Home iPad Tips iPad 2: How to Hard Reset on iPad 2
iPad 2: How to Hard Reset on iPad 2

Learn how to hard reset the iPad 2 when it become unresponsive or you have stuff the setting and you now want it to go back to the factory setting.

With the iPad 2 there are so many things you can do, so many things you can change, and sometimes the change you've make has bring about an undesire result. Sometimes your iPad 2 could stuff up because you have installing many apps and those apps could change certain setting making the iPad 2 not behave the way you want it to behave.

Hardware Reset

The hard reset can be done by holding down the Sleep/Wake + Home button simultaneously for 10 seconds or more and shortly you will see an Apple logo appears on the screen.

ipad-2-hard-reset

Depending on the issue you are having before you try the hard reset you might want to try use other below options and see if it could solve your problem.

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Software Reset

This method also enable you to have the device go back to the factory default setting. Here's how:

1. Go to the Home screen.

2. Tap on Settings.

3. Tap on General.

4. Select Reset.

ipad-2-reset

5. On this screen you can either choose to Reset All Settings or Erase All Content and Settings.
- Reset All Settings: this will reset the applications setting back to the default. The content will still be intact.
- Erase All Content and Settings: this will remove all the content on the device and reset the applications setting back to the default.

6. Once you have choose a desire method of reset, the device will begin the reset process and reboot itself. If you choose Erase All Content and Settings, you will need to reactivate the device again. Once the device has finished with the reset, simply connect the device with iTunes and you can start the reactivation process.

In addition to the soft reset you could also try to force an app to quit or restart the iPad 2 to see if the issue could be resolved.

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Some people have jail break their device and find that after a hard reset the still can't get the device back to a working order. If you have jailbreak or installing some Cydia app then try this:

1. Plug in the device to the computer and start iTunes.

2. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake + Home for 10 seconds.

3. Once you see the Apple Logo appears, release the power and continue to hold down the home button for about 5-10 seconds. Look in iTunes and see if your device have shows up.

4. iTunes will notify you that you are now in Recovery mode. Click on OK to continue with the restore process.

5. Next press and hold on the SHIFT button and click on the Restore button. Select the latest IPSW file and the prompt appears.

To learn more about IPSW file go here.

6. iTunes should now attempt to get your device back to the manufacturer setting.

7. iTunes will later give you an opportunity to restore you content from the PC. Every time when you do a sync, iTunes makes a backup so you can choose the latest backup from the sync.

If you like you could also reset other items indiviually such as:



Comments (80)
  • NATS
    this is good
  • SkyMoose  - Reset
    Big help.
    Thanks! :D
  • SkyMoose  - All black unresponsive screen.
    Big help. Solved the problem.
    Thanks.
  • SkyMoose  - Black unresponsive screen - fixed
    Big help. Thanks :D
  • Anonymous  - works!
    :D Works!
  • Anonymous
    awesome
  • Anonymous
    Thanks!! it fixed the problem
  • Mike Dunn  - hard reset
    what do you do when the hard reset does not work. The screen does go blank and the silver apple appears but ipad still remains froze.
  • Erasmo  - Thank's
    Don't know what happened but, after reset to default, things are going better.
    Thank you.
    Anyway the second instruction worked, not the first on my Ipad 2 64 Wifi g3
  • andika
    will it effect the software??
  • Anonymous
    Your software will be reset back to the default settings. Also any downloaded software may be lost. so make sure you have back them up first.
  • Keith
    Thank you!
  • g
    I hit the reset button my ipad has been black with spinning circle for 3 hours
    my email page keeps on goin blank
  • Mr. Ipad  - Great Help
    This page is so great (The Best) that I got my IPAD 2 problem solved
  • admin
    Mr. iPad - We are glad that your problem is solved. Hopefully other people will also get their issue solve using this guide.
  • Eric  - ipad2 3G cannot work with MTN 3G
    I just got an Ipad 2 wifi 3G from the states but cannot get the 3G connection on MTN
  • renee  - ipad reset
    :angry-red: how long does reset take, the screen is black and the loading sign has been going around for over a hour?? help
  • admin  - re: ipad reset
    Renee - It shouldn't take more then a few minutes. I think there is something wrong. Try to reset it again and see what happen.
  • joyce
    :D Great help - could not remember how to do this !
  • NADER
    HI
    MY IPAD 2 HAVE A ERROR 1009 AND NOT USED
    PLEASE HELP ME
  • rey karl  - ipa2 2
    admin can you help me with my ipad2?

