Kobo firmware check website

[vatazhka]

I have created a simple website where you can check what is the current version of firmware for your Kobo eReader. I am aware of the efforts which some members of this community devote to keeping others up-to-date with the flurry of Kobo firmware updates. However, I decided to also share my effort with the community (The more, the merrier, as they say.). If you prefer a hand-picked, curated list of firmware download, please head here.

I just hope that I got the product and affiliate codes right! Please let me know if you spot any mistakes or would like to add new products and/or affiliates.

This website is and will be a not-for-profit one - this means no ads.

[davidfor]

Sorry, but you have the list of identifiers very wrong. The Touch and the Glo are the only ones that I am sure you have correct. And if I remember correctly the Touch has two ids. The ids are so wrong for the Glo HD and Touch 2 that they suggest the wrong update package. And while the Aura and Aura HD share an update package, they don't have the same id and don't necessarily get a release at the same time.

As to the affiliates, you probably have the two most popular, plus one that shouldn't work, but there are a lot more out there.

From a usability point of view, you should be displaying the selected model and affiliate on the results page. That's to make sure the user didn't make a mistake.

Finally, what IP address is being used for the check against the Kobo server? Kobo doesn't just use the affiliate, they also do some geo-checking. With the affiliate Kobo, Australia usually gets the firmware three weeks later than Canada. That might be based on the serial number, but I have done some checking on this in the past.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by vatazhka

I just hope that I got the product and affiliate codes right! Please let me know if you spot any mistakes or would like to add new products and/or affiliates.

As David said you got the code for the Touch 2 wrong, and also of the H2O (which does not make much difference), and Glo HD. I believe the correct codes are:

mark 3:

• Touch (A),B: 310

mark 4:

• Touch C: 320
• Glo: 330
• Mini: 340
• Aura HD: 350

mark 5:

• Aura: 360
• Aura H2O: 370

mark 6:

• Glo HD: 371
• Touch 2: 372

Originally Posted by davidfor

Finally, what IP address is being used for the check against the Kobo server? Kobo doesn't just use the affiliate, they also do some geo-checking. With the affiliate Kobo, Australia usually gets the firmware three weeks later than Canada. That might be based on the serial number, but I have done some checking on this in the past.

I tried the query with different geo-positions in the past for test purposes (with TOR). I could not see any different treatment according to geo-positions. But, it is of course possible that I did my testing each time exactly when there happened to be no differentiation, or I choose by chance always the wrong countries. Although I tested mostly, when new FWs just appeared. If many people use vatazhka's page and report their results, it might become clear what is really happening.

[vatazhka]

Originally Posted by tshering

As David said you got the code for the Touch 2 wrong, and also of the H2O (which does not make much difference), and Glo HD. I believe the correct codes are:

mark 3:

• Touch (A),B: 310

mark 4:

• Touch C: 320
• Glo: 330
• Mini: 340
• Aura HD: 350

mark 5:

• Aura: 360
• Aura H2O: 370

mark 6:

• Glo HD: 371
• Touch 2: 372

Thank you, this is exactly the kind of input I was looking for. I have now updated the webapp accordingly.

I tried the query with different geo-positions in the past for test purposes (with TOR). I could not see any different treatment according to geo-positions. But, it is of course possible that I did my testing each time exactly when there happened to be no differentiation, or I choose by chance always the wrong countries. Although I tested mostly, when new FWs just appeared. If many people use vatazhka's page and report their results, it might become clear what is really happening.

The query is executed by a webapp, thus geoIP will defalt to wherever the Heroku default data centre is located (US).

Do you think there is any point in adding more affiliates as Kobo seems to have converged the updates recently?

[tshering]

I would replace rakuten by RakutenBooks.

[freekobo]

Nice page! Could you should add a 'notify me by email when new firmware comes out' option?

[AlterusPrime]

I don't know if it's just me but it would be nice to have an <h1> or something that says: "Latest firmware for <device> using <affiliate> is 3.something.something".
Or even better, like two strings of text, one is "most recent firmware available for this device" and second one is "most recent firmware for that <affiliate> you've just chosen".
But even in current state the website is extremely useful, thanks for that

[vatazhka]

Originally Posted by tshering

I would replace rakuten by RakutenBooks.

Thanks - it's done.

Originally Posted by freekobo

Nice page! Could you should add a 'notify me by email when new firmware comes out' option?

I'm sorry, but it's not possible as it would require facilities which are currently not available in the free version of the Heroku platform.

Originally Posted by AlterusPrime

I don't know if it's just me but it would be nice to have an or something that says: "Latest firmware for using is 3.something.something".
Or even better, like two strings of text, one is "most recent firmware available for this device" and second one is "most recent firmware for that you've just chosen".
But even in current state the website is extremely useful, thanks for that

It's been partially done - I hope it's a bit more clear now.

[Alan_S]

Thanks, it's very useful.

[thatworkshop]

I checked Kobo Mini from Rakuten and it retrieves v3.18.0!!! Are you sure it's correct? I guess it'd be 3.4.1!

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by idoit

I checked Kobo Mini from Rakuten and it retrieves v3.18.0!!! Are you sure it's correct? I guess it'd be 3.4.1!

See this:

Originally Posted by davidfor

Kobo have released firmware 3.18.0 in Japan. The interesting thing about this is that they are releasing this for the Mini as well. But, the Mini support is only for Japan. They are not planning to release this for the Mini in other markets.

That is good news for the Mini owners elsewhere. As the same firmware package is used for all markets, it shows it is safe to use this on the Mini. It also tells us that Kobo have not completely forgotten the Mini. At the least, they are testing the firmware with the Mini so they can us it in Japan.

To install this, you can either download the package and manually install it, or change the affiliate to "rakutenbooks" and do a sync. Changing the affiliate can affect other function on the device, so you might want to change the affiliate back after the upgrade.

[PeterT]

I'm not sure there is any point having Beta listed as an affiliate.

[vatazhka]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I'm not sure there is any point having Beta listed as an affiliate.

I'm not sure that I understood what was your suggestion. Could you elaborate on this, please?

Originally Posted by idoit

I checked Kobo Mini from Rakuten and it retrieves v3.18.0!!! Are you sure it's correct? I guess it'd be 3.4.1!

The web app simply parses whatever Kobo pushes into the update channel for the given affiliate / product combination. The results should be the same as setting the reader to a respective affiliate and performing a sync.

[PeterT]

Sigh... The Beta program uses more than just an affiliate code; the web site you have lists Beta as a valid affiliate; I'm just say that it is meaningless.

Also for the 3.18.0 question please see the other posts in this thread that explain why 3.18.0 IS available for the Japanese Mini but not for other affiliates.

Part of the confusion is that for the longest time, ALL Mini affiliates were frozen at 3.4.1

[vatazhka]

As at present, beta channel distributes version 3.19.5613 for Kobo Glo, while kobo still is at version 3.18.0. Both links are downloadable, thus I think that having "beta" affiliate listed is not meaningless.

To be fair, couple of other affiliate codes also return 3.19.5613.