Chapter 16
In This Chapter
Fixing iPad issues
Dealing with network problems
Eliminating that sinking feeling when you can’t sync
Perusing the Apple website and discussion forums
Sending your iPad to an Apple Store
Finding your stuff on a repaired iPad
In our experience, all Apple iOS devices — namely the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch — are fairly reliable. But every so often, a good iPad might just go bad. We don’t expect it to be a common occurrence, but it does happen occasionally. So, in this chapter, we look at the types of bad things that can happen, along with suggestions for fixing them.
What kind of bad things are we talking about? Well, we’re referring to problems involving
After all the troubleshooting, we tell you how to get even more help if nothing we suggest does the trick. Finally, if your iPad is so badly hosed that it needs to go back to the mother ship for repairs, we offer ways to survive the experience with a minimum of stress or fuss, including how to restore your stuff from an iTunes or iCloud backup.
Our first category of troubleshooting techniques applies to an iPad that’s frozen or otherwise acting up. The recommended procedure when this happens is to perform the seven Rs in sequence.
But before you even start those procedures, Apple recommends you take these steps:
You can download the latest and greatest version here: www.apple.com/itunes/download.
If you encounter difficulties here, we implore you to read the paragraph in the next section that begins with this:
To check with iTunes on your Mac or PC:
If you connect more than one iDevice to this computer simultaneously, the button will say the number of devices (for example, 5 Devices) rather than iPad. Click the button to display a drop-down list and select the device you want.
To check with your iPad:
If your iPad requires an update, you receive instructions for doing so. Otherwise, please continue.
If those three easy steps didn’t get you back up and running and your iPad is still acting up — if it freezes, doesn’t wake up from sleep, doesn’t do something it used to do, or in any other way acts improperly — don’t panic. The following sections describe the things you should try, in the order that we (and Apple) recommend.
If the first technique doesn’t do the trick, go on to the second. If the second one doesn’t work, try the third. And so on.
If your iPad acts up in any way, shape, or form, the first thing you should try is to give its battery a full recharge before you proceed.
If your computer is more than a few years old, even your built-in USB ports may not supply enough juice to recharge your iPad. It’ll sync just fine; it just won’t recharge. If you see Not Charging next to the battery icon at the top of the screen, use the included USB power adapter to recharge your iPad from an AC outlet rather than from a computer.
If you recharge your iPad and it still misbehaves, the next thing to try is restarting it. Just as restarting a computer often fixes problems, restarting your iPad sometimes works wonders.
Here’s how to restart your iPad:
If these steps don’t get your iPad back up and running, move on to the third R: resetting your iPad.
To reset your iPad, merely hold down the sleep/wake button and then hold down the Home button, continuing to keep both buttons down for at least ten seconds. When you see the Apple logo, release both buttons.
Resetting your iPad is like forcing your computer to restart after a crash. Your data shouldn’t be affected by a reset — and in many cases, the reset cures whatever was ailing your iPad. So don’t be shy about giving this technique a try. In many cases, your iPad goes back to normal after you reset it this way.
Unfortunately, sometimes resetting doesn’t do the trick. When that’s the case, you have to take stronger measures.
Nothing you’ve tried so far should have taken more than a few minutes (or 20 if you tried the 20-minute recharge). We hate to tell you, but that’s about to change because the next thing you should try is removing some or all of your data to see whether it’s causing your troubles.
To do so, you need to sync your iPad and then reconfigure it so that some or all of your files are not synchronized (which removes them from the iPad). The problem could be contacts, calendar data, songs, photos, videos, or podcasts. You can apply one of two strategies to this troubleshooting task:
If you’re still having problems, the next step is to reset your iPad’s settings and content.
Resetting involves two steps: The first one, resetting your iPad settings, resets every iPad setting to its default — the way the iPad was when you took it out of the box. Resetting the iPad’s settings doesn’t erase any of your data or media, so you can try this step without trepidation. The only downside is that you may have to go back and change some settings afterward. To reset your settings, tap the Settings icon on the Home screen and then tap General⇒Reset⇒Reset All Settings.
Now, if resetting all settings didn’t cure your iPad, you have to try Erase All Content and Settings. Read the next warning paragraph first. Then tap Settings⇒General⇒Reset⇒Erase All Content and Settings.
After using Erase All Content and Settings, check to see whether your iPad works properly. If it doesn’t cure what ails your iPad, the next-to-the-last R, restoring your iPad using iTunes, can help.
Before you give up on your poor, sick iPad, you can restore it. To restore, connect your iPad to your computer as though you were about to sync. But when the iPad icon appears in iTunes, click the Summary tab and then click the Restore button. This action erases all your data and media and resets all your settings.
