ASUS VivoTab Smart ME400C - Problems Thread

I am creating this thread in efforts to decrease the clutter in the Experience thread.

Please feel free to use this thread to voice any technical issues you have and what you have done/are doing to rectify them!
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1) Periodically, my battery icon shows a red X through it. Hovering over the icon, the hint window shows "no battery connected."
Yet the battery is there (since I can't take it out), and of course the tablet is fully charged or has some juice in it.
Connecting the USB cable to the unit and then to the AC adapter has no effect.
Rebooting the tablet clears this misinformation.
A few times, changing the display brightness has cleared this misinformation as well. (No idea what the relation could be.)

2) Tablet does not wake up from sleep.
Screen stays black, holding the power button for 8-15 sec(as per the recommendation of ASUS Live Chat support) to "turn it off", and then holding the power button for a few seconds to "turn it on", does NOT turn it on.
Pinhole reset does not help.

In a previous post, I have mentioned that with a pair of earbuds, I can actually play "doctor" with my tablet.
With the earbuds plugged in, I can actually hear some "noise" the tablet is generating.
Holding the power button while listening with the earbuds, I can hear the tablet shut off, turn on etc.
When "off", ear buds are silent, when "on" I can hear the faint noise in the earbuds.
It seems that while the tablet is "stuck" in sleep mode, the pinhole reset does not seem to respond or do its thing.

LITERALLY, I use the bottom of my fist to gently tap the screen, and sometimes the palm of my hand to tap the sides of the tablet.
Doing this a few times, and THEN pressing holding the power button actually turns it on.
I'm thinking that when I hit this thing, it may be jiggling the battery enough that it briefly loses contact, allowing it to actually turn off? I dunno...speculation.
(Are the internals really that sensitive?)

3) Pressing the power button/Start button wakes up the unit, but I am stuck at the blue password screen with my avatar, but the password entry area is not visible, and just text stating the unit is locked. Holding the Windows key, and pressing the power button while holding the windows key seems to release it back in to the OS. (I have password entry required only at boot as my setup.)

I am in the process of RMA'ing my ME400C. Regardless of these issues, I TRULY TRULY love this machine. I am aware of its capabilities and its limitations. I don't expect it to operate like a tablet with an i5 or i7 CPU, thus do not have such false expectations.

I sincerely hope that ASUS will repair/replace my ME400C in a timely manner. Still in disbelief that I will have to ship it out at MY expense? Well, that's what I've heard so far...quite dissappointing and I don't think there is an Authorized ASUS repair center in Toronto. Boo.

 

Hi,


I have exactly the same kind of problem.

Yesterday in the evening, I was unable to start my ME400C (I saw the orange charging LED blinking). I thought the battery was low, so I decided to charge it. Now it is 100% charged (white led), but it does not have any effect, the tablet won't boot ! I'm really upset, I bought this tablet only one month ago and it's already broken !!

I'm waiting for an answer from Asus support...

 

Hopefully not broken...just stuck.

1) Try pinhole reset. press and hold for a few sec just to be safe. And then power on.
2) Do what I did and give it a few good firm taps on the sides, or on the screen. Don't be too forceful, don't want to break anything. And hitting your tablet is not a good thing to do normally...but I was at a desperate moment, and the scene from Back to the Future (Marty McFly hitting his head on the steering wheel) came to mind.

Seems to work for me...which is the scary thing. I've just submitted my RMA request today as well. Waiting for it to get processed, and waste my OWN money to ship it. Egad....

 

I tried this, but it's not working

By the way, the reset button is quite crappy : the first time, the paper clip I used to trigger it snuck inside the tablet, beyond the button !!
I am very disappointed by ASUS, this tablet seems to be a low quality product !

 

Hi all. New here and having a WiFi issue. Whenever I turn the Vivotab on, I have "Limited" connectivity to my home network. I run the troubleshoot problems and it resets the wifi adapter, which gets me connected, and says the cause of the problem is "wifi doesn't have a valid ip configuration." Next time I turn the tablet on, I have to go through the same thing. I have found no way to make the tablet automatically connect to the network. I have a host of other devices that are able to do so, so I tend to think the problem is with the tablet and not the network. Asus support recommends doing a hard reset, which I would prefer not to do if I can avoid it. Anyone else having this issue and know a fix? If I can't fix it, I think I might return it for a Surface RT.

 

Sometimes when I press the power button to start the tablet, the Asus logo appears, but after 2-3 seconds the tablet goes to shutdown. when again I press the power button, all things go well & the windows loads.

Any idea or suggestion?

 

Hm. Found this post via Google. Maybe it might help. Sounds like a similar situation to yours, and judging by the response posts, it looks like one of the solutions there may be helpful.

WIFI connection shows Limited Access windows 8 - Microsoft Community

If not, have you tried "forgetting" the network connection and re-inputting your network password?

Also, if you check the Experience thread, there is a post with the latest drivers. Maybe an update of the drivers will clear up your connectivity issues.

I had considered the Surface RT...but the limitations of RT were just not my thing. Might as well get an Android tablet IMHO. The Windows store has slowed down substantially. I remember reading somewhere that MS is trying to stimulate the Windows Store development again.

There are a number of other great Windows 8 tablets on the market now. Unless you are content with the Windows Store apps, stay away from RT is my personal opinion!

 

I've experienced this a few times as well. But not recently. So far, my tablet seems to have settled down and seems to be responding well. (Knock on wood.)

Not too sure on how to troubleshoot this situation. Maybe check Windows Error logs?

 

Every device will have its pros and cons. I've had a host of issues with my ME400C, but I won't say that it's a low quality product.

It's too bad that your experience with the tablet has left a sour taste. If you have time to do a refund, then get it done.
If you don't like the product, holding on to it will only make you miserable in the long run. I've gone through that a few times myself!

And I agree, pinhole reset button design is horrible! I've gone past the button a few times, luckily I haven't hit/damaged any other internal component, and I don't think there is anything vulnerable nearby.

Good luck with your next tablet, should you return your ME400C!

 

The main problem I'm experiencing is that the tablet likes to turn on. Even to the point of killing the battery.

I seem to get excellent battery life, except that the device just doesn't like to be off. Very often I'll find the screen to be on when I'm sure it was off when I last finished using it. I don't know why, and may have something to do with the transleeve that I normally keep the device covered with.

Any tips on what is causing the Asus Tab to wake itself up?