New Kobo Aura owner: How do I hack this thing?

December 16, 2016, 8:38 pm

≫ Next: Disable H2O touch screen double click???

≪ Previous: Instructions for patching firmware 4.2.8110

Hello!

I am new Kobo Aura owner. This is my first ereader, and I'm a total noob to ereaders in general. Before today, I didn't even know what the difference between epub and mobi formats was.

I heard that Kobo was more hacker friendly than Kindles, and I'm aware of Amazon's past history of evils (The 2009 Orwellian incident, their ToS/licenses, et cetera), so I figured Kobo was the way to go.

I am native Linux command line user and general hacker type, and I'm very familiar with embedded ARM devices. Very technically literate in this area (Android, DDWRT).

I am also very privacy/security conscious. I intend to load in files via rsync and probably will never even allow this thing internet access (I'll block it at the firewall once I figure out what it's MAC address is).

But I'm a noob. Where do I start?

I've been reading FAQs and other stuff here on the mobileread site, but a lot of stuff is ancient from 2010 and no longer relevant.

This thing seems really insistent that it connects to the internet right away so that it can rat out my location and register/upgrade itself. Can I get around that?

How do I ssh into this thing? Looks like I will need to install dropbear myself somehow.

Are there alternative reader apps? What do you use?

Is there an alternative/custom OS for these devices? Patches?

Is there any Linux desktop apps/tools I should know about? Looks like there was once a native Linux app, but it's gone now. I guess Calibre is the current app to use? I already downloaded and am tinkering with it right now. I have Windows and OSX available too, but I'd prefer to use Linux where possible.

If you have any advice for me, I would appreciate it, even if it's not something I posted above. Thanks in advance!

I will post anything I learn back here for others to use in the future.

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Disable H2O touch screen double click???

December 23, 2016, 10:35 am

≫ Next: Replacing Kobo Bookstore

≪ Previous: New Kobo Aura owner: How do I hack this thing?

I have a display application photo running using the built in browser. It works really well but the last issue I can't seem to fix is that when it rains the drops make the reader think it was double clicked and the zoom level changes.

I've tried intercepting the double click using javascript but that experimental doesn't have dblclick() or touchstart() functions.

Is there some way in the config file maybe to shut off the double click zooming?

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Replacing Kobo Bookstore

December 26, 2016, 4:12 am

≫ Next: An easy way to get the latest firmware links for Kobo eReaders

≪ Previous: Disable H2O touch screen double click???

Hello dear developers and reverse-engineers!

I was wondering if it was possible to replace the Kobo Bookstore with something like calibre's content server, as Kobo Bookstore is not really available in my language (hungarian), so chances for me buying from that store is very unlikely. (I may would, if there was real hungarian content in the bookstore).
Replacing it would make a convinient way to transfer books to the eReader. Currently the built-in browser flickers too much when browsing and downloading from the content server, which unfortunately makes me sick (I'm sensitive for this kind of stuff).

I noticed the service links in the config file, but had no luck changing them at first try, always got some error on the eReader (Kobo Aura H2O).

Did anyone try to replace the Bookstore links/pages in Kobo? Is it possible?

Or is there any other, convinient way to transfer books wirelessly to the Kobo?
:chinscratch:

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An easy way to get the latest firmware links for Kobo eReaders

December 26, 2016, 2:53 pm

≫ Next: Read status from Kobo to Calibre?

≪ Previous: Replacing Kobo Bookstore

About
I have made a webpage to show you the latest firmware version, with a download link for every Kobo eReader. See it here: http://geek1011.github.io/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html.

Why use this?
This tool will allow you to download the latest firmware files for inspection or sideloading.
This tool will automatically compare the versions for different affiliates to give you the latest firmware possible.
This tool will always show the most up to date information because it comes right from Kobo servers.
This tool also shows all the latest links in one easy to use page.
This tool is easy to use.
There are no software downloads required.

How does it work?
First, I start by having a list of all the Kobo models, and their corresponding IDs.
Next, I loop through each of them, and do the following.

For each of the affiliates, I check this url as follows: https://api.kobobooks.com/1.0/Upgrad...ffiliate/0.0/N .
I then get the response with the highest version number, and add it to the list of models and links

Finally, if the server took too long to respond, I show an error message.

Can I see the source code?
Sure. Go here: https://github.com/geek1011/KoboStuf...ofirmware.html

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Read status from Kobo to Calibre?

