Galaxy Tab A SM-T580 help pls.

digitalwanderer

digitalwanderer

wandering
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My mom has a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 2016, or a SM-T580. She was running out of memory, so my sister bought her a Lenova pad. Long/short, my mom hates the Lenova and wants her "red iPad" back. (Her Galaxy Tab is in a red case, thus it's her "red iPad" since she has an iPhone and is a bit of an extreme luddite.)

Now last time my mom had a problem with her tablet was a few years back. It got junked up with malware and bloat, so her solution was to get a new tablet. A new tablet that was the exact same make and model, then asked us to set it up for her and gave us her old "broken" one.

As I tried to explain to her then, she didn't need a new one. Her old one was fine, just needed cleaning. She insisted and we swapped stuff. Went home and did a factory reset on the "bad" tablet and tossed a 32GB sd card in and have been using it happily for years now.

Now I'm trying to set up her tablet to give back to her, but I want to make the sd card storage the default for applications to install to. Unfortunately it seems like Samsung has deleted that ability from Android 8.1 that is currently on her tablet and that's as high as it can go. We have the same setup on our tablet, (It's in a blue case btw, so it's "the blue one"), and it's not an issue since I just throw stuff on the sd card from my PC to watch it in bed or mobile, but for her it's an issue. I want it to be invisible where she doesn't have to take any extra steps and it just defaults to installing to the sd card. Is there a way to do that?

I'm not the best with Android so I thought I'd just post up my whole mess and ask for advice. I did cheat yesterday and picked up a couple of decent looking matching 128GB sd cards to give the tablets some extra room for a few series/movies I want to send to her, but is there a way to make it so stuff goes there by default WITHOUT rooting the tablet?

We're going to root our tablet just to root it, my daughter wants to, but my mother's I'm scared to wipe anything off of because her username/password situation is shite and I don't know how to pull that info off her tablet and unfortunately it seems to be the only thing able to access half her accounts.

Help please? Thanks in advance.
 
Btw with adopted storage, the Samsung may have funny storage info.

For example my huawei shows I have - 256GB Storage. Yes MINUS.

This broke play store auto updates. Need to manually open play store and press "update all"
 
My mother was confused and angry at having to know how to put stuff on the storage card so she showed me a refurbished 12.9 iPad that she found on Ebay for $900. I found out you could get the same new for $950 and then suggested she might want to stick with android since that's what she has. I found this on a quick search and I kind of like it, seems like a newer/bigger/better Tab A:

upload_2022-5-4_12-46-15.png



Any thoughts/advice? I contacted my brother and sisters and told them not to buy her any tablet/ipads without checking with me first to make sure we get what she needs.
 
Samsung makes good Android devices, the only real gripe is their older and rightfully-panned in-house shell. The more modern version of their shell is worlds less suck, and if she's OK with the TabA, then she'll be happy with the S7.

I've been waiting for something along those lines to show up used and in good condition on Swappa so I can plumb all my home automation into an attractive wall-mounted and picture-framed tablet :)
 
After finally getting a Pixel with pure android I think I would have a real hard time going back to any shells on it, I love the purity! :D

Is there an advantage to getting an iPad that I'm not seeing? They seem to do the same thing but cost twice as much if not more.

Also I should point out my mom has an Apple computer and an iPhone, but she's been using an Android tablet for years now just calling it her "iPad". <sigh>
 
digitalwanderer said:
After finally getting a Pixel with pure android I think I would have a real hard time going back to any shells on it, I love the purity! :D

Is there an advantage to getting an iPad that I'm not seeing? They seem to do the same thing but cost twice as much if not more.

Also I should point out my mom has an Apple computer and an iPhone, but she's been using an Android tablet for years now just calling it her "iPad". <sigh>
Click to expand...

The apple eco-system and the smooth syncing between apple devices. If she has other apple devices its a good addition (just like android and windows would be).
I think an ipad sounds like a very good option for her. Hard to get malware and spyware on too. Not at twice the price though, maybe an ipad air?
 
