Follow these steps if you have trouble connecting to Wi Fi on your Kobo eReader.
Tips on entering your Wi Fi information
- If you have upper and lower case letters in your Wi Fi user name and password, make sure you enter the letters as upper or lower case.
- Be careful not to mis-type the number zero and the letter “O”. If you have the number zero or the letter "O" in your user name and password, verify that you’ve entered them correctly.
- To switch to upper and lower case letters on the onscreen keyboard, tap the
arrow icon at the bottom left of the onscreen keyboard.
- If you don’t see your Wi Fi network during set up, tap Re-scan at the bottom of the screen.
If you still have trouble setting up your eReader over Wi Fi, set up your eReader on your computer with the Kobo Desktop app.
General tips
Password issues
You need a password to join some Wi Fi networks. You'll see a lock icon next to the name of any password-protected network when a list of networks is displayed. These passwords are sometimes called keys. The network administrator should be able to give you this.
Issues finding your network
If you're having trouble connecting over Wi Fi because you can't find the network you want, here are some things you can try:
- Check that you are within range of the network.
- Check that the network is available.
- Manually add the network to your eReader.
- Verify that your router supports and is set to 2.4 GHz. Most Kobo eReaders can only connect to Wi Fi networks that are 2.4 GHz.
Note: If you have a Kobo Elipsa (released in June 2021) or newer Kobo eReader, your eReader will support both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz Wi Fi networks.
Check that you're within range
Every wireless network has a range. A range is the area in which you can connect to the network. The average range of a home network is between one hundred and three hundred feet. When you're outside of a network's range, your eReader is too far away to connect.
Check that the network is available
There are a number of reasons why a network may not be available.
- If a network is provided by a business (like an internet cafe) it may only be available during certain hours.
- If there is a power failure or other technical issue, the hardware running the network may stop working.
If the network is unavailable, you will not be able to connect. You can use another Wi Fi device (like a smartphone or Wi Fi-enabled laptop) to see whether your network is available.
If your network is available and you are within range, but your eReader still doesn't list it as an available network, the network may be hidden. You can try adding the hidden network to your eReader's list yourself.
Manually add the network to your eReader
Sometimes networks don't appear in the scanned list because they're hidden. To manually add a network, follow the steps in this article.
Turn your eReader on and off
Sometimes restarting your eReader will resolve Wi Fi problems.