December 27, 2016, 8:36 am

≫ Next: Kobo Aura Edition 2 SD card image

≪ Previous: An easy way to get the latest firmware links for Kobo eReaders

When a book is marked as finished on the Kobo, is there an easy* way to have Calibre add a 'Finished' tag to the book's metadata or otherwise mark the book as read?

Sorry if this is blindingly obvious. I re-read books and am not diligent in keeping a reading journal on LibraryThing or Goodreads or Calibre for that matter. But something automated might be nice.

*easy as in I can set it up in under an hour.

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Kobo Aura Edition 2 SD card image

December 27, 2016, 11:16 am

≫ Next: Replacing the default fonts

≪ Previous: Read status from Kobo to Calibre?

I would like a SD card image for the Aura Edition 2.

I would like it for 2 reasons. Firstly, I would like to have a backup, but I am not willing to open up my Kobo yet. Secondly, I am working on a tool to create a SD card image from an update file.

Thanks in advance.

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Replacing the default fonts

December 30, 2016, 8:04 am

≫ Next: Open Aura Edition 2 case?

≪ Previous: Kobo Aura Edition 2 SD card image

Hi,

I have an issue with the default fonts, some of them don't have polish characters builtin. Ironically, most/all serif fonts do, while sans-serif fonts don't (Avenir/Gill).

I don't want to sideload replacements because I need this for multi-font documents that do display a default serif/sans-serif/monospace fonts. For the EPUB renderer this isn't much of an issue, as we can binary patch librmsdk and force it to even use sideloaded fonts. I've managed to do this successfully (set my own sideloaded sans-serif and monospace fonts using res:///fonts/...).

The problem is KEPUB renderer that uses sans: Georgia and sans-serif: Avenir by default. The latter has no polish letters. It also doesn't have a default monospace font.

My questions:

1. Is it possible to patch libnickel.so to change KEPUB renderer's defaults for the serif/sans-serif and possibly add one for monospace? I had a quick look at the occurrences of those two font names in the binary but it's not as straightforward as in librmsdk.so. No mention of monospace either. Has someone managed to do so?

2. Is it possible to just replace the default .ttf files in /usr/local/Trolltech/QtEmbedded-4.6.2-arm/lib/fonts? I've tried doing that with 4 avenir.ttf files I extracted from Mac OSX, but it didn't work, avenir completely disappeared from the font menu and sans-serif became Georgia by default. Looking at the files in /usr/local/Trolltech/QtEmbedded-4.6.2-arm/lib/fonts I've found they are not actually TrueType fonts. No idea what format is that. file unix tool says: "Avenir.ttf: data". FontForge doesn't recognize them either. What format are they in? Are there replacement Avenir fonts with polish characters available somewhere?

As a sidenote: I know that I can do all of this by editing book's css file and embedding my own fonts. I've done that successfully, but what I would like is to have sane defaults for the kepub renderer itself.

Any ideas?

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Open Aura Edition 2 case?

January 2, 2017, 4:42 am

≫ Next: Replacing Kobo Bookstore

≪ Previous: Replacing the default fonts

Hi,

after my old Touch broke and I couldn't get a replacement screen, I got the new Aura Edition 2.

For purposes of saving a card image and eventually replacing the internal SD card with a bigger one (all of which is extensively described in this forum :D ), I'd like to open the case of the reader.

As it is new (christmas... ;) ) and still in warranty, I would be willing to try and open it, but not not try around and find how to do it...

Does anyone know how to open the Edition 2? Additionally, are there any images / videos?

Couldn't find anything on opening this reader on the forum or google at all...

Regards
Sebastian

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Replacing Kobo Bookstore

December 26, 2016, 4:12 am

≫ Next: An easy way to get the latest firmware links for Kobo eReaders

≪ Previous: Open Aura Edition 2 case?

↧

An easy way to get the latest firmware links for Kobo eReaders

December 26, 2016, 2:53 pm

≫ Next: Read status from Kobo to Calibre?

≪ Previous: Replacing Kobo Bookstore

About
I have made a webpage to show you the latest firmware version, with a download link for every Kobo eReader. See it here: https://geek1011.github.io/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html.

UPDATE December 27, 2016: I have released version 2 of this tool. It now shows the hardware revision, works on https, shows the release date, has faster update times, and has cleaner code.

Why use this?
This tool will allow you to download the latest firmware files for inspection or sideloading.
This tool will automatically compare the versions for different affiliates to give you the latest firmware possible.
This tool will always show the most up to date information because it comes right from Kobo servers.
This tool also shows all the latest links in one easy to use page.
This tool is easy to use.
There are no software downloads required.

