Chapter 40. Troubleshooting the iPad
Although the iPad is trouble-free 99 percent of the time, it’s still a computer and like any computer, it’s prone to foul-ups and mishaps usually at the worst possible time. When your iPad doesn’t cooperate with your wishes, you could have a defective iPad or, more likely, your iPad just needs a swift kick in its electronic behind to make it start working again.
In this chapter, you will learn several steps you can take to get an uncooperative iPad back in working condition again.
What You’ll Be Using
Kill a Hung Program
It’s rare, but sometimes the iPad seems to freeze when you’re running an app, and your iPad’s screen becomes unresponsive to your touch. The fix is quite simple—just press the Home button and you’ll quit the app. If the app doesn’t quit, try pressing and holding the Home button for five to ten seconds. If the program continues to misbehave after you restart it, you may want to check for updates to the app or even uninstall it. Updating and uninstalling apps are covered in Chapter 12.
Your iPad Runs Sluggishly or Freezes
If you’re familiar with the old world of computers, one of the simplest, yet mysterious, solutions to fixing a broken computer is to turn it off and turn it on again. On Windows PCs, you can accomplish this task by pressing the magical ctrl-alt-del keystroke combination, but with the iPad, you can duplicate this reset process by simply turning your iPad off, waiting a minute or two, then turning it back on.
The process of turning a computer off and back on clears its memory from any misbehaving programs that may have somehow managed to foul up your computer. Sometimes a poorly written app can mess with your iPad’s memory, preventing other apps from running correctly. If an iPad app seems frozen, unresponsive, or sluggish, you may need to restart your iPad.
To restart your iPad, follow these steps:
Hold down the On/Off button and Home button at the same time. After a few seconds, the red slider appears at the top of the screen, and then the screen should flash off and your iPad should start up.
Release both the On/Off button and Home button.
Wait a bit.
Press the On/Off button to turn your iPad back on.
iTunes Won’t Recognize Your iPad
To transfer files back and forth between an iPad and a computer, you must use iTunes. However, sometimes you may connect your iPad to your computer and iTunes won’t recognize that it’s connected, which means you can’t transfer any files.
To fix this problem, you have several alternatives:
Unplug your iPad’s USB cable from the computer and plug it back into the computer, using the same USB port or trying a different USB port. Plug it directly into the computer’s USB port and not in a USB port on a hub. Also try unplugging other devices plugged into USB ports.
Keep the iPad plugged into your computer and restart your computer.
Choose iTunes ▸ Check for Updates (Macintosh) or Help ▸ Check for Updates (Windows) to download and install the latest version of iTunes.
Make sure you have the latest operating system version for your computer (Mac OS X or Windows).
Your iPad Cannot Access the Internet
If you’re trying to get on the Internet but can’t seem to connect, there could be a multitude of problems that may not be related to your iPad at all, whether you’re trying to connect using Wi-Fi or a cellular telephone network. First, you could be in a “dead zone” for Wi-Fi or cellular telephone connectivity, which could be caused by buildings or poor coverage in your particular area.
If possible, try connecting through Wi-Fi using another device (such as a laptop computer) or connect to your cellular telephone network using a mobile phone. (Just make sure that mobile phone uses the same cellular telephone network as your iPad.)
If you’re positive that there is adequate Wi-Fi or cellular telephone coverage in your area, then check to make sure you have turned Airplane Mode off and turned Wi-Fi on. To do this, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings.
Make sure the Airplane Mode on/off switch is OFF.
Tap Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi Networks settings screen appears. Make sure the Wi-Fi on/off switch is ON. If you don’t see any networks displayed under the Choose a Network category, there may not be any Wi-Fi coverage in your area.
Tap General in the left pane. The General settings screen appears.
Scroll down General settings screen and tap Reset. The Reset settings screen appears.
Note
If you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network and you still can’t browse the Web or check your email, the Wi-Fi network you are connected to may not have Internet access. (For example, you might be in an airport or hotel where they’d like you to pay money to connect.) To stop automatically connecting to that bad Wi-Fi network, you want to forget it. See Forgetting a Wi-Fi Network in Forgetting a Wi-Fi Network for instructions.
Additional Ideas for Troubleshooting Your iPad
One last trick to try before driving all the way to the Apple store is restoring or resetting your iPad. Check out Chapter 10 for instructions to restore your iPad from a backup or even reset it to its factory settings.
You should also know that iPad customers are eligible for free phone support from Apple for the first 90 days of ownership—US customers can call 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273). You can also reach Apple’s customer support web page at http://www.apple.com/support/. All new iPads come with a one-year limited warranty.
If you’re fortunate enough live near an Apple Store, take your iPad in there and compare its behavior to the iPads in the store. Then ask for help from one of the Geniuses at the Genius Bar, and let them worry about the strange behavior of your iPad.
Despite Apple’s reputation for producing quality products, there’s always the possibility that you could have gotten a defective unit. If possible, backup all your data from your iPad and get a replacement. Then you can restore all your data from your computer to your new iPad (Chapter 10).