Aren’t all problems with your Android or other devices annoying? A welcome problem doesn’t exist, unless the problem is welcome because it diverts attention from another, preexisting problem. And random problems? If problems were predictable, they would serve in office. Or maybe they already do?
Here are some typical problems and suggestions for a solution:
You have general trouble
For just about any problem or minor quirk, consider restarting the phone: Turn off the phone, and then turn it on again. This procedure will most likely fix a majority of the annoying and quirky problems you encounter when using an Android phone.
Some Android phones feature the Restart command on the Phone Options menu: Press and hold down the Power/Lock key to see this menu. If a Restart command is there, use it to restart the phone and (you hope) fix whatever has gone awry.
When restarting doesn’t work, consider turning off the phone and removing its battery. Wait about 15 seconds, and then return the battery to the phone and turn on the phone again.
The data connection needs to be checked
Sometimes the data connection drops but the phone connection stays active. Check the status bar. If you see bars, you have a phone signal. When you don’t see the 4G, 3G, 1X, or Wi-Fi icon, the phone has no data signal.
Occasionally, the data signal suddenly drops for a minute or two. Wait and it comes back around. If it doesn’t, the cellular data network might be down, or you may simply be in an area with lousy service. Consider changing your location.
For wireless connections, you have to ensure that Wi-Fi is set up properly and working. Setup usually involves pestering the person who configured the Wi-Fi signal or made it available, such as the cheerful person in the green apron who serves you coffee.
The touchscreen doesn’t work!
The touchscreen, such as the one used on your phone, requires a human finger for proper interaction. The phone interprets complicated electromagnetic physics between the human finger and the phone to determine where the touchscreen is being touched.
You can use the touchscreen while wearing special touchscreen gloves. Yes, they actually make such things. But wearing regular gloves? Nope.
The touchscreen might also fail when the battery power is low or when the phone has been physically damaged.
The screen is too dark!
Android phones feature a teensy light sensor on the front. The sensor is used to adjust the touchscreen’s brightness based on the amount of ambient light at your location. If the sensor is covered, the screen can get very, very dark.
Ensure that you aren't unintentionally blocking the light sensor. Avoid buying a case or screen protector that obscures the sensor.
The automatic brightness setting might also be vexing you.
The battery doesn’t charge!
Start from the source: Is the wall socket providing power? Is the cord plugged in? The cable may be damaged, so try another cable.
When charging from a USB port on a computer, ensure that the computer is turned on. Computers provide no USB power when they’re turned off.
Some phones charge from a special cord, not the USB cable. Check to confirm that your phone is able to take a charge from the USB cable.
The phone gets so hot that it turns itself off!
Yikes! An overheating phone can be a nasty problem. Judge how hot the phone is by seeing whether you can hold it in your hand: When the phone is too hot to hold, it’s too hot. If you’re using the phone to keep your coffee warm, the phone is too hot.
Turn off the phone. Take out the battery and let it cool.
If the overheating problem continues, have the phone looked at for potential repair. The battery might need to be replaced.
The phone won’t do landscape mode!
Just because an app doesn’t enter landscape mode doesn’t mean that it can enter landscape mode. Not every app takes advantage of the phone’s capability to orient itself in landscape mode. On certain Android phones, the Home screen doesn’t “do landscape” unless it’s placed into a car mount or has a physical keyboard that works in landscape mode.
One app that definitely does landscape mode is the web browser.
Android phones have a setting you can check to confirm that landscape orientation is active. Check the quick actions drawer for the Auto-Rotate setting. That setting might also be found in the Settings app, on the Display screen.
How to Reset the Samsung Galaxy Tab to Factory Settings
When the Galaxy Tab acts up and you’ve tried everything possible to fix it without success, you can do the drastic thing and reset all Galaxy Tab software, essentially returning it to the state it was in when it first popped out of the box. Obviously, you need not perform this step lightly. In fact, consider finding support before you start the following process:
Start the Settings app, found in the Apps Menu.
