How To: Update and Restore an iPad

By Scott Younker December 6, 2011

Apple releases patches for its products from time to time, sometimes they’re aesthetic changes and others help your products work with a new iOS. Updating your iPad is essential to keep up to date with latest patches.

Sometimes you’ll have to restore the iPad to its original factory condition. This is usually due to troubleshooting problems with the iPad. There is a difference between updating and restoring. Updating leaves all of your settings, apps and data on the iPad. Restoring deletes all of your apps, settings and data. Make sure you back up anything that you think you’ll want or need.

Updating and Restoring:

1. Connect the iPad to your computer using the USB connector cable that came with the device.

2. Generally, plugging the iPad into your computer automatically will launch iTunes. If it doesn’t, just launch it yourself.

3. In iTunes, select the name of the iPad under the “Devices” heading in the menu on the left side of the window.

4. Click the “Summary” tab in the main window.

The above applies for both restoring and updating. Now, we’ll start with updating the iPad:

1. Under the “Summary” tab look for “Check for Update”. If an update is available for the iPad click “Update” to install it. The download and install will take a few minutes. Do not disconnect the iPad from the computer until the process is complete.

On to restoring:

1. Again, under the “Summary” tab look for “Restore”. Click that.

2. If you haven’t already and want to select “Back up” the settings for your iPad before restoring the software.

3. Click “Restore” when iTunes asks if you want to the iPad to factory settings. Again, do not unplug the iPad until the process is complete. You’ll know it’s done because the iPad will restart.

4. To get your backed up settings click “Restore from backup…” to copy your backed up settings, apps, setttings, documents, music and other data to the iPad.

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