How to fix Galaxy Tab A wifi issues | wifi won’t connect or keeps disconnecting

Wifi issues can vary so this troubleshooting article only provides general solutions. If your Galaxy Tab A has wifi issues and you don’t know what to do, be sure to follow the suggestions in this post. We give you 9 solutions that you can try to fix whatever wifi problem you may be having.

How to fix Galaxy Tab A wifi issues | wifi won’t connect or keeps disconnecting

Majority of wifi issues on Galaxy Tab A are fixable on a user’s end. Learn what you can do if you’re having wifi trouble on this device.

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #1: Check router

If you encounter wifi issues on your Galaxy Tab A, the first troubleshooting step that you must do is to check if the problem stems from the router itself. If you have another wireless device (smartphone, laptop, tablet), try to connect it to the router and see if the problem occurs. If the second device has the same problem, there might be an issue with the router. You should focus on troubleshooting the router first to fix the issue. If you don’t know how to do that, contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for guidance. 

As part of this process, you should restart your router. Unplug the router’s power cable for about 5 seconds before plugging everything back in. Once the router has been refreshed, check for the problem again. 

If you have no access to the router and you’re only having trouble connecting to a particular network like school or hotel wifi, talk to the network administrator for help.

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #2: Get the error

If there’s an error code or message that shows up everytime wifi disconnects or crashes, you should make sure that you take note of it. Errors are usually key to fixing problems. What you must do is to Google search the error to see if there’s an online solution that you can follow. If the issue is rampant and affects a lot of users, there may be a published online solution. 

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #3: Perform soft reset

Restarting a device with a wifi issue is sometimes effective. If you haven’t rebooted your Galaxy Tab A with wifi issues, be sure to do it now. Try restarting it normally first by pressing the Power button to access the boot menu. Then, select Restart option and see if that works.

Another way to restart the device is by pressing and holding the Volume Down button and the Power key at the same time for 10 seconds or until the device’s screen turns on. This simulates the effect of having disconnected the battery from the device. If this works, this may unlock the device.

If doing the regular restart won’t help, then try this:

  1. Press and hold the Volume Down button first and don’t release it.
  2. While holding it down, press and hold the Power key.
  3. Keep both keys held down for 10 seconds or more. 

The second and third restart procedures try to simulate the effects of removing the battery pack. On older devices, disconnecting the battery is often an effective way in fixing unresponsive devices. If nothing changed though, proceed to the next suggestions.

Rebooting your device regularly at least once every week can be beneficial. If you tend to forget things, we suggest that you configure your phone to reboot on its own. You can schedule it to do this task by doing these steps:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Device Care.
  3. Tap the 3-dot at the top.
  4. Select Auto restart.

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #4: Disconnect from wifi network

Like soft restart or reboot, disconnecting from wifi network may sometimes work. Be sure to try this simple potential solution before proceeding to other suggestions below. To disconnect from wifi, follow these steps:

  1. On any screen, pull down the notification bar from the top.
  2. Press and hold the Wifi icon.
  3. Tap on the wifi network.
  4. Tap Forget at the bottom.
  5. Once your Galaxy Tab A has disconnected from the network, restart it before reconnecting.

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #5: Reset network settings

If forgetting the network won’t work, your next step is to ensure that you clear the current network configuration. By doing this, you are effectively wiping all network configurations including all the wifi networks saved as well as their passwords. To clear network settings:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap General management.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Tap Reset Network settings.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS button to confirm.
  6. Restart your Galaxy Tab A and check for the problem.

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #6: Wipe cache partition

If your Galaxy Tab A wifi issues started after installing a system update or app, there may be a problem with the system cache. This cache is used by Android to load apps quickly. If the system cache on your Galaxy Tab A is corrupt or outdated, it might interfere with some Android functions, or cause other problems. To ensure that your Galaxy Tab A system cache is fresh, you have to clear the cache partition from time to time. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time for 5 seconds.
  3. Release the Power and Volume Up buttons.
  4. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. 
  5. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe cache partition.’
  7. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  8. Press the Power button to go ahead with clearing of cache partition.
  9. After clearing the cache partition, press the Power button again for Reboot system now.
  10. That’s it!

