WiFi is gone

[Vol4Ever]

I've had this tablet (SM-P600) for almost a year now & it has worked perfectly. Over the last week or so, the WiFi has been randomly turning on & off. Not just losing signal, but actually showing as off in the menus. As of this morning, wifi will not turn on at all. Just says "turning on" on the screen & sits. Never gets to the next screen showing all the open networks.

Everything is fully backed up so I went into recovery tonight. Did the full factory reset and wipe procedures. Tablet boots back like it is as supposed to, but wifi wont turn on when getting to that screen in the initial setup.

Tablet has been well cared in a case, not dropped, and not gotten wet. However I am still positive this is a hardware issue.

Any ideas for things I might try? Help!! Thx in advance

 

[MA SYAM]

I've the same problem with my galaxy note 10.1 2014 edition SM-P605 :crying: Still haven't found solution

 

[Vol4Ever]

I am almost 100% certain this is some type of hardware problem. I tried flashing about 3 different ROM's and 3 different kernels, all of which successfully booted up. I finished by doing a 100% re-wipe (data & system included) & reinstalling a pure stock kernel and firmware. On every single revision, the words "turning on" would appear when clicking the WiFi option, but then it would get stuck. Message would eventually clear & I could continue using everything on the tablet . . . . . . . just no WiFi or Bluetooth functionality.

Final attempt was to gently remove the back cover. When lightly tapping around different points on the MoBo, the names of my local wireless networks would OCCASIONALLY appear. At one point they locked in & I really thought I had it. However, the whole thing disconnected again after a few minutes & I was back to square 1. :crying:

I never could figure out the perfect sweet spot to pinpoint the problem. My guess now is either a chip or ribbon cable that isn't seated properly, but I poked and pushed (gently!) on everything that was visible without removing any hardware other than just the back cover. Does anyone have a link to the layout of the motherboard that shows EXACTLY which piece is the WiFi/BT module? I did find an online disassembly tutorial with a random Google search, but for some reason they failed to identify this particular module.

Sorry for the long post, but I feel I am SO CLOSE to figuring this out once and for all. Just need a little more tech help to push across the goal line. Thanks!!

~Vol

 

[irfanadli97]

I've had this tablet for almost a year now & it has worked perfectly. Over the last week or so, the WiFi has been randomly turning on & off. Not just losing signal, but actually showing as off in the menus. As of this morning, wifi will not turn on at all. Just says "turning on" on the screen & sits. Never gets to the next screen showing all the open networks.

Everything is fully backed up so I went into recovery tonight. Did the full factory reset and wipe procedures. Tablet boots back like it is as supposed to, but wifi wont turn on when getting to that screen in the initial setup.

Tablet has been well cared in a case, not dropped, and not gotten wet. However I am still positive this is a hardware issue.

Any ideas for things I might try? Help!! Thx in advance

What model is your tablet?

This was sent from my Lenovo A850 via XDA mobile app.

 

[Vol4Ever]

What model is your tablet?

Sorry about that. It's just the initial release plain jane WiFi model. SM-P600

 

[Vol4Ever]

Update:

After a little more poking and prodding on the MoBo, I'm starting to see activity. Tablet will finally connect again, but will only hold the connection for 10-15 seconds and then drop back out. A few seconds later the cycle repeats.

I really wish I could find a good hi-res photo of the motherboard to help. HAS to be a simple loose connection, or maybe a not-so-good solder point somewhere???

 

[irfanadli97]

Sorry about that. It's just the initial release plain jane WiFi model. SM-P600

......
never heard of 'em, is it a cheapo tablet? In my country there's a store of them (Allwinner 6.6" tablet with microSD slot, 2gb internal w/o bluetooth WIFI ONLY INTENDED FOR CASUAL GAMING, or should I call it kids only tablet, RM130 ($35))

That thing has a cheap plasticy housing, unneat design but has a pretty good performance (it plays dead trigger pretty well)

This was sent from my Lenovo A850 via XDA mobile app.

 

[Vol4Ever]

......
never heard of 'em, is it a cheapo tablet?

SM-P600 is Samsung's actual model number for the WiFi only version of the 2014 Galaxy Note 10.1. Most definitely NOT a cheapo tablet!! Although this wifi issue makes me wonder. I had the functionality back for about a day or so, and then it disappeared again. This has to be a simple case of a loose connector, but I sure can't find it. Ugh. Utterly frustrating.

 

[irfanadli97]

oo...my bad
maybe software issue

This was sent from my Lenovo A850 via XDA mobile app.

 

[thunderx2000]

What firmware version are you using because I am having the same issue. I manually updated to the september update (P600UEUCNI1) for the wifi version and started experiencing the same issue.

 

[dew.man]

Same here. I think it's an issue with NII firmware.

 

[Vol4Ever]

*****PARTIAL solution*****

I have proven 100% that mine is problematic hardware . . . . . NOT software or kernel. For the time being my WiFi is back up & seemingly stable. I had to remove the back from the tablet for the fix. You have to be *extremely* careful, but it just snaps off with no screws. Lots of YouTube videos if you choose to attempt, but please don't say I didn't give you fair warning!

The reason I say partial solution is that I haven't pinpointed the exact location of the short. I am 99% sure it is somewhere on the extreme upper left hand corner as you face the front of the tablet. There are a couple of ribbon connectors in that area, and a few snap on type connectors that look like little motherboard chips. After gently poking & prodding the ribbons and disconnecting & reconnecting the snap connectors (being CAREFUL; I cannot stress this enough), my WiFi reappeared.

