NOUGAT destroyed my tablet

[lmhutchins]

Hi

I decided to take a chance on the nougat upgrade, since I assumed I could roll it back if I didn't like it.

Now, my beautiful Samsung tablet that used to give me 12 hours battery life will only last 4-5 hours. (And yes - it's been over a week now). It used to be very responsive; now it hangs and freezes and acts like a 5-year-old $50 tablet from Walmart.

I did a factory reset but the tablet upgraded itself AGAIN, and still the same problems.

I paid a lot of money for this tablet, and not too long ago. I can't afford another, and would never go with another Samsung - or even an other Android - now, anyhow. What can I do?

Thanks

 

[mikedt]

Could try this for rolling it back to a previous Android version. Just factory resetting won't restore previous versions
https://www.getdroidtips.com/downgrade-galaxy-tab-9-7-nougat-marshmallow/
Here be dragons and is yours the Galaxy Tab A 9.7 T555 variant?

I don't have any Samsungs myself, good luck!

 

[lmhutchins]

Thank you much for your response. I saw that solution, but the poster admonishes that it will only work with a T555, and mine is a Galaxy Tab A 9.7" T550. ( Is it close enough??)

I'm on my desktop now. I tried to reply to this thread on the Tab A, but it no longer functions as a tablet. It's more like...just a reader....

If it ain't broke...!

(I can't afford an iPad. What's next? Certainly not a Kindle....)

Thank you again!

 

[svim]

Not knowing what else you might have already tried beside that Factory Reset, the following may be repetition but...
-- Try wiping the system cache partition. That's one of the first things to do after a system upgrade. The system cache has its own dedicated partition and isn't even accessible from your Settings menu, you need to reboot your Tab A into its Recovery Mode. The Recovery Mode is a text only interface so you need to use the indicated buttons to navigate through its menu options. So boot up into Recovery Mode, select the 'wipe cache partition' option, and then restart your Tab A again. This link gives you instructions on booting up into Recovery Mode:
http://www.hardreset.info/devices/samsung/samsung-t550-galaxy-tab-a-97/recovery-mode/

-- If there's no improvement after wiping the system cache, try rebooting your Tab A into Safe Mode. When running it's just the basic Android operating system that gets loaded up, any third-party apps you've installed are left out so you have to manually start up everything. If your tablet is running better while in Safe Mode that's an indicator some app is causing the problem. Possibly some version conflict of an app with Nougat. Odds are this isn't a real solid option as you did a Factory Reset but it doesn't hurt to try either.

-- If that's still a problem, you might want to just re-flash the stock ROM. Flashing a ROM is essentially the same as reloading the OS on a computer. You'll need a computer to do this, and you'll need a utility like Odin or Heimdall to do it, along with downloading the proper ROM.
You can download a ROM from either sammobile or updato, both are reliable sources for Samsung stock ROMs. Be sure to get the proper ROM that matches your model (SM-T550) and your carrier. ROMs are not interchangeable and are specific for each model, using the wrong one or one 'that's close enough' can brick your tablet or at best make it run erratically.
sammobile
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-tab-a/SM-T350/
updato
http://updato.com/firmware-archive-select-model?q=GALAXY+Tab+A+sm-t550&exact=1&r=&v=&rpp=15
You can download Odin from here and install it on your PC:
http://www.droidviews.com/download-odin-tool-for-samsung-galaxy-devices-all-versions/
At the bottom of the actual sammobile ROM download page there are basic instructions the steps to take to flash the ROM. Note that Odin is a Windows utility so if you don't have a Windows PC available, there's an Open Source alternative, Heimdall that's available for Linux, Mac, and Windows:
https://glassechidna.com.au/heimdall/

 

[lmhutchins]

Thank you. I was trying to get into recovery mode, but was pressing the wrong buttons. Alas, wiping the cache made it even worse. I have been looking for a firmware download for several hours now. found one for USA but it offers many versions of Odin, and no explanation. So I DL'ed the latest....

I work 2 jobs, so there's no time to actually do any of this stuff!!

Thank you for those links. So far, all I can seem to get from them are foistware offers...no actual downloads. (I mean, all kinds of downloads, but no firmware. Only your usual assortment of pdf readers, file converters, etc etc etc., Gotta love it.........)

Thanks anyway. Maybe next week I will try again. Hope springs eternal....!!

 

[svim]

Well those are valid links to trusted sites, if you're having such issues I'd suggest taking your tablet to be fixed by someone using a different PC, at the least one with a more stable browser.

 

[lmhutchins]

Thanks. New ff is pretty stable....

Heimdall offers a legitimate download. but i don't have a carrier. It's a tablet....not a phone.

Maybe next week

 

[TheToddDroid]

I read that and thought you meant the food. lol

 

[lmhutchins]

I read that and thought you meant the food. lol

.LOL...y'know...late at night when you get the munchies. I was eating so fast that the candy liquified and ran all over my tablet. Got into the charging ports. Now it's bricked.

BUT....I recharged the tablet several times after clearing that cache, and it's a little bit better today. It's flaky and a bit strange...(you have to refresh the page to open a link) but it doens't freeze so much, and the battery life is almost back to normal.

Now I can wait until they patch it.... don't have to jump down the Odin hole.

THANK YOU!~

 

[lmhutchins]

ouch. It just crashed again. Freezing and gobbling up the battery like....like CANDY. Looks like Nougat is the Windows 10 of the Android world!

 

[lmhutchins]

Alas, I DL'd Odin and what is supposed to be the proper firmware. But after following all the instructions very carefully, my tablet has now been stuck on the Samsung splash screen for 2 hours. None of the other key combos will work now. That will teach me not to trust these upgrades! So off to Wally World to buy a new (cheap) tablet. No point in buying a good one!

Thanks much for everything...anyhow!

 

[lmhutchins]

Yippee! I found out how to finally turn the thing off (Plug it into the charger and hold the power button for about 30 seconds...). Then I was able to boot into recovery mode and do a hard reset. It came back to my dear old Marshmallow. It's now as fast as new, and good battery life again....(90 miinutes of surfing, and only 9% used!).... LOL...trouble is, I already bought a new tablet! So now I have 2....