Your iPad is crashing and you’re not sure why. Most of the time when dealing with a crashing iPad, its software is causing the problem. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPad keeps crashing and show you how to fix the problem for good!
Restart Your iPad
One quick way to fix a minor software problem that could be crashing your iPad is to turn it off and back on. All the applications and programs running on your iPad can shut down normally, giving them a fresh start once you turn it back on.
If your iPad doesn’t have a Home button, simultaneously press and hold the top button and either volume button until slide to power off appears on the display. If your iPad has a Home button, press and hold the top button until slide to power off appears.
Next, turn off your iPad by swiping the circular power button from left to right across the display. Once your iPad has completely shut down, press and hold the top button until you see the Apple logo on the display. Your iPad will turn back on shortly after.
My iPad Froze When It Crashed!
If your iPad froze when it crashed, you’ll have to hard reset it rather than shut it down normally. A hard reset forces your iPad to turn off and back on abruptly.
Here’s how to hard reset your iPad:
iPad without a Home button: Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button, then press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button, then press and hold the top button. Release the top button when the Apple logo appears.
iPad with a Home button: Press and hold the Home button and the top button at the same time until the Apple logo appears.
Close Out Of Your Apps
It’s possible your iPad keeps crashing because one of your apps keeps crashing. If that app is left open in the background of your iPad, it could continuously crash your iPad’s software.
First, open the app switcher on your iPad by double-pressing the Home button (iPad with Home button) or swiping up from the bottom of the screen and pausing in the center (iPad without Home button). Then, close your apps by swiping them up and off the top of the screen.
If an app was responsible for the problem, you may want to look into crashing iPad apps. It’ll help you diagnose and fix problems with app or apps that are crashing!
Update Your iPad Software
Using an iPad with an outdated version of iPadOS, the iPad’s operating system, can cause it to crash. Check for a software update by going to Settings and tapping General > Software Update. Tap Download & Install if an iPadOS update is available.
Back Up Your iPad
If your iPad is still freezing, it’s time to save a backup, just to make sure you don’t lose any of the information on your iPad. The next two troubleshooting steps in this article address deeper software problems and require resetting some or all of your iPad to factory defaults. By saving a backup, you won’t lose any data when you reset or restore your iPad!
You can back up your iPad to iCloud by going to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and tapping Back Up Now. You can also back up your iPad by connecting it to your computer — use Finder on a Mac (macOS Catalina or later) or the Apple Devices app on a Windows PC — selecting your iPad, and clicking Back Up Now.
Reset All Settings
When you reset all settings on your iPad, everything in the Settings app gets reset to factory settings. You’ll have to reconnect your Bluetooth devices, reenter your Wi-Fi passwords, and re-optimize your Settings app. Issues in the Settings app can be very difficult to track down, so we reset all settings to try and fix the problem in one fell swoop.
To reset all the settings on your iPad, open Settings and tap General > Transfer Or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings. You’ll have to reenter your passcode and confirm your decision by tapping Reset All Settings.
Put Your iPad In Recovery Mode
Our final software troubleshooting step for crashing iPads is a recovery mode restore. This restore will erase all the code on your iPad, then reload it line-by-line. After saving a backup, connect your iPad to your computer and put it into recovery mode to restore.
See also: How to put your iPad in recovery mode
iPad Repair Options
A hardware issue is almost certainly causing the problem if your iPad is still crashing after you’ve put it in recovery mode and restored. Liquid exposure or a drop on hard surface can damage the internal components of your iPad, which may be causing it to crash.
Set up a Genius Bar appointment at your local Apple Store and see what they can do for you. You can also start a support request at getsupport.apple.com to explore mail-in or carry-in repair options.
Crash Into Me
You’ve successfully fixed your crashing iPad and it’s not giving you problems anymore! Next time your iPad keeps crashing, you’ll know how to solve the problem. Leave me any other questions you have about iPads in the comments section down below.
Thanks for reading,