My final tip is to keep the screen on the page that shows the list of available networks. If you are having the same problem I was, this screen will just show "turning on" and nothing else for the WiFi. While poking around, I would occasionally see the list of networks pop up & then go back off. I finally hit whatever the magic spot is, and the networks held. Snapped the back cover on again, and I've been online for probably 4-5 days now without a single hiccup.

And before I get flamed, I know how dangerous it is to poke around with a powered, exposed tablet. There are probably certain points that could make connection and FRY the entire thing in an instant. I was just willing to take the risk as my tablet was useless without network capability. I had nothing to lose. I would recommend at least trying to poke & prod with the tablet OFF a few times to be safe, but I personally got tired of rebooting over & over & over & over. My luck sucks. With the tablet ON, I was at least able to monitor when something was happening.

Good luck if you attempt it!!

~Vol

 

[slacker2011]

I've had this tablet (SM-P600) for almost a year now & it has worked perfectly. Over the last week or so, the WiFi has been randomly turning on & off. Not just losing signal, but actually showing as off in the menus. As of this morning, wifi will not turn on at all. Just says "turning on" on the screen & sits. Never gets to the next screen showing all the open networks.

Everything is fully backed up so I went into recovery tonight. Did the full factory reset and wipe procedures. Tablet boots back like it is as supposed to, but wifi wont turn on when getting to that screen in the initial setup.

Tablet has been well cared in a case, not dropped, and not gotten wet. However I am still positive this is a hardware issue.

Any ideas for things I might try? Help!! Thx in advance

I bought my Note in March of this year, I started having the WiFi issue after the April firmware update. At first I would get the Connected to... message at random times, even though I had full signal strength. At the end of September, I started losing connection at random times and in the middle of October, I had to send it in to Best Buy's Geek Squad service to have them repair it. It is a hardware issue, as the no matter what firmware version I use, it will never connect to the router. I know it, Geek Squad is aware of it, as I have sent it in for repair twice so far. I would have to send it in a third time before they will think about replacing it with a new Note. I will admit, that before I updated it in May, I did root it, because I tried to remove the Business Week+ and New York Times apps, as I never used either one of them. I tried disabling them, only to have them reactivate and update themselves.

 

[Lourens.dL]

Damn, what I read here is not good news. My SM-P605's died yesterday.

With Tapatalk on my Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014)

 

[R8GENT]

Hardware issue for sure. Same problem with mine. Opened the back case, disconnected the upper right (as your looking at the screen) small ribbon, reconnected, and boom, perfect wifi once again!

 

[lecorbusier]

The EZ Package Disabler app is fine for debloating rooted and non-rooted devices with Touchwiz roms. It uses Knox, so that mustn't be removed. The apps are still on the system partition, but are completely dead now. While other apps, especually for non-rooted devices kill the system apps during boit and try to prevent their restart. But during boot the whole stuff is active until the app kicks in, allowing the system apps to receive updates, communicate, spam free flash mem etc.
The app wirks the same way on my rooted P605 and unrooted S5. And gives a reason to buy Samsung stuff, unlike Touchwiz and its bloatware. As far as custom roms go, i found that of my old LG L9 much better. Even if the early roms were AOSP 4.0.4 based, then 4.1.3, they had already had the fresh & bright look & feel of the future Kitkat, and a few useful enhancements like an integrated backup tool, which was more simple, but for me as useful as TB.

As for the main problem here, i think using a case with a hardened backside, and not one if these with a big hole(though being better than nothing), prevents oroblens like battery, display and seemingly wifi connectors loosening. Or bad solder joints. The backplate of the note gives thru any pressure on the back, especially in the middle area. It then rests on the battery, metal shields, connectors and stuff. This seems to generate enough wear over time for problems. The same back plate on a much smaller device(my S5, but that has a subchassis covering the innards, too) would be much stiffer, and my 7" tablet has an aluminium unibody case, such trouble is unknown there.

 

[Atom79]

Hi Gents..
same problem here... I used to own a SM-600 purchased in 2014 unfortunately I lost it... (the first tablet worked without any proble until I lost it...) than I managed to found the same modell brand new on amazon... it worked for 2 weeks and 2 days ago wifi died... but funny enough not straight away.... first couple time just switched off the wifi... I managed to switch simply back... next day it only worked if restarted the device... now factory reset nothing... If it is hardware related why worked 2 weeks witout any problem? If it is software related why not working after software reset? Only installed a few apps from the store.. the device did not overheated or physically damaged...

 

[blazzer12]

I have the exact same problem.

Since I bought this a long time ago, I have to pay for the repair. I just want to know if it is worth it. How much did it cost you (if you bothered)?

 

[lmacmil]

In my opinion it would be foolish to spend a dime to repair a 4 year old tablet. If the battery is original, it may well be near the end of its useful life as well. FWIW, I bought this tablet used about 8 months ago and have not experienced this wifi problem.

 

[lecorbusier]

It's still so well equipped, that you can't simply replace with a modern entry level or midline tablet, but with a top of the line one, so a repair is well an option.
I just don't have a clue about the SoCs performance level. To which current ones it would equal and where things get better. I can only compare it to my similarly(Snapdragon 801) equipped phone and my cheap 7" tablet's quad core Mediatek SoC, and that is considerably worse, though being three years newer.