
6 essential iPad accessories
Andrew Williams
A step-by-step guide on how to set up a new iPad, for tablet veterans and first-time owners alike.
iPads are designed to be simple to use. However, the initial iPad set up process isn’t always the most straightforward.
You’ll need what’s called an Apple ID or iCloud account. But if you don’t have one, don’t worry. You can create one as part of this process, and we’ll show you how.
iPads are designed to be simple to use. However, the initial iPad set up process isn’t always the most straightforward.
You’ll need what’s called an Apple ID or iCloud account. But if you don’t have one, don’t worry. You can create one as part of this process, and we’ll show you how.
Setting up an iPad isn’t overly complex, but there are a lot of steps to follow. Apple does make this easy with its on-screen instructions, but our guide will ensure your fully covered.
If you already own an iPhone or an older iPad, you can miss out a bunch of steps too. We’re splitting this guide into three parts.
If this is your first ever iPad, go ahead and start from the beginning.
If you already have an iCloud account/Apple ID from another Apple device, you want section two for setting up a your iPad.
And if you still have your old iPad to hand, congrats, you get the easiest ride and can skip right to section 3. Let’s get started.
If the world of Apple’s tablet is new to you, this section will show you how to set up an iPad for the first time.
The first thing you’ll see when you first turn on a new iPad is a welcome screen that cycles through a few different languages, saying “hello”. Just swipe up from the very bottom of the screen. It does not matter if another language is on-screen when you do.
This swipe takes you to the actual language selection page, which comes in two parts. You first select your language, while the next screen lets you select your “country or region”. This affects things like the default currency you’ll see on the tablet, and how dates are presented.
The next page is Quick Start. This is here largely for folks who already have an iPad, and can use that to speed-up setup. But we don’t so tap the Set Up Manually link towards the bottom of the page.
You now need to connect the tablet to your home wi-fi, or any wi-fi network if you are not at home. The iPad will scan for hotspots automatically, so you should see your network appear on this page. You will, of course, need the wi-fi password for this part.
No access to your home internet? If you scroll down to the bottom of this wi-fi login page you will see a Connect to Mac or PC button. This uses Apple account credentials already stored on your computer to setup your iPad. Unlike Android tablets, there is no way to use an iPad without an account that you log into.
Managed to get your iPad connected to the internet? You’ll now be shown Apple’s Privacy Policy, which you need to agree to in order to head to the next step.
This next part will change a little between different iPad models. We used an iPad Air for this demo, and it has a top-mounted fingerprint scanner.
We were asked to place a finger or thumb on the pad so the iPad could “learn” our fingerprint.
It’s a good idea to think about which digit naturally heads to that pad first, and use that one. However, you can add additional fingers later on in the iPad’s Settings menu.
The next part establishes a second layer of security, your iPad passcode. This is what you’ll have to use if, for whatever reason, your iPad keeps failing to register your fingerprint — or if you want someone else to be able to unlock your iPad.
By default the iPad asks you to choose a 6-digit passcode. However, if you tap the Passcode Options link on this screen, you can switch to a 4-digit pin, a custom one or a passcode with both numbers and letters.
Avoid super-common pin codes such as “0000”, “1234”, “1111” or “5678”, particularly if you are likely to take your iPad out of the home. The iPad will let you know if it thinks your pin is too easy to guess.
The next page offers a bunch of ways to get content from other devices to your new iPad. However, in this particular branch of the tutorial we want to setup a “fresh” iPad for a first-time iPad owner, so hit the Don’t Transfer Apps & Data button at the bottom of the screen.
This part is important: we need to login to an Apple ID. This is the login you use to access, for example, Apple App Store apps and — sorry folks — it’s necessary if you want to use an iPad.
You won’t have one of these if you have never owned an Apple product before. If that’s the case, follow these steps to set up your Apple ID;
We are almost there. You should now see a “Make This Your New iPad” screen. Part of this simply acts as a summary of choices you have already made, such as the decision not to transfer data over from an existing iPad.
But if you tap Customise Settings there are a few more bits to check out. We recommend enabling Location services, for the best tablet experience. And in the Appearance page you can choose whether to make the default colour of the interface — the background, if you will — white or black.
Apple calls the two looks Light and Dark. Light is the classic version and we recommend starting off with that. You can switch between them later in the iPad’s Settings menu.
At this point you are also given the option to sign up to Apple iCloud+, a paid subscription service that offers 50GB to 2TB of online storage for your photos and other data.
However, we recommend leaving this for now as you get 5GB of free storage as standard.
After tapping through these pages you should find yourself on your iPad’s home screen all set up, ready to start your iPad experience proper. We recommend heading to the app store for a browse.
For those of you who already own another Apple device (an iPhone or Mac) and already have an Apple ID, setting up your iPad is a slighter quicker process.
If you’re upgrading your old iPad to a newer model, this section tells you how to set up a new iPad from an old iPad.
Now your iPad is set up, there’s a wealth of things you can do with it. We can help get you started with these three ideas.
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Written by Andrew Williams he/him
Published: Updated:
Andrew Williams is a contributor to Saga Exceptional. Andrew has been a technology journalist for more than a decade, writing thousands of articles on consumer advice, how tech is made and how it affects our lives.
He has covered cameras and fitness tech, mobile phones, laptops, gaming and more. Andrew has written for many of largest tech publications including Wired, TechRadar, What Hi-Fi, T3, Stuff, Forbes and others.
When not writing about the latest tech, Andrew likes to head out for a run, often with a fitness tracker on test. And he picks up a paint brush when a tech detox is in order.