Remember Antennagate? Back in 2010, the iPhone 4 had some early teething problems where holding the phone a certain way would cause any calls to drop. Apple even went as far as to offer free bumpers to fix the problem.
Well now Samsung might be about to endure its own version, albeit on a much smaller scale. Reports are emerging that holding the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e a certain way makes WiFi instantly drop. To replicate the problem, you apparently need to either hold it by the top left in portrait mode (not hugely likely) or hold it by the bottom left in landscape (very likely).
Here’s one Tab S5e user taking to Instagram to demonstrate the problem:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5qgVAAqBi
This is apparently the second Tab S5e said user has bought, and a number of people back up the assertion in the comments too.
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I don’t have a Galaxy Tab S5e to hand to test myself, but SamMobile did. The site found a 50% dip in WiFi strength when trying to replicate the problem, but couldn’t get the signal to drop completely. Some on Instagram are speculating that the colour of the tablet may make a difference, as only owners of the black version seem to have reported the issue – but it’s important to remember that correlation and causation are not the same thing.
Of course, there are a couple of reasons why this isn’t anywhere near as serious as Antennagate was for Apple. Firstly, nobody seriously expects the Tab S5e to sell in the same kind of volumes as the iPhone 4 did back in 2010. Secondly, a dropped WiFi signal is irritating, but unless you’re midgame it’s unlikely to be as infuriating as dropped calls. Finally, there’s a super easy fix: hold the tablet upside down when in tablet mode, and then the WiFi spot will flip to the top right, where your hands won’t get near it.
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Not that this excuses the issue, of course: using a tablet in landscape mode is a pretty common use case, and Samsung should certainly have given it a thorough testing. Hopefully they did, and these are just a handful of duds. Time will tell.
Are you having WiFi problems with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e? Let us know on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.