Unbricking a Kobo

WIP

This page is a work-in-progress.

The unthinkable has happened -- you installed a modification and it broke your device to the point where a manual factory reset was unable to fix the issue. Luckily, if your device has removable memory, your device can be saved as long as the issue is purely software-related.

Warranty warning

Opening your device voids your warranty. If your device is still under warranty, filing a warranty claim may be worthwhile.

Kobos with soldered memory or missing images

If your Kobo device has soldered memory or is missing an SD image, there is nothing you can do but attempt to file a warranty claim. The following devices have non-replaceable memory:

• Kobo Aura ONE (N709)
• Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 (N867)
• Kobo Libra H2O (N873)
• Kobo Forma (N782)

SD card images are currently unavailable for the following devices:

• Kobo Nia (N306)
• Kobo Libra 2 (N418)

I'm not sure about the Kobo Elipsa (N604) or Kobo Sage (N777).

What you need

• A new, working, microSD card of a realistic capacity
  • You probably shouldn't use a card larger than 32GB or 64GB in a Kobo -- do you really have that many books?
  • "1024GB" or "2048GB" SD cards are fake and will corrupt your data
• A Kobo SD card image -- you will need to request one from the linked thread
  • Kobo Original (N416) - try this thread?
  • Kobo Wireless (N647, N47B)
  • Kobo Touch (N905, N905B, N905C)
  • Kobo Touch 2.0 (N587)
  • Kobo Mini (N705)
  • Kobo Glo (N613) (alternate thread)
  • Kobo Aura HD (N204B)
  • Kobo Aura (N514) - Kobo Aura H2O (N250) image apparently works -- boot from external SD by holding frontlight + power while device is off
  • Kobo Aura H2O (N250) (alternate thread)
  • Kobo Glo HD (N437) (alternate thread) (alternate thread 2)
  • Kobo Aura Edition 2 (N236)
  • Kobo Clara HD (N249)
  • Kobo Nia (N306) - no image available
  • Kobo Libra 2 (N418) - no image available