How to read on your Kobo, wireless and WITHOUT Adobe Digital Editions

I love my Kobo e-reader. I think I've even come to prefer reading on it to a paper book. I like being able to click on a word to get its definition, I like being able to read in the dark and in the bath, and I like being able to change books at any time, even on the bus, without having to drag a lot of books with me.

But using a e-reader comes with a major problem: the only software (I've checked, there's no alternative) you can use to manage both your purchases and your library loans, Adobe Digital Editions, is crap. I hate it. Not only is it ugly, only available on a computer, unpleasant to use and only with a USB cable (reminder that it's 2024...), but about one time out of ten, it simply doesn't do its job.

I don't know how many hours I spent scouring forums to find out why a book I'd borrowed wouldn't open on my e-reader. Sometimes, de-authorizing then re-authorizing my computer worked (because yes, you have to "authorize" each of your devices, with a maximum of five devices, if memory serves. You don't want to change computers too often, let's say). Sometimes this wasn't enough, and I had to borrow another random book to get it to work. Sometimes, you also had to restart the e-reader or de-authorize it and re-authorize it too. Sometimes, despite all this, it still didn't work. I finally read somewhere that the problem was with the recent version of Adobe Digital Editions, and that to avoid problems, you had to use version 3.0, which is so old that I felt lucky to have found it. Worst of all, I don't have any problems with version 3.0.

(To let off steam, I once looked at what was coming out if I typed "Adobe Digital Editions sucks" into Google. It was quite satisfying, and confirmed to me that I wasn't the only one pissed off).

For a long time, I got around the problem by using OverDrive, thanks to which I can borrow books directly from the Kobo. I only had access to books in English, but I could read them with one click - bliss. Until the day Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec added an extra security measure to the login page, which meant that on e-readers, it was now impossible to press the button to connect to my account. This beautiful feature that I loved had just been thrown out. I wrote to the library, who replied that the books on OverDrive were pretty much all in English anyway, and that I could always use Adobe Digital Editions.

In those moments, I feel like murder.

The whole thing was driving me crazy. I'm not the only one in the world who reads books, after all! E-reader technology is pretty straightforward, and I have one of the best and newest models. Why is it that if I don't want to spend my life giving money to Amazon (which the Kindle requires), I still have to download files, manually add them into some crappy software, physically plug in an external device and cross my fingers that the faulty authentication process doesn't prevent me from reading the book I've borrowed? How is it that after hours of frustration, you realize that the problem lies in the fact that the software (the only one available, mind you) is so badly designed that you have to go back 3 versions to avoid trying time-consuming solutions that don't work most of the time?

But everyone, read this. I've discovered the matrix. NEVER AGAIN will I use Adobe Digital Editions. NEVER again will I plug my Kobo into my computer to transfer files. Here's how it's done.

How to transfer books wirelessly from your phone to your Kobo

1. On your phone, borrow the book you want. Download the ACSM file.
2. Go to ACSMConverter.com. Use it to convert your ACSM file into an EPUB file. It's free, and you don't need to create an account. Download the resulting EPUB file.
3. On your e-reader, open the browser (on mine, you can do this by clicking on the More menu, then on Beta Features), and go to send.djazz.se. A large code will be displayed.
4. On your phone, go to send.djazz.se. You're now connected to the same site on your phone and on your e-reader.
5. On your phone, enter the code you see on your e-reader.
6. Click on the "Choose file" button and select the EPUB file you downloaded in step 2.
7. Click on “Upload and Send”.
8. A download link will appear on your e-reader. Click on it.

The book is now in your e-reader.

Okay, there are 8 steps, but try it, and you'll see that it's very easy and intuitive.

Thanks to the kind folks who created acsmconverter.com and send.djazz.se. I'd give you a kiss.

Merry Christmas full of great reads!