Kobo Aura H2O

An original Kobo Aura h20 - for me its very useable, reliable and battery is 100% ok – Disclaimers first = always updated to the latest Kobo firmware, never purchase books on the device, always side load books by using Calibre as the library manager with plugins. All my personal opinion based on several years with this device. Pleasure to read day or night and 6.8"is just right for single hand holding with minimal eye strain. This… Read more

early model has a storage micro sdcard slot and no auto brightness or blue light. However I use manual brightness and that seems most reliable rather than swipe lhs of the screen to change brightness (for me). 4G inernal storage is never fully used! New software makes a world of difference to faster loading and reading, using kepubs (shows chapter estimated time to read, size of chapters etc).

Many many drops, especially late night, droopy eyes, and next thing it falls onto the floor, dropped from side cupboard, result is a few plastic nicks in the black plastic frame but the screen is as good as new and text just as sharp too.

Software system suits me and I get lost in the wifes kindle, compared to the Kobo.

The original model as purchased just works, does what the box says, so I have NO plans to upgrade or change to another model or product in anyway. Newer models do not have anything momentus to upgrade for, this one just reads books, handles all the formats I need. I dont need audio, comics or even pdf's.

$200 worth of CRAP – Used for a while was ok, then screen froze on, with "sleeping" and book cover of a book I wasn't even reading. Wont turn off wont reset, tried all the recommended fixes on the net. no service agents in Australia . Customer service? does not exist.

So far am loving it! – Am really glad that I purchased this product. It’s been working well so far. Is a good size and turns on quickly. I’ve got Overdrive on it so access to borrow all the books on it from the library for free.

OK product, but terrible customer experience – My Kobo screen suddenly froze with the cover of the book I was reading. I have been dealing with customer support for the best part of a month to get a replacement. Initially the online support was helpful, and they offered a replacement, however everything went downhill from there. The return instructions were never outlined. I repeatedly asked… Read more

for an address to send it to (at my own expense by the way) and the response was that they needed to process the return again. I think there must have been a system issue, but seriously - just tell me where to post it. A very frustrating customer experience, with a device that suddenly stopped working.

I really wanted to avoid buying from Amazon, but honestly it is not worth it. Save yourself the trouble - buy a kindle instead.

Do not buy any Kobo products! Customer service... what's that?! – Do not buy any Kobo products, products are not good and customer service is really bad. SHORT: Had 4 different kobo eareader, non worked properly. At the moment, still waiting for a replacement; half year and counting. Contacted kobo multiple times, everytime they said it will be sorted out this week. Really bad customers service, this is not… Read more

how you treat your customers.

Background story: In the last two years, I used 4 different kobo ereaders, all broke after a half year or shorter and did not use it much. First one (Kobo GLO HD), battery faulty after half year. After replacement, again battery problem. Therefore, I asked for a refund and they said they would refund me, so I bought a new device (Kobo Aura H2O 2nd edition). However, after a few months, they said I would not get a refund after all and I would get a Kobo Aura H2O (first edition) as a replacement instead, so I had two ereaders, but can only use one. Then, after a few weeks, the screen of the replacement (first edition Aura H2O) ereader froze, so could not use it anymore. In addition, the Kobo Aura H2O 2nd edition was faulty from the beginning, not responsive when clicking on screen (turning pages) and/or turning multiple pages instead of one.

Therefore, do not buy anything from them. The products will break down and they will not help you.

Fragile – Always make sure you have a really sturdy cover. Even with a cover, I dropped my 4 month old KOBO AURA2 about 30cm from a chair onto a floating wooden floor, not the hardest surface. That was the end of the display. It was split into about 4 segments. I should have learnt from my previous experiences. That was my 4th KOBO and 3 had all ended up… Read more

that way. The other one developed a problem with the ON/OFF switch after 3 years. I wouldn't be so annoyed except I dropped my ipad (in a cover) onto the garage floor (concrete) from a greater height and it is still working perfectly! I have also found that some of the titles I wan to read are not available through KOBO and are only available through APPLE or AMAZON.