    what do you do when the hard reset does not work. The screen does go blank and the silver apple appears.. and i've waited for 3hrs but nothings happen.. and when i push the sleep button my i pad doesn't work anymore... it just froze with the silver apple...

    what will i do now.. :(
  • Anonymous  - re: hard reset
    Mike Dunn wrote:
    what do you do when the hard reset does not work. The screen does go blank and the silver apple appears but ipad still remains froze.


    i have the same problem, did you solve yours and how pls?
  • K
    did you solve yours? pls help if you did, have the same problem
  • j  - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - Please help!!
    OH NO!!!! I didn't understand that a hard reboot was different from when you hard reboot your computer. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I wanted to simply restart it and I dutifully followed the instructions on the page thinking that that was what I was doing -- like when your computer gets stuck so you press the power button to turn it back on without going through the "shut down" window.

    I had months and months of work on the pages app that I had not yet figured out a solution to back up. I didn't email it all to myself because I make frequent changes to over 40 important documents so that was impractical. Getting a back-up system was on my list of things to deal with tomorrow.

    Is it really all gone? I can't believe it is gone. Literally months of work. I am completely, totally screwed. (I know, please don't give me a lecture on the importance of backing things up, I already feel very horrible right now).

    Is there anything on this earth I can do to get back ...
  • j  - I'm a total idiot. sorry for being a reactionary
    I am hanging my head in shame. After freaking out like a darn fool, I find that everything is fine. Pages is still there with my documents and I'm an idiot. I offer my sincere apologies to anyone who read my pathetic previous post. I have learned my lesson (1) to be more careful before freaking out and (2) back up your stuff so you don't need to freak out. Again, I'm sorry.
  • admin
    Hi J - We are glad you have your problem solved.
  • Anonymous
    Does a hard reset restore original firmware version? Have an ipad2 ver 4.35, would like to restore to 4.33, is there any way I can do this without any form of backup?
  • Anonymous
    Hey there, was my question about a factory restore restoring firmware stupid? I'm guessing there's pretty much no way to go to previous firmware version without a backup?
  • admin  - re:
    Anonymous wrote:
    Hey there, was my question about a factory restore restoring firmware stupid? I'm guessing there's pretty much no way to go to previous firmware version without a backup?

    There is no such thing as stupid question. You only ask because you don't know. I don't think its possible to go back to the previous version without you loosing data. Maybe it's best to back it up. It is always a good idea to back your data any, and we all need to make a habit of it.
  • Karin  - iPad2 & email problems
    Email was working fine (gmail and hotmail) on my iPad 2 until recently, now it says either login name or password is wrong. I haven't changed either. Is there a way to reset the device without losing my apps? Thanks!
  • Monsterman  - Facebook redirecting me
    Downloaded the Facebook app from the app store and it worked great for a couple of months. Earlier this week it started to redirect me to You Tube. I have deleted the app and reinstalled it but still happens. Should I do a system reset or is there anyone else that has had this issue and how did you fix it? Facebook works fine on my iPhone and on my pc.
  • Anonymous  - restrictions!!!!
    if i want to erase the restrictions from it how do i do it when i go under restictions it doesnt give the option of reseting or disable them, is a company ipad and has restriction i cant download anything please help.....
  • CIssy  - help..synced to wrong gmail account and Itunes acc
    I have synced my IPAD2 to the wrong Itunes account and gmail account...
    Do I just erase all content and settings....?
    I only have a few apps...but need to sync the IPAD to a different Itunes and gmail account..

    HELP!!

    THANKS
  • Anonymous  - re:
    g wrote:
    I hit the reset button my ipad has been black with spinning circle for 3 hours
    my email page keeps on goin blank
  • Di  - THANKS!!!
    Big thanks just got my iPAD 2 yesterday had a problem getting the VPN hooked up and for now just want to go back to setting. PERFECTO...Reset ALL network setting (only)
  • oksecy  - cannot upgrade!
    hi, i wanna upgrade my ipad 2 from 4.3 to 4.3.3 os i can use jb but every time i try to do it via itunes (10.2.2.12) it gives me an error message that saying "(device name)cannot be upgraded/restored because the firmware file is not compatible. I downloaded the file form apple's servers. thanks
  • Bill
    :D Worked great!!
  • Peter Brown  - ipad2 freeze
    hit the reset button my ipad has been black with spinning circle for 3 hours
    my email page keeps on goin blank, how do i get the screen back
  • admin  - re: ipad2 freeze
    Peter Brown - Could you try the Hard reset key and see if it works.
  • Sharon  - : ipad reset
    I reset my i-pad, thinking that was why my email disappeared but it has been over an hour and all I see is a black screen with the spinning circle. I have pressed all buttons on the outside of the i - pad but nothing is happening, I also tried to turn it off but it won't.
  • kshege  - ipad reset
    Thanks a million. This worked perfect. I appreciate. :D
  • Carolyn  - Restored info to wrong ipad2 after download of i0s
    Brought two computers to office to use DSL because my Hughes Satellite kept timing out. Updated first one okay. Works great. Tried the second one. Synced to account, downloaded update. Then there was nothing there and I restored...but from the first ipad2 Ooops! Now I can't get my stuff off to get to my roomies' stuff. What to do?
  • bkm
    Hi,

