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  "path": "/2026/03/initial-thoughts-on-the-tiny-xteink-x4-ereader/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-25T13:07:44.000Z",
  "site": "https://neilzone.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "XTEINK X4",
    "the Free\nsoftware alternative firmware, CrossPoint",
    "manual",
    "is\na pull request to add dark mode to CrossPoint"
  ],
  "textContent": "What fits nicely in my hand and gives me hours of pleasure? A tiny ereader!\n\nI - like, it seems, quite a lot of people - bought an XTEINK X4 ereader.\n\nI bought an X4 because I love reading, and I was drawn to the idea of having a tiny ereader in my pocket.\n\nInstead of reaching for my phone, I hope that I will instead reach for the ereader, and enjoy some more reading.\n\nI am in the _very_ privileged position on having the X4 as an extra / secondary ereader, which perhaps colours my view of the device, in the sense of being willing to put up with more of its quirks than if it were my only ereader.\n\n(Since someone asked me about it, perhaps because of some of the marketing photos: this is a standalone ereader. Yes, one needs to transfer books to it (see below), but it is not tied to a phone / does not require a phone to function. One can attach it, magnetically, to the back of a phone, for reasons which are not entirely obvious to me.)\n\n## Installing CrossPoint, a Free alternative firmware\n\nI had no plans to use the stock firmware, and used it only so far as to change the language to English before flashing the Free\nsoftware alternative firmware, CrossPoint. (There are other firmwares for the device; I chose CrossPoint.)\n\nI did, however, note that the stock firmware does not require a user account / registration or anything like that, which I appreciated.\n\nI flashed CrossPoint using the tool at [https://xteink.dve.al].\n\nWhen I tried to backup the existing firmware, I got an error of `Failed to execute 'open' on 'SerialPort': Failed to open serial port.\"`\n\nI ran `setfacl -m u:neil:rw /dev/ttyACM0`, to give my user the right permissions.\n\nWith that done, I could dump the existing flash (which did indeed take about 25 minutes).\n\nI had the same error when flashing the CrossPoint firmware, so I ran `setfacl -m u:neil:rw /dev/ttyACM0` again, and it worked again.\n\nOnce I had reset the device - hold the small button at the bottom on the right edge of the X4 for a second, then press-and-hold-for-a-few-seconds the power button at the top on the right edge of the X4 - it booted into CrossPoint _very_ quickly.\n\n## Installing the screen protector\n\nThe device comes with a screen protector. This is an excellent idea. It would have been even better if this has been installed in the factory, but never mind.\n\n## Case\n\nI bought a cheap (£4) clear plastic shell, to protect the back of it.\n\nIt add a bit of bulk to the device, but I’d like to protect it.\n\n## Swapping the supplied microSD card\n\nI replaced the included 16GB (the manual says that it comes with a 32GB card…) XTEINK-branded microSD card as soon as I received the device, with a 128GB SanDisk card.\n\nThis was mostly down to force of habit, as it would not be a particular problem for me if the microSD card in the device died. Annoying, for sure, but I could just pop in a new card and reload all my books from Calibre.\n\nThe card slot is recessed, so pressing it to remove it, and to get it back in place, was quite tricky with short fingernails.\n\nThis, it turns out, is a bit of a pain.\n\n## Loading books via Calibre\n\nI use Calibre for managing my ebook library.\n\nFor my other ereaders, I load books via a cable.\n\nSomewhat annoyingly, the X4 and its microSD card do not mount as a USB-writable device.\n\nThe options are Wi-Fi-based, or else remove the microSD card.\n\nI have gone with the microSD card approach, despite it being a bit of a pain.\n\nIn Calibre, I used the “Save to disk” / “Save only the EPUB format to disk in a single folder” option.\n\nThis did - as expected - dump 500+ ebooks into a single directory, which is not ideal on the X4 with CrossPoint, given that they appear as a list, with no way to search. Press-and-hold on the side buttons does jump between full screens though (a bit like Page Up / Page Down), so it is not terrible.\n\nPerhaps I need to treat the X4 less like a portable library, and just move onto it a small number of books that I want to have so readily available.\n\nCrossPoint seems to struggle with books with a special character (e.g. “$”) in the title; I have yet to dig into this though.\n\n## Wi-Fi\n\nI have not tried to connect it to Wi-Fi; I have no need for this.\n\nI have not found a way to turn off Wi-Fi, which is a bit annoying, as I don’t need to be on all the time, both in terms of battery life and privacy.\n\n## The reading experience\n\nThe reading experience is… good. Neither terrible nor amazing.\n\nWhat makes it good is that it is pocketable and there when I want it.\n\nThe 4.3” screen is, apparently, 220 PPI. It is not as crisp/sharp as the screen on my Kobo or Tolino.\n\nA backlight would be wonderful, but I knew that it did not have one when I bought it.\n\nCrossPoint does not (currently, anyway) support dark mode - light text on a black background. I prefer dark mode when reading, but I can easily live without it on this device. There is\na pull request to add dark mode to CrossPoint, but I note:\n\n> Did you use AI tools to help write this code? YES\n\n_sigh_\n\nThe X4 can fit a surprisingly large amount of text on the small screen. But, nevertheless, it means pressing the “next page” button a lot.\n\nThe buttons on the front are bit “clicky”, but fortunately the buttons on the side are much quieter / softer. I imagine that, if I was using the front buttons to turn the page, and I was sitting next to my wife at the time, she would find it _very_ annoying. I would.\n\nNote that the two buttons on the front are, in fact, four buttons; each button is a bit like a rocker switch, I guess, with different actions for the left and right sides. I should have worked that out sooner (or read the manual)…\n\nI am quite content with the lack of a touch screen; I much prefer pressing a button to turn a page than mimicking a “swipe” action, as I don’t have to move my hand or hold the device awkwardly.\n\nIt has 128 megabytes of RAM, which both feels like loads, and not much at all, at the same time. Books load more than fast enough, and page turns are rapid.\n\n## Battery life / charging\n\nIt has a 650mAh battery, and although my initial experience has been fine, I wonder just how long this is going to last with Wi-Fi on the whole time (needlessly).\n\nBut the X4 charges via USB-C, which is excellent, as it means that I don’t need to carry yet another cable.",
  "title": "Initial thoughts on the tiny XTEINK X4 ereader",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-25T13:07:44.000Z"
}