Connect with us

Mobile

Top 5 Things to do When You Get Your iPad 2 [Setup and Security]

Published

on

There are a few things to do as soon as you get your iPad 2 home and out of the box. Today we are going to cover security, protection and a few other things to do right now.

Top 5 Things to do When you get Your iPad 2:

These steps are free, and should only take about 10 minutes, though the initial sync may take longer if you have a lot of apps and media.

Set up Find My iPad – 3 minutes

If you skipped past this when you first connected your iPad to iTunes, make sure you enable the free Find My iPad feature. This requires you to set oil a MobileMe account, but is completely free and will help you find your iPad if it is lost or stolen.

  1. To setup Find My iPad, tap the settings icon on your iPad 2.
  2. Tap on Mail, contacts and Calendars.
  3. Add a MobileMe account.
  4. Enter your Apple user ID, the same one you use to buy in iTunes. If you do not have an account the tool will walk you through creating one for free.
  5. Verify your email by clicking on the link Apple sends you.
  6. Go back to the MobileMe screen in Settings, and click the switch to “ON”

Set a Passcode – 1 Minute

Setting up a Passcode, or security lock, on your iPad is a good way to protect your important data and email accounts. By turning on a Passcode the iPad cannot be unlocked without a 4 digit code which keeps your data secure. You can even wipe the iPad, erasing all data if the Passcode is entered wrong ten times straight.

To set up a Passcode:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Choose Passcode Lock form the right side menu.
  3. Tap turn Passcode on.
  4. Enter a 4 digit Passcode that you will remember, ,but not something as simple as 1234. For help, use the letters to spell out a four letter word.
  5. Enter the Passcode a second time to verify.
  6. Choose how long you want the iPad 2 to wait before the Passcode turns on and locks the device.
  7. When you turn your iPad on next, you will be prompted to enter your Passcode.

Put it in a Case – 1 minute

The quickest way to devalue your new iPad 2 is to leave it open to the elements. If you didn’t get the Smart Cover from Apple, look for a third party case or even a sleeve to keep your iPad 2 from being scratched. Within a month or two there will be many more case options available for purchase. You may also want to get a Zaggmate invisible shield or similar wrap to protect the back and screen from scratches.

Create an If Found Lockscreen Message – 1 minute

If you are prone to leaving your iPad 2 laying around, you should change the locksreen so that it has your contact information on it. This will make it easy to get your iPad back if it is lost. You may also have better luck with this tip if you add a reward.

How to Setup an If Found Message on the iPad 2:

  1. Open the iPad Notes app.
  2. Type a short message with your phone number and email including reward info.
  3. Take a screenshot of it by holding the power button and home button at the same time.
  4. Open the Photo app.
  5. Open the screenshot you just took.
  6. Tap on the image, choose the action icon in the upper right.
  7. Choose “Use as Wallpaper.”
  8. Zoom in or out and move the image until it is where you want it to be.
  9. Tap “Use as Lockscreen.”

If you want to get more advanced you could upload an image to a free photo editor like Picnik and add your information to a picture.

Sync your iPad – 3 minutes (to start may take longer to complete)

After you’ve prepared your iPad for the hazards of daily use, the last thing to do is to sync it up with your computer. If you are upgrading, you can restore form a backup of your previous iPad to get exactly what you had on the old device. If you are upgrading, but want to use. Anew computer, you can transfer the apps from your old iPad to the computer and then sync those apps to your iPad 2. Finally, if you are a new user, you can plug in and sync your music and movies over by simply plugging in and opening iTunes.

If you want to control what movies and other media are synced, visit the settings of your iPad when it is plugged in by clicking on the iPad name on the right menu bar and hen clicking on the tabs across the top to choose how many moves to transfer, what episodes of a TV show to transfer and what iPhoto albums to transfer to your iPad 2.

Stay tuned for more iPad 2 tips and guides.

31 Comments

31 Comments

  1. Karen Scruggs

    04/02/2011 at 10:08 pm

    Need contact #’s for Ipad2 ASAP

    • Amoro sohi

      10/27/2011 at 5:13 pm

      Hi

  2. JENNSTOFF

    07/06/2011 at 4:21 pm

    josh do i need my computer to start up my ipad 2?

    • JENNSTOFF

      07/07/2011 at 3:37 am

      yes you do at the moment need a computer to set it up. a new feature in ios5 is that you can setup without a computer, so just wait a month or so and buy one if you cant use a computer to set it up

  3. Dines

    07/11/2011 at 6:46 am

    Dear Josh,

    Appreciate if you pl explain the set up procedure of IPAD 2 with screenshot. After charging it is showing ITune and charging mode. How do I set up?? Pl. help.

    • Alexandra

      09/24/2011 at 2:43 pm

      You have to plug your ipad into your computer, open up itunes, and let Itunes sync all of your information and process your ipad before it opens up. It will ask for your itunes account information, and such. 

  4. Missy

    07/16/2011 at 7:11 pm

    how do you make a small letter on I pad 2 and how do you get the pictures you take to you email?

    • Lewis Cox

      10/09/2012 at 8:20 pm

      Missy:

      The “typewriter” must be brought up. The “up-arrow” on the left of the KEYBOARD can be pushed. Every time it is pushed it switches.back and forth between Capitals and Lower case.
      Infantry-Lew

  5. Missy

    07/16/2011 at 7:11 pm

    how do you make a small letter on I pad 2 and how do you get the pictures you take to you email?