15 MONTHS AND IT BROKE – In August last year I bought a KOBO E reader and today it froze! And after contacting KOBO and trying this and that...it was dead. Now I had many months of lovely reading time on my KOBO and just loved it. I bought one for my daughter and recommended them to all that would listen. And then, just after their 12 month warranty it froze/died!! But… Read more

their service was impeccable.

Forget that it was after the warranty period...we will replace it free.

A machine gun fast email service within an hour has confirmed my address and promised within a few days they will pick up my old one and replace it.

No fights...just great service...thank you KOBO

Convenient reader – The H20 is now my second Kobo. So far the kobo has been quite stable with only one lock up in the last year. The backlight is excellent and allows for some night reading. Unlike the kindle, the kobo supports the more widely used epub which is convenient for library loans etc. Battery life has proved to last for around 3 weeks, even… Read more

longer with the backlight on.

overall Im impressed and with the added waterproof feature it ads piece of mind.

Very happy with this, I really enjoy using my Kobo – I’ve had my Kobo H2O for a 18 months now and I’m very pleased with it. The slightly larger form factor works well for me and I find it comfortable to hold and to read. The screen is excellent and of course the battery last for ages. I've never got it really wet but it has had no problems with occasional splash. The software can feel a bit clunky… Read more

but it works, I’ve docked the score a star because this is the one area that can be improved. I have no problems in recommending the Kobo Aura H2O to any one who wants to stay outside the Amazon universe.

Since writing the review Kobo have updated the software on the device and I like the changes to the interface. It's good to see that Kobo are looking after their existing users. With the older device software, the Kobo did occasionally freeze and I'd have to turn it off and on again. So far that hasn't happened after the update.

(Note I posted this review and have realised that the heading was for an older Kobo not this model so I'm re-posting in the right place).

Love the pocket integration so far so good – I've been using this thing to keep up with websites that I want to read. With the pocket integration I add a page on pocket then it copies into my eReader and i can read it like normal text without the usual distractions. I'd have to admin i have not bought any ebooks yet (first ereader) and i did not know about the pocket feature when i bought… Read more

it. I iniitally intended to use it with overdrive to get ebooks from the library, but given the week time limit that is a little bit of a hastle.

Moving to the next page can be tricky when the page is full of text

Kobo Aura H20 - Don't buy - Disappointing – I bought a Kobo Aura H20 last year, 15 September 2016, and now January 2017 it has frozen. This, I might add, is not the first time I have had freezing issues. I have gone to Kobo's site to find out what to do but it has not worked. I bought this because it had a great screen to read on. I have a much older Kobo Aura which is still going but… Read more

the clarity on the screen is not as good as the Kobo Aura H20, and it is not as if it was cheap. Very disappointed.

Malfunctioning After 2 Week's Use! – I bought this Kobo Aura H2O late in April 16. It's now the middle of May, and the reader is malfunctioning at an increasing rate every time I use it (which is only once a day). It doesn't always respond to a touch on the right-hand side of the screen to turn to the next page, and often takes two or three touches to advance. Even worse is its… Read more

tendency to occasionally go back(!) one or more pages, which then involves another three or four taps in order to get to the next page. Obviously this is very frustrating as far as the continuity and pacing of the story is concerned.

I contacted kobo using their on-line customer support form, and received a return message claiming that they'd respond within 24 hours. And no... it didn't happen LOL.

I'll edit this review if kobo offers meaningful technical support and/or replaces the reader under the warranty terms. Other than this page-turning issue, I'm quite satisfied with the reader's specifications, its physical build, and user-friendliness.

Update: 15July 16. I returned this first reader to the NSW distributor under the warranty conditions, and received a second (new) reader at no cost and in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, after four weeks or so of use, exactly the same problem has arisen with the a "forward" tap actually resulting in the reader going back to the previous page. This then requires another two taps to advance the page to the next unread for a total of three taps to advance a single page.

I'm extremely disappointed with the quality of the Kobo H2O, and angered by the fact that two of the devices were faulty—particularly considering their AUS$225 pricing. I'd have to recommend that any prospective purchaser refrain from doing so, and seriously consider an alternative such as the Amazon Kindle. The number of ONE star reviews on this site confirms my claims. You have been warned.