Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e users report Wi-Fi-related hardware concerns

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S5e has only just started to ship after first being revealed earlier this year yet it is already causing some users grief. It appears that the device may suffer from a hardware-based design issue affecting Wi-Fi connectivity. Users are reporting when the device is held in landscape mode with the camera to the top left, this attenuates the Wi-Fi signal to the point that it can drop out completely. The problem isn’t dissimilar to Apple’s notorious ‘Antennagate’ issue that plagued the iPhone 4 launch – as it was a hardware-based design flaw, the only workaround Apple was able to offer was a free case which solved the cellular connectivity issue in that instance.

If it is a hardware-based problem owing to a design flaw, then it is unlikely that any software patch could overcome the problem. Ironically, the glitch may have only emerged because the Tab S5e shipped in several markets a week before the official case accessories arrived. However, it is unclear whether removing a user’s hand from making direct contact with the area affected by using a case will result in an improved Wi-Fi signal.

At present, the only workaround identified by affected users who want to continue to use the Tab S5e in landscape mode is to flip the device around the other way, moving the camera to the bottom right hand side. Holding the device in either portrait position also doesn’t appear to cause signal interference. Which ever way you want to look at the Tab S5e it is yet another potentially embarrassing issue for the company, particularly as it follows the recent high-profile debacle that was the aborted Galaxy Fold launch.