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Caution: Samsung Tab 4


miketisdell

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For those considering a Samsung Tab 4 Tablet to use with Accordance (or any foreign language) application, beware that the Tablet has a significant bug with the multi-language keyboard.

I purchased a Samsung Tab4 which I, sadly, had to return a day later. The problem is that there is a bug in the physical keyboard driver that prevents typing in any language but English on the physical keyboard (part of the book cover case). The keyboard has a "Lang" key to the right of the space bar that allows you to quickly swap between installed languages, and the physical keyboard language key works correctly swapping the languages as designed, but the keys on the keyboard itself continue to operate only in English. The only keyboard that is working correctly is the on screen keyboard. In other words you can change the language from the physical keyboard using the language key, but you have to the pop up the on screen keyboard to actually type in a foreign language (like Hebrew or Greek). 

 

I spent 3 hours on support confirming this bug with Samsung support but then was told that they had no way to open a ticket for this problem or to report the bug. They told me that the only way to report the bug was to go to a Bestbuy store and ask for the Samsung liason and they would be able to report the bug (they gave me the address of a Bestbuy I could go to to report the bug). When I got to the Bestbuy I found out that there hasn't been a Samsung liason working at a Bestbuy in Northern California (where I live) for more than a year. The store manager could not find anyway to report the bug. 

I have had very good luck with my prior Samsung tablets and really, really like the new one but the keyboard language bug was too significant an issue for me (and I suspect it would be a very significant issue for anyone else using Accordance for original language work). 

If engineering at Samsung ever discovers this bug and fixes it, it would be a very good tablet to use; but without being able to report the issue, I am not sure it will ever get fixed. 

 

 

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Thanx for the info Mike. I have a Tab S3 and it has a lang key on the keyboard but it doesn't work with the Keyman app. So switching keyboards is more painful that it should be but actually typing works fine. I've not yet tried my own keyboard app on that tablet - not really ready yet - but I was hoping that it might make some things like that easier. Also you can end up stuff at the password prompt in the wrong keyboard and it won't allow a switch. See my other posts on that issue for options to not have to factory reset your tablet.

 

I wonder if the Tab S4 is any different from the Tab 4 in this respect - it's hard to test this in the store though 'cos they won't let you set stuff up on it to try before you buy.

 

Thx

D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanx for the info Mike. I have a Tab S3 and it has a lang key on the keyboard but it doesn't work with the Keyman app. So switching keyboards is more painful that it should be but actually typing works fine. I've not yet tried my own keyboard app on that tablet - not really ready yet - but I was hoping that it might make some things like that easier. Also you can end up stuff at the password prompt in the wrong keyboard and it won't allow a switch. See my other posts on that issue for options to not have to factory reset your tablet.

 

I wonder if the Tab S4 is any different from the Tab 4 in this respect - it's hard to test this in the store though 'cos they won't let you set stuff up on it to try before you buy.

 

Thx

D

 

 

I never had the password problem you describe with my Tab 1, and I didn't test that on the Tab 4 when I had it. However, if the password is in English I am sure you will be able to enter it on the physical keyboard (until they discover and fix the bug). 

 

The nicest feature of the T4 is that it allows you to have layered windows (like a chromebook, windows, or mac). It also has an active stylus (like the Tab 3) and the responsiveness was excellent. 

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