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Why has my Kobo Glo lost its Adobe Authorization?

Explorer ,
Mar 23, 2013 Mar 23, 2013

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I keep posting this question and it doesn't show on the forum, so here goes again ...

My new Kobo Glo was working justfine with ADE and was showing my authorization under Account.  today I signed out of my Kobo account and re-setup my device, but now the Glo is telling me I'm not signed in to Adobe Authorization, and though Windows recognizes the device ADE no longer is recognizing it.  ADE still is recognizing my older Kobo wifi.  How to I get my Adobe Authorization back for my Glo?

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Explorer , Mar 24, 2013 Mar 24, 2013

SUCCESS AT LAST! But be careful.  And the problem is Kobo's I think.

This time, before doing a reset or a factory reset, I uninstalled the Kobo Desktop application from my computer.  That had been on my computer earlier, from my old Kobo Wifi installation, and when I first set up my new Glo, the setup process caused Kobo website to download and install a copy on top of the old copy (same version as it turns out) of Kobo Desktop on my computer.  But the installation wasn't entirely "clean," as I r

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Guide ,
Mar 23, 2013 Mar 23, 2013

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Have you changed version of ADE?  ADE 2.0 has problems with some devices.

I assume when you say Windows recognizes the device ADE no longer is recognizing it you mean it shows up as an external drive, but not as a device in the left panel of ADE?

I notice on a Kobo page http://www.kobobooks.com/ade it says Connect your Kobo eReader to your computer and select Manage Library.  Have you done that?  (All the eReaders I have used don't need that extra step after plugging in.)

You are using a USB connection, not wifi.  I don't think (?) that the Glo will connect to ADE via wifi.

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Explorer ,
Mar 23, 2013 Mar 23, 2013

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I'm using ADE 1.7.1131 but I've also tried connecting the Glo to another computer that has ADE 2.0.67532 and v2 doesn't recognize the Glo either (and v2 has no trouble recognizing my Kobo Wifi) so I don't think the problem is with the version.  Kobo website says go to the list of Devices next to the gear icon in ADE2 but when I connect the Glo to that computer, again though Windows recognizes it in Windows Explorer and also in Safetly Remove Hardware, there is no sign of it (nor of a Devices link on the left page of ADE2).  My Kobo Wifi shows up in ADE2 on the left panel as it should.

Yes, Windows shows the Kobo as an external device, the Kobo Desktop recognizes it, but it doesn't show up in the left panel of ADE.  Also, in the Settings>Account page in the Glo, before my re-setup problem occurred, that page said I was Abobe Authorized and showed the correct account name.  Now it says I'm not signed in.

I am using a USB connection and had no trouble connecting the Glo to ADE yesterday and was able to transfer ebooks onto the Glo via ADE yesterday.

Thanks for the tip re Manage Library, but I don't think that works with the Glo.  When I connect the Glo to my computer, I get a black screen with a picture of happy-face Kobo and laptop, it says "connected and charged; please eject your eReader before unplugging the USB cable."  I can't get rid of that screen without ejecting and unplugging the cable; with the screen on, I can't access any Kobo menus.

Message was edited by: Togo1518

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Explorer ,
Mar 23, 2013 Mar 23, 2013

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Just did a little more digging; not only is my Glo not showing up at all on the left panel in ADE, but I can't read any of my epub books that are on my Glo which I had transferred to it successfully via ADE yesterday (and which I had no trouble opening and reading yesterday).  All my epub transfers are now giving me an error message on the Kobo screen saying "oops this document couldn't be opened .."it's protected by DRM and isn't currently authorized for use with my Adobe ID (because the Kobo Settings Account page says I'm not signed in with Adobe Authorization, and I can't sign in because ADE won't display the device when the USB attachment is there and Windows can recognize it with no trouble).

This Catch 22 is extremely frustrating; I don't know whether it's Kobo, or Adobe, or both, but I'm not getting any support from either of them on this, so far ... And I can't read the roughly 80 e-books I paid for and can still read in ADE and on my ancient Kobo Wifi if I can stand putting up with it.  So what's with Kobo Glo and ADE?

My wife swears after watchng me struggle with this she'll NEVER buy an e-reader.  This is not going to help either Kobo's or Adobe's reputation with her circle of friends, or mine, one whit.

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Guide ,
Mar 24, 2013 Mar 24, 2013

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I understand your frustration.  Adobe DRM is aimed at a non-technical audience: but it is a very technical solution requiring too much careful consideration of detail in use even when it works well, and a nightmare when it doesn't.  I especially admire the librarians who have to help their customers through this quagmire.  There's at least one other ongoing thread with issues on the Glo as well.

I think this sounds more of a Kobo issue than an ADE one.  The only other suggestions I can make: a factory reset of the Kobo, and start again.  I assume you have all the books safe and sound on the PC (or Mac)?  If not, copy them all back before the reset.

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Explorer ,
Mar 24, 2013 Mar 24, 2013

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@sjpt  I appreciate your understanding of the frustration; tech support types often don't seem to get that. I'm not a computer engineer or programmer but I've been a sophisticated user of computer hardware and software since 1966 and am probably more technically sophisticated than most e-book users, and even I find this situation frustrating as h***.

