IPad says need activation , and later - could not be activated ...
n power-on iPad2 says 'needs activation'. Later after it reports it could not activate because activation server may be unavailable
iPad 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular, iOS 8.4
If your iPad is a cellular model, some have reported that temporarily
removing the sim allows activation to complete.
Otherwise, 5 possible causes for that error message:
1] Activation server is actually down. Very rare occurrence, and of short duration when it
does happen. Solution - try again.
2] Your firewall and/or antivirus software are preventing the necessary connection. Solution -
temporarily disable your firewall and/or antivirus software until the activation completes.
3] computer being used for activation has been used to jailbreak an iOS device in the past.
Solution - use a different computer.
4] iPad has been jailbroken. Your favorite search engine may provide some direction, but jailbreaks often prevent
activations/updates from succeeding. Per Terms of Use for this forum, discussion of jailbroken iPads is
prohibited.
5] your region and/or timezone settings are inconsistent with your actual location. Solution - set region and/or timezone correctly.
You should also check this article: If you can't activate your iPhone - Apple Support. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201407