[Nook Touch General] nmyshkin:
Wow...I seem to spend a lot of time trying to help people get going with their NST only to find out half-way through the process that they have a non-US device. This changes a great deal. There are advice and hints scattered all over in various threads and it seems like maybe it would be a good idea to get it all in one place. Here.

When B&N abandoned UK devices the current firmware was 1.2.1 but this is not the same as the 1.2.1 firmware on the US version of the device. The main difference is that the URLs used to contact B&N servers were different, the default dictionary was Oxford, and the Settings had actual localization options (or perhaps I should say "localisation") for various countries/languages. This allowed the user to see familiar language in the on-screen system.

The problem

Someone who gets a used non-US device will probably get it reset or want to reset it before doing anything else. And then you are stuck because you can't get past much before it gives an error since it can't contact non-existent URLs. You can't update to FW 1.2.2 because non-US devices will not accept the update.

B&N's "answer" to this dilemma has been reported joyfully on the Mobilread forum. They suggest you skip registration altogether (known as "Skip OOBE") and use the device for reading side-loaded books. What they don't tell you is that skipping registration results in a device with markedly shortened battery charge life. A logcat of such a device shows that the system is constantly churning away, trying to figure out why it can't contact B&N.

Options

I'm not saying that what I present here is exhaustive. There are probably people a lot more clever than I who have come up with other approaches. Still, in order from least good to most good:

Note: if you cannot get to the "Welcome" screen or are stuck on some other screen such as "Network error", you will need to do a "soft reset" before pursuing options 1 or 2 (for options 3 or 4 it does not matter as much because you will be booting from various cards). To perform a soft reset, power down, then power up again but as soon as you see the "Nook" logo screen, press and hold the two lower hardware (page-turn) buttons until a prompt appears. Follow the screen directions. This will eventually leave you at the "Welcome" screen.

1. Take B&N's advice. To skip OOBE:

a. Turn on the device and let it boot to the "welcome" screen.

b. Hold down the top right hardware button on the front of the device and slide your finger from left to right across the top of the screen. A "Factory" button should appear in the top left corner of the screen. Tap it.

c. Once again, hold down the top right hardware button and tap the bottom right corner of the screen.

d. A "Skip OOBE" button should appear. Tap it and the device will complete initialization.

e. If you wish to root the device (which is presumably running FW 1.2.1), you can use the updated Nook Manager package which will still work with FW 1.2.1

Note: this configuration may give errors when you attempt to connect to a WiFi source and you will experience a shorter usable charge time.

2. Improve on B&N's advice.

If you follow these steps you will eliminate the inordinate power drain caused by skipping registration--but at a cost: the "guts" of the B&N system. This means you will need to select and install a reader app, dictionary, file manager and launcher of your own. I have done this and it works fine, but it does involve a little tinkering.

a. Follow steps in #1 above (including rooting).

b. Install (side-load via your SD card or use ADB) apps for a reader, dictionary (if wanted), file manager and launcher. There are many choices, but these were mine: AlReader, ColorDict3, ES File Explorer, ADW Launcher.

c. Use NookManager to remove all B&N apps (one of the options). Note that the original NookManager package does not do a proper job of this, so be sure you are using one of the updated versions.

Note: to my knowledge there are only two working reader apps besides the stock Reader that can handle Adobe DRM protected epubs: Mantano 2.2.3 Premium (activated or not), and Aldiko 2.0

3. Convert your device to US firmware and update to FW 1.2.2

a. Go here and follow the directions. Since the site seems to be down, here is a link for the image zip.

b. Download the FW 1.2.2 update from B&N: https://su.barnesandnoble.com/nook/nook2/1.2.2/351e26527e80156183e74be2da2ce89f/nook_1_2_update.zip

c. Power on the device and at the "welcome" screen connect it via USB to your PC. Drag the update zip to the "Nook" drive that you will see. Eject the device from the USB connection and tap the power button to put it to sleep. If you hang around you may see the device wake up and the update commence. Otherwise come back awhile later. If the update zip is no longer visible on the Nook drive when it is reconnected to your PC via USB then the update has been done.

d. Register your device. Remember you don't need to use a credit card, just an email address.

e. If you wish to root the device select one of the updated versions of NookManager for FW 1.2.2 that are given here.

Note: it has been reported that you will not be able to purchase books from B&N. Also, you will have a Merriam-Webster US-English dictionary instead of the Oxford dictionary. And....localization is locked in the Settings app to "US", with no other options.

4. Try out my unofficial UK FW 1.2.2 update.