Unable to get in iPad after iPadOS15 update

I updated my 2021 iPad Air with the ios 15 update. All went smooth and the iPad restarted after the update. It required my passcode first time. As I entered the passcode the iPad goes into a blinking screen mode that alternates between a black blank screen with round busy graphic and a brief clip of my home page. It keeps blinking on and off between these two modes at a frequency of less than a second between each.

I have tried hard reset a couple times. But it reverts back to same state.

I know it has updated because when it reboots it shows the “Hello” screen. But the unlock process breaks it again.


anyone seen similar issue?


regards,

amit

iPad Air 3 Wi-Fi

Posted on Sep 20, 2021 9:07 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 23, 2021 6:55 AM

I finally got it to work. Had to restore it to factory settings. Lost all data. I had iCloud backup, despite that I lost data. I restored to factory, it also updates to latest iOS 15 after restore. Post that while setup if I choose to restore from my saved iCloud backup, I landed at the same issue. So I concluded that ios 15 has an issue with some setting on my backup. Therefore finally set it up as a fresh new iPad downloaded all my apps again etc. but at least I’m back online.


here is how I did it:

  1. connected my iPad to iTunes on PC.
  2. it won’t recognise and one can’t get in as it requires you to enter passcode which is obviously broken at this stage
  3. entered iPad recovery mode by short press & release volume up, next volume down, the. Long press and hold power button for 10 seconds or more until you see the Apple logo. Ipad will enter recovery mode with screen showing a cable connection to PC. Once you see this, release the power button.
  4. at this point, you should see a message on iTunes asking if you would like to update ipad or restore.
  5. I tried only the update, it didn’t work. So next time I chose restore to factory.
  6. iTunes will download the software and begin the process
  7. once it has been restored, it will start like a brand new iPad
  8. I began set up by bringing my iPhone near the iPad to make it go faster
  9. on the option to restore from back up. I chose NOT TO COPY apps and data etc. as copying it landed me in same issue again.
  10. This worked for me. Hope this helps


I also had made an appointment with Genius Bar for Friday, but figured they would do the same factory reset or a DFU, so I went ahead with it myself.

i will still call them perhaps to understand what can be done of the iCloud back up I already have.

I turned off back up option after I set up the new iPad as it would have overwritten my old backup with data with this new iPad back up without any data.


any other experiences?



Similar questions

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 23, 2021 6:55 AM in response to redhawk

I finally got it to work. Had to restore it to factory settings. Lost all data. I had iCloud backup, despite that I lost data. I restored to factory, it also updates to latest iOS 15 after restore. Post that while setup if I choose to restore from my saved iCloud backup, I landed at the same issue. So I concluded that ios 15 has an issue with some setting on my backup. Therefore finally set it up as a fresh new iPad downloaded all my apps again etc. but at least I’m back online.


here is how I did it:

  1. connected my iPad to iTunes on PC.
  2. it won’t recognise and one can’t get in as it requires you to enter passcode which is obviously broken at this stage
  3. entered iPad recovery mode by short press & release volume up, next volume down, the. Long press and hold power button for 10 seconds or more until you see the Apple logo. Ipad will enter recovery mode with screen showing a cable connection to PC. Once you see this, release the power button.
  4. at this point, you should see a message on iTunes asking if you would like to update ipad or restore.
  5. I tried only the update, it didn’t work. So next time I chose restore to factory.
  6. iTunes will download the software and begin the process
  7. once it has been restored, it will start like a brand new iPad
  8. I began set up by bringing my iPhone near the iPad to make it go faster
  9. on the option to restore from back up. I chose NOT TO COPY apps and data etc. as copying it landed me in same issue again.
  10. This worked for me. Hope this helps


I also had made an appointment with Genius Bar for Friday, but figured they would do the same factory reset or a DFU, so I went ahead with it myself.

i will still call them perhaps to understand what can be done of the iCloud back up I already have.

I turned off back up option after I set up the new iPad as it would have overwritten my old backup with data with this new iPad back up without any data.


any other experiences?



Sep 23, 2021 7:07 AM in response to Sintop800

I called Apple and wound up in a similar process to you. The support agent had me connect my iPad to my Mac and, at the same time, hold down power and home (see these instructions for other models - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212017). I tried updating to iPadOS15 again, but it left me in the same place as where I started.

So my options are to wait for a revised update that might work, or to restore as you did. I'll probably opt for the latter.

Thank you.

Sep 23, 2021 5:49 AM in response to Sintop800

Same situation here. I boot and get the Apple screen. Then it prompts for passcode. I enter passcode and it starts to render my home screen, but only halfway, then I get the alternating between a spinning circle and the passcode screen and then the spinning circle and the lock screen. That will go on for around three minutes before it returns to the Apple screen, after which it returns to home screen, and then the passcode screen.

Holding down power or home button for 30 seconds has no effect.

Holding down power and home button seems to turn it off.

If you let it cycle back to the passcode screen and click cancel it will turn off.

If you let it cycle back to the passcode screen and hold down the power button you can swipe to shut it off.

I also tried connecting it to my Mac to do a backup, but the Mac doesn't recognize it since it doesn't reach a stable on state.

Letting it sit overnight did not change anything.


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Unable to get in iPad after iPadOS15 update

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