eReader not authorized to open this book

[lizm39316639]

When I download a book from my public library I can open it in digital editions 4.5 but when I transfer it to my device (kobo) and try to open it on the kobo it says "This book is protected by DRM. Because you previously deauthorized your eReader, you need to re-import the book using Adobe Digital Editions." I tried erasing authorization and setting git up again but it still won't work. Erased and downloaded a new edition of ADE, that didn't work either. Tried different books and libraries but still have problem. Called kobo and after troubleshooting with them they say it as ADE problem. Please please please help! Thank you!

[DDanial]

Yes!!! Thank you!!!

[Chrystina294071146q9i]

This worked for a while but has now stopped working. I have also tried reauthorization, several different second books, 3 or more books, and multiple tries. 

[Chrystina31349118nn8g]

This worked for me for a little while and recently stopped working. However, I found another work around. Its annoying and seems completely unneccessary to have to do it this way but it works.

1.  Create a new email (gmail, hotmail, whatever your preference). I created something like chrystina.library@gmail.com.
2.  Set up this new email to automatically forward to your regular email. This way you shouldn't constantly have to check this new email if you get reminders about due dates or holds from your library.
3.  Create a new adobe account with this same new email address.
4.  Change your email address in your library account to be the new email address.
5.  Un-authorize both your ereader and your ADE from your regular email address and re-authorize with the new email address.
6.  Check out any books you may want to read AFTER you have changed your email address with your library. I found that I could not just re-download books I had already checked out and add them into ADE.
7.  Download the EPUBs of the books you checked out and import into ADE and into your eReader as you normally should be able to.

Its an annoying solution but I'm hoping that now that the setup is done I shouldn't have to worry about the struggles of simply reading a library book anymore. Thanks Adobe....

Hope this works for you all like it did for me!

[Daniel30848637uc6b]

I used to be able to do the "copy two books to the ereader in ADE at the same time" technique however this no longer works for me. I tried your method above of creating new library and Adobe accounts but this has not worked. Only commenting to see if others have been unsuccessful like me.

[deborahs64573339]

So ADE is really the problem on my Mac M1 and local library. Tried everything and could not solve this issue of Kobo not authorized to open the downloaded book I could read on my Mac. In my case, the only way to solve this was to sign into Overdrive option directly on my Kobo Libra 2  with my library credentials and download e-book directly to the reader- essentially bypassing ADE. This worked even though my library switched over to Libby app. The Libby website was helpful.

https://help.libbyapp.com/en-us/6251.htm#:~:text=Compatible%20books%20will%20appear%20on,t%20sync%20....

[Trudy21154936cc8u]

Thanks for posting the link from the Libby app help section! This is what I love about this forum!

[Guillaume318923388226]

Unbelievable that they don't fix this bug. I tried my luck with "Customer Service" and not a soul could help me find a solution. They just told me to go read their documentation online. Absolute garbage of support. However, this solution is working for me as well. Thank you very much!!!

[Robert356643502y00]

Thank you it worked!

[stella3581258879f0]

it works! thanks alot 🙂

[Eloann35822486upqs]

Thank you so much, honestly I tried everything and this worked really well after 5 days of trying. Thank you!

[Kathryn35835938pkgm]

Thank you! This worked! I never had this problem then suddenly did and nothing would solve it. It must be a problem with holds - the book I had was on hold. Hope this works in the future too! Have a few books on hold at the moment. 

[Kate36241549zxei]

Thank you this worked for me too, exactly the same problem, tried all the usual stuff, got very annoyed. But downloading a 'non reserved' title at the same time as my 2 reserved books fixed it straight away (UK via BorrowBox) really appreciate you taking the time to post this.

[Jessica36420642zg03]

@kirsten5FD5 you are a legend. Thank you for discovering and sharing this workaround! It's March 2024 now but the issue still exists. Like other commenters, I had wasted so much time trying to find a solution until I found your answer. I deleted the problem book from my Kobo, used the Ctrl key to select both books in ADE, and then dragged and dropped back into Kobo. Worked perfectly.

[Heather34708684e35f]

Thank you so much! This fixed my problem ! I can finely finish my book 🙂

[Jessak11]

June 2024- I encountered this issue with my Kobo Clara Colour. Could not for the life of me open the books i borrowed on Libby on Kobo! I could open the books i moved from Libby to Adobe DE on DE itself, but not on Kobo! I must note the books in question are current popular books (eg. Funny Story by Emily Henry) that have long hold and waiting lists, so i added a random book that was immediately available to be borrowed and then re-transferred all to Kobo. At first, despite doing this a couple of times, I still got the error message "This book is protected by DRM. Because you previously deauthorized your eReader, you need to re-import the book using Adobe Digital Editions."  So i switched off the Kobo device and switched in back on and voila I could open the books.  So, thank you for sharing your hack, Kirsten5FD5! 

[Sarah38542767zx6y]

Amazing, worked a treat, thank you

[Josiane37903401xu98]

It worked! Thank you so much! 🙂

[alpacasso]

After  years of having this problem and coming back to this thread to check for a solution that works for me, I have decided to purchase a new e-reader. I saw that Kobos now come with integrated OverDrive, I thought that could be a solution since  my Kobo is supposed to be able to have that. Spent 1.5 hours trying to sync my Kobo, saw no integrated OverDrive, consulted Google just to learn that this feature isn't available in my country.

