Student-Contributed Wiki
An awesome team of students from our education program made this wiki.
My apps keep freezing.
My device crashes/resets.
I can’t view email attachments or website images.
My data isn’t syncing.
Shut the tablet down by holding the power button and turning it back on after it is fully shut down.
If this does not fix the problem, perform a hard reset by holding the power button, the volume up button, and the home button. When prompted, press “reboot system now”.
(BEFORE YOU START: Wiping the cache partition will remove any temporary files that may be causing an issue with the device; however, all personal files and settings are not affected by this action).
- Ensure the device is powered off.
Note: If the device is unresponsive/frozen, press and hold the power button (located on the top-left edge) for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles.
Press and hold the volume up button (located to the right of the Power button; ensure right side of button is pressed) and the Home button (located at the bottom in the middle).
While continuing to hold the Home and Volume Up buttons, press and hold the Power button until ‘RECOVERY BOOTING’ appears in the upper left then release all buttons.
Select wipe cache partition.
Note: The volume up/down buttons highlight the function and the Power button will select the action.
- Select reboot system.
I have a strong WiFi connection, but my internet doesn’t actually work.
Warning: the firmware download is large and can take up to an hour to complete the upgrade. You can download Samsung’s Kies software here.
Basically you are changing the security of your WiFi to one that is better suited for this tablet.
This process is unique for different routers, so check the manual of your router. Search the instructions for “How to change my AES encryption to TKIP” for your specific router. It may also be beneficial to call your internet provider for more information.
My device continues to shut down randomly while it’s being used.
If a third-party app is causing this problem, then the device should not freeze in safe mode. Otherwise, it’s an issue with one of the pre-installed app or with the tablets firmware itself.
Boot the Samsung Galaxy Tab in “Safe Mode”.
If the tablet is currently on, press and hold the power key for five seconds to turn it off.
With the device completely turned off, press and hold the power key for two seconds to turn it on.
Right after the Samsung logo displays, hold the volume-down button until the tablet loads to the lock screen.
“Safe mode” should display in the lower-left-hand corner of the phone.
Reboot the phone normally in order to exit safe mode.
More information on a hard reboot for a Galaxy Tablet can be found here.
If the tablet still freezes in safe mode, you have to perform a factory reset.
This factory reset will delete all of your data and return it back to “fresh-out -of-the-box” condition.
Factory reset may be done in safe mode and by selecting “wipe date/factory reset”.
Delete, uninstall, or disable the app causing glitches.
The back plastic cover of my tablet is bending or becoming deformed.
See if they might be willing to give you a new back cover. Samsung manufactured some defectives ones, and this issue is not due to overheating. They will not necessarily give you a whole new device.
Refer here to see Samsung’s statement about defective back covers.
My battery does not last more than a couple hours.
A few things you can try are:
Turn power saving mode on.
Turn wifi and location settings off.
Set screen on basic color scheme at 20%.
Make sure no apps are running in the background by going into Settings -> “Applications” -> “Application Manager” -> “RUNNING” -> press an app -> hit “STOP”.
If you are using a quick charger or a charger that is not the original, this will decrease battery life.
Try bump charging. Bump charging gives your device an extra full charge.
In order to bump charge:
Charge your tablet until it gets to 100%.
Stop charging the device for 1 - 5 minutes.
Plug the tablet back in the charger and continue to charge it until it reaches 100% again.
(You can perform this task with the tablet on. Bump Charging is even more effective if the device is powered off.)
This is a more complicated process, we have a link giving you the tutorial for this process here.