Choose Privacy.
Choose Factory Data Reset.
Touch the Reset Tablet button.
Touch the Erase Everything button to confirm.
All the information you’ve set or stored on the Samsung Galaxy Tab is purged. That includes apps you’ve downloaded, music, synchronized accounts, everything.
Again, do not follow these steps unless you’re certain that they will fix the problem or you’re under orders to do so from someone in Tech Support.
You can also choose to reset the Galaxy Tab’s software and erase everything should you ever return or sell your Samsung Galaxy Tab. Of course, you probably love your Galaxy Tab so much that the mere thought of selling it makes you blanch.
How to Update Your Android Tablet System
Every so often, a new version of the Android tablet’s operating system becomes available. It’s an Android update because Android is the name of the operating system, not because the Android tablet thinks that it’s some type of robot.
When an automatic update occurs, you see an alert or a message indicating that a system upgrade is available. A good way to do this is to choose Restart & Install and — as long as the tablet has a good charge or is plugged in — proceed with the upgrade.
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Yes, you can put off an update by simply dismissing the update notice: Touch the Home icon. However, it is strongly recommended that you upgrade.
You can manually check for updates: In the Settings app, choose About Tablet or About Device. (On Samsung tablets, look on the General tab in the Settings app.) Choose System Updates or Software Update. When the system is up-to-date, the screen tells you so. Otherwise, you find directions for updating the Android operating system.
Touching the Check Now button isn’t magic. When an update is available, the tablet lets you know.
Non-Android system updates might also be issued. For example, the tablet’s manufacturer may send out an update to the Android tablet’s guts. This type of update is often called a firmware update. As with Android updates, you should accept all firmware updates.
What Do I Do with My Galaxy Tab when….?
Usually your Samsung Galaxy Tab will just keep on keepin’ on without a hitch. But now and then, it can stop working — sometimes for no apparent reason. These are some quick hints for the annoying things that can go wrong with your Tab.
“I can’t turn the Tab on (or off)!”
Yes, sometimes the Galaxy Tab locks up. If you press and hold the Power button for about 8 seconds, the Tab turns either off or on, depending on which state it’s in.
Sometimes a program can lock the Galaxy Tab so tight that the 8-second Power switch trick doesn’t work. In that case, wait 12 minutes or so, just letting the Tab sit there and do nothing. Then press and hold the Power button for about 8 seconds, and it turns itself back on.
“The touchscreen doesn’t work!”
A touchscreen, such as the one used on the Galaxy Tab, requires a human finger for proper interaction. The Tab interprets the static potential between the human finger and the device to determine where the touchscreen is being touched.
You cannot use the touchscreen when you’re wearing gloves, unless they’re specially designed, static-carrying gloves that claim to work on touchscreens.
The touchscreen might also fail when the battery power is low or when the Galaxy Tab has been physically damaged.
“The battery doesn’t charge!”
Start from the source: Is the wall socket providing power? Is the cord plugged in? The cable may be damaged, so try another cable.
When charging from a USB port on a computer, ensure that the computer is turned on. Most computers don’t provide USB power when they’re turned off.
“The Tab gets so hot that it turns itself off!”
Yikes! An overheating gadget can be a nasty problem. Judge how hot the Galaxy Tab is by seeing whether you can hold it in your hand: When it’s too hot to hold, it’s too hot. If you’re using the Galaxy Tab to cook an egg, it’s too hot.
Turn off the Galaxy Tab and let the battery cool.
If the overheating problem continues, have the Galaxy Tab looked at for potential repair. The battery might need to be replaced, and there’s no way to remove and replace the Galaxy Tab battery by yourself.
Do not continue to use any gizmo that’s too hot! The heat damages the electronics. It can also start a fire.
“The Tab doesn’t do Landscape mode!”
