Database Users

[Q] Firmware Upgrading

I have a Nook Simple Touch eReader. Info says its Model Number is BNRV300.
I want to upgrade Firmware from 1.0.0 to 1.1.2 or something like that.
I have tried to update it using an image that should upgrade the firmware. But it did't.
I saw the Device info after doing that and it showed me that firmware were actually 1.0.0.
It didn't change at all.
I though it was updated (so I think info was not true) when i tried to root the device with the rooter made for 1.1.
After rooting the eReader became crazy!!!
It didn't turn on until I reset it twice. And when I say reset, I mean Factory Reset.
That is erasing every configuration and everything else from the Nook by pressing power button before pressing for 1 min down buttons.... The first time it erased all the things that were in the memory and configurations.
The second time, it installed the original Firmware image again.... The time between the rooting and the second reset was awful.
I really though that my eBook was dead... :crying:
But it's not. It's alive due to the Factory Reset that comes with the device.
I want to upgrade it 'cause the Android that lasts when I make the rooting is horrible.
The Internet Search doesn't work. The Android market neither. The only things that work are Facebook, Google Talk, Calculator and Book Reader that comes with the Nook.
I would like to install at least another PDF Reader (the original one is only useful to reading literature. If I want to read some of my study books (things that I do so often because of the college). It's really uncomfortable. The font size is so TINY. I can't see it. That happens because those texts have images, and the reader doesn't fit them. I want to see texts turning the screen. This would help me a lot...), Oxford Dictionary (my mother language is not English. Excuse me if I make grammar mistakes. Thanks to the Google chrome spell checker also....), DRAE (Spanish Royal Academy's Dictionary), and make Opera Mini work.
I installed Opera Mini. It crashes when launched... Office viewers crash too.
This Android is really annoying
It's not useful at all!!!
Rooter used to root Nook: touchnooter-1-6-24.zip
Thanks for your attention. I hope you answer
PD: Internet says I can upgrade this nook to 1.1 I ask if I can upgrade to 1.1.2 or something higher.
How can I root it without that frightening risk of having Nook dead in the way it was before due to the upgrading and rooting???

The latest update is 1.2.1 and is available on the nook site. Or I posted a CWM package to do it.
https://sites.google.com/site/xcdguides/nook/nookregion

Root Device
theronkinator said:
The latest update is 1.2.1 and is available on the nook site. Or I posted a CWM package to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I'm doing what you say right now. I'll tell you if it works.
Also I have a doubt. How can I do the rooting in a relatively safe way? I need the Android functions. Specially Market to download applications and Opera mini. I don't know a better web browser for Android.
That's just to read some blogs. Um! I forgot to ask if there is a way to unlock android installer...
I tried to install an APK application downloaded from Internet (The Oxford Dictionary) and Android tell me it was not able to install applications who don't come from Android Market....
If it is possible, thank you. If not, thank you too

It worked!!
theronkinator said:
The latest update is 1.2.1 and is available on the nook site. Or I posted a CWM package to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are a ****ING GENIUS!!!
This thing worked perfectly. I have 1.2.1 installed. Thank u a lot.
Now I ask again for the rooting, if it's not so annoying. THANKS THANKS

I rooted my nook myself and didn't use any of the methods posted on here, it took me ages of trying different methods to get it all working, used adb, cwm packages etc, unless you know what you're doing, you'd be better using one of the premade packages here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040351
and here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086582

theronkinator said:
I rooted my nook myself and didn't use any of the methods posted on here, it took me ages of trying different methods to get it all working, used adb, cwm packages etc, unless you know what you're doing, you'd be better using one of the premade packages here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040351
and here:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks to everyone. I have already rooted my Simple Touch. It's beautiful.
I have just another question.
It's a little annoying for me to use a different reader from Barnes and Noble's one.
This one is really good. It has just the problem that it has no zoom, and it has not the ability of rotating the document....
I've tried with several PDF readers. The only one who has an relatively acceptable behavior is ezPdf, but it's not good...
That's the only thing I'm still needing. I have now Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, a Spanish definitions dictionary and a Spanish-German Dictionary. Those three ones were fully installed in the SD. There's not need to have wi-fi turned on to look for meanings or translations!!! :laugh:
This point was a full success. I'm really happy to have those dictionaries in my Nook. That stuff is absolutely useful :victory:
But I have just this little point. Excuse me if I go too far
I will make a more accurate question. Is there a PDF reader, compatible with Android 2.1, similar to Barnes and Noble's one (I mean, as good as Barnes and Noble's Reader ), that is able to zoom and rotating the document?
Or an almost equivalent question: Can I patch in any way this reader to have, specially, the ability of rotating the screen?
I have configured the device in the way it shows me almost everything, but not reader , in landscape mode.... How can I make the reader show things in this mode?, as Opera and the most of the other applications do... ::good:
Thank you again.
The Noot Manager is just AMAZING.
And the CWM based upgrading is amazing too

