Second user on Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 can't fully use tablet

Second user on Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 can’t fully use tablet

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra has arrived at the editorial office and after setting up the premium Android tablet, it was immediately apparent that the second user has fewer options. This is what’s going on.

Multiple users for the Galaxy Tab S8

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8, Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra are all three premium Android tablets with excellent specifications, such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, sufficient working and storage memory, long update support, large screens and large batteries. The tablets run on One UI 4.1 that is based on Android 12 and therefore also come with the latest features that the Galaxy S22 series also has. However, not everyone can use all functions, and I mean the second user.

Second user on Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 can't fully use tablet

User Profiles in Android

First of all, an explanation about user profiles in android† You can share a phone or tablet with family and friends by creating a user profile for each person. Each user profile has a personal space on the device for custom home screens, accounts, apps, settings, and more. You have the following user profiles:

User: A user who doesn’t own the device is a profile type suitable for someone who can use your phone frequently, such as a family member. All users have their own space on the device with personalized home screens, accounts, apps, settings and more.
Guest: A guest profile is for someone who uses your phone for a short period of time. Like a user, a guest profile gets its own space on the device, but this space is easier to remove after a guest is done with the device.
Account: An account allows you to use a service like Gmail with one username and password.
Limited profile (tablets only): A restricted profile allows you to control which features and content a user is allowed to see. For example, you can limit the availability of non-family-friendly content.

I have created a second user on the Tab S8 Ultra. So not a user with a limited profile that is more intended for children.

Restrictions for users

While looking around in the settings, I came across a couple of options that I couldn’t adjust. For example, the option under Settings -> Display to display the navigation bar adjust dark colored, and the option Edge windows missing altogether. So I can’t use it, while that function is so handy on a tablet of this size. It color palette from Samsung’s variant of Material You is not present in Settings -> Wallpaper and style. However, I can set a different wallpaper. With Biometrics and security I miss the options Samsung Pass, Secure Wi-Fi and Secure Folder† Privacy is missing Customized serviceBee Safety and Emergencies is missing Medical dataand also in the other settings a lot of functions are not available. Google Discover on the right screen is not there, not even in the settings of the home screen.

Apparently Samsung is imposing additional restrictions on users even though they should be able to have full access to the device. I have now submitted this comment to several Samsung channels. For example, a community manager in the Samsung community reports the following:

Thank you for sending us a message, we’ll be happy to help you. When you create a 2nd user, the 1st user will always remain the Administrator, so certain options will not be available for the 2nd user. The options will be different per app when used with a 2nd account.
Why you can’t give the 2nd user the same rights is not clear to me. Via the Samsung Members app you can submit a suggestion which will end up at the R&D department and perhaps that this option will still be possible with a future update.

Choice of Samsung?

Now it is the case that manufacturers use these user profiles in Android can adapt if they want. Apparently Samsung has opted for this, but then gives the administrator no options to adjust rights for other users of the device. This means that the Android tablet cannot be fully used by another family member. For tablets like these, which have decent prices, ranging from 749 euros to 1,449 euros, that is quite a disappointment. The comment is now also with Samsung Netherlands. This article will be updated as soon as more information comes in.

Do you have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 or an Android tablet from another manufacturer? What rights do second users have on your tablet? Let us know in the comments below.