I have been trying to troubleshoot this slow/inconsistent internet issue on my brand new Galaxy Tab A8 (new model "SM-X200") for the last week with no resolution.
I have been running speed tests through google and ookla all day and have been getting download speeds anywhere from 0.48mbps up to 20mbps. Most of the tests resulted in a speed of 2mbps to 10mbps.
Meanwhile, I was also running speed tests in the same spot on my s21 phone and it was getting up to 50-100mbps.
Also, this is my 2nd galaxy tab a8 I’ve bought this month. I originally bought the 32gb (3gb ram) version and had horrendous wifi problems. The wifi would drop every couple of minutes, and most of the time I would have to restart the tablet to get it to connect again, only to have it drop a couple minutes later. It was so bad I couldn’t even complete simple internet browser searches (with no other windows or apps running).
So I returned it and thought I would try the 64gb (4gb ram) version. It has been better, but there are still issues with the wifi disconnecting every couple hours (sometimes more often, sometimes less).
All “fixes” I’ve tried related to wifi issues:
Updated to the most current software/security patches
Reset the tablet
Deleted system cache during system boot up
Repeatedly toggled wifi off/on for 30+ sec when internet would drop
Reset the router
Forgot network > restarted tablet > joined network again.
Changed “Mac Address Type” to “Mac Tablet” mode
Ran it in static mode in IP settings
Switched the DNS1 and DNS2 IP’s
I’ve run the tablet in developer mode
Enabled wifi verbose logging
Disabled wifi scan throttling
Disabled wifi nearby scanning
Factory reset
Nothing has seemed to help reduce how often the wifi disconnects, or help increase the speed of the internet.
This seems to be an extremely common issue with Tab a8's in general, so I'm not sure how Samsung hasn't resolved it yet. When I called customer support, the Samsung Pro said if I had tried their common reset solutions without success, that I should just return it because it was faulty. But now the new one has the same issue, along with my fiance's A8 as well. So it's 3 for 3...
If anyone has anymore successful fixes that I don't have listed above, I would love to give them a try. Thanks!
Well.. is your tablet new or from a third party that sells refurbished? Although you very could've have just got very unlucky and had a little frog cling to your sleeve.. if that makes sense? Oof.. I'd recommend you try the lookout app.. its green icon color. It tells you a how to spot and be able to tell what kind of thing may be happening in your apps, your device, or you... I remember reading one of identifiers about low or high signals or battery stuff and dang it.. You're should check it out. Anyway I'd just call your manufacture about or look into how your voicemail also has weird settings.. or just ask your customer service more information about what could/would cause that. Because I personally I've struggled with problems with my past two androids. And welp.. if you just need something to get by or whatever.. I suppose they work.. but.. if at all.. I'd recommened something like a black Berry brand and or definitely any service brand that's not super big.. stay away from anything that has to do with gmnvo
I purchased both of my tablets brand new from Walmart. My fiance, who also is having intermittent wifi issues, bought hers new from Best Buy. Thanks, i'll look into lookout app though. Although, I'm not terribly tech savy, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to decifer anything wrong in the logs.
I tried calling Samgsung directly and explaining the issue, and they literally couldn't give me one solution other than restarting the tablet, factory resetting, and then returning it if that didn't resolve the issue.
Tried my phone late at night when most people in the household were asleep so there was very little activity on the router, and my speeds actually went down further (0.21mbps to 6mbps). It was basically unusable even just for chrome browser searches.
Then I used my tablet for chrome searches for about 6 hours today and didn’t have any issues. Then I went on instagram and within 15min my internet crashed, and it wouldn’t reconnect.
This Is Where It Got Interesting: I figured I would check my download speeds on my s21 phone (running on 5g NOT wifi), and I got up to 250mbps.
So I decided to try to connect my tablet to my s21’s hotspot, and I GOT DOWNLOAD SPEEDS BETWEEN 140mbps-180mbps!!!
I was able to open 10+ apps (usually opening 1 or more would crash my internet), and then play a simple game while it all ran in the background. Even with all of that running, my download speeds were still around 80mbps.
Once I disconnected from the hotspot, my wifi instantly dropped connection and wouldn’t reconnect until I closed all of the apps, and toggled the wifi on and off for a minute.
If anyone can shed some light on why it has no problem keeping up high speeds while connected to my s21’s “wifi hotspot” but can barely get above 5mbps regularly (when it should be 40-80mbps consistently), please let me know.
I think I’ll try setting up a portable travel router that I have laying around, and see if that clears a kink somewhere in the system.
It absolutely could be your router, check for a firmware update. When I provide troubleshooting tips most people refuse to even reboot their router because they're convinced that isn't the issue.
The travel router is a good idea to try.
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I set it up to bridge my connection wirelessly, and my Wi-Fi hasn’t dropped once, and I get consistent download speeds.
While the travel router was set to 2.4ghz, I would get speeds between 10-16mbps. But when I switched to 5ghz, my speeds are now 35mbps CONSISTENTLY.
This makes absolutely no sense to me… Especially because the travel router is basically just a Wi-Fi extender as far as I know, and I already have a Wi-Fi extender 15ft away from my bedroom door.
While this is a great fix for using the tablet in my room, I’m still very concerned that any other Wi-Fi connection will deem my tablet unusable again…
This model just has buggy wifi hardware, unfortunately. It's a very well-known issue. Great that you found a workaround for inside the house, though.
I was thinking that since it is possible (I think) to add a 3g dongle via the USB C port, it should theoretically possible to connect a wifi dongle using a USB hub -- has anyone actually tried this?
I've had nothing but problems with Wi-Fi since day 1 with this device. Also done everything mentioned above. The only thing I've noticed is that having the Wi-Fi scan throttling disabled seems to "improve" the issue slightly, i.e. a few less disconnections.
There are multiple threads on Samsung, XDA, Reddit, etc. about exactly this Wi-Fi stability so clearly this is a broad issue affecting many Tab A8s. Factory resets and swapping the device does not help.
A bit irritating to receive answers from Ambassadors always blaming the router when clearly the problem is broader than that.
The Wi-Fi stability issues makes the device virtually unusable at times! I've never been so frustrated with a device, nor have I ever had Wi-Fi problems with any device like this. It's not even possible to sell this to someone else if the Wi-Fi doesn't work!
Praying that this is fixed in the Android 12 update coming hopefully later this month.
Yeah it's pretty frustrating. I like the tablet, but as you said, I have never had any problems with wifi instability like this on any device I've ever connected. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the android 12 update as well. If you keep having problems, consider a travel router until the update drops, because I've been getting between 30-100mbps since I switched.
Finally discovered what the issue was and have solved it! Thank goodness. A thread on Reddit uncovered that the Tab A8 does not connect properly to certain 5GHz frequency bands (5620 / 5640), which would explain the constant dropping of the connection.
In many routers there is a setting to automatically switch over to 5GHz using the same SSID. I disabled switching over to 5GHz, essentially locking it to 2.4GHz and now the Wifi works perfectly as expected.
Shame that the 5GHz is a bit flawed but at least the device is stable and usable now. So glad to have found this fix.
