First printer, A5S, received and some questions as I'm getting it set up

Jumping into the rather deep end of the pool of 3D printing for the first time, and have run into some questions about my new A5S that I'm hoping someone can help answer.  First, an easy one - JG seems to be saying that the blue painters' tape should be kept on the bed, although none of their videos show it in place.  Should it be removed?  Second, how much of a pain is it to replace the bearings, and are there any tutorials on how to do it?  I've got the loud-ish grinding sound a lot of people are reporting on the FB group, and if it's not too involved a process, would like to make this the first thing I modify on the printer.  If that isn't feasible, how and with what should the axis be lubricated with to try and minimize the noise?  Third, and I've already contacted support about this, but has anyone experienced issues where the machine stops responding to various commands from the touchscreen after 'home' - 'all'?  Like...every single time, and only powering off-on fixes it, only to do the exact same thing again.  I home the machine, then it refuses to move to any of the levelling points, and occasionally thinks it's printing, but makes no effort to move the head or extrude any filament...even though the progress bar steadily fills up as if it is.  I'm...guessing?  it's a firmware issue, but just not sure as it doesn't seem to be something anyone else has run into.  Last, any suggestions for printable mods that should be considered for the machine?  Thanks!