Stuck in FRP loop on Galaxy Tab A7 (SM-T500) - Connected to no networks and can't boot into Recovery Mode to factory reset
Hi everyone,
I’m dealing with a frustrating issue on an old Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (SM-T500) that has been sitting in a drawer for months. I performed a hard reset a while ago, and now it’s stuck on the setup/security screen asking for a password or PIN.
The prompt says the password must contain at least one letter, which surprises me because I always set strictly numerical PINs for my devices, so I cannot recall ever setting an alphanumeric password for this tablet.
Here is the exact catch-22 situation I am facing:
No Wi-Fi network connected: The tablet's Wi-Fi is turned ON, but since it was wiped, it doesn't have my home Wi-Fi network credentials saved anymore. Because there is no network connection and no settings menu available to select and log into my Wi-Fi, the tablet cannot reach Google servers to let me choose the "Use my Google Account instead" option.
Can't turn it off / Can't access Recovery: I want to perform a clean wipe/factory reset again using the physical buttons to see if starting the fresh setup screen from scratch allows me to reach the step where you connect to a Wi-Fi network. However, the tablet refuses to power off normally (it asks for the password just to shut down).
Recovery combination fails: If I force a restart (Power + Vol Down) and immediately switch to the Recovery combo (Power + Vol Up), the tablet bypasses the Android Recovery menu entirely and boots right back into the password screen.
Note: I do NOT care about the data. There are no files, photos, or accounts I need to rescue. I just want a clean slate so I can actually use the device again.
Is there any known workaround to force this specific model into Recovery mode when it won't let you power off normally? Or is my only option using third-party PC tools like SamFw to force-bypass the FRP lock via USB?
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!