How to restore iPad

Does your iPad seem to have some problems? Do you feel unresponsive even in the simplest operations? Maybe it needs a good restore. No, don't be scared. Restoring iPad simply means returning it to its factory state, resetting its operating system and deleting the data inside it: this is a drastic operation, but it is extremely simple to complete and thanks to backups everything ends in a very short time. 

If I were you I would not wait any longer. To succeed in the enterprise, all you have to do is go to the iPadOS settings and call the function to initialize the device. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can connect the iPad to your computer and use iTunes or the Finder to restore it to factory condition. The difference between the two procedures is that the first lasts a few seconds and resets the current version of iPadOS, while the second involves the forced download of the latest version of the operating system for the tablet and its installation on the iPad.

It is up to you to choose the path that seems most comfortable to you. The important thing is that before starting you make a nice backup of the data and apps on the device. Don't you know how to do it? No problem, below you will find the information you need. Enjoy your reading and have fun!

Preliminary operations

Before getting to the heart of the guide, going to explain how to restore iPad , there are some preliminary operations that you would do well to do, to make sure that everything goes the right way.

First of all, I invite you to make a backup of the contents of your iPad, so that you can have at your disposal a copy of all your data (settings, applications, photos, etc.) to which you can always and in any case access it, even using an iPad different.

To do this, take the iPad, unlock it (if necessary) and select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ) that you find on the home screen and / or in the App Library. In the new screen that you now see, tap on your name located at the top, then on the iCloud entry , then select the words iCloud Backup .

Then make sure that the switch next to the iCloud Backup item is moved to ON and if so, also check the date of the last backup that you find at the bottom. If there is no backup or a recent one is not available, you can fix it by running a “manual” one right now by tapping the Back up now option .

If the option to back up to iCloud is disabled, to remedy it, move the appropriate lever to ON and press the Back up now item , then select the iCloud Settings item to choose which data to backup or the Continue option to start all the procedure for creating a copy of your iPad data is instant.

Alternatively, you can create a local copy of your data, without having to use iCloud. To do this, connect your Apple tablet to your computer via USB cable (the same one you also use for recharging) and proceed from iTunes (on Windows and older versions of macOS) or using the Finder (on the most updated versions of macOS) , as I told you in my specific guide on  how to backup iPad .

Another operation that you need to do before going to restore your iPad is to disable Where is , the service through which it is possible to locate Apple devices remotely. To do this, access the iPadOS Settings again as I explained to you earlier, tap your name at the top and select the Where is item.

In the new screen that you see appear, touch the word Find my iPad and move the lever located at the Find my iPad option to OFF . Next, enter your Apple ID password and select the Deactivate option .

Also keep in mind that if you intend to reset iPad because you want to sell it, you need to worry about unpairing the device from the Apple ID. To do this, always access the  iPadOS Settings , touch your name located at the top and tap the Exit button that you find by scrolling down the screen. Therefore, decide whether or not to keep a copy of your iPad data (calendars, contacts, reminders and Safari data) on iCloud and touch Exit again .

How to restore iPad without iTunes

Let's start with the fastest procedure, the one that allows you to restore iPad without iTunes , then going to act directly from iPadOS, without connecting the device to the computer.

To do this, first of all grab the device, unlock it (if necessary) and select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ) that you find on the home screen and / or in the App Library. In the screen that is now shown to you, tap on the General item , on the Transfer or initialize iPad option and choose the Initialize content and settings option .

At this point, press the Continue button to confirm your intentions, type the unlock code of your iPad, confirm your desire to reset the device and wait patiently for the procedure to  restore iPad to factory settings to start and complete .

Subsequently, the iPad will restart and the initial configuration of iPadOS will start, during which you can decide whether to  restore iPad as new  or whether to restore a previous backup . In both cases, follow the proposed wizard , the one I explained to you in detail in my guide on how to configure iPad . If you need to give your tablet to someone else, select the option to restore iPad as new and turn it off without continuing with the setup.

