Last Updated on May 2, 2019 by Husain Parvez
The iPad is Apple’s answer to the laptop. Easy-to-use, lightweight and extremely portable. Chances are most of us have used Apple products at some point in our lives and the iPad is without a doubt one of the most popular.
Unfortunately, although the Apple iOS operating system is reliable and extremely well-optimized, it is not without its own set of problems. Sometimes, your iPad may just freeze or malfunction in some way. When that happens, you’re going to need to restart your iPad.
Reasons to Reboot
Anyone who has ever worked in IT, worked with computers or even called up tech-support would have heard of the common phrase; have you tried restarting it?
As frustrating and as cliched as it may seem, rebooting your iPad is actually a relatively safe and easy method of fixing minor problems. Given that iPads are well-engineered devices, chances are rebooting it may come at a relatively late time in the device’s life.
One misconception that most iPad users have is that turning off your iPad’s screen is the equivalent of switching it off. In fact, doing so merely means that your iPad is in sleep mode. It will be in the exact same state in which you left it.
This means that any problems or bugs that the iPad has is left in the system. The installation and removal of apps leave leftover memory which would affect your iPad’s performance in the long term.
Performing a reboot cleans out the device’s system. It allows it to run a lot smoother. Rebooting kills any redundant processes and deletes excess information left on the hard drive. Hence, this is why rebooting a device fixes many issues.
Due to the fact that we leave our iPads running for months or even weeks, system clutter and other minor bugs are bound to appear. These faults result in a slower response time. They may crash apps and cause your iPad to freeze.
If you notice that your iPad frequently crashes and freezes, the time has come for a reboot to be performed.
Difference between rebooting, restarting and hard rebooting
The terms rebooting and restarting are often used interchangeably. For those of you who didn’t know, rebooting and restarting are exactly the same.
However, hard rebooting or a hard restart is used to define a situation where you force your iPad or Apple device to restart itself.
Restarting your iPad is a relatively easy process which we will be discussing below. However, should your iPad fail to respond to your commands, you will need to perform a hard reboot.
Does It Harm My iPad?
When it comes to rebooting, most Apple owners are naturally worried about whether the process will harm their devices. This is entirely natural given that iPads are extremely costly.
First things first, a simple restart of your iPad is not harmful in any way. In fact, rebooting your iPad regularly is crucial for it to run smoothly. As mentioned, rebooting your device allows it to remove redundant processes as well as clean up any bugs that may be lingering in the system.
Also, the recent iOS updates allow apps to run in the background. Rebooting your Apple device closes these apps and speeds up the device.
Many experts agree that rebooting an Apple device is actually a required part of maintenance. So, the next time you find yourself struggling with your device, try a system reboot before you head down to the store.
Chances are that you’d be charged a service fee just to get your iPad restarted by the technician behind the desk. In the long-term, both your wallet and your device will thank you for taking the time to reboot it yourself.
Risks To Take Note Of
So you’ve taken all of the required steps to get your iPad working but it just doesn’t seem to respond. Now, you need to perform either a factory reset or a hard reboot.
Before you go about doing so, here are some risks that you should be aware of:
- Data loss
Your iPad has a reset factory settings feature that wipes out all data and apps. This essentially restores your device to its pre-purchase status and could result in you losing precious data on your device.
Before you perform a factory reset, make sure all of your data has been backed up and stored safely. Failing to do so can result in a ton of heartache and time wasted.
Think of the reset factory settings feature as a reformat option which is regularly performed on both laptops and desktops.
Thus, if you plan to sell your device or if you are facing major problems, a factory reset may actually be in order.
- Loss of personal settings
Because the factory reset option removes all data and prior settings, any personal preferences and settings will be reset to default. This makes the factory restore settings ideal if you’re selling the device.
However, besides loss of data and custom settings, resetting factory settings does not harm your device in any way. In fact, resetting your factory settings could actually solve some problems.
Just ensure that you have taken all the required steps to backup your data before performing a factory reset.