How does it work?
First, I start by having a list of all the Kobo models, and their corresponding IDs.
Next, I loop through each of them, and do the following.

For each of the affiliates, I check this url as follows: https://api.kobobooks.com/1.0/Upgrad...ffiliate/0.0/N .
I then get the response with the highest version number, and add it to the list of models and links

Finally, if the server took too long to respond, I show an error message.

Can I see the source code?
Sure. Go here: https://github.com/geek1011/KoboStuf...ofirmware.html

↧

Read status from Kobo to Calibre?

December 27, 2016, 8:36 am

≫ Next: Kobo Aura Edition 2 SD card image

≪ Previous: An easy way to get the latest firmware links for Kobo eReaders

↧

Kobo Aura Edition 2 SD card image

December 27, 2016, 11:16 am

≫ Next: Replacing the default fonts

≪ Previous: Read status from Kobo to Calibre?

↧

Replacing the default fonts

December 30, 2016, 8:04 am

≫ Next: Open Aura Edition 2 case?

≪ Previous: Kobo Aura Edition 2 SD card image

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Open Aura Edition 2 case?

January 2, 2017, 4:42 am

≫ Next: Aura H2O Up-to-date info check about hack for Aura H2O

≪ Previous: Replacing the default fonts

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Aura H2O Up-to-date info check about hack for Aura H2O

January 6, 2017, 9:57 am

≫ Next: Aura How to make the little light show when you're charging.

≪ Previous: Open Aura Edition 2 case?

Hi,

I'm considering getting a Kobo Aura H2O but would want to hack it (if necessary) to get the Koreader (or other app) to enable Djvu reads and other formats.

I've seen the KSM-08 thread but am not sure if that's the most recent.

Can I do what I desire, and is KSM-08 the info I need?
Thanks in advance.
:thumbsup:

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Aura How to make the little light show when you're charging.

January 14, 2017, 1:17 pm

≫ Next: Inadvertantly reformatted kobo mini sdcard. Backup image not restoring all paritions

≪ Previous: Aura H2O Up-to-date info check about hack for Aura H2O

On the top of my Aura (Edition 2 I think... at least the diagonal seams to match the one listed here. Is there any other way of knowing,by the way? The device information thing in nickel doesn't say.), there is a little light that turns on for a couple of seconds when I turn my device on. I wanted to know if there is any easy way to make it shine whenever I am charging my book and turn off when the battery is full? If so, how?

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Inadvertantly reformatted kobo mini sdcard. Backup image not restoring all paritions

January 14, 2017, 2:06 pm

≫ Next: Aura Kobo Aura Edition 2 - SD Card

≪ Previous: Aura How to make the little light show when you're charging.

Hi guys,
i have a number of kobo mini ereaders that i use for paragliding purposes (ie install xcsoar, tophat, and/or lk8000 on each one).

A number of other forums have user guides on backing up sdcards on kobos and usually recommend using win32 disk imager.

In the process of experimenting with lk8000 install, something went wrong and the kobo, whilst initially booting up fine, then stopped working. In the process of redoing the program install i stupidly reformated the micro sdcard to a single fat32 partition.

I wasnt concerned as I had previously backed up the original image to my pc using win32 disk imager, however, when i restored the original backup image to the card i had inadvertantly reformatted it did not recreate all of the original partitions (only a single fat 32 one).

I thought that win32 was supposed to backup/image the entire card?

I once had a link to reformatting kobo mini sdcards and some time ago i did sort this whole process from scratch with a formatted card but have forgotten exactly how i did it.

Questions...

1. What is the procedure for a complete reformat of kobo mini card with all needed partitions from scratch? (or does anyone have a link to url containing procedure)

2. Is there a disk imaging tool that actually makes an exact carbon copy of all partitions (I using Windows 10 64 bit)

3. I have been thinking about installing a virtual machine on my windows pc (perhaps ubuntu) in order to make it easier to deal with issues on kobo cards. Is a virtual pc going to have difficulty reading linux partitions when running under a windows environment?

