Authentification error + No mobile signal found

[DontKnowLeftFromRight]

Hello

Please note: I am an absolute beginner when it comes it comes to PCs/tablets etc. so please think of me as a 5 year old or your grandmother or whatever when explaining things (hell, I didn't even know you needed a SIM card to make these work!).

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 SM-P605 yesterday but haven't been able to connect to the internet.

When I switched it on for the first time, it automatically picked up the network at home but when I typed in the password (which I checked several times over), it said "authentification error ocurred." I looked on the internet for help (yes, I read the thread here as well but I have a part II to my question) and did that "factory restore" thing + restarting the router? but no good.
*Both my sister and I have laptops and they both connect to the internet.

Like I said, I'm a complete dummie when it comes to technology, so it might be something obvious like needing to register something somewhere or turning something on - please help?

 

[DontKnowLeftFromRight]

Please disregard the "mobile network" part - it has been sorted...

 

[charles777]

Not sure where to start and I won't have all the answers but here goes. For starters I am assuming you bought your tablet on the internet? It obviously wasn't purchased through your carrier as it would already be set up. The SM-P605 bought online should be an unlocked unit that can be used with any carrier. Think of your tablet as a cell phone. A telephone number is assigned to a sim card and not a cell phone and you can't have more than one sim card with the same number. You therefore cannot use the same telephone number for both your cell phone and your tablet. You can remove the sim card from your cell phone, and insert it in your tablet and send and receive calls with your regular number. Now... there are different size sim cards so your cell phone and tablet might have a different size sim so you might not be able to swap them out as I described earlier. The other thing you have to understand is that your carrier (I'm assuming you're in South Africa as you mentioned Vodacom) may broadcast mobile data (3G/LTE) on a frequency that your tablet may not be compatible with. It is also possible that you can connect to 3G but not LTE so you would still get data but at a slower speed. If you bought a prepaid sim card then you would have to contact Vodacom and get it activated with a voice and data plan. They should be able to help you get connected to their network.

 

[MarkHansen]

I may not understand the situation completely (I have a WiFi-only tablet), but it sounds like DK is trying to get connected to the WiFi at home, not the carrier's data connection. DK: Can you confirm?

 

[charles777]

If you need your IMEI number you can find it in Settings/General/About Device/Status. When you click on Status scroll down to find the number.

h

 

[John Woo1]

Delete wifi network on tablet (long press and forget) and retype the password. Dont know what causing it, probably interference by wifi signals around or just buggy wifi drivers by Samsung.