iPad For Seniors For Dummies
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As little kids playing sports, adults ended an argument by agreeing to a do-over. Well, the Reset settings on the iPad minis are one big do-over. Now that you're (presumably) grown up, think long and hard about the consequences before implementing do-over settings. Regardless, you may encounter good reasons for starting over.

Here are your reset options:

  • Reset All Settings: Resets all settings, but no data or media is deleted.

  • Erase All Content and Settings: Resets all settings and wipes out all your data.

  • Reset Network Settings: Deletes the current network settings and restores them to their factory defaults.

  • Subscriber Services: Here you have options to reprovision (or refresh) your account and reset your authentication code.

  • Reset Keyboard Dictionary: Removes added words from the dictionary. Remember that the iPad keyboard is intelligent. And, one reason it's so smart is that it learns from you. So when you reject words that the iPad keyboard suggests, it figures that the words you specifically banged out ought to be added to the keyboard dictionary.

  • Reset Home Screen Layout: Reverts all icons to the way they were at the factory.

  • Reset Location & Privacy: Restores factory defaults.

To reset your iPad, merely press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and then press and hold the Home button, continuing to press both for at least ten seconds. When you see the Apple logo, release both buttons.

Resetting your iPad is like forcing your computer to restart after a crash. Your data shouldn’t be affected by a reset — and in many cases, the reset cures whatever was ailing your iPad. So don’t be shy about giving this technique a try. In many cases, your iPad goes back to normal after you reset it this way.

Sometimes you have to press and hold the Sleep/Wake button before you press and hold the Home button. That’s because if you press both at the same time, you might create a screen shot — a picture of whatever is on your screen at the time — rather than reset your iPad.

This type of screen picture, by the way, is stored in the Photos app’s Camera Roll album. A screen shot should only happen if you press and release both buttons at the same time, but sometimes pressing and holding both buttons triggers the screen shot mechanism instead of restarting your iPad.

Unfortunately, sometimes resetting doesn’t do the trick. When that’s the case, you have to take stronger measures.

At this point, it’s a good idea to back up your iPad’s contents. In iTunes, there’s a Back Up Now button in the Backup section of the Summary pane, which identifies when the last backup occurred. On your iPad, look in Settings→iCloud→Storage & Backup for the Back Up Now button.

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