It's a hilarious thing to realize that when you make a question in these forums, it happens often that you answer your own question by searching a little in the Internet.
I found the answer for my question, curiously, in this forum.
And this PDF Viewer is THE ONE: forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1186949
An open source applications modified by a guy of the community xda-developers
This is the closest thing I found to Barnes & Noble's reader application.
It renderizes very quickly. It save some data on a cache up to 10MB. And another useful thing: It's able to rotate de document!!!
It's just what i was searching for :victory:
Thank you for everything.

[Q] pocket on nook

Hello all and merry Christmas,
I am really interested in getting a nook ereader and I would like to known which is the best one to get for rooting? Im leaning towards the nook simple touch glowlight i like the feel of the back and the fact that it is lighter than the simple touch and has page turn buttons unlike the glowlight.
I also have a question regarding apps, I want the nook to use aldiko and pocket for reading books and articles. I notices many threads talking about the fact that you need modded apks to run on the nook. So my question is how do those apps run (aldiko and pocket) since these will be the main apps I use it is important that they run well I prefer the ereader to any tablet as I would be using it before I sleep. I appriciate any imput thanks in advance

Hello,
Aldiko does work. It will even open Barnes and Noble books. Ypou do not need to hack applications to run on the nooks, you just need to find versions which are useable.
The last version of Aldiko I found (I only searched for a second) which works is 2.0.1. The buttons do not turn the pages out of the box, but I bet you could get them to work.
As for pocket, it would need to be hacked because it came out after android 2.1. However, read it later should work. It is a stripped down version from the same company (actually, it was the predecessor).
The other issue is fonts and animations. Animations do not work well on this type of screen. And fonts are easier to read if they are actually black on white or vice versa. This is not an issue with Aldiko as IIT allows custom fonts, but could be for read it later.
Finally, know that there is a new net with glowlight and it seems the rooting may not be as easy as the other nooks. Poke around in the boards here to find more about that issue.
Good luck,
~Leko
Go forth and work toward your salvation with diligence.

lekofraggle said:
Hello,
Aldiko does work. It will even open Barnes and Noble books. Ypou do not need to hack applications to run on the nooks, you just need to find versions which are useable.
The last version of Aldiko I found (I only searched for a second) which works is 2.0.1. The buttons do not turn the pages out of the box, but I bet you could get them to work.
As for pocket, it would need to be hacked because it came out after android 2.1. However, read it later should work. It is a stripped down version from the same company (actually, it was the predecessor).
The other issue is fonts and animations. Animations do not work well on this type of screen. And fonts are easier to read if they are actually black on white or vice versa. This is not an issue with Aldiko as IIT allows custom fonts, but could be for read it later.
Finally, know that there is a new net with glowlight and it seems the rooting may not be as easy as the other nooks. Poke around in the boards here to find more about that issue.
Good luck,
~Leko
Go forth and work toward your salvation with diligence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks man I dont think the animation thing will be a problem

Just got an old Nook Simple Touch. Market not working. What can I do with it besides?

