can't activate my iPad2 after updating IOS

We are seeing an increased incidence of issues activating 9 year old iPad2 devices. If restart of your home router - or changing your DNS Server settings do not resolve the issue, you should directly contact Apple Support for assistance.

To restart you home router, disconnect power - then wait at least 30 seconds before restarting. When you router has rebooted (which may take several minutes), force-restart your iPad:

• On an iPad with a Home button: Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.
• On an iPad with Face ID: Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the top button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.

For recommended DNS servers (configured at your home router and/or your iPad), you might choose one of the following highly regarded Recursive DNS Providers (IPv4 and IPv6 addresses included below):

Quad9

9.9.9.9

149.112.112.112

2620:fe::fe

2620:fe::9

OpenDNS

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

2620:0:ccc::2

2620:0:ccd::2

Cloudflare+APNIC

1.1.1.1

1.0.0.1

2606:4700:4700::1111

2606:4700:4700::1001

Should it be necessary to escalate your issue to Apple Support, during the current exceptional global situation, the quickest route to engaging with Apple Support will be via the Contact Support link at top-right of this page.

While this says for iPhone, the process is the same for iPad --> If you can't activate your iPhone - Apple Support

Do what the message says, Either try activating with iTunes on a computer, or wait and try agin later.

You can try a different Wifi network as well.