How To Fix Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) Common Problems

Samsung’s Note series are among the most successful and popular Android devices but just like others, they’re not perfect. That’s the reason why I started this series as we have also receive a lot of emails from our readers who own Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition.

The problems cited in this post are common so if you own a tablet like this and currently experiencing some issues, please browse this post to see if I’ve already addressed them. Otherwise, feel free to tell us about your problems through email at [email protected]. I assure you, we will help find solutions to your problems. We also have Facebook and Google+ pages where you can post your concerns.

#1. Transfer downloaded movies to microSD card

Q: Hello guys, my concern is not really a serious problem but since I am not a techie person, I have to ask you a question that might find very easy to answer. Can I move movies I downloaded from Samsung Hub to my SD card? I am preparing for a trip to outskirts of Italy where internet connection may be an issue. So, I downloaded movies so I have something to entertain me while travelling. But now, I’ve having memory issues. By the way, I own a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. — Lyra

A: Lyra, you may not like my answer but no, you can’t copy them over to your microSD card. Contents downloaded from Samsung Hub are copyrighted or licensed that it would be illegal to move them over to an external storage device where they could be shared with others.

What others do is buy a copy of DVD or Blu Ray and rip contents so they can convert them to a format that’s readable to the phone. That way, they can carry them over and transferred at will. But as far as legalities are concerned, well, they’re not really legal. I’m sure you understand where we stand when it comes to these things. But I hope I’ve somehow answered your question.

#2. How to turn off PIN lock when it’s disabled by administrator

Q: I have my own Wi-Fi at home but when I arrived at the office, I have to connect to my company’s network but when I do that, I’m forced to use PIN to lock my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition). I understand it’s my company’s security procedure but the funny thing is, whenever I try to connect to that network, it seems like somebody has taken control over my device. When I go to security settings, the swipe option is greyed out with a note that says “Turned off by administrator or credential storage.” I just don’t want to use PIN and how can I regain full access to my tablet? Thanks. — Jorge

A: First of all, we don’t want to teach people how to breach secured networks; that’s not the reason why we’re doing this, okay? You made it clear, or you didn’t say otherwise, that you’ll only get those restrictions every time you connect to your company’s Wi-Fi network. So, if you don’t want your access to be limited, don’t use / connect to the network.

But since you asked how to regain your full access to your tablet, try deleting all Wi-Fi networks and VPNs (if any) associated with your company and start all over. If that doesn’t work, go to Wi-Fi > tap and hold on the Wi-Fi network > choose Advanced > set Proxy to ‘None’. If that doesn’t work either, I’m pretty sure your company is using some kind of ‘credentials’ to force you to use certain screen lock options, in this case, it’s the PIN lock. This is what you’re going to do to use other lock methods:

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Find and tap Settings.
  3. Now scroll to and tap Security.
  4. Under Security settings screen, find Clear Credentials option and tap on it.
  5. At this point, you can now choose the screen lock you want to use on your tablet.

#3. Tablet shows SD card unexpectedly removed

Q: I own a Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) and about a week or two ago, I was randomly getting an error message saying “SD card unexpectedly removed.” I wasn’t doing anything on the tablet when the messaged popped up. The error message now keeps popping up more frequently so I’m a littler perplexed here since I take care of my tablet. No physical damage, no liquid damage, only a few apps are installed, and I don’t play game apps with it. In other words, I treat the device good. Help me with this problem please. Thank you. — Miley

A: I hate to break it to you, Miley, but your microSD card could already be damaged. But another possibility is that there could be a problem with the SD slot; it could be loose, or the receptors are corroded. So, the first thing I want you to do is unmount your microSD card and remove it from your tablet carefully. Now, with a soft, clean and dry piece of cloth, wipe its connectors. Do the same to the SD slot on the tablet. After that, insert the SD card into the slot and make sure it’s properly mounted or fitted. If it’s kind of loose in any way, insert a small piece of paper just to eliminate the play.

Turn your Note 10.1 on and allow it to read from the card. Observe closely if it would still unmount. If so, remove it again and have your computer or laptop read from it. If a computer can read from it, backup all data saved in it and reformat it to FAT32 format. Once you did that, insert the card again and let the device do its job. If the problem still persists, I’m quite certain at this moment that the card was damaged and you need to buy a new one to replace it.

I’m sorry but there’s only so much we can do for a failing microSD card. I would not advice you to continue using it for the sake of the safety of your data or files.

#4. Galaxy Note 10.1 getting pretty warm

Q: I just bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 and I noticed that some of the areas are getting pretty warm, almost hot. The area that is noticeably warm is the upper right port of the tablet. Is it normal for the Note 10.1 to get this warm? I also own a China tablet but it doesn’t get as warm as my Note. It may not be a problem but I just want to know if it’s normal or not so I can return the device and get a better replacement. Thank you. — Xyrel

A: Yes, it’s normal. The reason why the upper area of the tablet is hot is because almost all components are located in that area. The lower portion is for the tablet’s 8220 mAh battery. With its quad core processor, RAM, flash memory, 3D graphics processor, touchscreen controller, etc., all located in that area, it is just normal that you’d feel the heat especially after using the device for a few hours.

But just to give you an idea, when the device gets unusually hot and its performance deteriorated (for example you notice lags, freezes, etc.), that is not normal already. You may have to bring the tablet back to the store where you bought it or have it checked by an authorized technician as soon as possible.

