How to Restore a Stuck iPad

You can use several methods to restore a stuck iPad.

As a portable tablet, an iPad can be a useful travel companion. However, you might experience occasions when your iPad becomes frozen, either while you are using a particular app or you might find you are unable to start the iPad. The method you use to restore a stuck iPad will depend on what the problem is; you might need to charge the battery or, if it is a problem with the iPad software, you might need to restore the device to its factory settings.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• iPad USB cable
• iPad charger
• iTunes software

Instructions

1. Force close any applications that are running. Press and hold the sleep/wake button at the top of the device until the red slider appears, then press and hold the home button at the bottom of the screen for six seconds.

2. Reset the device by pressing and holding the sleep/wake button at the top and the home button below the screen together for 10 seconds. You should see the iPad turn off and the Apple logo display on the screen as it restarts.

3. Check the iPad is charged if the iPad won't turn on. You can do this by plugging it into the Apple 10W iPad charger and checking the battery display on the screen, which will indicate how much charge is left on your iPad.

4. Connect the iPad to iTunes to restore it. Plug the device into your computer using the white USB cable supplied with the iPad. Open iTunes on your computer, click on the iPad under the "Devices" menu and then select "Restore" on the summary pane. This will restore the device to factory settings.

5. Force restore the iPad if it isn't displaying in iTunes automatically. Leave the USB cable plugged into your computer and unplug the dock from the iPad. Press and hold the home button on the iPad and plug it back into your computer, still holding the home button down. Once you see the connect to iTunes display on the screen of your iPad, release the home button and follow the instructions on your computer screen to restore your device.

Tips & Warnings

• Back up your iPad regularly by syncing it with your computer. Then, you are less likely to lose important data if you have to restore the device to factory settings.

References

• Apple iPad Support: Not Responding or Does Not Turn On
• Apple iPad Support: Unable to Update or Restore

Resources

• Apple: iPad