Not every app takes advantage of the Galaxy Tab’s ability to orient itself in Landscape mode, or even upside-down mode. For example, many games set their orientations one way and refuse to change, no matter how you hold the Tab. So, just because the app doesn’t go into Landscape mode, that doesn’t mean anything is broken.
Confirm that the orientation lock isn’t on: Pull up the notifications and touch the Quick Settings button at the top of the notification panel. Ensure that the Auto-Rotate Screen item is on; otherwise, the screen doesn’t reorient itself.
How to Back Up Stuff on a Samsung Galaxy Tab
A backup is a safety copy of information. For your Galaxy Tab, the backup copy includes contact information, music, photos, video, and apps you’ve installed, plus any settings you’ve made to customize your Tab. Copying that information to another source is one way to keep the information safe in case anything happens to your Galaxy Tab.
Yes, a backup is a good thing. Lamentably, there’s no universal method of backing up the stuff on your Galaxy Tab.
Your Google account information is backed up automatically. That information includes your Contacts list, Gmail inbox, and Calendar app appointments. Because that information automatically syncs with the Internet, a backup is always present.
To confirm that your Google account information is being backed up, heed these steps:
At the Home screen, touch the Apps Menu icon button.
Choose Settings.
Choose Accounts and Sync.
Touch the green Sync button by your Google account name.
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Ensure that check marks appear by every item in the list.
The list includes Books, Calendar, Contacts, Gmail, Google+, and Picasa web Albums.
Touch the Back icon button.
Optionally, ensure that your other accounts are being synchronized as well.
When you have more than one Google account synchronized with your Galaxy Tab, repeat Steps 1 through 6 for each account.
Touch the Back icon button to return to the main Settings screen.
Choose Privacy.
Ensure that a check mark appears by the item Back Up My Data.
You should see a check mark there. If not, touch the square to add one.
Beyond your Google account, which is automatically backed up, the rest of the information can be manually backed up. You can choose to either synchronize information on the Galaxy Tab with your computer using an app such as doubleTwist, or you can manually copy files from the Tab’s internal storage to the computer as a form of backup.
A backup of the data stored on the Galaxy Tab would include all data, including photos, videos, and music. Specifically, the folders you should copy are DCIM, Download, and Music. Additional folders to copy include folders named after apps you’ve downloaded, such as Aldiko, Kindle, Kobo, layar, and other folders named after the apps that created them.
How to Transfer Files from the Samsung Galaxy Tab to Your PC
If you want to copy files from your Galaxy Tab to a computer, you just need a basic understanding of how to copy, move, rename, and delete files. It also helps to be familiar with what folders are. Then, you can copy over your pictures and videos, and you can copy over music or audio files.
Follow these steps to copy a file from your computer to the Galaxy Tab:
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1Connect the Galaxy Tab to the computer, using the USB cable.
The AutoPlay dialog box appears. Don’t be concerned if it doesn’t. Some computers are programmed to ignore newly connected devices.
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2From the AutoPlay dialog box, choose the option Open Folder/Device to View Files.
If the Auto Play dialog box doesn’t open, open the Computer window, then open the Galaxy Tab’s icon, and then open the Tablet icon.
The folder window you see looks like any other folder in Windows. The difference is that the files and folders in that window are on the Galaxy Tab, not on your computer.
The name of the cellular Galaxy Tab device is SCH-I905; the Wi-Fi version is GT-P7510. You may see those names when mounting the Tab into your computer’s storage system.
3Locate the files you want to copy from the Galaxy Tab to your computer.
Open the folder that contains the files, or somehow have the file icons visible on the screen.
Pictures and videos on the Galaxy Tab are stored in the DCIM/Camera folder.
Music on the Galaxy Tab is stored in the Music folder, organized by artist.
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4Drag the File icon from the Galaxy Tab to a folder on your computer.
If you want to be specific, you can place the file into any folder on your computer.
5Close the folder windows and disconnect the USB cable when you’re done.
Any files you’ve copied are now stored on your computer.
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