4. Does it make any difference imaging & partitioning an sdcard if left in the kobo mini whilst being done (i vaguely remember i read somewhere card must be removed and mounted in a USB reader on desktop pc) EDIT I have found by trial and error just now that Micro SD Card must be taken out of Kobo to Backup otherwise only the fat32 partition is visible and is copied

5. Finally, i have conflicting information about whether or not one can use any kobo mini backup image to restore a bricked kobo. One point of view says it must be run through a third party application to sort out (was it serial number issues?). I cannot remember what this process was as i have not needed to do this before. My backup process in the past was simply to copy and replace the original card...keeping the original card in a safe place and running the kobo with a much larger replacement card that i resized to use the full capacity (e.g 8 GB)

my plan right now is to grab one of my other factory kobo mini's and take a good look at partitions and files on them to see if i can nut this out. I know that i can play with the partitions using windows disk manager (right clicking on Win10 start logo>Disk Management) In the meantime any help to my questions above would be greatly appreciated.

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Aura Kobo Aura Edition 2 - SD Card

January 16, 2017, 1:00 am

≫ Next: kobo_service.apk (screen refresh tool for android kobo)

≪ Previous: Inadvertantly reformatted kobo mini sdcard. Backup image not restoring all paritions

Hello, my new Kobo Aura Edition 2 is going to arrive in 8 days. I was wondering if it actually contains an SD card inside the case or is it soldered, I don't want to void my warranty.

I've read and searched a lot, but most people say it might contain it. I want a solid answer. :xmas:

:thanks:

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kobo_service.apk (screen refresh tool for android kobo)

January 18, 2017, 2:59 pm

≫ Next: Instructions for patching firmware 4.2.8283

≪ Previous: Aura Kobo Aura Edition 2 - SD Card

hello guys, i compiled (this) code of MarekGibek for my own use, without any modification.

It is an enhanced version of kobo_rotate.apk, which supports:
-full refresh every screen update(best but slow)
-normal refresh
-monochrome(fast)
-dithered monochrome(fast)
screen update modes.

just download the apk, install it on your arduino kobo, and delete kobo_rotate.

i didn't test it more than a few minutes, so i'm not responsible for any problem you might encounter. it just did worked for me, and been posted here.

note: this apk wasn't included in any image i could found for Aura HD, so i thought it might be worth sharing. if this is an already used and listed tweak, please warn me mods and you can delete this post.

Attached Files

kobo_service.zip (18.3 KB)

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Instructions for patching firmware 4.2.8283

January 21, 2017, 7:23 pm

≫ Next: instructions for bigger gui on android kobo

≪ Previous: kobo_service.apk (screen refresh tool for android kobo)

This firmware version has only been oficially released for the Aura One and Aura Edition 2, it should work on other Mk 6 devices (Glo HD, Touch 2.0) but don't try to install it on other devices unless you know what you are doing, installing the wrong firmware could potentailly result in an unbootable ereader.

See the Aura One firmware 4.2.8283 discussion thread for information about what has changed in this firmware version.

See the Index to the Metazoa firmware patches thread for a description of what some of these patches do.

Before starting:

1. Make sure your Kobo ereader is already running firmware version 4.2.8283 (530afa6716). If not, then you need to upgrade before applying this patch.

2. Check that your battery is well charged.

Patching from Windows, Linux (i386/x86_64), or Mac (OS X 10.8-10.9, i386/x86_64):

1. Download and extract patch_kobo_4028283.zip (attached).

2. Download the Kobo firmware archive version 4.2.8283 for your device (See this thread) and copy it into the 4.2.8283_source/ subdirectory. (Don't unzip the firmware.)

3. Read and edit all the *.patch files in the 4.2.8283_source/ subdirectory in order to: choose which patches to enable (patch_enable=`yes`) or disable (patch_enable=`no`); and to change some of the replacement values to suit your device and preferences.

4. In Windows double-click 4.2.8283.bat; For Linux/Mac open a terminal, change to the patch_kobo_4028283/ subdirectory, and run ./4.2.8283.sh from the command line.

5. If there were no errors, copy the resulting KoboRoot.tgz from the 4.2.8283_target/ subdirectory to the .kobo directory on your ereader.

6. Safely eject and unplug the device, which will then update and restart.

To return your ereader to its original unpatched state:

1. Edit all the 4.2.8283_source/*.patch files to disable all patches (set patch_enable = `no` for every patch).

2. Repeat steps 4-6 of the procedure above.

Note that the following patches are enabled by default:

`Fix page breaks bug`
`Default ePub monospace font (Courier)`
`Custom left & right margins`
`Search in Library by default`
`Custom page refresh options (1,2,3,...,12)`
`Fix three KePub fullScreenReading bugs`

Attached Files

patch_kobo_4028283.zip (493.6 KB)

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