    How do i download from youtube.
    Thanks in advance
  • massoud  - re: hard reset
    Mike Dunn wrote:
    what do you do when the hard reset does not work. The screen does go blank and the silver apple appears but ipad still remains froze.
  • Marie  - ipad apps wont open
    Can someone help me. I have an ipad 2 and none of my apps will open. I have alot of information stored on my pages app so I don't want to loose it. I've tried following above instructions, I've restarted, reset and it doesn't help. What can I do? Also I am travelling so don't have access to my computer to plug it into.
  • Eric  - My Ipad 2 doesn't have a sleep/wake button ... ho
    I don't know if my Ipad 2 is a new or old model (purchased 11/27/11 from Walmart).

    I have no buttons located near the bottom on the side as in the picture above (I assume it's the bottom, as they show the connector hole).

    So how can I do a hard reset on an Ipad 2 with no sleep/wake button?
  • Dan  - sleep/wake button
    The "home" button is near the connector hole, but the sleep/wake button is on the opposite end of the device.
  • Anonymous  - re: iPad2 & email problems
    Karin wrote:
    Email was working fine (gmail and hotmail) on my iPad 2 until recently, now it says either login name or password is wrong. I haven't changed either. Is there a way to reset the device without losing my apps? Thanks!
    Help m!!! My iPad has froze and I have been waiting for 17 hours at least for it to restart. It is on the silver apple page BTW
  • Lois Harnish  - ipad 2 restore
    My husband bought me an Ipad 2 from a local company, it was a demo model and he got it for $100 bucks off..anyway i notice some things are not available for me to do, i can`t delete apps for one and in my general, settings area there is no system reset option and no restriction option, so i can`t go in to enable app deletion and i can`t do a system restore. when i hook it up to my computer to itunes to restore it says i have to update the software but i shouldn`t have to because it`s already Ios 5.1 and when i click yes to update it anyway it comes up in an error at about a quarter of the way through a 3-4 hour process...any help you all could provide would be greatly appreciated, the store i bought it from is closed until the first of the year...
  • admin
    Lois Harnish - Sorry to hear you have so many problems. Have you try pressing Sleep/Wake + Home button simultaneously for 10 seconds or more. This is a hard reset.
  • jah  - failure to reset
    thanks, solved the problem by hard reset. Been waiting for 5 hours, looking at the spinning circles until i found this tip... :D
  • Liz  - Re syncing ipad2 all my pics off Mac by mistake. C
    Hi my hd is full neeeeed o know how to delete these pics.snc by mistake with iTunes.
  • Ron  - Now what!!!
    Just gor a new ipad 2 and I charged it first before I start working with it. Now my sweet daughter put a password on this and she forgot what number she punched. How in the hell can I get into the Ipad. Hooking it up on Itunes doesnt work ofcourse because my computer doesn't know this device and I have to unlock the Ipad first. A hard reset doesn't work because I have to unlock it first.
    Anybody has an idea???? I am out of ideas.
    Ohhhh... And my daughter is grounded for 2 weeks. So you know.

    Ron
  • Rabih  - big problem
    please help me my ipad2 can not turn on also not restore or hard reset or anything, first i was installing new packages on cidia hen suddenly it stopped and turned off then nothing happened, please help me, i tried tiny umbrella but also nothing.
  • Rabih  - Please Help Me
    please help me my ipad2 can not turn on also not restore or hard reset or anything, first i was installing new packages on cidia hen suddenly it stopped and turned off then nothing happened, please help me, i tried tiny umbrella but also nothing.
  • admin  - re: Please Help Me
    Rabih - please see the updated article above addressing issue with Cydia apps.
  • Hale24Francine  - respond this topic
    I thought my device is gone, but thanks to this article I got it working again. Thanks so much to ITJungles.com.
  • Ron  - Now what....
    Thanl everybody for the help. NOT....
    I brought my Ipad back to the store and the changed it for a new one...... Oh... The one who gave me the thumb down... Thx for the trust. Last time I come here for 'help'........