Ok, so I got an old Nook Simple Touch. In part because they can be had for such a cheap price on eBay these days and in part because they're among the few eInk based devices that run on Android and can actually be unlocked and more done with them than the manufacturers intended (I've used an old Kindle and man I hate how locked down and generally useless they are.) Actually, I was hoping I could do some neat stuff like setup daydream with weather info and a clock and all on it while the screen was "off" but I guess I forgot that this is a relatively new thing and it looks like it's based on a really really old Android version? Either way, I'm so used to CyanogenMod and its relatively near to AOSP nature that this thing is feeling horribly limiting and unpleasant to use for me.
Anyway, I've been searching around for various guides and such. I've found tools for rooting and putting the Google Market (yeesh, I forgot they used to call it "Market" ages ago.) It seems I needed to update the system to 1.1 for this (I had bootloops until I did, so clearly you have to have the right system version.) It seems there is a newer version or two beyond this though, but I didn't see root tools (I'm still hoping I can do more with this that might require root access to actually do.) Should I be updating beyond that? Namely, are there tools to actually root and all if I do?
Also, in the meantime, I'm running into troubles with the plain and simple fact that neither Google Market nor Amazon's app store installed by these tools work which may not be fixable. The thread on here says to add an account through Youtube first, then go to gmail and manually refresh over and over until it eventually crashes. After probably 15 minutes of this my hands were too tired to continue though. I just don't think it's supposed to take 15 minutes though. When I start the market it doesn't crash like that guide mentions either. Is there any other way to fix this? Is there any point? Obviously the market app is quite old, so perhaps it's simply never going to work? Is there some alternative way to find stuff that actually works on the NST? I thought to do F-Droid, but even it requires a newer SDK version apparently (I'm getting kind of curious what version of Android its base corresponds to. Does it predate 2.2? If so I may be in trouble since I don't think any of the stuff I was hoping I could put on there will go lower than 2.2.)
For this matter, is there a better way I can do stuff like loading apps? I was hoping to at least have a file manager to be able to use do stuff, but they didn't include one. I'll probably have to track down an apk. For now I'm having to actually use the network adb (I installed the version of the tools that was supposed to do adb over USB, but it doesn't even show up as an adb device at all for me to even so much as install a driver, so I guess it's not doing adb over USB as it should. The network method seems to work, though I'm not a big fan of leaving it wide open like that on principle really, yet remembering to manually change it on and off is a pain too.)
I realize this is a really old device and probably it is very limited what I can really do with it, but I was hoping I could at least squeeze a bit of use out of it. In particular, I'm going to need a much better reading app even if I use it for its intended purpose only. When I looked it up I had thought it was a close enough to stock Android that I'd be able to load up most apps I guess and I didn't think it would be so hard to even get anything on it.

Whew!
OK, let's start with basics. You didn't say how you rooted it but if you're working from 1.1 you probably are not getting the best out of the device. 1.21 is the final stock version. If you can get your NST back to stock, I would recommend doing so. Considering what you seem to have done already probably the easiest way to go is to use the NookManager route. Go here. Follow the instructions. There is info there for adding a Gapps package after rooting. But first get yourself back to 1.21 stock. Once that's done you can either use the Search Market tool from the Gapps package, or find apps on your computer and have them show up on the NST via the PlayStore, or side-load apps from the SD card or via ADB (default on that is WiFi with NookManager--you can install the ADB Konnect app and it works fine). There are plenty of alternate readers that run on the NST. I happen to like the stock reader very much, but to each his/her own.
When all that's done, everything depends on what your expectations are and what you want from your NST. There are a variety of kernals out there as well as USB host/audio mods. Although the Android system is old and the display limits what you can do, there are many apps that run well on the device and I personally get a lot of use out of mine, even more now that I have audio. Check out what I've done (second post) and look at what others have done (in the same thread).
There's a lot of good info in this forum on modifications, apps that run well (and don't) and many tips and tricks.

I think I have most of what I need with that actually, yes. I didn't realize from the guides I initially found that you could root or install third party components with a > 1.1 system version. With that stuff I do have a semi-working Google Market now and can actually install a lot more stuff than I thought. I see also my favorite reader app not only works, but apparently knows I'm running it on a device with an eInk screen and defaults to having eInk adaptations turned on.
Is there any way it can do anything like what I had sort of envisioned before btw? Eg on the screen "off" mode have some sort of thing that shows weather or news or something that updates every so often? (Nevermind the clock thing, that's probably a bad idea. I was just wondering about dedicating it to being sort of something like a clock with it plugged in all the time. Now I think maybe I can stop using my tablet for reading and use this instead.)

Nazo said:
Is there any way it can do anything like what I had sort of envisioned before btw? Eg on the screen "off" mode have some sort of thing that shows weather or news or something that updates every so often? (Nevermind the clock thing, that's probably a bad idea. I was just wondering about dedicating it to being sort of something like a clock with it plugged in all the time. Now I think maybe I can stop using my tablet for reading and use this instead.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you are having CM lockscreen widget withdrawal
Actually that seems like a job for Tasker. But it would be potentially messy. You'd need to:
1. Clear image in custom screensaver folder
2. Turn on wi-fi
3. Open weather/whatever app to update info
4. Take screenshot and save to custom screensaver folder
5. Close app
6. Turn off wi-fi
At that point when the Nook goes to sleep the info will be displayed on the lock screen. The question is whether Tasker can wake up the Nook and repeat this at desired intervals when you're not using it.
Also, have a look here for something along the same lines. Maybe you'll get an idea.

