My iPad screen is stuck upside down and will not rotate. Screen orientation is not locked and I have tried resetting it.

Can I assume that the screen is not rotating in any app? It behaves this way no matter what app you are using? What I am getting at is that some apps will not let the screen rotate. If by some chance you do h ave one of those particular apps, maybe it created a conflict that locked the screen and now you can't get out of it.

Have you tried closing all apps in the recents tray and rebooting the iPad? It's easy to do and it won't hurt anything, so try that now.

Go to the home screen first by tapping the home button. Double tap the home button and the task bar will appear with all of your recent/open apps displayed at the bottom. Tap and hold down on any app icon until it begins to wiggle. Tap the minus ➖ sign in the upper left corner of the app that you want to close. Keep swiping along the bottom in the recents tray and makes sure that you close every app. Tap the home button or anywhere above the task bar.

Reboot the iPad as described above. See what happens now.

And you are sure that the screen orientation is not locked because you do not see the lock icon in the upper right corner of the screen correct? Because if you do see the icon - the screen is locked.

just to make sure .....

If you see a lock icon in the upper right corner of the screen - then the screen orientation is locked.

Try the side switch above the volume rocker first and see if that unlocks the screen. If that doesn't do it, double tap the home button and swipe to the right and look for the lock icon all the way to the left.

If the screen is unlocked but still will not rotate, reset the iPad.

And you did reboot the iPad this way? Reboot the iPad by holding down on the sleep and home buttons at the same time for about 10-15 seconds until the Apple Logo appears - ignore the red slider - let go of the button.

So if you are certain that the screen is not locked and you performed the reboot successfully - You can try resetting all settings. Settings>General>Reset>Reset All Settings. You will have to enter all of your app preferences and device settings again.

If that doesn't do it, you may want to try restoring from a recent backup - one that you created when the screen was still rotating properly. When you restore from a backup, you restore everything in that backup, so of it has been a while since you last backed up - you may want to think twice about trying it

How to backup and restore from a backup

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

This is going to sound bizarre, but I have read about it on this help site and a couple of users swore that it worked.

Try turning your iPad over (face side down) and tap it on the back a few times - carefully and not with a whole lot of force. Make sure that the screen is totally protected - set the iPad on something flat and stable.

The only reason that I can see this working would be that it restes or unsticks the gyroscope assuming that it is stuck.

When did this issue crop up for you? Did you update the iPad and then this started to occur? Was it totally random? Were you doing something or working in an app and it suddenly started without cause?

I really don't know if restoring from a backup would help or not. The backup contains app data and device settings. Using my own deductive reasoning - whatever that is worth - if the screen was rotating when you last backed up the iPad, whatever the settings were on the iPad at that time that were allowing the screen to rotate properly - should be restored to the iPad - and the screen should rotate again. But .... Just because I reason it out that way doesn't make it a sure bet.

What doesn't make sense though is that if you reset all settings and that didn't help, then restoring from the backup will probably yield the same results.

How to backup and restore from a backup

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

Other than restoring the iOS software, I am now at a loss. For whatever reason that we can not figure out, the rotation setting has been corrupted - or so it would seem - and I can't think of anything else to try.

Hey guys,

first of all: Sorry for my bad english😀

Here you can find the german version: http://www.netz-treff.de/forum/forum_entry.php?id=323268#e323268

I had the same problem, directly after updating my iPad2 to iOS6. Orientation lock was definitly not activited - I tested with software-lock from the dock and with hardware-lock on the side of the iPad.

I tried different ways to get back my screenorientation 🙂

First recovered the factory defaults, then restored from backups and at last I started it as a new iPad and not from an iCloud-Backup. I tapped the device (funny idea), but this didn't work also.

But now... it works!! 😎

I runned the iPad-Power lower than less.

1% left and when the iPad was shuting down, I didn't connect the cable, I pushed the power-button again and again. The iPad shows the "oh, please charge me!"-Icon, but I didn't 👿

Yesterday I pushed the power-button some times, but still didn't connect the cable.

Today I pushed the power-button 60 seconds and after that I tabbed all sides from the iPad (really funny idea, but I can't loose, so why not 😁) and then I connected the power-cable and charged the iPad.

After some hours I started the iPad ... and it works 😝

Later, after finishing party, I restored to factory defaults again and restored a backup from iCloud from the time the screen orientation didn't work ... it workes.

Yeeeehhhaaaaa!!! 😀

Saved my day PJBro!!

Thanks,

Mikael

This could prove resolution in the future

Double tap home button>slide from left to right>tap the rotating arrow> (screen orientation button)

Mine just showed up locked did my wife's a few days ago. What is going on? Is Apple updating our settings or something when were not looking? Anyway I did see the rotation lock symbol with a lock in a little refinish arrow around it next to the battery gauge. So I went to settings select general and then click use side button to lock rotation as soon as I clicked it freed up and it is r rotating again. Hope this helps.

HA! I tried tapping the iPad and it was just locked under general settings. I did a google search and all these entries came up with weird solutions except the most obvious one 🙂

I tried many of the suggestions here, and i was going crazy.

I had resorted to laying it flat on the table in order to use it.

Could not use Kensington keyboard since that was upside down.

Unhooked keyboard, turned bluetooth completely off.

Turned the IPad completely off 2 nights in a row.

Went to setttings each day and fiddled with them, re-doing virtually anything that I thought might make a difference.

Continued to tap periodically on edge of pad.

Third day, turned it on, and the orientation was OK.

I am typing this with the Kensington keyboard re-attached, and for now, it is fine.

I have had several intermittent issues with the IPad Air (screen freezing, becoming unresponsive to touch, randomly deleting from 'notes", etc.), but so far, they have resolved semi-spontaneouly, usually after a couple of days of fiddling.

I fear that Ipads may have a life of only a couple of years. (Mine is almost two.)

Given the price, that leaves me less than enamoured with my IPad Air.

Reset all settings in settings works for me. It's a bit of a pain cause it sets your phone back to the way it came. Does not delete your apps or log inns. Just make sure it's the SETTINGS you reset.