    Ron
  • admin
    Ron - Sometimes a reset will simply not solved the problem, and you will need to bring it to the store. Sorry we could not assist you as we don't always have all the solutions to everything. We do our best to provide helpful information to our readers.
  • mahya  - error 1009
    whats error 1009?&what can i do?
  • mahya  - error1009
    whats an error 1009?what can i do for solve it? :(
  • Raj  - Ipad 2
    Hi
    I was synching my wife's ipad 2 with her new iphone 4s and all was good with the phone, then the ipad 2 went blank and i cant seem to turn on the power. have tried the reset with home and sleep wake button several times but to no avail.
    What is the next solution?>

    Thanks
  • admin
    If your iPad 2 is connected to the PC, disconnect it first and they try the reset. If that doesn't work try to connect it to the computer and try to restore it via iTunes. When you got for problem solve don't forget to comment to help others.
  • n landicho  - jasmin03
    i updated cydia on my ipad2 then my ipad turns on and off and cant open all applications don't know what to do please help...
  • Alexis  - Safari and other apple apps are not working
    Safari, Mail, Ipod, Youtube are not working, whenever I tap on them a white blank secreen appears, do I have to Reset the software? If I do so, I losse other apps an had downloaded?
  • Alexis  - Safari and other apple apps are not working
    Safari, Mail, Ipod, Youtube are not working, whenever I tap on them a white blank secreen appears, do I have to Reset the software? If I do so, I losse other apps I had downloaded?
  • Anonymous  - Blue lines on screen.
    My IPad has the protective black case and was dropped only a few feet.
    It now has blue lines on the screen. Would a hard reset take care of this or is there another solution? :(

    Thanks for any help!
  • admin  - re: Blue lines on screen.
    Anonymous wrote:
    My IPad has the protective black case and was dropped only a few feet.
    It now has blue lines on the screen. Would a hard reset take care of this or is there another solution? :(

    Thanks for any help!


    I think this is a hardware error, a reset will on get the software setting back to factory settings. You may need to replace the screen if the blue lines is annoying. Before you bring it to the repair center, ensure that you have backup your data, just in case they would lose your data. Good luck.
  • Anonymous  - victoria
    my ipad 2 does not have buttons on the bottom just a speaker and a plug thing for the charger is that normal
  • admin
    Victoria - It should be ok, are you expecting anything else?
  • Bon  - All icons gone after 'Erase All Contents and Sett
    Help! after doing 'Erase All Contents and Settings' all of the icons in the iPad 2 are gone! even the settings icon disappeared! only the newstand icon was left, but it cannot even connect to the internet! help!
  • admin
    BON - try to reset the Home screen layout, and network layout. If it's not working you may have to restore your ipad 2 device.
  • geegee  - reset problems

    After using the "reset all settings" option on my ipad2, I cannot now connect to the internet.
    when I go to "choose a network", my network is shown, but as soon as Ienter the passwordk, the word "join" on the keyborad goes into recess, and only reappears boldly when I add another incorrect character or blank.
    then "unable to join the network" notice appears.
    what can I do?
  • Yanne  - reset taking more than 24 hrs on iPad
    I got my iPad 2 16G Wifi five days ago. I was unable to connect to the iTunes Store and none of the troubleshooting advice I got worked. I went to settings, general and reset. I has been over 24hrs and it is still not up. It keeps loading then the Apple logo comes up and a line and writings and a blue arrow flashes for maybe less than a second. This has been happening consistently. I tried holding the home key and the sleep button until it goes blank and the Apple logo comes back on and the cycle starts all over again. It has only been five days but everyday there has been an issue. Do I need to just return it at this point or is there something else I could try?
  • admin
    Yanne - its better if you bring it back to the store and ask for help, since you only had it for few days.
  • Lynne
    Thank you, it works
  • Lulu
    My ipad sometimes, can't be moved, frozen. very difficult if i want to delete an application, because the media should be required to remove the application, such as computers..
  • jusaskn
    So, I thought I would go the cheaper route and buy a used Ipad off Craig's List. Got the Ipad (great condition), charged it, powered on. BUT it asked for a passcode and could't be located by itunes because it was locked. I've emailed the seller numerous times without results and they are no longer listed on Craig's List. What can I do? Is there a way to unlcck it and attach it to my account? Or, am I just S.O.L?
  • Anonymous
    tanx. :D
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