Nokia N800 & N810: Has your tablet web browser's Flash stopped working? Does it ask you to install Flash? Here's how to get Flash working again.

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, click here to visit its comments thread on the Tablet Scene site.

Help! My tablet's web browser won't display Flash websites any more! How do I fix it?

If your Nokia N800 or N810 internet tablet's web browser doesn't display Flash sites any more, or if it's telling you to install Flash, don't worry!

You do NOT have to install anything, and there's a very VERY easy way to make Flash work again!

Here's how to fix it:

1. Click on the globe and open a new browser window.

2. Click on the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right hand corner.

3. Click on "Components".

4. Make sure that "Shockwave Flash" is ticked. If it isn't ticked, click on it to make it ticked. (You might want to make sure the other option is ticked as well).

And that's it, Flash should start working again!


Why does the tablet browser's Flash sometimes switch itself off?

All computers, including the internet tablets, use a special kind of memory called RAM to handle the applications that they are currently running. If you run lots of applications simultaneously, or if you open lots of browser windows, you'll take up a lot more RAM than if you just run one application at a time.

When the amount of available RAM on a computer gets too low, there's a risk that the computer will crash.

If the tablets run low on RAM, they automatically switch off certain non-essential applications to free up more RAM and prevent a crash happening. One of these non-essential apps is the web browser's Flash plugin.

In theory the tablets are supposed to switch these components back on again when the danger of a crash has passed, but due to a bug the Flash sometimes stays switched off, which is why you sometimes have to switch it back on again.

Nokia knows about this bug and they are working on it, but for the moment if you find Flash off you can switch it back on manually using the method above.


Has website Flash got anything to do with flash memory? And what about "flashing" a tablet?

Flash is a way of displaying animations, games and videos on websites. It's sometimes also known as Shockwave Flash. There are other methods for displaying this kind of content, but Flash is by far the most commonly-used standard on the web.

Flash memory is something completely different, it's a way of storing computer data on small plastic cards with microchips inside them. Memory cards for cameras, phones, tablets or computers all use flash memory, and they're sometimes known as flash cards.

The verb "to flash" in a computing context usually means to install new firmware on a device. You can read more about firmware in our special tablet firmware tutorial.