I got an iPad 3 today but my smart cover doesn't work with it... Any suggestions?

I have the wifi-only model, too, and it DOES have the Smartcover lock/unlock control. Under Settings, go to General and scroll down to near the bottom of the page. It's there - just turn it to "on". It works!

yenga80 wrote:

I have the otterbox defender series with a smart cover built into it and it's working fine. Only thing is it only activates the sleep/wake when on one way even though you can put it on 2 ways. weird...

Same here. Going to call and see if that is an encountered issue.

That's strange. The lower settings on mine are as follows:

Date & Time

Keyboard

International

Accessibility

Reset

I can't find a smart cover setting anywhere and yes, I have tried to scroll below the Reset option.

The iPad Cover Lock/Unlock only appears AFTER you've attached a Smart Cover and closed it on the iPad. The iPad detects it via the same magnet that operates the sleep/wake feature. If your Smart Cover has that magnet reversed (incorrect polarity), then it won't activate the feature on the new iPad 3.

The iPad 3 requires a specific polarity and, until it sees that magnetic polarity, the iPad Cover Lock/Unlock option won't appear.

See my blog article for more information:

http://markshangout.com/blog/2012/3/17/ipad-3-smart-cover-sleepwake-feature-not- working.html

Mark

Thanks for uncovering this issue and explaining it so well in your blog, Mark. Now I understand why my smart cover doesn't work and why the smart cover option isn't where others say it is. Great job!

AppleWhine, You are welcome and thanks for the nice comments!

So, I take it that when you put your Smart Cover edge on backwards (the way I did with the black Maroo case in my video), the iPad Cover Lock/Unlock option appeared as it should?

Mark

Hello

I live on France and have the same trouble : I received today a Smart Cover from Amazon, and my new iPad won't turn off...

Any idea ?

phinou wrote:

Hello

I live on France and have the same trouble : I received today a Smart Cover from Amazon, and my new iPad won't turn off...

Any idea ?

There is no fix other than getting the correct cover. Take it to the Apple Store and they should swap it, or return it to Amazon, and don't reorder until they get it worked out.

Hi Mark (or anyone else that has an idea) 🙂.

I have the iPad 3 (64gb wifi) version and I attached a Puro smart cover on it.

The lock/unlock worked for a day but now it doesn't work, I think this happened right after I charged it for the 2nd time.

I haven't changed any settings, so passcode is on and lock/unlock is on.

Any ideas?

Cheers!

Hay

Hay,

Well, my best guess is that the trigger magnet in your Puro smart cover has the polarity wrong and that it was slightly misaligned on the first day so that the edge of the magnet was close enough to the sleep/wake sensor to trigger it. Now that your cover is properly aligned, the edge of the magnet isn't near the sensor and it won't work.

The best way to test this theory is to remove the Puro smart cover from your iPad and turn the smart cover so the surface that normally touches the glass of the iPad is facing up and the hinge is on the right. Then place the first two inches or so of the left side of the smart cover over the first two inches of the rigth side of the iPad. The smart cover won't be attached to the iPad, it will just be overlapping by a couple of inches. That will invert the smart cover's magnet so you are applying the opposite magnetic polarity to the iPad's sleep/wake sensor.

If that readily sleeps and wakes your iPad, then your Puro smart cover has a magnet that is oriented the wrong way to be compatible with the iPad 3. It will work great on the iPad 2, but not on the iPad 3.

If that doesn't work, I don't know what else to suggest.

Mark

Hi Mark,

I tried what you suggested and you are correct; it is a polarity and alignment issue.

I've also been using some trial and error and I can trigger the lock/unlock by making the cover about 1/2 inch less in width (so the right side of the ipad is slighty visible) and that can trigger the lock/unlock.

It's very strange and of course you will need the sound on to know whether or not it has locked.

Neverthrless, thanks for your help,

Hay

just wanted to say i have a apple smart cover that i bought when i got my ipad 2 and have been using it with my new ipad with no problems

I spent the weekend wondering why the Logitech Keyboard Cover for iPad2 (aka Zaggmate) worked perfectly except for the on/off function on my New iPad. After reading Mark Booth's post about polarity, I just flipped over the cover and -- bingo -- the iPad shut down and turned back on. The magnet in this particular case is upside down and its polarity doesn't work with the iP3.

I got out some nylon pry tools and a few jewelers flathead screwdrivers and pried up the base of the keyboard near where I assumed the magnet must be -- just enough so that I could peek under. Sure enough, right next to the command key was a small round magnet. I stuck a very thin screwdriver in there and pried away some of the plastic around it and it came out easily, sticking to the screwdriver.

I flipped it over, pushed it back in, took the pry tools out from under the bottom half of the keyboard, clicked everything back in place and now it works just fine.

Just be super careful when you're prying up the keyboard. You don't want to crack anything.

From what I can tell, this is probably going to be the only difference between the Logitech cover for iP2 and the one for iP3.

Excellent DIY, El Brooklyn!

For those that didn't see it above, my blog post about the polarity issue:

http://markshangout.com/blog/2012/3/17/ipad-3-smart-cover-sleepwake-feature-not- working.html

Mark

So is there a way to determine whether a smart cover will work with the new iPad without testing it? I just bought a new iPad and a smart cover as a birthday present and I dont want to open the boxes.

The product model number for the smart cover I bought is: MD307FE/A