She wants to be able to play sheet music off her tablet, so her 10" is too small. That's why she wants a 12", what iPads would you recommend?
 
Well, then you’d be looking at Pro models i think, they are pricey, maybe an older model?
Otherwise ipad air m1 is 10.9”, might be enough? The base model is around 750usd here (64gb). Beast cpu for a tablet.
 
PSman1700 said:
The apple eco-system and the smooth syncing between apple devices.
Click to expand...
I just realized something. Does the syncing mean that if she uses her phone/computer username/password to log in to her apple account on the new device would it instantly know all the username/passwords the other devices have? I really haven't used Apple since the Apple IIe.

If so, it may just be worth double the price. 10.9" wouldn't be big enough, I'd be looking at the Pro for sure. I'd need at least 128gb minimum. Looks like an expensive option.
 
digitalwanderer said:
Does the syncing mean that if she uses her phone/computer username/password to log in to her apple account on the new device would it instantly know all the username/passwords the other devices have?
Click to expand...

Yes should be, use the same Apple account as her iphone. All apps, pictures… everything syncs.

digitalwanderer said:
If so, it may just be worth double the price. 10.9" wouldn't be big enough, I'd be looking at the Pro for sure. I'd need at least 128gb minimum. Looks like an expensive option.
Click to expand...

Its going to be expensive, and i doubt she would need the processong power of the M1. Maybe you can find an older ipad pro? One with A12Z is still plenty fast (ipad pro 12.9 2020).

Edit: hm, the 2020 pro 12.9 is still over a thousand bucks here, abit expensive maybe.

Used market perhaps? If it wasnt for the screen size an Air would be a nice deal.
 
digitalwanderer said:
My mother was confused and angry at having to know how to put stuff on the storage card so she showed me a refurbished 12.9 iPad that she found on Ebay for $900. I found out you could get the same new for $950 and then suggested she might want to stick with android since that's what she has. I found this on a quick search and I kind of like it, seems like a newer/bigger/better Tab A:

View attachment 6463



Any thoughts/advice? I contacted my brother and sisters and told them not to buy her any tablet/ipads without checking with me first to make sure we get what she needs.
Click to expand...

Adoptable storage doesn't have the distinction between internal / external storage. So no headache of choosing which storage to use. It just works.

As for Samsung tablet, it is one of the best Android tablet. You'll get a proper split screen, desktop mode, etc.

If you want large and cheap tablet, look for lenovo tablets. There's lenovo p11 and p12

P11 https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Table...1651712363&sprefix=Lenovo+tab+,aps,460&sr=8-3
 
Last edited:
I came up with the perfect solution. My older sister just called me to tell me they're getting her an iPad Pro for Mother's Day, I've just gotta help her set it up which shouldn't be too hard.

It won't ship until about May 19-21st, something about supply channel delays....

EDITED BITS: I did recommend my sister pick her up the 256gb model. I'm not sure how much room iOS takes up, but I'm sure 128GB of free space should be more than enough for my mother where as I"m not so sure of how much would be left on the 128gb and it doesn't look like iPads have expandable memory.
 
Last edited:
128gb would probably enough, but more is better ofcourse.
Ipad Pro m1 , beast of a tablet, extreme upgrade from what she is used to lol.
My sister has it, its an awesome display, speakers, performance, everything. She will be shocked at the difference.
 
digitalwanderer said:
So just talked to my sister again and she ordered one. A 2021 iPad Pro 12.9 with 512GB, wifi and cellular, the magic keyboard, and whatever Apple calls their stylus.

Just about $2000us for a tablet, I keep forgetting my sister is doing quite well for herself. :oops:
Click to expand...

Damn, the ultimate experience though. And it will work nicely with her existing Apple devices. She’l be happy. Awesome sister you got :D
 
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