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Welcome back to another edition of our iPad tutorial column. While you may know practically everything there is to know about your tablet, there might be some things you didn’t know about. I write the how-to column and I am constantly finding out about things that my iPad can do that I didn’t know before. We want you to feel like you are an expert on your device, so we try to give you the skinny on everything the Apple tablet is capable of. Last time, we told you about how to download movies to your iPad using the VLC app.
This time, we are going to tell you the first step in trouble shooting your iPad when it freezes, crashes, or plain just won’t work.
“Have you tried turning it off and on again?” If you know that quote, you are 10 percent cooler than everyone else. When something goes wrong with any bit of technology in my house, the first thing I do is turn it off or unplug it. The act of restarting a computer or plugging a coffee maker back in can be the trick to fixing an unknown and irritating tech problem. Instead of making an appointment to see an Apple Genius just to have him or her restart your iPad, why not try it at home first.
This is an easy step, and most people know how to do it. However, there are still iOS users that don’t know that you can actually shut down your iPad. My mom just asked me about it the other day, which made me realize there are probably other moms out there that don’t know either.
To shut down, or power off, your iPad, press and hold the sleep/wake button at the top of your iPad for a few seconds. A red “slide to power off” slider will appear. Slide it to the off position. It will power off after 15 – 30 seconds.
To restart it after you’ve powered down, press and hold the sleep/wake button until the Apple logo appears. It will reload a few seconds after that.
If, for some reason, you have to force your tablet to shut down. If it freezes up, or has some other software issue that makes it impossible to power off, you can try resetting it.
To reset your iPad, press and hold the sleep/wake button and the Home button at the same time for a few seconds. You may have to hold them both down for 10 seconds. You’ll know that your tablet is resetting when you see the screen go black and then the Apple logo appears.
Now you know how to power off, restart, and reset your iPad.
» Related posts:
PadGadget’s iPad Tips: What to Do when an App Crashes
PadGadget’s iPad Tips: Make The Most Out Of Your iPad’s Camera
PadGadget’s iPad Tips: Customizing Notification Center
