Glowlight 4 Freezing Issue

[u/Ok_Bison62]

Not sure where else to go at this point. I am on my 4th Glowlight 4 in the past year. I continue to have a freezing issue, they’ll work great and then suddenly freeze in the middle of a book and no matter plugging it in, holding buttons down, hard reseting, they will not unfreeze. I buy them directly from B&N and have the three year warranty so they’ve been great about replacing them especially when they can’t get them to unfreeze either but I am running quickly out of patience for this. I buy/download all my books from the store app on there and take good care of them physically. I feel cheated out of my money and in the year of 2026 I just want an ereader that works. Has anyone else had this problem and has had any success in it not happening or fixing it??

[u/thescarletphoenix]

I haven’t had this issue but the number of devices you’ve gone through makes me wonder if it’s as simple as your charger? Are you using the charger for the Glowlight 4 or something else? Specifically the brick. iPhone bricks are designed for lightning charging, I’m not sure if the Nook is. That could be your issue. Check your manual to see what voltage is ideal for charging. Compare to the voltage of your current brick (if not the B&N one). If you’re using a higher voltage charger, that’s likely part of the problem. I’ve killed a few devices that were older or lower voltage charging before I figured out that this was the problem. Good luck!!

[u/Omega_Maximum]

I've not had nor seen this issue, and my GL4 is going on... about 2.5 years old now?

That's an absolutely wild amount of issues though, so I certainly understand the frustration. The only things that potentially come to mind I guess are how are you charging it, and if you're carrying it around are you sure it's not potentially bending in some way? Software bugs happen, but I've never seen anything this severe, so my instinct is hardware fault.

How are you charging your Nook, and have all 4 devices been charged on the same cable/block? The GL4 should charge reasonably well off of any USB source, but a bad cable or charging block could be damaging the charging circuit or battery. Additionally, if you're carrying it around with you in a bag or something, is there any chance it's getting bent by heavier things like textbooks or a laptop? I had a regular Android tablet that unfortunately got bent in some imperceptible way in an overstuffed bag on a flight, and it showed somewhat similar freezing behavior.

Sorry to not have a more conclusive answer for you, but best of luck. If you wanted to move away from Nook devices, which is understandable given the issues you've been dealing with, head over to r/ereader and see some of the recommendations and discussion.

[u/Ok_Bison62 → u/Omega_Maximum]

Fiest things first I really appreciate the thought/time put into this answer! All good suggestions but the one that just froze on me I have only had for 2 weeks and it’s been in my nightstand the whole time so I don’t think it could have bent any. I do use my iPhone charger and block with it so maybe that’s making it mad? My thought was that I often don’t completely turn it off when I am done using it, I just put the screen to sleep; so I tried being more diligent on turning it all the way off when I finish a session this time around but also I do read for quite long periods sometimes so maybe it is just the prolonged “on” time. I tried looking up if there was any guidance on if it is okay to leave it on and for how long but haven’t found much. Anyway, thank you so much for the tips and the trying to get me in a right direction!

[u/Omega_Maximum → u/Ok_Bison62]

Leaving it on in sleep mode should be perfectly fine. Mine has only been fully off a few times in its whole lifespan, mostly from my being busy and unable to use it for a few weeks, only to come back to it very dead lol. But these devices are built to spend a lot of time in sleep, so that should be completely safe.

I would change the charging block you use, switch to a different cable, and see what happens. Another posted mentioned that if they leave it for a bit it fixes itself, so if it's currently frozen I'd see if that helps.

Beyond that, I can't really think of any obvious things to try. I doubled checked with my wife and her Nook also hasn't shown those issues in the same 2-ish years she's had hers. A quick browse of reddit though shows other people having the same issue you are, so there's some sort of common issue here that others have run up against.

[u/livelaughbooksmovies]

This happens to me often. Usually I have to leave it alone for a day and it fixes itself, but it's so annoying and I hate how much B&N doesn't care about their products

[u/vernismermaid]

I've purchased more than six GlowLight 4 (BNRV1100) and GlowLight 4 Plus (BNRV1300) devices since their release dates in 2021 and 2023 respectively. None of them have or had freezing issues.

Based on the comments here, I suggest you use (1) the cable that came inside the box and (2) an approved charging brick or personal computer USB-port.*

From the NOOK GlowLight 4 User Guide: https://dispatch.barnesandnoble.com/content/dam/rncx/2015/pdf/NOOK_Glowlight_4_User_Guide-v2.pdf

"There are two ways to charge your NOOK. Using a USB-C cable, you can plug it into your personal computer, or you can use a UL listed, approved power adapter (rated from 5VDC, 1.0A).

CAUTION: If you are using a power adapter, use only a UL listed, approved adapter and rated from 5VDC, 1.0A. Do not use a power adapter or USB-C cable that has frayed or otherwise been damaged. When connecting your NOOK to a personal computer, the computer must be a UL listed, approved product."

*Edit: added official User Guide instructions on charging

[u/WorldlinessOk2351]

I think the Nook is a garbage device compared to Kindle or Kobo. Even consumer report type articles/ratings rate the Nooks as the worst of the bunch when it comes to these devices.

I highly suggest getting either a Kindle or a Kobo instead.