So, if you’ve tried all the other steps or you couldn’t try some or all of them because your iPad is so messed up, you can try one last thing: Recovery mode. Here’s how it works:
Wait for the iPad to turn off.
When you reconnect the USB cable, your iPad should power on.
If you see a battery icon like the one shown in the margin, you need to let your iPad charge for at least 10 to 15 minutes. When the battery picture goes away or turns green instead of red, go back to Step 2 and try again.
If you don’t see the Connect to iTunes screen on your iPad, try Steps 1–4 again.
If iTunes didn’t open automatically already, launch it now. You should see a Recovery mode alert on your computer screen telling you that your iPad is in Recovery mode and that you must restore it before it can be used with iTunes.
Okay. So that’s the gamut of things you can do when your iPad acts up. If you tried all this and none of it worked, skim through the rest of this chapter to see whether anything else we recommend looks like it might help. If not, your iPad probably needs to go into the shop for repairs.
If you’re having problems with Wi-Fi or your wireless carrier’s data network (Wi-Fi + 3G or 4G models only), this section may help. The techniques here are short and sweet — except for the last one, restore. Restore, which we describe in a previous section, is inconvenient and time-consuming, and entails erasing all your data and media and then restoring it.
First, here are some simple steps that may help:
If you have a Wi-Fi + 3G or 4G iPad, try the following:
Toggling airplane mode on and off like this resets both the Wi-Fi and wireless data-network connections. If your network connection was the problem, toggling airplane mode on and off may correct it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3237
and here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1365
If none of these suggestions fix your network issues, try restoring your iPad, as we describe previously in the “Restore” section.
The last category of troubleshooting techniques in this chapter applies to issues that involve synchronization and computer-iPad relations. If you’re having problems syncing or your computer doesn’t recognize your iPad when you connect it, here are some things to try.
We suggest that you try these procedures in the order they’re presented here:
If you didn’t try it previously, try it now. Go to the “Resuscitating an iPad with Issues” section, earlier in this chapter, and read what we say about recharging your iPad. Every word there also applies here.
It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally USB ports and cables go bad. When they do, they invariably cause sync and connection problems. Always make sure that a bad USB port or cable isn’t to blame.
If you don’t remember what we said about using USB ports on your computer rather than the ones on your keyboard, monitor, or hub, we suggest that you reread the “Recharge” section, earlier in this chapter.
We describe restarting in full and loving detail in the “Restart” section, earlier in this chapter.
If you try everything we suggest earlier in this chapter and still have problems, don’t give up just yet. This section describes a few more places you may find help. We recommend that you check them out before you throw in the towel and smash your iPad into tiny little pieces (or ship it back to Apple for repairs, as we describe in the next section).
First, Apple offers an excellent set of support resources on its website at www.apple.com/support/ipad/getstarted. You can browse support issues by category, search for a problem by keyword, read or download technical manuals, and scan the discussion forums.
Speaking of the discussion forums, you can go directly to them at http://discussions.apple.com. They’re chock-full of useful questions and answers from other iPad users. If you can’t find an answer to a support question elsewhere, you can often find it in these forums. You can browse by category or search by keyword. Either way, you find thousands of discussions about almost every aspect of using your iPad.
Now for the best part: If you can’t find a solution by browsing or searching, you can post your question in the appropriate Apple discussion forum. Check back in a few days (or even in a few hours), and some helpful iPad user may well have replied with the solution. If you’ve never tried this fabulous tool, you’re missing out on one of the greatest support resources available anywhere.
Last, but certainly not least, you might want to try a carefully worded Google search. You might just find the solution.
If you tried every trick in the book (this one) and still have a malfunctioning iPad, consider shipping it off to the iPad hospital (better known as Apple, Inc.). The repair is free if your iPad is still under its one-year limited warranty.
Here are a few things you need to know before you take your iPad in to be repaired:
If you’ve done everything we’ve suggested, we’re relatively certain that you’re now holding an iPad that works flawlessly. Again.
That said, some or all of your stuff may not be on it. If that’s the case, the following section offers a two-trick solution that usually works.
If you performed a restore or had your iPad replaced or repaired, you have one more task to accomplish. Your iPad may work flawlessly at this point, but some or all of your stuff — your music, movies, contacts, iMessages, or whatever — is missing. You’re not sunk, at least not yet. You still have a couple of tricks up your sleeve.
These backups include photos in camera roll, text messages, notes, contact favorites, sound settings, and more, but not media you’ve synced, such as music, videos, or photos. If media is missing, try performing Trick 1 again.
If you aren’t holding an iPad that works flawlessly and has most (if not all) of your stuff, it’s time to make an appointment with a Genius at your local Apple Store, call the support hotline (800-275-2273), or visit the support web page at www.apple.com/support/ipad.