Are Kobo e-readers the only ones that have the library book issue? I'd hate to buy a new one just to find out that I still cannot open library books. But yes, I can't keep spending money on books that I should be able to borrow online and read for free. I could've bought several e-readers with the money I spent on e-books. I was reluctant to purchase a new e-reader because I got this Kobo from by brother who has passed away. But I doubt they'll ever fix this issue and it's tiresome. 

[Suzana283415069cyv]

Hi,

My kobo died not long after I figured out how to use adobe digital editions
and transfer books to the kobo and my husband gave me his Onyx Boox E Ink
Tablet.

There's no issue with Libby and the integration has been pretty seamless.

[Megan2877816607bm]

Here is something i got from kobo, but it takes forever. i am trying to work with them now to get a software patch. this is ridiculous.

Kindly proceed to follow the steps below for full troublechooting. 
 

1. Verify authorized accounts
   • eReader > ADE > Gear > Authorization Information
     + on the eReader : Settings > Account
   • Computers ADE > Help > Authorization Information
2. Clear eReader
   • Connect the eReader to the Computer
   • Select CMD + SHIFT + D
   • Back up everything from the eReader to a Folder in the computer
   • Open ADE and deauthorize the eReader
   • Close ADE
   • Once everything is backed up, delete all the folder/files in the eReader
   • Eject the eReader safely
   • Setup the eReader
3. Clear ADE and rebuild activation

Continue with the following steps:

1. Backup the Registry Key
   • Navigate to the following Folder: /Users/[Your user account]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Digital Editions
   • Copy and Backup Folder/Digital Editions
2. Change ADE library name
   • Navigate to FOLDER “/Users/[Your user account]/Document/Digital Editions”
   • Right-click on FOLDER /Digital Editions, and select Rename
   • Change name to “Digital Editions – OLD”
3. Delete the Activation.Dat Folder
   • Open ADE
   • To deauthorize ADE, select CMD + SHIFT + D
   • Select Erase Authorization and close ADE
   • Right-click on /Users/[Your user account]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Digital Editions and “Move to Trash”
4. Uninstall and clear installation of ADE
   • Uninstall ADE:
     • Navigate to FOLDER /Applications and Right Click on “Adobe Digital Editions” and choose “Move to Trash”
   • Clear temporary files on the computer:
     • Cache:
       • Navigate to FOLDER /Users/[Your user account]/Library/Caches/
       • Select All (CMD + A), Right Click and “Move to Trash”
     • Logs:
       • Navigate to FOLDER /Users/[Your user account]/Library/Logs/
       • Select All (CMD + A), Right Click and “Move to Trash”
   • Reboot the computer
   • Download and install ADE, open ADE and authorize the computer
   • Connect and authorize the eReader
   • Re-download the ACSM file and open it with ADE
   • Transfer the books to the eReader using ADE 
   •  

[Dawson25727369exe9]

How long does this fix work? I don't know if it was this that kobo got me to do, but the same error code came up the next time I got an ebook from the library. Don't know if it's worth going through this whole process if it is a one off (like my last experience).

[Paul29168800ndk7]

Here we are 2 years after I bought my Kobo Libra H2O, and I still have this problem.  Unauthorize/Reauthorize MacBook and Kobo didn't work.  Updated to ADE 4.5.11 didn't help.  Downloaded another random book from Overdrive and re-authorized both in ADE, and sent to Kobo, and now the problem epub works.

What's really annoying is that the built-in Kobo OverDrive doesn't sync with titles I've checked out from the Overdrive website.  The built-in overdrive ONLY works if the titles are checked out directly from the Kobo.  Completely separate hold lists.   Sheesh.

[Stefanie29060932e4lw]

This is so frustrating - I've followed all their steps on their website, and even with this trick it doesn't work.

[Trudy29606019x9ol]

I have been following this thread for a couple of years now, and was extremely frustrated with both Kobo and Adobe. Not sure why they can't work together! For awhile, I had no problems with my Kobo as it had the Overdrive app on it, and most of the books I wanted to check out worked with Overdrive from my library. There were a few older books that were ePub only and would have to read those on my laptop, as my Kobo would always give me the error message about ADE. (I tried all the suggestions here and nothing worked!) Then this past winter, I found out Overdrive was going to be discontinued, and Libby would take it's place. I went to the Kobo website and it said they did not support Libby, so I figured I was done with Kobo. I started researching new eReaders, tablets etc but didn't really know what to do.

We went to FL for three months and I continued to use my Kobo, since Overdrive hadn't been discontinued yet. Now we are home again, and I knew I would have to get serious about looking into this. I downloaded the Libby platform on my laptop and thought I might as well give it a try. I had a couple books on my wish list that came up as available, so checked them out. Checked out books have a menu attached to them, and one of the options is "Read with". I clicked on that, and under "other options" Epub comes up. I clicked on that and as if by magic, it downloaded it directly to my Kobo. And the best part is, you don't have to use Adobe at all! I realize that not all libraries use Overdrive or Libby and so this will not work for you. But hopefully it will help someone so you don't have to buy a new ereader.

[zigarten]

Libby platform? I can't find such a thing that works on a laptop, are you using a windows laptop? Maybe you are just logging into Libby via a web browser?

can you clarify?