Error: E_ADEPT_USER_AUTH

[leungjuk]

I recently bought an epub book from Kobo (Buddhist Scriptures - Penguin).  When I tried to download it, I got this message:

Error getting license
Server communication problem: E_ADEPT_USER_AUTH

I contacted Kobo customer service.  They tried downloading it and got the same error, so they concluded the problem was with the "ADE server" and directed me to Adobe.  So who is responsible for this and how do I get it fixed?

[Guest]

The most common cause for this error is going to be a misconfiguration  on the Content Server side (which would be run either by Kobo or their  partners and not by Adobe).

However support from Adobe can be had by opening a web support case.  Start at http://www.adobe.com/support/digitaleditions and click on 'Submit a web case'.  Hopefully you won't get bounced around between Kobo and us.

[leungjuk]

Thank you for the quick response.  I've opened the web support case.  Let's see what happens...

[leungjuk]

Well, it looks like they've closed or "withdrawn" my case.

I informed them that I could buy and download other epub books and they responded with this:

As per by the latest update provided by you is that you are able to

purchase and download other epub books without problems however you are

facing problem with the specific book named Buddhist

Scriptures - Penguin. In this case I would like to inform you that we do

not troubleshoot file specific or book specific issues if Adobe Digital

Edition is reading all the book but not able to load the specific

book than there would be some problem with the book not with Adobe

Digital Editions.

I don't think the problem is with the file itself which I don't have since I can't even download it.

This should have been clear and I also provided a screenshot of the error upon request.

Now what?

[Guest]

"You are able to purchase and download other epub books without problems"

Well if this part is true (and have you tested this - there are free downloads available at http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/library ), then unfortunately this really does point to the problem being on the Kobo side.  Some other questions:

1.) You are using ADE and not the Kobo Desktop App?

2.) Are you able to download other content from Kobo, or is this the first book you purchased from them?

[leungjuk]

Yes, I am using ADE.  (Could the Kobo Desktop App even generate this specific error?)  I am able to purchase and download other epub books.  In fact, I've bought a couple of other books without issue since this error occurred.  I have purchased other epub books from Kobo without problems.

I'm not sure why all this would necessarily lead one to conclude that the problem is on Kobo's side, but let's assume that as you suggest in your first reply there is a "misconfiguration" of the Content Server software run by Kobo.  How would this be addressed?  Isn't Adobe the creator of this software?

Surely it's not up to the retail customer to deal with this?

[Guest · Accepted solution]

"(Could the  Kobo Desktop App even generate this specific error?)"

If the error came from the server then yes.

"I am able to  purchase and download other epub books.  In fact, I've bought a couple  of other books without issue since this error occurred.  I have  purchased other epub books from Kobo without problems."

Good this rules out a client configuration problem - and squarely points to this being a server side issue.

I'm  not sure why all this would necessarily lead one to conclude that the  problem is on Kobo's side, but let's assume that as you suggest in your  first reply there is a "misconfiguration" of the Content Server software  run by Kobo.  How would this be addressed? 

In a perfect world, when you first contacted Kobo, and they noticed that they were unable to download the book either, then instead of sending you to Adobe support, they would have fixed the problem on their servers (or if it wasn't their server, contacted their partner to get them to fix this).  If there was a problem with the Content Server software then Kobo (or the partner) contacts Adobe tech support to help them diagnose and fix the problem.  After the problem is fixed they tell you at that point to redownload the content (or give you a refund if the problem couldn't be fixed).

Surely it's not up to the retail customer to deal with this?

It's not something you can fix, so no.  Unfortunately Kobo tech support misdiagnosed the problem to begin with (mistakes happen), so I was asking questions to make sure it really was a server problem before I suggested that you contact Kobo again (trying to avoid bouncing you back and forth too much).  Here's the explanation you need to provide to them:

"Most likely the downloadType (see the resourceItemData) is set to 'auth' instead of 'simple' for this particular resource.  You need to change this back to simple."

Make sure to give them the .acsm file (it contains the server address so they can make sure it is their server vs. a partner server, and it also contains the resource id, so they can make sure they are looking at the correct book on that server).

Good luck and let me knows how it goes.

p.s. If it helps with Kobo I'm:

Jim Lester

Lead Engineer - Digital Publishing

Adobe Systems

[leungjuk]

Thanks for your informative response.  You've been very generous with your time.

I passed what you told me on to Kobo.  They said they would take it into consideration and also offered a refund.  I said if they could fix the problem within 2 weeks I would wait.  But I think they will likely just refund me and I'll try buying it somewhere else.

Again, thank you for your assistance.

[cecdev]

Hi,

This error E_ADEPT_USER_AUTH is due to a problem in the epub file.

If the metadatas author and publisher are empty or incorrect in the OPF file (for example a space is included just before the name of the author) this causes an error on Adobe servers.

Example :

Wrong metadatas :

<dc:creator> MAREK HALTER</dc:creator>

<dc:publisher></dc:publisher>

Correct metadatas :

<dc:creator>MAREK HALTER</dc:creator>

<dc:publisher>ROBERT LAFFONT</dc:publisher>

So Kobo and Adobe cannot correct this problem. The epub must be corrected by the publisher.

I hope this information will be useful for you.

Cécile

[Scott240765496mk4]

Thanks leungjuk for this post, and Jim Lester for your response. I had the same issue today. Is there way to edit the .acsm file to fix this?

FYI: Here's the conversation I had with adrian G. at Rakuten kobo:

• Rakuten kobo - "Unfortunately, we are unable to do your request due to we only have this type of format for the ebook. We can refund you your purchase for the inconvenience."
• Me - "The format (.acsm) is not the issue, it's the downloadType setting; you can't change it?"
• Rakuten kobo - "Unfortunately, we cannot change the download type. Sorry"
• Me - "Bummer. Please issue refund. The other books I've purchased from you worked fine. Do you know why some of your books have the downloadType set to 'auth' instead of 'simple'?"
• Rakuten kobo - "No unfortunately, it depends on the publishers if the ebook are protected with Digital Rights Management or not."