Setting up your new iPad
This course guides you step-by-step through setting up your new iPad. If you have a pre-owned iPad, you’ll need to remove the previous owner’s settings by completing the Resetting your pre-owned iPad course prior to starting this course.
Sign in to save your progress
Transcript
Welcome to the "Setting up your new iPad" course. A new iPad is one that has not belonged to someone before you or one that has been reset, so it's safe to use.
Before you start setting up your new iPad, ensure you have ready access to your home Wi-Fi name and password. You'll also need a mobile phone and to know the phone number for it. Apple will send a text message to this mobile phone to verify your identity.
If your iPad has a physical Home button, some of the steps might be slightly different, but you can still follow along.
To begin, switch on your iPad by pressing the Power button until the Apple symbol appears. When the Hello screen appears, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to continue.
Next, tap the language that you want your iPad to use. We're going to tap English for this demonstration.
And now tap Australia. It's safe to tell your iPad that you live in Australia. This doesn't give out your home address, and it makes sure you receive the right updates and information.
If you've done this sort of thing before and already have another iPhone or iPad, you can use the Quick Start option here, but we are going to continue to set up the iPad manually.
Next you'll be asked to connect to your home Wi-Fi. Find the name of your home Wi-Fi network in the list. It will most likely be at or near the top. Tap your network name to start connecting. Type the password for your home Wi-Fi. If you haven't changed it, the password will probably be written on the bottom of your home router. Use the keyboard to type in the password. Type it carefully so that any upper and lowercase letters match exactly. Tap Join in the top right corner. The iPad will take a few minutes to do some setup in the background.
The Data &Privacy screen lets you know that the iPad will sometimes ask for personal details and explains what that information is used for. When you have read the information and are ready, tap Continue.
Touch ID lets you use your fingerprint to unlock your iPad. We'll set this up in a later course, so for now tap Set Up Touch ID Later.
If a pop up appears to confirm that you don't want to use Touch ID, tap Don't Use.
Now it's time to create a passcode or PIN. This is the combination of numbers that you'll use to unlock your iPad each time you use it. This will protect your iPad from being used without your permission. Choose a six-digit passcode that's easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. If the iPad says the passcode can be easily guessed, tap Change Passcode and try again. Use a mix of random numbers and avoid number sequences. Then re-enter your new passcode.
If you made a backup of an older iPad, you can tap Restore from iCloud Backup. This will copy your settings, apps, photos, and other content to your new iPad. It's a useful feature and we'll learn more about how to back up and restore your data in another course. For our demonstration however, we'll tap Don't Transfer Apps & Data and move on to the next step.
If you already have an Apple ID, you can enter your Apple ID email to sign in here. An Apple ID is the username for an account that lets you access Apple services. It lets you buy apps, use your iPad to pay for things, back up your photos, and secure your personal details.
If you don't yet have an Apple ID, you will need to create one now. To create an Apple ID, tap Forgot password or don't have an Apple ID. Then tap Create a Free Apple ID.
Now it's time to add some information about you. It's okay to provide your personal information during the Apple ID set up, as this ensures that only you can use your Apple ID. Enter your first name and last name using the keyboard. Select your date of birth using the sliders. Then tap Continue. You will need to enter an email address which will be used as your unique Apple ID username. If you want to use your existing email address, tap Use an existing email address and follow the prompts to complete the steps. Otherwise, if you don't have an email address, or if you just want to create a new email address to use as your Apple ID username, you can create it now for free.
Your iPad might automatically suggest a username that's available for you to use. If you tap your username, the keyboard will appear and you can edit it. In this demonstration, we'll add some numbers to our name to create our new email address, which will double as our new Apple ID username. When you've entered the username you want to use, tap Continue.
Tap Create Email Address to continue.
You'll also need to create a strong password for your new Apple ID. It should have a mix of letters, numbers, and capitals.
[eSafety tip] When choosing a password for your Apple ID, don't use the same password as any other email or account. This makes it harder for someone to guess your password and get access to your information. You should also keep a secure record of your Apple ID username and password in a safe place. Looking up your saved details is easier than resetting a forgotten password and email address. [eSafety tip ends]
Tap the grey area next to Password and the keyboard will appear. Carefully type the password you want to use for your new Apple ID then tap the grey box next to Verify and type it in once more. Then tap Continue.
You now need to enter your mobile phone number. The iPad will use this number to send you text messages to verify your identity. Tap the grey area that says phone number and the keyboard will appear. Enter your mobile phone number and tap Continue.
Apple will now send a code in a text message to the mobile phone number you just entered. Type the code carefully to confirm your identity.
Once you have read the terms and conditions and are ready, you can tap Agree. The iPad will now take a few moments to create your new Apple ID, sit tight as there are just a few more steps to go to complete the setup.
It's important to keep your iPad up to date to ensure it's working properly. Updates let your iPad receive new features and stay secure. To make life easy, your iPad can update itself automatically. Tap Continue to accept updates when available.
Next is Location Services. This feature uses your iPad's GPS, which is short for Global Positioning System to provide weather, traffic, and other information local to where you are. It can even help you find your iPad if you lose it, and you can learn more about this in another course. This is a handy feature, so let's enable it. If you change your mind, you can always turn this feature off later. But without Location Services, apps and features that rely on mapping information will not work properly. For now, let's tap Enable Location Services.
The next option is Apple Pay. This lets you use your iPad like a credit card in some shops. We'll look at this in a later course, so for now tap Set Up Later in Settings.
Whenever you use a new password or credit card, your iPad will ask if you'd like to save the details for future use. iCloud Keychain can securely store them to use later so you don't have to remember them. This is a helpful feature, so tap Continue.
An iPad is a complicated device, and these next few screens deal with advanced features that we'll talk about in later courses. For now, you can safely tap Set Up Later in Settings, Set Up Later in Settings, and Don't Share.
You've now arrived at the Appearance screen. There are two options for your iPad's appearance. Light mode is default and keeps menus all white, while Dark mode does the opposite and turns menus black. For now, we will stick to Light mode.
Now tap Continue. Setup is now finished. Welcome to your new iPad. Tap Get Started to go to your new Home screen. Look for the Wi-Fi symbol at the top right of your screen. If it's white, your iPad is connected to Wi-Fi and is ready to use.
If you are unsure about any steps, you can rewind the video. Your iPad has lots of useful features. If you are ready to move on, there are many other courses to explore on Be Connected to help you get the most from your iPad.