How to Reboot Your iPad
Simple Restart Process (10-second restart)
Rebooting or restarting your iPad is a quick and easy way to solve minor problems with your device. However, given that most of the time Apple devices are fairly reliable, we don’t see a need to restart them. Thus, chances are not many people know how to actually restart an iPad.
To help you out, here’s how you can restart your iPad:
- Press and hold the power button for a few seconds.
In case you didn’t know, the iPad power button is a small rectangular button located in an indentation on the upper-left hand side of your iPad.
All you need to do is to hold the button down for several seconds.
- After pressing the power button, the screen will darken and a Slide to Power Off button appears on the home screen.
- Next, swipe the Slide to Power Off button.
This will result in your device turning off and the screen fading to black (thumbs up for the Metallica reference)
- Now, you will need to hold and press the power button once.
This will result in the Apple icon appearing on the home screen.
- After your device has successfully started, you will be asked to enter your passcode.
This applies even if your device uses thumbprint identification. Thus, it is crucial for you to remember your device ID. If your device fails to respond to the above instructions and remains frozen, you will need to consider a force-restart.
Force Restarting Your iPad
Maybe you’ve tried performing a simple restart but your iPad is still frozen and not responding to your commands. Now, you will need to consider a hard restart which is the step that forces your iPad to restart.
This step should only be used when your device is frozen entirely and not responding.
- First, hold down both the home button and power button of your iPad simultaneously for several seconds. Ensure that both buttons are pressed at the same time.
- Don’t worry if your iPad is unresponsive and does not appear to restart within several seconds. Keep both buttons pressed until the screen turns black and the Apple logo appears. Now, you can release both fingers from the buttons.
- The device will now complete the restart sequence and you will be brought back to the home screen. Here, you will be asked to key in the security pin of your device.
Note: even if you have fingerprint authentication enabled, you will be still prompted to provide the passcode.
- Key in your pin number and access your iPad.
How to kill an app
One of the most frustrating things that an iPad user can face would be the presence of misbehaving or non-responsive apps. These apps tend to freeze and clog up your device. One little-known trick that many iPad users are unaware of is that you can actually kill an app instead of restarting your device.
Follow these few steps to kill a misbehaving app.
- Get your iPad to “force quit” an app by holding down the power button.
- Keep your finger on the button until a red slider appears.
- After that, hold down the home button until the app is closed and you are returned to the home screen.
- Uninstall the errant app or check for updates.
Reboot a disabled iPad
If you have forgotten your iCloud password this can be extremely frustrating as it makes accessing your iPad impossible. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean that you need to dispose of your iPad. Instead, you can follow these simple steps to reactivate a disabled iPad.
- First, connect your iPad to your computer.
If you have previously synced iTunes with your iPad, you will be able to use iTunes to restore your iPad. While all previous data will be wiped, you will still have access to your device.
- Next, open iTunes and click on the iPad icon. The icon will usually be on the upper left-hand side of the iTunes tray next to your iTunes library.
- Click on the option to “restore” the iPad.
- Click restore to confirm.
- After confirming, the process of restoring your iPad can take up to several minutes. Wait until the entire process is completed.
- Once the restoration process has been completed, you can start the setup process as usual.
Tips
Before you go for a hard reset or factory reset, it may be more prudent to go for a soft-restart i.e. 10-second restart. This usually fixes 99% of the smaller problems faced by iPads. For example, slowness or even an inability to recharge the battery.
If you do opt for a hard reset, you will need to ensure that all of your previous data has been backed up and kept safe.
To backup your iPad before restoring it, connect your iPad to your computer and open iTunes. Once you have accessed iTunes, click “File” then “Devices” and finally “Backup”.
After your iPad has been reactivated, restore data by going to the File menu in iTunes and accessing the Devices tab. From there, you can click on restore to have your backed up data reinstated.
Conclusion
Rebooting your iPad is an effective way of solving the majority of the device’s issues. For more serious issues, you should always refer to an authorised Apple service centre or dealer.
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