KOReader

Raised as a usability problem by 39 people on Hacker News over 8 years (2019–2026), in 16 threads.

People raised many different problems with KOReader, but no single problem has yet been raised by 3 people in 3 different months and threads.

Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.

The newest 41 complaints

Reading screen crammed with widgets for wifi, battery, and progress2026-08-14
Settings UX is odd and hard to navigate, though it works2026-07-30
UI is cluttered and bloated, with odd options like random file2026-07-30
Documentation is hard to use: cluttered styling and a single anchor-link page with no search2026-07-30
Options appear in one mode but are invisible in the other, which is confusing2026-07-30
Menu structure is not very intuitive, making it harder to find things2026-07-29
UI can be confusing at first, takes time to get familiar2026-07-29
Gets stuck finding where settings are and how they work2026-07-29
User dislikes the overall UX and finds it painful to use2026-07-29
Book browsing is file and folder based, making finding reads less enjoyable2026-07-29
UI approach is a little different than expected, takes effort to get familiar2026-07-29
UX and UI are so painful that the user won't switch from stock Kobo reader2026-07-29
UI is cumbersome, with repeated Wi-Fi connecting popups during sync2026-07-29
Hard to find where a setting is and change it2026-07-29
Trades user-friendliness for power, so the interface is harder to use than Kindle's store2026-07-29
Default interface is poor, so a plugin is needed for a good experience2026-07-29
Must exit KOReader and return to the stock UI to reach the filesystem2026-07-29
KOReader menus are difficult to get a grip on2026-07-29
File browser annoys the user; hard to find how to change its view2026-07-29
Menus and UI feel non-intuitive, gestures don't work well, app feels laggy2026-07-29
Interface feels confusing and unintuitive, sending the user in unexpected directions2026-07-29
UI is cluttered and unintuitive for users2026-07-29
Finding the specific setting you're looking for is unintuitive2026-07-29
Extremely confusing UI; takes ages to find specific settings2026-07-29
Battery statistics buried in a submenu of a submenu, hard to find2026-07-29
Settings are hard to locate and scattered across many menus, wasting time2026-07-29
Books are nested in subfolders and must be navigated to, unlike a single unified library list2026-06-15
KOReader's UI is considered hard for average users2025-12-16
Painful to use on modern devices, though it was pleasant on older e-ink hardware2025-08-31
UI is awful and takes time to learn to use2025-06-30
UI felt alien and confusing, so the commenter gave up at first2025-04-02
Books take a long time to load, though only the first time2025-04-01
Interface felt confusing to use compared to built-in e-reader options2025-04-01
UI feels clunky on a regular phone because it's designed for e-ink readers2024-10-17
Brightness adjustment requires opening a menu, making it nearly useless2023-09-03
Reader is confusing and unintuitive during occasional encounters2022-06-10
Each book must be set up individually; UI is inconsistent2022-06-01
Opening an 18MB ePub takes minutes and rotation re-flows text slowly2022-04-15
Interface is among the worst the commenter has used2021-09-27
Task switcher requires gestures that are tricky to perform2021-05-08
Bad UX, hard to install, and settings crowded with super-specific options2019-10-14