Ironically on my phone and tablet I keep it really simple. It's just that the eInk screen of the Nook can essentially be "always on" so to speak without draining the battery like mad (since it would only actually need to wake up every half hour or so for a frequent update schedule.)
But, all that said, it just doesn't sound like this is really worth all the effort. I guess I'm actually more used to newer versions of Android mostly rather than CyanogenMod specifically as they just have more power in what these things can do. With the Nook -- even unlocked and opened up -- it really sounds like the amount of time and effort required to even remotely approach such a thing is orders of magnitude higher. Well, that's fine. I had initially thought that I might maybe just use it as some sort of really neat "smart clock" type thing (at $35-ish on eBay you won't find many clocks that could come close to doing what an Android device could theoretically do) but in the end I don't think this is really all that realistic and definitely not worth the effort. On the other hand, now that I'm able to get more stuff actually running on it and open up its capabilities more I'm thinking I could maybe use this thing for something more akin to its original intended purpose: reading. From time to time I want my tablet to be able to do a bit more and I think this can do pretty well everything I care about beyond the basic reading stuff, so maybe I can stop carrying my tablet around all the time. (And for stuff like music I have a dedicated multimedia phone courtesy of eBay that's much better off really.)

Can you help me to revive my old NST to his good old glory days

Hi folks,
I haven't been using my NST for a very long time. I was expecting a decline of interest for my old love but i thought i would figure out a solution to use my NST like i used to. But i couldnt. Because I haven't tried any sort of hacking stuff that involved rooting, installing customs roms etc. for the past 3-4 years ,i almost forgot everything about these matters. So i am an absolute noob right now :/ Memory is a b*tch and mine is weak
I really really want to release my Nook Simple Touch from Barnes&Noble's ugly stock chains. I checked some topics and i saw that most of them are dead. My question is; Is it still possible to do these things to my nook
1- root it
2-sign in to google and install a working playstore apk
3- find a working "read it later" like application which suits NST
4- find a good pdf,epub reader app
Can you please guide me through these steps, your help will be greatly appreciated. I may figure out a way to do these and don't bother with these silly questions but i can't look at led/lcd screens for long periods of time because i have a problem with my eyes. :/
Best wishes,
Baran

Here are some suggestions & pointers to get you started:
Factory-reset your NST for a clean-start base using Nook Manager (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040351).
Update to BN ROM to v1.2.1 (if your NST has an older ROM version)
Root using using Nook Manager.
Install ReLaunch Launcher (http://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/general/relaunch-best-nst-launcher-version-1-4-t3060782) and essential Google apps (e.g., Market, SearchMarket, Gmail, etc.) using NTGAppsAttack (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086582).

Backup early and often. NookManager makes it easy to do this, so although it takes a bit of time, it's a good idea. However, NM only stores the most recent backup. You can keep "snapshots" of major hurdles by connecting your NST to your computer while NookManager is loaded up. You will see the Backup section on the SD card. Copy the two files in the folder onto your computer. I like to store them in dated folders also containing a small text file that describes the major changes. Then you can drag them back onto the SD card when NookManager has loaded to restore a specific backup--if the need arises.
I keep three or four of these backups while I am making changes. It's a whole lot better than starting from scratch if thing go south later in the game.

For pdf reading I can recommend ezpdf, if you can find an old version. It stopped working reasonably on the NST from about version 2.5 (e.g. you couldn't see text in the menu, probably because the font colour wasn't available on the eink screen, or the font type not installed - either way, really annoying if you want to change settings by guessing), but I remember I used to run it fine with some slightly older version.

Hay The Best Reader for NST is Renate's Temblast Reader
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=54201382&postcount=94
It is not perfect but very viable for Nook.
I hope Renate will continue the development.
Still Nook STR is the best ereader out there. It is sad that it is no longer available officially.
Good luck with your project

Gosh!
I'm still working on the reader, it's had a lot of improvement.
I just have to find the time to get it out.
Here's a preview on my Nook Glow Plus.
(I use the same app on my NST, LG phone and Nexus 7 tablet.)