I've come around to your view that a factory reset is the only way around this, though I note on the other thread that other users found that didn't work.  However when I took the Glo out of the box it worked just fine, until I inadvertently signed off my Kobo account, had to re-startup and that's when the agony began.  (The re-startup didn't remove my content the way a factory reset would have, so I suspect other stuff didn't get removed that should have been.)

The other issue is that the Kobo Desktop app, which is what you have to use to  set up a new or factory-reset Kobo, is flaky in dealing with synchronization if you have other devices (like an iPod app) working from the same Kobo account.  Don't get me started on that ...  Before I re-setup I'm uninstalling the Kobo Desktop from my computer and deleting all traces of Kobo anything on my computer, so I'll be working from a "clean" reinstall. I'm also going to remove all the ebooks in my Kobo website Library so it doesn't try syncing or installing content during the setup.  I have all my ebooks in ADE and all the epub files also backed up on an external hard drive, so I think I'm OK.

Will report back on this thread whether that gets ADE to recognize the Glo.  If it doesn't I'm demanding a refund or exchange from  Kobo.

I have to wonder how much of this technical complexity you mention is overkill by the digital rights people.  I understand that authors and publishers want and need protection, but so do honest consumers who just want to read the books without having to stand on their heads coping with technical absurdities.  This is going to drive some people away from e-books and back to paper books, which have other problems (weight and bulk mostly) but which don't need a degree in computer science to be able to open and read them.  That isn't going to help the device  manufacturers or software companies.  I would like to hope the companies realize this and will fix these problems, but I wonder whether the right people in those companies are getting the message.  Some of the first-line tech support types clearly don't.

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Guide ,
Mar 24, 2013 Mar 24, 2013

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@Togo1518.  I agree absolutely.  Nobody seems to have come up with a user friendly DRM solution yet: at least the music industry seems to have given up trying. 

I think part of the problem with ADE is that Adobe 'give it away' free.   Of course, they don't really; it is a necessary part of the infrastructure for them to sell their horrible DRM solution to vendors.  But it leaves them to hide behind a 'we are giving it to you, what do you expect' service attitude. 

Then the likes of Kobo, and Barnes and Noble and the Nooks have a tightrope to walk between pushing you towards their own books, while remaining open to other vendor's books.  (Maybe we should thank Amazon for not pretending that Kindle is anything other than a completely locked down device.)

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Explorer ,
Mar 24, 2013 Mar 24, 2013

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SUCCESS AT LAST! But be careful.  And the problem is Kobo's I think.

This time, before doing a reset or a factory reset, I uninstalled the Kobo Desktop application from my computer.  That had been on my computer earlier, from my old Kobo Wifi installation, and when I first set up my new Glo, the setup process caused Kobo website to download and install a copy on top of the old copy (same version as it turns out) of Kobo Desktop on my computer.  But the installation wasn't entirely "clean," as I realized this time when the installation and setup process AFTER uninstalling the earlier one, produced some screens I hadn't seen before in the unclean installation ...

So this time, after uninstalling the Kobo software from my computer, I performed a factory rest on the Glo and then went through the re-setup process.  It took a bit longer than the first time, but once it finished, FINALLY Adobe Digital Editions recognized the Glo and asked me if I wanted to authorize it (yes!).  After authorization, I could then recopy all my DRM epub files from ADE into the Glo, and I have verified that I can now read them all.  All seems to be well.  Quite a relief after the anger and frustration of the past 24 hours.

Given the grief Kobo Desktop has given me (and the horrible stuff it's done to my iPod app contents and mixing up my iPod bookshelves with my Glo bookshelves without my asking it to), I've decided I'll never use the Kobo Desktop again.  From now on, when I buy something from Kobo's ebook website (excellent selection IMO), I'll just download the epub DRM files, load them into ADE, and use ADE to transfer content to the Glo. 

I will self-censor the language I want to use concerning Kobo's web and iPod app software ...  however I do really like the Glo's features, size, and speed.  When it connects with ADE like it's supposed to ...

Thanks again for the suggestion and support.  I hope others benefit from my tale of what went wrong and how I fixed it.

BTW for Glo users: the problem started, not out of the box (which was perfect) but when I made the mistake of going into Settings and logging off my Kobo account, figuring I would  log back in when I needed to.  DON'T GO THERE.  Glo immediately said I had to re-setup the device (why, just because I logged out of my web account?? I'll save that screed for my email to Kobo tech support).  And that's when all the "fun" began.

Don't log out of your Kobo Account in Glo settings menu, and avoid Kobo Desktop like the plague, once you've finished setting up Glo for the first time.  Don't sync with anything using Kobo Desktop; believe me, you'll wish you hadn't (I learned this with my Kobo Wifi and iPod, and it's even worse with Glo and iPod, nightmare city on several levels I won't go into as this isn't a Kobo forum).  Do your content installation via ADE.  It may be a nightmare when it goes wrong, but until yesterday ADE had been purring like a kitten for me, and is again today.  Until someone comes up with something better.

Some software is OK to overwrite, and some software should always be uninstalled before reinstalling or installing a new version.  Some software companies (like Kobo) are really sloppy about not clarifying which is the case, for users.  Another barbed zinger that Kobo will get from me in a day or so.

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Guide ,
Mar 24, 2013 Mar 24, 2013

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Excellent.   (and totally intuitive of course ...)

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