1. What to Do If the iPad Stops Responding
Sometimes, your iPad won't
respond to your touch—it freezes in the middle of a program. If this
happens, try these steps in order to see if the iPad will start
responding (Figure 1).
Press the Home button to see if that exits to the Home screen.
If the iPad continues to be unresponsive, try pressing the Sleep/Power key until you see Slide to Power Off. Then press and hold the Home button until you return to the Home screen—this should quit the program.
Make
sure your iPad isn't running out of power. Try plugging it in or
attaching it to your computer (if it's plugged in) and see if it will
start to respond.
If holding the Home button doesn't work, you will need to try to turn off your iPad by pressing and holding the Power/Sleep button for 3–4 seconds. Then slide the Slide to Power Off
slider at the top of the screen. If you cannot power off the iPad, then
see the following instructions about how to reset the iPad.
After you power off the iPad, wait a minute or so, and then turn on the iPad by holding the same Power button for a few seconds.
You
should see the Apple logo appear on the screen. Wait until the iPad
starts up, and you should be able to access your programs and data.
If these steps don't work, you will need to reset your iPad.
2. How to Hard-Reset Your iPad
Resetting your iPad is your
last response to an unresponsive iPad. It is perfectly safe, and it
usually fixes many problems. See Figure 2.
The steps to hard-reset your iPad are
Using two hands, press and hold the Home button and the Power/Sleep button at the same time.
Keep both buttons held down for about 8–10 seconds. You will see the Slide to Power Off slider. Ignore that and keep holding both buttons until the screen goes blank.
After
a few more seconds, you should see the Apple logo appear. When you see
the logo, just release the buttons and your iPad will be reset.
3. How to Soft-Reset Your iPad
There are various things you can reset in the Settings app, from the Home screen layout to the network settings to all data on your device.
Tap General in the left column.
Tap Reset at the bottom of the right column.
Tap Reset All Settings to reset network, keyboard, home screen layout, and location warnings. Tap Reset to confirm from the pop-up window.
Tap Erase All Content and Settings to erase absolutely everything from your iPad. Then tap Erase to confirm from the pop-up window.
Tap Reset Network Settings to clear out all your Wi-Fi (and 3G) network settings.
Tap Reset Keyboard Dictionary to reset the spelling dictionary.
Tap Reset Home Screen Layout to return to the factory layout, from when you first received your iPad.
Tap Reset Location Warnings to reset the warning messages you receive about allowing apps to use your current location.
