2nd Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 in 3 months, charging issues (please read)

manicmike

Honorable
Mar 3, 2012
26
0
10,580
I bought my wife a Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 a few days before Black Friday (same price as on BF, didn't want to wait hours just to get a free $5 Stylus). Gave it to my wife for Christmas, about a week later it would not charge on the AC Adaptor or my PC (Cable works fine to charge my GS3 in both instances, so cable/adaptor ruled out).

It would start to charge (circle spinning inside a battery displayed on screen, then changed to the charging logo). After a second or 2 the screen would go black for 5-10 seconds, then the whole thing would start over, circle inside battery, charge for like a second, cut out for 5-10 seconds, lather rinse repeat for about 5 minutes before even that would stop. I could not turn on the tablet for even a second. I was able to exchange it and get a new tablet of the same model from the store, and a little over a month later the second tablet is having the SAME problem.

As far as I know, my wife hasn't let it go completely dead, but I've tried every solution I've been able to find on other threads on this forum (Trickle charge, try hard reset, check cable/adaptor/charger) and the darned thing WILL NOT charge.

Is my only option to try to get ANOTHER replacement (would have to be through Samsung this time), or is there a trick I just haven't found yet?

Tablet:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 (Model GT-5210)
16GB + 32GB Lexar Class 10 MicroSDHC
Android 4.2

Not sure if tech specs matter with tablets, but can't hurt.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!
 

Vanessa31

Estimable
Oct 21, 2014
1
0
4,510
Hi Tom,

I don't have a resolution to your question. But I have been reading through many forums and many of them describe the same issue as you are having. I too own a Samsung 10.1, and have been so frustrated with the charging issue that many people are having. It seems like this issue is well know for Samsung tablets. I have sent my Samsung out twice to be fixed. My issues started 7 months after having the tablet, which I hardly used until then.

I sent my tablet out for repairs in July. I am now sending it in again. I called customer service yesterday and they said since my warranty barely expired in August, that they will give me a 1-time accomadation. I was not pleased with that though, because I know there is nothing I did to my tablet and I don't agree with having a one time accomadation if their product was sold to me with a manufacturing issue. After respectfully arguing my point for one hour with the rep, she noticed I was still within 90 day bench warranty given to me for the repair the last time I sent it in.

I had argue another point though. If I was within the 90 day bench warranty, then why are they coining my repair as a "1 time accomadation?" I asked the rep and said it's just a term that they use. But simple terms do mean a lot more than she was letting on. After arguing for another 15 min, and never getting the supervisor on the line after I asked several times, and after being placed on "brief holds,". I never got to speak to a supervisor.

The rep(Tina) came back to the discussion after placing me on hold for the 3rd again to say no supervisors are available. So we argued some more. She apologized and said she didn't notice my 90 day warranty earlier and told me she will send it in as a redo to the previous repair and not as a one-time accomadation.

I then suggested that Samsung take responsibility for their defective product and guarantee that the next time I call in for repairs, that the repairs are not charged to me. It's the principle. But she said Samsung doesn't promise future incidents, which says to me, that they don't regard or take responsibility for their own manufacturing issues. We argued another 30 minutes. Eventually she scheduled my repairs and emailed me a shipping label saying 1-time accomadation. I have not sent it out for repairs yet as I am waiting to hear back from a supervisor she scheduled to call me within 2 business days.

I'm bothered with the idea that it's a one time thing, Bc I might have to pay for the next repairs. I will not shipping label with that wording because it's a actually a redo of their work. My actual warranty expired in August as I was told. However my husband bought it for me for my birthday in October of last year. So that doesn't add up.

Also I am within the 90 day bench warranty for my last repair.. But they r labeling this repair as a last time accomadation. I am unsure what to do from here. If you find any solutions, please share.

- I did ask what the stipulations are for a one time accom., and Tina said she is not at liberty to disclose that info to me.
 

Garvesh Bharania

Estimable
Nov 26, 2014
1
0
4,510
Well,

I have been through many forums, conclusions, solutions and service center calls, replacing the USB port, restoring to factory default, but nothing came up with the exact solution.

I have been going through a random check by myself, and i noticed one strange thing which is not allowing to charge the TAB, which was Manual Brightness mode, if i keep Auto Brightness mode connected to wall Charger which was supplied with the box (2 AMP 5V charger) it starts charging normally.

i tried to check it randomly, if i keep Manual Brightness mode and charge the TAB at 44%, checking after an hour, it remains at 44% only, but if i change the Brightness mode to Auto mode, within 10mins, it shows 48% from 44%, thats really strange, but fortunately it worked for me.

if anyone come across to this type of solution, then let me know.

Thanks,
Garvesh



 

pudddles

Estimable
Dec 28, 2014
1
0
4,510
Garvesh's solution of changing the brightness mode from manual to auto seems to be working for me as well. personally, it's a pita to have to do this just to get the tablet to charge properly. there are enough people reporting this issue i would think the manufacturer would be looking into the problem. i won't be purchasing another samsung product any time soon.

