Kobo Just Ended Support for the Kobo Wifi
Kobo started cleaning house last night, and one of the affected ereaders is the eight-year-old Kobo Wifi. (Kobo also ended support for the Sony Reader.)
Kobo Wifi owners got an email last night, informing them that Kobo no longer supported this model. Much to my surprise, I owned one at one point, so I got the email:
We have important news for you regarding your Kobo Wifi.
Part of our commitment to providing the best possible reading experience means keeping up with the latest advances in eReader technology and internet security protocols. With this in mind, we will need to discontinue support for some of our earliest products.
As of February 28, the Kobo Wifi will no longer be supported by Rakuten Kobo*. This means it will no longer receive software updates, and will not be able to connect to the Kobo eBookstore. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Rest assured that no items in your Kobo library will be affected; you will continue to have access to all reading material you have purchased or downloaded from Rakuten Kobo.
Read with Kobo with the free Kobo App
You can download the free Kobo App available for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, and read with Kobo on a device you already own.Kobo is a company built by booklovers for booklovers, and we will continue to expand on our reading experience, offering you cutting-edge eReaders, easy-to-use reading apps, and reading recommendations chosen just for you.
To see if any of your other Kobo products are affected, visit Kobo Help.
If you have any questions or concerns about this message, please contact Kobo Customer Care.
While the Kobo Wifi will no longer be able to purchase ebooks directly from the Kobo Store, Kobo Wifi owners can still use Adobe Digital Editions to sideload their own ebooks.
The Kobo Wifi was Kobo’s second ereader. It was a rebranded stock design from Netronix running Kobo software. Kobo also customized the hardware case, giving it a very pleasant soft case.
Comments
KEVIN FRANCO January 29, 2019 um 1:10 pm
I received the same message yesterday but for the Kobo VOX – truly, one of the most dreadful devices ever released, by any company.
Fixitmanarizona July 30, 2019 um 12:14 am
No worries, I use Calibre exclusively. I just got a "new" Kobo wifi June 2019 and it even updated to the latest firmware edition that the Kobo Wifi can use (from 2014) using a Calibre extension. The (I’m sure refurbished) unit was sent to me with a 1.7 firmware and Calibre updated it to 1.9! I never have used the Kobo store or their support.
Fixitmanarizona November 26, 2020 um 4:46 pm
Update on that. I broke the screen on that one. Looking for yet another Kobo Wireless, don’t like any of the touchscreen e-readers (or their prices.)
I was able to boot up another old one where the buttons were messed up & get it working, meantime. But I’ve found Calibre doesn’t want to work on it. I’ll figure it out eventually, or I’ll get another "old stock" one.
Fixitmanarizona November 26, 2020 um 5:39 pm
Or, I might try the new Pocketbook Basic 4, same 6″ screen format, basic buttons that are probably better than the d-pad ones that wore out on the original Kobos, better resolution than the old 800X600 )not that I care) and only 80 bucks new (2020)
Robert Roth July 28, 2021 um 4:51 pm
So, have an old KobO Vox that my wife wanted to start using. Tried to get it running but it always looks for a software update and will not go any further. Planned obselencec. I have an old computer running Windows XT that still works so why can’t this thing. Why do I have to throw this thing into the landfill. Customer support at Kodo just says it is no longer supported. Class action suit for sure. Do not want to support it I understand. Make it so it will no longer work is criminal.