How to restore iPad from iTunes

Now let's see how to restore iPad from iTunes , or rather how to proceed from a computer. It's very simple, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

To succeed in the enterprise, if you want to restore iPad on Windows , you must first worry about installing iTunes (if you haven't already done so, of course), Apple's multimedia software, proceeding as I explained to you in my guide on how to download iTunes . The same goes for Macs with macOS 10.14 Mojave or earlier versions (where iTunes is pre-installed), while on  macOS 10.15 Catalina or later versions iTunes has been withdrawn and you have to act from the Finder .

So, connect the iPad to the computer via the USB cable , then if you have iTunes on your computer, wait for it to start automatically. Later, if it is the first time you connect the computer and the iPad, press the Continue button that appears on the computer screen to authorize the connection between the two devices, tap the Authorize button  shown on the tablet display and type on the latter the unlock code .

Next, click on the iPad icon that appeared in the upper left part of the iTunes screen, make sure that Summary is selected in the left sidebar and press the Restore iPad button . Then select the Restore / Restore and Update options and start the reset procedure by clicking the Next and Accept buttons .

If you have a Mac and you can use the Finder to manage your iPad, start it by selecting its icon (the one with the smiling face ) on the Dock bar , then click on the iPad item that you find in the Locations section in the sidebar of left. In the screen you now see, select the General tab , click on the Restore iPad button and confirm your intentions by pressing the Restore button .

After starting the procedure to reset iPad, the computer will go to initialize the tablet and the latest version of iPadOS will be installed on it. The iPad will restart and can be configured as new or by selecting a backup made previously, as I explained to you in the previous step .

In addition to as I just indicated, you can restore iPad using the Find My iPad function from Apple combined with your iCloud account, if you have not deactivated the Where is option from the tablet settings, as I explained to you in the step at the beginning of the guide. . To do this, connected to the iCloud website , log in with your Apple ID, click on the Find iPhone option  and on the All devices item in the new display screen, then select your iPad from the top menu, the Initialize option iPad in the box on the right and the Initialize item .

How to reset iPad settings

Does your iPad give you problems when connecting with wireless networks, cannot use the data network or does it have other software “problems”? If so, you can try resetting the operating system settings without erasing the data on the device.

To do this, you need to reach the same iPadOS screen from which you can perform a complete reset of the device. So, grab the iPad, unlock it (if necessary), select the Settings icon (the one in the shape of a gear wheel ) that you find on the home screen and / or in the App Library, select the General item in the displayed screen, then that Transfer or initialize iPad , then the Restore item and, based on how you intend to proceed, choose one of the following options.

• Reset Settings - allows you to reset all iPadOS settings without erasing data.
• Reset network settings - allows you to reset the wireless network and data connection configuration.
• Subscription Services - allows you to reset active subscriptions on the Apple account in use on the device.
• Reset keyboard dictionary - allows you to restore the keyboard related settings to the factory state.
• Reset Home Screen Layout - allows you to reset the default icon order on the home screen (apps will be sorted alphabetically).
• Reset location and privacy - allows you to reset your privacy and geo-location settings.

After choosing the option you are interested in, type the unlock code of your iPad and press on the appropriate item that appears on the screen (eg. Restore dictionary , if you have chosen the Restore keyboard dictionary option ), to confirm your intentions, then waits for the reset procedure to be started and completed.

How to reset iPad without password

Have you forgotten your iPad code and, after making several attempts, have you permanently locked the device? If that is the case, you can go through the steps to reset iPad without a password , using recovery mode .

However, please note that  restoring iPad without an Apple ID is impossible, so you will still be asked to provide your previous account information to activate your tablet. If you don't, the iPad won't be usable in any way. Find all the explanations you need in my specific guide on how to unlock locked iPad .

In case of doubts or problems

Despite having followed my instructions in detail, have you still not been able to restore iPad or have you encountered some hitch? In that case, the best suggestion I can give you is to consult the section of the Apple site dedicated to iPad support .

If, on the other hand, you feel it is necessary to get in direct contact with Apple's assistance , I inform you that you can do it in various ways: by phone, via chat, by going to the Apple Store in person, etc. For all the details of the case, please refer to my specific tutorial on  how to contact Apple .