So you’ve got a new iPad and you’re ready to put it to work? We don’t blame you. iPads are pretty great. If you’re new to these devices though, you might be wondering how to best set it up.
Although it’s pretty easy to transfer your iPhone settings over to your iPad with a few taps, you probably intend to use your tablet a little differently than your phone. So sometimes, it’s best to start from scratch. Even if you already have owned an iPad, sold it to an iPad repair store and are replacing your old tablet with a new one, you might want a guide on how to set up everything perfectly from scratch.
Here’s how.
We’re going to explain how to tweak particular settings that will keep your data from running out, your battery from draining and will keep the integrity of your privacy.
First Things First
Make sure your iPad is charged up, and that you have any necessary iOS or Mac devices handy – if your Apple ID has 2FA enabled, you’ll need to enter the two-factor code generated by your phone or your computer.
Just like when you set up your iPhone, you’ll need to connect to wi-fi, set up Touch ID, create a pin number or password, and choose if you’d like to restore your iPad from a backup, import data from an Android device or start off with a clean slate.
Enter your Apple ID, turn Siri on, or off, add your bank card to Apple pay, and decide if you’d like to share your data with app developers. Choose these basic settings, and your iPad will be ready to use.
If You’d Like to Import from Another iOS Device
If you’d like to simplify the setup process, you can import your data from another Apple device. If you want to do this, the import process will take a few minutes, and you’ll need both devices to be charged. Bring the two devices together, turn on Bluetooth, and hit “continue” on your current device.
Scan the screen with your iPad camera, kind of like you are scanning a QR code. Enter your PIN or password, enable Touch ID, and select your restoration option. You can transfer your location, privacy and Siri settings currently configured on your current device to a new one, or you can restore from the latest iCloud backup.
You can also set up these basic settings specifically for your iPad from scratch.
Tweaking your iPad Settings
You can set notification previews to never show, always show, or only show when your iPad is unlocked.
Go through your Notifications list to disable notifications you will never use. This will give your battery life a boost, and save you from pointless updates that will distract you.
You can add controls to your Control Center page that are iPad specific and choose how they appear. If you use your iPad as a remote, you can add the Apple TV Remote control for quick access to your streaming box.
You might want to set up Do Not Disturb – this feature will silence your iPad when it receives alerts. However, you can specifically set it up to alert you if particular groups if your Contacts app call you or if someone calls more than once within three minutes.
Next, you’ll probably want to modify General Settings – found in the General tab in your Settings app. You can tweak features like background app refreshing, AirDrop and other functions that you’ll deal with every day. You can restrict AirDrop requests to contacts only, change the brightness settings of your display to turn down at night, and add restrictions to in-app purchases for other people.
If you’d like to save battery life, adjust background app refresh for apps you don’t need to constantly be updating. For example, you might not need Maps or iBooks to keep updating, but you may want email apps or news apps to use background refreshing.
If you’ve signed up for a VPN service, you can configure your iPad so that it always connects to the network. Download the VPN app, connect and sign in, and permit the app to add its network configuration to your list of available VPN services in Settings.
You can enable Night Shift if you use your iPad at night – it will automatically reduce the strain on your eyes as it gets dark. Choose your schedule, or choose to adjust your iPad’s brightness settings based on your area’s sunset and sunrise time.
If you’d like to use Apple’s voice assistant, enable “Listen for “Hey Siri” and provide a voiceprint.
If you’ve got a fingerprint in your Touch ID database, that’s good, but you can add more – up to five fingerprints, and you can rename them so that you know which finger is which. You can also choose to set up the security feature where your iPad is wiped after 10 passcode attempts have failed.
As with any other smart device, privacy on your iPad is a concern. You can restrict location information from individual system services and you can disable location services for specific apps. If you aren’t using data on your iPad, turn off Cell Network Search and Compass Calibration, and disable the list of Product Improvement options that use location data.
Although your iPad will automatically update, you can also set it up to download apps, music and books installed on other iOS devices you own by turning on automatic downloads for each.
Additionally, while you are setting up your iPad, add any accounts you use to manage email, notes and calendars, like Google or Outlook, and you can set them as default accounts to use.
Your iPad should now be set up, so you are free to swipe, read, consume, play and do anything else you are looking forward to doing on your new device. Enjoy!
