Firing up your new Advent tablet for the first time is exciting and daunting in equal measure. We’ve covered the basics elsewhere in Get to grips with the Advent Vega Tegra Note, but soon enough you’ll encounter something that will have you scratching your head.
So, whether you’re using a new Advent Vega Tegra Note or any other tablet running Android 4.2 or 4.3 (aka Jelly Bean), read on for the answers to some common questions.
How do I back up my data and settings?
It’s easy to back-up Android tablet data with a Google account
If you’re using a Google account with your Android (which is a good idea), then backing up is easy. Tap Settings followed by Backup & reset (in the Personal section). Tick ‘Back up my data’ and ensure that your Google account is set under Backup account. Return to Settings, tap Google (in the Accounts section) and then tap your account name; tick what you’d like to be backed up.
Synchronisation happens automatically, but to force it, tap the Menu button from this screen (three stacked dots at the top right) and choose Sync now.
How do I secure my tablet?
Android includes a variety of security measures to protect your tablet
With Android Jelly Bean, your tablet can be secured with a personal identification number (PIN), password, face-recognition or with a finger pattern. To set up any one of these, tap Settings followed by Security (in the Screen Security section). Tap Screen lock and follow the prompts. Return to the Screen Security section and then use the options below to set up how and when your tablet should lock itself.
Do I need to install anti-malware software on my tablet?
There are plenty of good free security apps for Android
Yes! While Android is a reliable mobile operating system, its open nature means that it is vulnerable to attack. Fortunately, there are plenty of great free options. We’d recommend Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus, which you can download from the Google Play Store.
How do I manually update apps when the updates haven’t appeared in the Google Play Store?
Sometimes apps won’t update automatically, even if you have your Android tablet set up to do so. This is because when app permissions change, you are required to authorise updates manually. To do this, launch the Google Play Store app then tap Play Store at the top-left and choose My apps. Tap Installed, scroll through the list to find the affected app then tap its Update button.
What should I do if an app won’t respond?
Open the Recents list and swipe to close unresponsive apps
First, wait for a while. Your Android tablet might simply be doing something in the background, like synchronising email. When you’re sure that the app has become truly unresponsive, tap the Recents button (two stacked rectangles) to display the list of recently used apps. Find the icon for the uncooperative app and then slide this off either the left-hand or right-hand side of the screen. Now launch the app in the usual way.
How do I recover from freezes and crashes?
If your Android tablet is completely unresponsive (so it ignores even taps on the Recents or Home buttons, for example) then you can perform what is known as a ‘soft reset’. This is a safe process; the equivalent of restarting a PC. It shouldn’t result in any significant data-loss but if you’re in the middle writing an email, say, then you might lose that work.
The process varies from device to device, but typically you’ll need to hold down the power and volume (up or down) button at the same time.
How do I start from scratch when things seem desperate?
Sometimes, it’s good to start afresh. If you reach the stage where you’d like to start again and set up your tablet anew, then this is possible. Be warned that continuing means losing everything on the tablet, including all your personal data, so the tablet will appear as though it were fresh from the factory.
If you wish to proceed, tap Settings followed by Backup & reset (in the Personal section) and then tap Factory data reset. Tap Reset tablet followed by Erase everything.
How do I restore my data and settings?
If you’ve performed a ‘factory reset’ on your tablet (see the above question) then you might need to restore your persona data, apps and so on. Again, with a Google account this is pretty easy. To set up a new account, enter your Google credentials and, when the Backup and restore page appears, make sure that ‘Restore from my Google Account to this tablet’ is ticked and your data will be restored.