  6. Heddlar

    07/22/2011 at 5:59 pm

    When I sync my Ipad 2 for the first time, does that mean that whatever I have on my ITunes on my computer will now be transferred onto my Ipad?  I have 64 gig of music on my Itunes computer now… so what would happen since obviously Ipad (19 g) can’t handle all that much storage?

    • Ethangrigoli

      07/23/2011 at 8:49 pm

      you choose whether or not to sync music/photos

  7. Brad

    07/22/2011 at 6:19 pm

    This is gonna help sooo much when I get my iPad 2 next week. When I get it, this site will be in my favourites!

  8. Mish

    07/23/2011 at 12:36 pm

    Completed your list of 5.. Very helpful! Question for you, How do I sync my ITunes library from my IPad 2 to my IPhone 4?? When I transferred From my laptop tp my IPad 2 It wiped my entire ITunes Library off of my laptop . Thank you for your help.. Much appreciated!

  9. Mish

    07/23/2011 at 12:36 pm

    Completed your list of 5.. Very helpful! Question for you, How do I sync my ITunes library from my IPad 2 to my IPhone 4?? When I transferred From my laptop tp my IPad 2 It wiped my entire ITunes Library off of my laptop . Thank you for your help.. Much appreciated!

  10. Steven Crowley

    08/06/2011 at 2:42 pm

    Come November we ALL are gonna get to have an “IPAD 2”

  11. Meshellindstrand

    09/27/2011 at 2:48 am

    Hello, for some reason I can’t figure out how to take the picture of the if lost note! When I press the home and power buttons at the same time the iPad 2 just shuts down. Is there some other way to do this with the new pad?

    • Keith Jones

      10/02/2011 at 2:24 pm

      Don’t hold the buttons down – just give them a quick press then you’ll see your screen flash and the screenshot has been taken.

  12. Bang Nguyen

    10/04/2011 at 6:11 pm

    I could have never known about the passcode. It’s very handy! Thanks!

  13. Sstefa00

    11/02/2011 at 3:03 am

    Thank you. Very helpful

  14. EzE

    11/05/2011 at 2:00 pm

    Great suggestions, thanks

  15. Telengard

    11/07/2011 at 11:39 am

    Can’t find info about this:
    If my iPad2 is locked and I plug it into my computer, I can go into iTunes and see all of my data in the file sharing, etc. I thought it was “locked down”. So anyone can just install iTunes and get to my data?

    Note: I have never synced or backed up my iPad on this system, so the data is coming off of the iPad as I can see my background and apps on the preview page.

  16. wellbaby

    11/07/2011 at 4:53 pm

    i know a step by step guide on how to Easily
    Transfer Music/Video from iPod/iPad/iPhone to iPad 2 or from iPad 2 to
    Mac/ PC/ iPhone/iPod/iPad at https://www.bigasoft.com/articles/tranfer-ipad2-to-mac-pc-ipad.html

  17. healthybaby

    11/07/2011 at 4:55 pm

    This following will introduce a step by step guide on how to play all
    kinds of videos on iPad 2, enjoy H.264 high definition video up to
    720p, 30 frames per second at Convert Video for Enjoying HD 1080p Video on iPad 2

    This guide applies to:
    Convert various video formats to ipad format on Mac OS X Lion, Snow Leopard, Tiger, and LeopardConvert and play AVI on iPad 2 Convert and play WMV on iPad 2Convert and Play RAD on iPad 2Convert and play FLV on iPad 2Convert and play F4V on iPad 2Convert and play AVCHD on iPad 2Convert and play MPEG on iPad 2Convert and play MKV on iPad 2Convert and play HD on iPad 2Convert and Play AVI, WMV, ASF, AVCHD, RAD, BIK, DivX, MKV, MOD,
    TOD, MTS, VOB, MPEG, MOV, MTS, MT2S, RM, 3GP, FLV, F4V, WebM, 3GPP and
    more on iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod,
    iMovie, iMovie for iPad/iPad 2, iMovie for iPhone/iPod touch, Final Cut
    Pro or Final Cut Express

    you can even Rip and Convert DVD to iPad 2

  18. Findshelley

    12/02/2011 at 2:24 pm

    I’m not very tech savvy. Just got my iPad2 today. Question: how do I do something as simple as shut down my yahoo email accts so that if I handed this to a friend to check out, they don’t have access?

  19. Andre Love83

    12/05/2011 at 9:48 pm

    I’m setting up my wife IPad for her birthday but I’m not sure if to sync my apps to her iPad! Would they show up on her IPAD under my info or she can set apps up under her info?

  20. jrose

    12/25/2011 at 11:21 pm

    Received an IPAD 2 for Christmas. How long does it take to charge it? Also, is it necessary to fully charge before I can operate it?

    • Patricia

      12/27/2011 at 8:13 pm

      Trying to get an answer from jrose

  21. Flippitsback

    01/17/2012 at 3:34 pm

    trying to take a picture of lost and found note – where are the home and power buttons please 1

  22. Ftyee

    02/07/2012 at 12:24 pm

    Hi josh, with the new iPad 2 there is no NONE option as regards to the credit card details, as such I am stuck and unable to create an apple Id . Is there any other way around it?

  23. Monetanaise

    04/10/2012 at 8:23 pm

    i li/ve in Australia and the account settings for my ipad 2 do not like me at the moment. what do i do

    • Lewis Cox

      03/24/2013 at 4:32 am

      Insufficient information to understand WHAT your problem is???

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.