble over a new potential solution. This calibre program is new to me and I am intrigued to try it. Hopefully this will work. If not, then I am thinking I need to throw in the towel on trying to get epub content on my nook.
Sorry for the grammar. Here is a revised posting:
I have had nook e ink readers for years and have been a die-hard advocate for them. I have to agree that in all my experience with the first edition e ink reader and now with their Glowlight plus, I have yet to succeed in loading Epub/library content to either of these devices. I have jumped through many of the hoops of setting up adobe DRM and installing Adobe Digital Editions and even installing an android application for Mac in my futile attempts to load library content. It amazes me that there are people who say they can accomplish this with no problem and actually love their nook. At this point, I have come to loathe my nook and rarely touch the device. Just reading that someone else has been having issues with this other than myself was a breath of fresh air after I have poured hours of energy troubleshooting this feature of the nook and even communicated with nook support on a couple of occasions. It has been like one big cruel joke. And yet, I still hold out hope as I stumble over a new potential solution. This Calibre program is new to me and I am intrigued to try it. Hopefully this will work. If not, then I am thinking I need to throw in the towel on trying to get Epub content on my nook.
Hello All,
I am new to the world of eBooks and just recently purchased the Nook GL+. I used it for the first time yesterday and sideloaded a few books purchased from a publisher’s Web site. It was working great and I plugged the Nook into the charger before turning in for the night. This evening I wanted to continue reading and found that my sideloaded content was missing.
I tried repeating the same steps that I did yesterday to add the sideloaded ePub books. The books are back on the Nook and my bookmarks that I added yesterday are appearing. This seems to be an issue on the Nook itself and not with the file transfer process. I say that because it still remembered my bookmarks. It could have happened when I charged the unit.
I don’t know if this will help anybody. I thought I would share my experience so far.
I will try to get the most out of the Nook but will consider another brand next time. If there is a next time.
Thanks.
I have had a Nook Glowlight 3 for several years. I have had success in adding sideloaded books. Like others, I had not been successful in adding sideloaded books to shelves/collections. As pointed out above, this is not an accident, but B&N policy..
Several days ago, just for the fun of it, I tried once again to add sideloaded books to shelves/collections. This time, it worked. Previously, once I turned off the Nook Glowlight 3, sideloaded books disappeared from shelves/collections when I turned it back on. This time, through several cycles and several days of turning the Nook Glowlight 3 off and on, the shelves/collections still have sideloaded books in them. I have no idea what changed things.
Perhaps the difference was that some of the sideloaded books had been on my Nook for many months. But that’s a guess. I haven’t updated the software for many months- perhaps a year.
I have had a Nook since version 1, and I used it till it died around 2017. I moved to the Glowlight and for years have been side loading all of my books with no issue, usually keeping a stash of a few hundred in the device, but this GL 3 might be the absolute end of the road for Nook and me. For the past 2 days I’ve been going crazy trying to figure why I can only see 30 books when I know there are officially 150 Calibre shows on the device. Clicked the Nook as a hard drive…there they all sit, but on the physical device itself, same 30 books.
After wiping all the books and reloading them all again twice – I gave up and now I’m here lamenting. *sigh*. I guess tomorrow I’ll start researching Kobo versus Onyx since BN officially doesn’t care to fix Nook any further! I’ve been Nook Loyal since the very beginning and I hate that buggy software is going to make me throw in the towel. What I don’t have time for is shenanigans when transferring books since for a decade I’ve been side loading with no issue whatsoever. That’s why I LOVED Nook, it was no frills and easy to manage my library.
I have been in that situation. I took my GL3 , purchased 2 years ago, to a B&N store. This was maybe 18 months ago. Their recommendation was to Erase and Deregister (page 2 of Settings), and reinstall. so, this is something you need to have Internet for. You will then have to reinstall your Nook books and your sideloaded books. I have done the Erease and Degegister/Reinstall 2- maybe 3- times, though I haven’t had to do it for about a year.
I believe the key to prevent having to Erase and Deregister/Reinstall is when you are disconnecting the Nook from your computer, to do so SLOWLY. After adding books from Calibre and you want to disconnect your Nook/GL3 from your computer, DO NOT merely yank the USB cord. Do a right-click EJECT. Then, do not pull the cord until you are certain the books you added are on the Nook. Following the SLOW steps to disconnect the Nook,, I haven’t had any problem for about a year.
I have had mixed success w shelves. See the above . Currently, I can keep sideloaded books in Shelves after I turn it off, with the exception of “Most Recent”- maybe 10%. I noticed that if I connect to my computer and sideload books from Calibre,, sideloaded books disappear from Shelves and I have to start over. So, I have a spreadsheet of sideloaded books in Shelves if I have to reinstall sideloaded books to shelves. Yes, this is a pain, but it’s better than not being able to keep any sideloaded books in Shelves.
Something weird. Does it relate to my extreme difficulty sideloading?
Many of the books in the Nook’s My Files folder in Windows Explorer don’t show up in Calibre as on my Glowlight 3. The new ones I’m trying to put on do show up in Calibre but don’t appear when I disconnect from the computer.
And I’m noticing this time that, although I did right-click eject, Calibre still shows the Nook as connected!
Reader: How do I see whether the books are available without pulling the cord?