HN
Today

Reviving a four year old reMarkable 2

This story details a technical journey to resurrect a four-year-old reMarkable 2 tablet, which had fallen into disuse and suffered from cloud sync and software update failures. It chronicles the meticulous debugging steps, leveraging SSH to manually set the clock, force software updates, and enable hidden features. The post resonates with the HN crowd due to its deep dive into embedded device hacking, circumventing proprietary limitations, and showcasing command-line mastery.

6
Score
1
Comments
#1
Highest Rank
13h
on Front Page
First Seen
Aug 9, 12:00 PM
Last Seen
Aug 10, 4:00 AM
Rank Over Time
711116292925262225252223

The Lowdown

The author shares their experience of bringing a neglected, four-year-old reMarkable 2 paper tablet back to life. The device, purchased in 2021, was unable to sync with the cloud or update its software, displaying cryptic errors. This detailed guide walks through the troubleshooting process, offering solutions for users encountering similar issues.

  • Clock Correction: The initial problem was traced to an incorrect system clock, which prevented successful cloud communication and software updates. The author used SSH (connecting via USB) and the timedatectl command to manually set the correct date and time, enabling the first software update.
  • Multi-Stage Software Updates: After the initial clock fix, the tablet still required multiple update cycles. The first update only brought it to an intermediate version (3.11.2.5), which continued to block cloud sync. Using journalctl to diagnose Couldn't resolve host name errors, the author restarted swupdate.service and update-engine.service to prompt the tablet to download the latest version (3.27.3.0).
  • Re-enabling SSH over Wi-Fi: Later reMarkable software versions silently disable SSH over Wi-Fi. The post provides instructions on how to re-enable this functionality using the rm-ssh-over-wlan on command or by creating a specific marker file, facilitating easier remote access.
  • Local File Import: Faced with persistent cloud sync issues, the author opted to enable a hidden web server feature on the tablet by modifying the xochitl.conf file. This allowed direct PDF import over the local network using curl commands, bypassing the problematic cloud service entirely.

This comprehensive guide provides a blueprint for advanced users to troubleshoot and restore full functionality to their reMarkable 2 devices, highlighting the power of low-level access and command-line tools to overcome software limitations.