 

mistterius

Estimable
Jan 14, 2015
1
0
4,510
My wife bought me the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 last year for Christmas 2013. This tablet is not used a whole lot, but when I do use it, I would like it to be trouble free. I switched from my iPad to the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, because so many people had said how great they were. I never had any problems with my iPad ever!! I have had nothing but problems with it concerning the charging. I started having problems with it about 3 months after my first power up. We have taken it back to Best Buy 3 times for warranty repairs and their Geek Squad people send it out. 30 to 60 days later (each time), I get it back (sent to my home). There is no paperwork indicating what work they did, other than they performed test to verify that the repair was done. It works ok, but is still slow to charge and if I let it go completely dead, it takes nearly a week for it to get to even 20%. I travel for work and have been taking this thing in to Best Buy each time I return home. I have read many forums and seems like a awful lot of people are having similar issues. I have tried the "brightness" mode trick, and that does not seem to help. Why can't Samsung produce a quality product or at least stand behind the one that they do produce??

I went to their web site (since my tablet is registered), and they obviously know there is a problem because there is a video "Short Battery Life or Slow Charging - Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 Troubleshooting Tips" here http://www.samsung.com/us/support/search/espsearch.us?searchType=TAG&topic=Power+%2F+Battery&prdMdlCd=GT-P5210&prdMdlName=GT-P5210&prdIaCd=N0000408&prdIaCdUp1=N0000397&prdIaCdUp2=N0000408&b2b=

I can't seem to get ahold of anyone at Samsung by phone, so I am sending them an email today.

I'm done playing nice... Do I need to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau??

Any information to help remedy this situation is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Troy
[email removed]

Tablet:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 (Model Number: GT-P5210ZWYXAR)
16GB + 64GB Samsung Micro SDHC
Android 4.4.2
Kernal Version 3.4.34-2435918


 

Jimbo18jura

Estimable
Apr 16, 2015
1
0
4,510
The Samsung Tab3 tablets seem to have an implementation of Android that checks the USB interface and charging connections very rigorously when battery level is at a low state of charge.

The Samsung chargers apparently have a resistor between the D+ and D- connections on the USB connector to tell the tablet that the charger can support a high rate of charge. If the tablet cannot detect such a resistor, it refuses to charge properly if the battery is already at a low-charge status.

Non-genuine chargers may not have the requisite resistor between D+ and D- tabs so are recognised (when battery is nearly flat) and so will not charge the TAB3.

POSSIBLE FIXES:
1) Use the Samsung charger.
2) Use an interface plug that has the required resistor, between your charger and the TAB3. I have one coded: TF-USB-P100 that I purchased some time ago.
3) Cobble up two USB plugs with the required R between D= and D- - sorry I don't have details just now. (Do a search on USB charging and you may find details.)

Solutions 1 and 2 work fine for my Tab3.

 

Rachel2252

Estimable
Apr 17, 2015
3
0
4,510
 

Rachel2252

Estimable
Apr 17, 2015
3
0
4,510
This sounds scary but it's really not if you know a little about the hardware on electronics like so you should be fine. If your warranty is up and your tablet is not having any possibility of being sent back on your warranty then this method has worked for us if the tablet is not completely dead. You just pop off the back, ( don't worry it will snap back together) and manually disconnect the battery then 5 seconds later reconnect it , snap back together , plug in and or turn on and it should work fine again!
 

mattwales1

Estimable
Jun 19, 2015
1
0
4,510
I've had the same problem, but found a solution. Trickle charge.

Plug a USB cable from the tablet into a port on your laptop/PC. The charge will be significantly slower from here but it seems to 'trick' the tablet into thinking it's not being charged, therefore stopping the reboot cycle. Leave it charging there for 10-15 minutes, just enough to get some power, then start up the tablet, and plug it into a wall socket as usual, it should detect the charge and work fine from there (at least it has with me whenever I've encountered this)

Hope this helps!
 

rachel062

Commendable
Feb 19, 2016
1
0
1,510
i had the problem of black screen and not turning on at all i did the button combination and just got message "low voltage should be above 3.4v" i also tried unplugging battery but still didnt turn on. so i purchased a new battery and charging port on ebay costing £10 in total replace them both and now up and running like a dream and i found it really easy to replace both part my self hope this helps
 

Barr__

Commendable
Sep 24, 2016
1
0
1,510
Great, the trickle charge works for me too.
Also I use an auxiliary battery which brings the charging back to life.
Someone on search says take the back off and disconnect the battery for 30 secs, but this was when the tablet would not charge due to allowing it to run flat.
Answer is to never let it go lower than 10 percent.
Barry
 

Steve_151

Commendable
Oct 13, 2016
1
0
1,510
Do not use 1 amp phone charger. The initial charge current attempting to charge a vey low battery causes the charger to shut down. Always use a 2 amp charger. Kindles have the same problem.