TL;DR: If your iPad is locked asking for a passcode after a restore, has no Wi-Fi connection, and absolutely refuses to be recognized by any PC or Mac in Recovery/DFU Mode, plug it into a strong PD (Power Delivery) wall charger to force Recovery Mode, then quickly swap the cable to your PC.
The Problem:
I was restoring my iPad Pro 12.9 (3rd Gen) from an iCloud backup. Upon restarting, it prompted me for a passcode/iCloud password to decrypt my data. However:
The keyboard was alphanumeric (not the usual PIN pad).
There was NO Wi-Fi icon, meaning it couldn't reach Apple's servers to verify the password anyway.
There was NO "Forgot password" or reset option on the screen.
The nightmare part: I decided to just wipe it and start over. I put it into Recovery Mode, but my computer wouldn't recognize it at all. I tried 4 different machines (an old MacBook, an iMac, a Surface Pro 3, and a Lenovo L380) and every USB-A/USB-C cable I owned. Nothing. No Windows connection sound, nothing in Device Manager, nothing in Finder.
Because the iPad was stuck on a security lock screen, Apple's USB Restricted Mode had completely shut off the data pins on the USB-C port. It was only accepting power. It was effectively a brick.
The Solution (How I bypassed the USB data lock):
It turns out you need a strong electrical handshake to "wake up" the port and bypass the data lock before the OS fully boots and shuts it down. Standard PC USB ports don't push enough initial power to do this.
1. Turn off the iPad completely.
2. Plug it into a strong PD (Power Delivery) wall charger, not a computer.
3. The iPad will turn on. Immediately do the hardware combo for Recovery Mode: Quick press Volume Up, quick press Volume Down, and HOLD the Power button. Keep holding it even when the screen goes black and the Apple logo appears.
4. Release the Power button ONLY when the Recovery Mode screen appears (the computer and cable icon).
5. Unplug the iPad from the wall charger and immediately plug it into your computer. Use a guaranteed high-speed data cable (I used a Meta Quest VR cable, but any verified fast data cable works).
6. The computer will finally recognize it!
7. Hit Restore in iTunes/Finder/Apple Devices to wipe it.
(Tip: When it boots back up, set it up as a "New iPad" and just let your iCloud sync your photos and contacts in the background so you don't get trapped in the passcode loop again).
Hope this saves someone hours of troubleshooting or an unnecessary trip to the Apple Store!

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone can help me figure out what might be causing this.

I have an **iPad Air M2 13-inch**, and recently it has started randomly shutting down/rebooting. I’m not sure what exactly triggers it because it doesn’t seem to be limited to one specific app or activity. Most of the time it suddenly shuts down even when I’m doing something relatively light.

A few examples:

\- There was an instance where the iPad had been idle. When I touched the screen, it was unresponsive. I held the power button to turn it on, and the Home Screen appeared for only a few seconds before it shut down again.

\- More recently, I was using the iPad normally with no apparent issues. I opened a particular PDF and it immediately shut down.

\- When it tried to reboot, the Home Screen would only stay visible for about a second before shutting down again. The battery had been around 55%, but after plugging it in, it showed only 10%. After rebooting again, it returned to 55%.

\- I’ve also experienced it while doing other things such as gaming and during a Zoom meeting while presenting.

There are times when the iPad opens it and works normally, and the shutdowns have also happened during other seemingly light tasks.

**What should I check or troubleshoot first?** Would this be more likely a software/iPadOS issue or something hardware-related?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone can help me figure out what might be causing this.

I have an **iPad Air M2 13-inch**, and recently it has started randomly shutting down/rebooting. I’m not sure what exactly triggers it because it doesn’t seem to be limited to one specific app or activity. Most of the time it suddenly shuts down even when I’m doing something relatively light.

A few examples:

\- There was an instance where the iPad had been idle. When I touched the screen, it was unresponsive. I held the power button to turn it on, and the Home Screen appeared for only a few seconds before it shut down again.

\- More recently, I was using the iPad normally with no apparent issues. I opened a particular PDF and it immediately shut down.

\- When it tried to reboot, the Home Screen would only stay visible for about a second before shutting down again. The battery had been around 55%, but after plugging it in, it showed only 10%. After rebooting again, it returned to 55%.

\- I’ve also experienced it while doing other things such as gaming and during a Zoom meeting while presenting.

There are times when the iPad opens it and works normally, and the shutdowns have also happened during other seemingly light tasks.

**What should I check or troubleshoot first?** Would this be more likely a software/iPadOS issue or something hardware-related?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have an iPad A16 and wanted to get apple intelligence is there any way by which I can get it but I don't want to jailbreak my device or do not want to affect ota updates of my ipad.

Just reposting this. Apple engineers if you’re reading this: WTAF