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #7: Observe on Safe Mode

Another possible reason why there may be wifi issues on your Galaxy Tab A can be a bad app. Sometimes, poorly coded apps may interfere with Android and cause problems. At other times, malware or bad apps are intentionally designed to cause problems or prevent certain functions to not work. If you noticed that wifi functionality started to act erratically after installing a new app, erasing that app might help. If you can not recall which app you installed, or if you suspect that one of the apps is to blame, try to restart your device to safe mode. On SAfe Mode, all third party apps are suspended and can’t run. If you can’t remember the app, try to restart the device to safe mode and see what happens. So, if the problem goes away on safe mode only, that’s a clear indication that the cause is a bad third party app. To boot the device to safe mode:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Power key.
  3. When Samsung appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting. This may take up to 1 minute. Just be patient to wait for it.
  6. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode on the device.

Remember that third-party applications are disabled in this mode so what you can use are pre-installed apps. If Galaxy Tab A wifi works normally on safe mode only, that means that the problem is due to a bad app. Uninstall the app you recently installed and see if that will fix it. If the problem remains, use the process of elimination to identify the rogue app. Here’s how:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your Galaxy Tab A still won’t turn on normally (but works on safe mode), repeat steps 1-4.

In order to return to normal mode or turn off safe mode:

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. Tap Restart.
  3. The devices restarts in normal mode.

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #8: Install updates

Outdated software and apps may sometimes result to problems. Make sure that Android OS and all apps are running the latest versions available. If your Galaxy Tab A still has wifi issues at this time, check for updates and install them if they’re available. Not only do updates bring cosmetic changes but they also fix known bugs. Although not generally known by many Android users, installing updates sometimes also bring needed fixes for known bugs. Make sure that you don’t delay the installation of any system or app updates. By default, your phone should notify you of any available updates but in case you turn this mechanism off, it’s high time that you manually check for them.

To check for Android or system update:

  1. Open Settings app.
  2. Tap Software update.
  3. Tap Download and install.
  4. Wait for the device to check for updates.
  5. Install the update. If there’s no new update, your phone should tell you so.

For carrier-branded Galaxy Tab A devices, or those that were provided by your carrier, there may not be an option to manually check for updates. All you have to do is to simply confirm if there’s a notification for an update and allow update installation.

To check for app updates:

  1. Open Play Store app.
  2. Tap More options icon (at the upper left).
  3. Tap My apps & games.
  4. Tap Update all button.

Galaxy Tab A wifi issues fix #9: Erase device (factory reset)

If none of the solutions above work, the problem may be caused by a software bug. Try to do a factory reset and see if it fixes the issue. Keep in mind that this will erase the software and delete all personal data. Be sure to create a backup to avoid losing files. After a factory reset, your software will return to its original setup.

Below are the two methods on how to hard reset or factory reset your Galaxy Tab A.

Method 1: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Tab A via Settings Menu

Under normal circumstances, factory reset under Settings menu should be the primary way for you. It’s simpler to do and does not require pressing hardware buttons, which some users may find difficult to do.

  1. Create a backup of your personal data and remove your Google account.
  2. Open Settings app.
  3. Scroll to and tap General management.
  4. Tap Reset.
  5. Select Factory data reset from the given options.
  6. Read the information then tap Reset to continue.
  7. Tap Delete All to confirm action.

Method 2: How to hard reset on Samsung Galaxy Tab A using hardware buttons

If your case is that the phone is not booting up, or it boots but Settings menu is inaccessible, this method can be helpful. First, you need to boot the device to Recovery Mode. Once you successfully access Recovery, that’s the time that you begin proper master reset procedure. It may take some tries for you before you can access Recovery so be patient and simply try again.

  1. If possible, create a backup of your personal data ahead of time. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  2. Also, you want to make sure that you remove your Google account. If your problem prevents you from doing that, then simply skip this step.
  3. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
  4. Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time for 5 seconds.
  5. Release the Power and Volume Up buttons.
  6. The Recovery screen menu will now appear. 
  7. Use the Volume Down button until you are highlighting ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  8. Press the Power button to select ‘Wipe data/factory reset.’
  9. Use Volume Down to highlight Yes.
  10. Press the Power button to confirm factory reset.

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