My IPad is stuck on the screen that says it may take a few minutes to activate your ipad

If your iPad has been “stuck” attempting to activate for several hours, something has likely stalled - or the iPad cannot reach Apple’s back-end Activation Servers. The iPad will need a little help.

Begin with a restart of your WiFi Router and iPad - in that order…

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.

After the restart, hopefully the issue will have cleared and your iPad will successfully activate.

If the problem remains unresolved, this support page may help with troubleshooting the issue:

If you can't activate your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) - Apple Support

You may have more success if you perform assisted activation by connecting your iPad to a Windows PC (with iTunes for Windows installed) or a Mac (with iTunes or Finder - as appropriate for the installed version of macOS). Once connected to your computer, your iPad will be detected - and you should be able to activate using iTunes.

1. Make sure that you have the latest version of macOS or the latest version of iTunes.
2. Check that your computer has an Internet connection.
3. With the cable that came with your iPad, connect your iPad to your computer. Locate your device on your computer.
4. Wait while your computer detects and activates your iPad:

• If you see an alert that shows "Set up as New" or "Restore from Backup", it means your iPad is activated.
• If you get an error message that says the "activation information was invalid" or "activation information could not be obtained from the device", use recovery mode to restore your iPhone.

Should it be necessary to escalate your issue to Apple Support, the quickest route to engaging with Apple Support will be via the  Get Support link at top-right of this page.