Samsung’s own antennagate? Report suggests Galaxy Tab S5e has Wi-Fi flaw

Wi-Fi dropout issue causing concern for some users

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According to a small number of social media reports,Samsung’s newGalaxy Tab S5eis experiencing Wi-Fi disconnections whenever the top left corner of the device (or bottom left corner in landscape mode) is covered by a user’s hand, as reported bySamMobile.

One Galaxy Tab S5e user took to Instagram to demonstrate his device’s Wi-Fi dropout issue by posting the image below, with a couple of commenters chiming in that they had experienced similar issues.

It’s worth noting the user’s claim that it’s the second tablet he’s had and that both experienced the same disconnection problem.

Confirmed. Second S5e tablet same problem. As soon as my hand covers that corner the wifi drops out. Tablet has a major design flaw. @samsungmobile @samsungmobileusa @samsungus @sammobileofficial @techcrunch @bestbuy #galaxytabs5e @foxnews David Waner

A photo posted by @davidwaner on Apr 30, 2019 at 6:11pm PDT

Further testing

SamMobile tested the issue for themselves, and while the site was unable to completely disconnect from Wi-Fi through various attempts, the authors did report a 50% drop in signal strength.

Unfortunately for owners of the device, like withApple’s iPhone 4 ‘antennagate’ scandal from 2010, it’s believed that a software update would be unable to fix the problem – the only real fix would require that particular section of the antenna to be moved elsewhere through a hardware revision.

At present, it’s unknown how far-reaching the Wi-Fi signal problem actually is. In the meantime, Galaxy Tab S5e owners can largely avoid the issue by rotating the tablet to the right when holding it in landscape mode. Samsung has yet to comment on the problem.

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Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar’s Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He’s obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible.

He’s also likely to talk a person’s ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he’s most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga.

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