iPad not syncing to iTunes

Success at least. Apple tech told me my problem was the cable and to take unit to an Apple store. Well I did that, but the Ipad worked fine at the store. Out of desperation, I uninstalled and reinstalled Itunes for about the sixth or seventh time. As before, I followed the guidelines for installing each Apple component in order. However, this time I saw the spec's say to remove any Apple folders as well if there were any folders/files remaining after uninstall. Even the Apple tech didn't tell me that, so I was lucky to come across that installation guideline for people having problems with Ipod. Anyway, after removing the folders, I reinstalled, and Itunes recognized Ipad.

I had the same problem, and here's how I fixed it. After uninstalling/reinstalling iTunes twice, I tried again, but this time I found ALL of the Apple software installed (software update, mobile device support, itunes, etc.), uninstalled them all, rebooted, reinstalled the latest iTunes and that forced the computer to reload the driver. After that, iTunes once again recognized the iPad.

I had the same trouble with iPad not syncing. In the end, all I had to do was turn off my firewall. I should have tried it a lot earlier, but it didn't occur to me as my iPod synced fine. Hopefully I should be able to figure out how to allow iPad through without disabling the firewall. Way easier than uninstalling itunes and reinstalling it.
Hope this works for someone out there.

I have a similar problem in that my iPad says "Restore Needed" and has a symbol asking me to connect to iTunes, but iTunes does not recognize the iPad as a device. It does say "iPad could not connect to your device because it is locked with a passcode; you must unlock ....", which is great except that the password keyboard which I normally use to unlock will not show up on the iPad screen to allow me to unlock it, because all that is there is the USB to iTunes symbol. (I tried unlocking with a remote keyboard but to no avail).

Any ideas how to find that unlock keyboard, or any other suggestions?

Thanks for the tip. For whatever reason, reinstalling iTunes did the trick.

For the benefit of general public also running on zero sleep like I was,
I had to go to Devices in ControlPanel, and though it aknowledged that iPad is connected to a USB port, it couldn't recognize a driver for it. I right clicked, selected "Search for Drivers online" and let Windows 7 do the rest.
Having a dumb blonde night, and figured this out after 2 and a half hours.
Some people here directed me to the right direction, so thank you for that. I love support forums.

which is great except that the password keyboard which I normally use to unlock will not show up on the iPad screen to allow me to unlock it, because all that is there is the USB to iTunes symbol. (I tried unlocking with a remote keyboard but to no avail).

Any ideas how to find that unlock keyboard, or any other suggestions?


I am having the same issue on how to unlock this screen since you can't access the device to enter the passcode. Did you figure out how to unlock the ipad?

I am having the same problems and suggestions from anyone??? I have warm booted tried different machines still all I see is the USB to Itunes symbol and the error message to unlock but no way to unlock.... Please, please help!

Having the same issue. Where did you find the guidelines for installing each Apple component in order. Are you able to expand so I can try this?

I had the same problem, reinstalled itunes...etc.
It turns out that my iPad just wouldn't sync if the battery is below 20%...so charged it for 10 minutes and BAAM. Syncing again.
Hope this solves majority of the problems..

Somewhat similar problem--for several months (2-3) noted sync was taking much longer--~1 hour? Read a post suggesting that one app--Maplets--had caused this for someone, but that recent upgrade solved problem. Recent app upgrade included Maplets. Tried to sync today--first time in a few weeks--after ~2 hours, was sitting on "starting phase 2" or whatever. After a bit more time with no change, I clicked on cancel. Now has been churning away on "cancelling" for > 5 hours.
Is it safe to try a reset at this time? What does this do to any apps or data one has? Is it safe to just unplug the Ipad from the USB? Any thoughts as to what is going on? Have had Ipad since 3G first came out; no recognized problem after recent system upgrade. Recent upgrade to Itunes.

You can try to do a soft reset on the iPad and it is done in the similar way as the ipod touch and the iphone, you just need to hold down the power button which is located at the top of the ipad and along with it hold down the home button until you see the apple icon on your ipad. Which version of itunes have installed, note that you need a itunes 10 or higher version.
Besides i share you a article about [How to transer or sync iPad contents to PC|http://www.softwarebbs.com/wiki/How to_transer_or_sync_iPad_contents_toPC], which can help you backup all iPad files to your computer and keep them safe on the computer.
Hopefully this works for all of you like it just worked for me!