iPad 1 keeps displaying "Activation Required"

Why there is not good answers to this stuff on the Apple Forum I don't know, I had the same issue and found this online (http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/ipad/how-activate-old-ipad-after-update-3638936 /) and it worked for me:

1. Plug your iPad into your Mac or PC. (Interestingly, Apple acknowledges that some iPad owners might not actually own a PC or Mac, and advises them to visit an Apple Store or authorised reseller and use their facilities. Not a great solution if your nearest outlet is miles away, of course.) At this point it would be a good idea to back up your iPad, either locally or to iCloud, but if your device is totally unresponsive you may not be able to do so.

2. Open iTunes, and check you've got the latest version. (At time of writing that's iTunes 12.3.3.)

3. Force your (still plugged-in) iPad to restart by pressing and holding the power (Sleep/Wake) and Home buttons at the same time. Keep holding them down until you see the Recovery mode screen. You probably need to keep holding these down for longer than you think: the screen will go black then after a few seconds, and the Apple logo will appear, but you need to keep holding the buttons for another 10 seconds or so before the iPad goes into Recovery mode.

4. You'll be given the option to restore or update in iTunes. Select Update.

5. iTunes will now try to reinstall iOS "without erasing your data", Apple says, reassuringly. At time of writing, the version of iOS that will be installed is iOS 9.3, but don't worry - it shouldn't cause any problems this time. (Well, Apple admits that this step may not always work. It advises that if the update process takes more than 15 minutes, your iPad will exit recovery mode, and you'll need to repeat steps 2 and 3.) One user reports seeing the error message again during this process, but says you should ignore it and wait.

6. After the update is finished, leave your iPad connected to the computer. You'll now need to complete the activation setup process for your iPad using iTunes.

7. After iOS 9.3 is done downloading, you will need to repeat step 3. This time your iPad will ask if you want to restore it.

8. Once the restore is finished, you will be asked to select whether you want to activate the iPad as a "new" device or if you want to restore it from your last backup. Selecting the new iPad option will format your iPad so it is like new and restoring it will retrieve your data again.

I had the same issue as well with my first generation ipad. Is yours with wifi and 3g capabilities? The Apple Genius bar did nothing to help me solve my problem but I did some googling and found a way to get my ipad on recovery mode and from there did a restore to factory settings. It worked after doing so but now two weeks later my ipad is having the same issue with the "Activation Required." I'm really starting to think that it's a manufacturer defect on Apple's part but of course no one from Apple Genius seems to know what they are doing and couldn't even give me a proper diagnostic on my ipad. I'm going to try recovering it from factory settings once again but if this keeps happening I'm not sure what else to do. Try doing what I did but hopefully you had all your information backed up on your computer. Good luck!

having the same problem here.

hmmmmmm.

Having the same problem. 1st generation iPad with wifi and 3G. Happened 2 days after I installed a 3G SIM card.

Keeps restarting the process.

My grandmothers ipad is doing this and im not sure what to do to fix it. i have tried what has been suggested and still it only will turn on to the activation page and then shut down again after trying to register itself for about 2 min. I also sent Apple a email as well as contacted them by phone but they were no help. If anyone knows any new info on how to solve this problem i would appreciate it

Did any of you find a solution to this? I have been facing this activation required problem for the past few days and I am totally locked out of my ipad

Anyone who has been able to solve this. Having the exact same problem.

@Bjorken72

First issue faced - 3G connection dropping frequently. temporarily resolved by turning on and off cellular data. On one such switching ipad asked me toactivate. When I tried to activate, it did not work.

When I checked with the Apple Service centre - they told me that this is a hardware problem.
How I overcame this problem is not scientific!
Removed the SIM Card.
Inspected the Ipad - there was a corner which had a dent - it was probably from a fall / hit against something

Held the edges an inch or so near this dented corner in both hands and kind of tried bending outward - not too much of force

Bingo! it worked, but lost all apps, data settings etc. Been using it for the past 6 months - even with a simcard - no problem so far! (Touchwood!). I do not switch off / power off the ipad anymore. I just do a hard reset (holding power & Home buttons together) whenever the ipad hangs or apps crash (yes! it does!)

I know this may not be a solution to your problem - but I can empathise with your frustration. I thought I will reply even if the method I used to solve the problem sounds ridiculous!

Wow, Thanks man.

Just pushed the corner with the small dent. Then I "dropped" the right corner in a harder wooden surface from one inch distance two times and yihaaaa. It is working. The dropping thing I learned from another Ipad problem with a green color screen problem;-)

Happy to help. Never thought of it as a real solution!
Can you please post a link to the green color screen problem here. I am curious!

Thank you very much,

I don't believe it but I realized that there is a dent to my own ipad 1 on the right corner and your solution worked for me.

Thanks again

Amazing, I can't believe that worked! Thanks so much

hey so we little must have the same iPad! I have an iPad 1st gen with wifi and I think it also uses AT&T? As I removed the SIM and found that in there! So I have that same problem when I go to activate and it and it says 3 minutes? It just shuts off and starts relooping again before it can finish... I've tried taking out the SIM and putting it back in and leaving it out.. nothing has worked yet? I'm not sure I understand how to drop it correctly? I also have a bend in the top right corner.. also had the same problem where when I tried connecting to iTunes it shows the iPad but will not let me click on it to see its details.. tried on Windows and Mac

what should I do?

This actually worked! Thanks a lot! 🙂