I am not hijacking this thread.
Renate love to hear about the improvement.
Renate Could you please add text selection & a Dictionary.English is my second language so I like a build in Dic like in Nook reader.
Thank Keep up the great work genius
(Sorry I didn't ment to hijack this thread)

I had a few questions about modifying my old NST I recently dusted off

I've gotten back into reading lately, and I've been doing most of it on an iPad. I remembered yesterday that I had a NST lying around and went and dusted it off, charged it up, and moved some books over with Calibre. To nobody's surprise, I absolutely adore reading on it compared literally any LCD. I actually stumbled into finding out that there was an active modding scene around it just today and I've been going up and down some of these threads but I have a few questions.
First and foremost, my biggest reason for coming here was to get a modified firmware that allowed for faster refreshes/page turning. I've seen two major threads on this, but both are decently old and I've only ever seen newer questions/responses deal with installing an APK launcher on top of existing firmware. So my questions are:
1. Does the 1.2.2 firmware stop those old methods from rooting/working?
2. If not, why are they not the recommended methods anymore? Too complicated and greater risk to the device?
3. If not (1.), which of these two ROMs is recommended, and are there updated installation guides?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2651053
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/development/1337-rom-t2931567
Second, if neither of the custom ROMs are a good choice, I've seen both Relaunch and RelaunchX brought up as custom launchers, with multiple ways of installing them (Directly through ADB vs NookManager) and was looking for some opinions on that as well. Sorry in advance if I didn't search well enough, but any help is appreciated.

Daktyl198 said:
First and foremost, my biggest reason for coming here was to get a modified firmware that allowed for faster refreshes/page turning. I've seen two major threads on this, but both are decently old and I've only ever seen newer questions/responses deal with installing an APK launcher on top of existing firmware. So my questions are:
1. Does the 1.2.2 firmware stop those old methods from rooting/working?
2. If not, why are they not the recommended methods anymore? Too complicated and greater risk to the device?
3. If not (1.), which of these two ROMs is recommended, and are there updated installation guides?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2651053
https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/development/1337-rom-t2931567
Second, if neither of the custom ROMs are a good choice, I've seen both Relaunch and RelaunchX brought up as custom launchers, with multiple ways of installing them (Directly through ADB vs NookManager) and was looking for some opinions on that as well. Sorry in advance if I didn't search well enough, but any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Which old methods? The 1.2.2 FW update is mainly a TLS 1.2 compliance for connection to B&N servers. There are other minor "under-the-hood" changes, but nothing for the user. That said, the only rooting method that has been specifically updated for the 1.2.2 update is NookManager. Other methods may work. Or not. It would be trial-and-error, i.e., always start with a backup.
2. NookManager is, by far, the simplest and least intrusive layperson's method to root. With some customization you can tailor the initial result. Again, other methods may work.
3. There are no updates for the two ROMs you list. Both are based on the 1.2.1 firmware. This is where things get complicated. Since the TLS update of the 1.2.2 FW is only for the B&N server contact, you don't "lose" anything by staying with 1.2.1 FW. However, if your device is still in contact with B&N, it will attempt to update OTA at random intervals and fail, resulting in a spontaneous reboot. One or both of those ROMs may be structured so that there is no more contact with B&N servers--or all B&N stuff could be wiped out. You'd have to look into the dirty details (if any are given). My experience with attempting this kind of thing has not been good, but maybe that's because I always want to retain the B&N Library and Reader/Dictionary. I like them and they meet my needs. But keeping just a part of the B&N system is nearly impossible--at least it has proven so for me.
So.....I just leave all the B&N stuff alone and install my own stuff for everything but the Library and Reader. It works just fine and doesn't complain about not being able to contact B&N, etc. YMMV and your desires and needs may be quite different.
As for page refresh, there are a couple of approaches. Cool Reader has a version which includes e-ink page refresh settings. Also, some time in the distant past there was a post about changing the number of pages before a complete screen refresh (in the B&N reader). I was actually going to look that up this morning when I saw your post, so if I find it, I'll add that info later.
Edit: here's the info about changing the page refresh interval for the B&N reader: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1699481

For 3, there are useful things in those ROMs, but they may not be ideal for everyone if just installed as is.
For example, both run a handful of scripts at startup that may not be ideal for how some people want to use the Nook. The changes to the RAM management in particular were way too aggressive in my opinion.
But I did end up using one of those ROMs on one of my Nooks, just with most of the startup scripts disabled. On my other Nook running the stock firmware, I borrowed various bits and pieces from the custom ROMs. It just took some time to figure out what worked for me.
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