#5. Note 10.1 has issues playing videos after the update

Q: Hi guys, I recently received a notification that my Galaxy Note 10.1 is going to get an update. So, I did download it and installed it successfully. Everything is working fine except for the stock video player. It used to play my videos smoothly but now it seems like it’s buffering or something. The video flickers and there’s no sound coming out. I am wondering if this is a known issue with the device. But the strange thing is that, the video player used to play videos without problems prior to the update. Did I get a bad update? — Jeremiah

A: This problem is not common. If the problem started after the update, it could be that the video player just has some corrupt data that need to be cleared. So, the first thing I want you to do is clear both the cache and data of the video player.

  1. From the Home screen, tap Apps.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Select the General tab, then tap Application manager.
  4. Swipe left or right to choose All tab.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Clear cache.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.

If clearing the app’s cache and data won’t solve the problem, then try wiping the cache partition.

  1. Press and hold the Power key, tap Power off, and then tap OK.
  2. Press and hold the Power key and Up Volume key at the same time.
  3. Release the Power key when the Samsung logo appears.
  4. Release the Up Volume keys when the Android image appears.
  5. Press the Down Volume key to select Wipe cache partition.
  6. Press the Power key.
  7. Once “Cache wipe complete” appears, press the Power key to select Reboot system now.
  8. The device restarts once the wipe is finished.

I hope this helps.

#6. Tablet’s screen remains black after draining its battery

Q: I went on a vacation and I remember I left my tablet playing music with 20+% battery. After a week I came back home and found out my Note 10.1 (2014 edition) is dead. So I knew right there and then the battery was completely drained. I charged it and left it for 3 hours. I slept during that duration and when I woke up I checked on it and there was nothing on the screen so I thought the charging was complete. However, I’m not sure if I saw the usual charging icon when I charged it. The Home and Back buttons lit up and the tablet beeped but the screen remains black. I waited at least 30 minutes but it was still black. I don’t know what to do so I’m asking you if you know something to fix this problem, please suggest. Thanks. — David

A: Usually, for this kind of problem, you just have to take the battery out for a minute, place it back in and that should work. For your case, however, it won’t work because in the first place the battery is not removable. So, I want you to press and hold the power button until the device is totally turned off. Now, attempt to boot the tablet to recovery mode by pressing and holding the power key and volume key at the same time. If the device boots up to recovery mode, then there’s no problem with your tablet, otherwise, have it checked.

#7. Multi Users Profile missing on Galaxy Note 10.1

Q: Hi guys, I just got my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 and it’s missing the multi users profile where you can setup profiles for other users as if they are logged in as different users. That’s one of the reasons why I chose this tablet over the others but it turned out the feature is nowhere to be found. Do you know how I could get that? Thanks. — Lady

A: Initially, the Multi User feature was made available on US Wi-Fi variant with model number SM-P600. The recent KitKat update, however, brought it to other variants globally. So, if you haven’t updated your tablet yet, please do that. If, however, you’ve already updated it but the feature isn’t available still, I urge you to perform factory reset. This procedure will bring the phone back to the original settings of the current OS installed, so I’m pretty sure you’ll get the multi user feature once you did that.

#8. Galaxy Note 10.1 multi-window question

Q: So I travel a lot and I always bring my Note 10.1 with me. I have a lot of travel books in my Kindle file and Nook file and it’s a necessity for me to be able to view maps, which are saved in my Gallery as picture files. Is there a way I can open one of the files from Nook or Kindle while viewing my maps? I know that Samsung devices have this multi-window feature but it doesn’t work the way I want. What can you suggest? Thanks — Ted

A: Yes, high-end Samsung devices come with the multi-window feature wherein you can open two apps and display them side-by-side on the screen. But the fact is, it’s Samsung’s initiative to pack this feature. That said, majority of apps in the Play Store that didn’t come from Samsung are not compatible. And basically, what you can see on the multi-window tray are the ones that are compatible and there are only a few of them. So, there’s nothing we can do about it unless developers make their app compatible with that feature. But try Mantano Reader, I think it works with the Flash Bar service.

#9. Internet doesn’t work on Galaxy Note 10.1 anymore

Q: I bought a new router and set everything up correctly. There are three laptops at home with 2 iPads and all of them can connect to my network except for my lonely Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition. I rebooted, forget my network several times, and even performed factory reset but it just cannot connect to the internet. I can’t even load a webpage on my tablet. I’m not really a techie guy but I know a thing or two about basic wireless networking. I’m at a loss here now so I need your help guys. How can I fix this? — Felix

A: It could be a router problem. The router is new and it was just setup. If the tablet can connect to the network but can’t get internet to work, then it’s just a setting problem. I was anticipating you would include the name of the router so we could have more information. But you haven’t, the only thing I can make you try is to change your router’s Network mode or the channel; that usually works. But it’s also a good choice to call the router’s manufacturer and have their rep walk you through setting up your network properly for your tablet and other devices.

#10. Galaxy Note 10.1 screen black after dropped

Q: I accidentally dropped my Galaxy Note 10.1 on the floor. The surface wasn’t hard because it was carpeted, and the height of the drop was from the waistline. But however soft the surface was and however low it was dropped from, the device was totally affected. The screen is now black and whatever I do, it just wouldn’t come back on. I mean, the device turns on as I can see the keys lit up plus there is vibration and audio; only the screen has some issues. There are no cracks whatsoever on the screen so I assume it wasn’t really that bad. Do you know how to fix this issue? — Natalie P.

A: It is obviously a hardware problem and based on what you’ve said, I think there is no major damage on the tablet. It could be that some connections may have been loosen due to the impact. You can try to open the device if you are confident enough and then lift ribbon or cable that connects the screen to the motherboard. Mount it back and make sure it makes good contact. That should do it.

However, if you’re not confident enough to try this, then don’t as you might end up messing your device’s hardware. Let the technician do it for you or at least someone with experience. I hope this helps.

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