Help request. Amazon Fire (5th Generation) tablet glitch.

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PedalCat

I like sandwiches
Hello. I should have taken it back for a refund a long time ago, but hey ho.
1. Of its own accord, it swtches off its wi-fi reception, seemingly randomly. I wouldn't expect to get through an hour of use without it happening.
2. Same problem with screen auto-rotate.
I have tried the switch off and on again by holding the power button for a full 40 seconds as recommended in the help guide. The tablet then appeared to be better, but only for a bit longer than usual.
I presume it's a fault rather than a setting that can be fixed, but can anybody shed any light?
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
Just found this which you've probably read:

  • You’ll want to start by making sure that the battery is completely charged.
  • Try resetting the tablet by holding down the power button for 20 seconds, waiting a few seconds, and then pressing the power button again. You can also just hold down the power button continuously for 40 seconds to force a restart.
  • If the problem is just that the screen goes off, then go to Settings > Display > Screen Timeout and set it to be higher or Never.
  • It might be overheating. If it feels very warm to the touch, then try removing any case that might be on it, and give it time to cool down before you turn it on again.
  • Try using a different charger and cable to make sure the battery is being properly charged.
  • Your penultimate option is to back up all your files and perform a factory reset. Go to Settings > Device > Reset to Factory Defaults > Reset.
  • If nothing has worked, then it’s time to contact Amazon.
How long ago did you buy it? It might be worth contacting amazon anyway. Even if it's out of warranty, they might offer to replace it (to prevent you from buying a competitor's tablet) or might give you a voucher towards a new one. I'd back up all my files and do a factory re-set.

Also, does it happen when using a particualr app? If so, try forcing it to stop and clearing the cache in the app settings. Or just uninstall the troublesome app(s) and see if it works ok after that?
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
I had a later kindle. Kept randomly turning itself on and off. Screen froze, generally slow. Altogether A load of rubbish. However considering how little it cost I decided to just dump it and buy something else. They just are not worth fixing to be honest. My advise is to bin it and buy a better tablet. I will never buy another one again. Lesson learnt.
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
My son had one and had no problems with it. Bin it if you want, but it's always worth contacting Amazon first because they are sometimes very desperate for you to use their products, or at least entice you to buy from their site
 
OP
OP
PedalCat

PedalCat

I like sandwiches
Just found this which you've probably read:

  • You’ll want to start by making sure that the battery is completely charged.
  • Try resetting the tablet by holding down the power button for 20 seconds, waiting a few seconds, and then pressing the power button again. You can also just hold down the power button continuously for 40 seconds to force a restart.
  • If the problem is just that the screen goes off, then go to Settings > Display > Screen Timeout and set it to be higher or Never.
  • It might be overheating. If it feels very warm to the touch, then try removing any case that might be on it, and give it time to cool down before you turn it on again.
  • Try using a different charger and cable to make sure the battery is being properly charged.
  • Your penultimate option is to back up all your files and perform a factory reset. Go to Settings > Device > Reset to Factory Defaults > Reset.
  • If nothing has worked, then it’s time to contact Amazon.
How long ago did you buy it? It might be worth contacting amazon anyway. Even if it's out of warranty, they might offer to replace it (to prevent you from buying a competitor's tablet) or might give you a voucher towards a new one. I'd back up all my files and do a factory re-set.

Also, does it happen when using a particualr app? If so, try forcing it to stop and clearing the cache in the app settings. Or just uninstall the troublesome app(s) and see if it works ok after that?
Thanks for this, I've had all these points covered, apart from factory reset and contacting Amazon.
My original thinking was that despite the lower price, a big name tablet would simply work properly. I didn't need any bells and whistles or lightning fast performance, just for it to function well; I just wanted the Ford Focus of the tablet world.
Thanks everybody.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
IMO iOS is simply the best operating system for tablets. With Android few apps are optimised for tablets at best, at worst many won’t work. There are so few Android tablets it simply isn’t worthwhile for the developers to make them work properly.
Apple now do a basic iPad At a very good price so perhaps have a look at that or maybe a good secondhand.
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
I've never rated ipads. performance wise, not any faster than £100 Lenovo tablets. Then you start filling up your icloud, and other icrap, they become very slow. All ours were eventually replaced with android tablets or smartphones
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
We too have a Kindle Fire and a Paperwhite. The Kindle is great for kids and there’s a work around if you want Playstore.
All tablets/smartphones slow up over time as the software development races ahead of the hardware. My daily driver is an Android phone but i mostly use an iPad. The great thing with iOS besides being great to use is everything is backed up automatically for you so if it gets stolen, you loose it or drop it down the toilet all you stuff is easily recoverable, you just log in with your ID. Sure there are apps for that but with iOS it’s all automatic.
 
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