Connecting the Kobo to Linux

Plug the USB cable. In dmesg, you'll see something like this:

[ 3245.778774] usb 1-1.1.3: Product: eReader-3.1.1
[ 3245.778776] usb 1-1.1.3: Manufacturer: Kobo
[ 3245.778778] usb 1-1.1.3: SerialNumber: NXYZ

Firmware

Name	Version	Download
Kobo Aura HD	3.1.1	This thread and search for "Mark 4 Hardware: Aura HD/Glo (N905C Model) - or direct link

The 3.1.1 version was released mid december 2013. For dictionaries, follow this link or have a look at this thread

Updating the Kobo

Once you have downloaded your firmware, unzip it. If you want to push a few modifications, you must tar-gz the modified directory and name it KoboRoot.tgz. Drop that in your Kobo's .kobo directory. Then, unplug, and it should update soon.

Debugging the boot process

In etc/init.d/rcS, add this:

/mnt/onboard/run.sh &

Then, when you plug the Kobo on USB, create a bash script run.sh to run whant you want such as:

#!/bin/sh
cat /proc/cpuinfo > /mnt/onboard/CPUINFO
cp /etc/inittab /mnt/onboard
cp /etc/inetd.conf /mnt/onboard
/sbin/ifconfig -a > /mnt/onboard/NETWORK
echo "DONE" >> /mnt/onboard/CPUINFO

SSH into your Kobo

In /etc/init.d/rcS, add at the end:

mkdir -p /dev/pts
mount -t devpts devpts /dev/pts

Then, to install dropbear, I used the pre-built package from this thread
Notice that package sets the root password to banana (/etc/passwd), but you can change that later. So,

• Upload KoboRoot.tgz to .kobo
• Unpack dropbear.zip in /mnt/onboard (where the kobo device is mounted - that also where run.sh is)
• Add a line to install dropbear in run.sh:

  /mnt/onboard/dropbear/dropbear -r /mnt/onboard/dropbear/kobokey
  

• Reboot
• Try to ssh to your kobo. If you can't find its IP address, nmap might come handy. If you can't see your IP address, make sure on the Kobo to start the web browser so that it connects to Internet!
• When everything works, change the keyfile /mnt/onboard/dropbear/kobokey: dropbearkey -t rsa -t kobokey
• Change the root password!

Block Ads and reporting

It's as simple as modifying your /etc/hosts:

127.0.0.1 www.google-analytics.com ssl.google-analytics.com google-analytics.com

Of course beware what you rule out...

Modifying the sleep screen logo

In the .kobo folder, replace affiliate.conf that has

affiliate=fnac

by

affiliate=kobo

You'll get your books frontcover instead of the affiliate's logo, which I find far more useful!

Triggering the demo mode

In the search of Kobo, type "demo on" (or demo off). It will show all images in .kobo/slideshow/dragon/[lang] folder To put your own images:

convert -resize 1080 -type GrayScale -depth 8 input output.png

Reset

Soft reset: paper clip reset
Hard reset: 30s on power + release + push light and power

Tools

Calibre