iPad Support

  • Technology and iPad Support Hours: 7am – 3:30pm M-F

    Students: If you need any help with your iPad, please SignUp for a support time slot during a free hour or during academic supports. During your confirmed support slot, come into the Technology Area of the Media Center. You can also email the iTech Team at SHShelpdesk@d211.org.

    Note: At this time we have limited capability to assist after hours. If you need any help after hours, please email Scott Weidig, SHS Technology Department Chair at sweidig@d211.org or email the iTech Team at SHShelpdesk@d211.org.  

    Basic Troubleshooting in the iPad

    For issues where the iPad does not appear to connect to the Internet:

    Are there other online apps that cannot load or will not run/error?

    • If not, it may be the app itself.
    • Double press the home button to bring up the quick launch screen and swipe the app up to fully close the app.
    • If so, check to see if the iPad can reach the internet using the web browser Safari

    Can you reach the web through Safari?

    • If so, again it may be the app or the service that provides the app it down / unavailable.
    • If not, the iPad may not be on the wireless network.
    • Tap Settings > Wifi > Then the name of your network there should be an IP address in the boxes there like 10.x.x.x or 176.x.x.x or 192.x.x.x If there are wifi bars, but no numbers in those fields, the iPad is connecting to the wireless router in your house, but it is not connecting to the internet overall.

    If the iPad is not connecting to a home network here are a few things to try:

    • Try turning on “Airplane” mode waiting 30 seconds and then turning it off again
    • Try re-booting the iPad by holding the power button for 7 seconds to get “Slide to turn off” and turn off.
      • Wait 30 seconds and power back on.
    • Try “forgetting” your home network
      • Settings – Wifi then tap on the little blue (i) next to your home network’s name. Then tap “forget network”
    • Tap on your home network again and then put in the wireless password to re-connect
    • If all else fails, you can “Reset” the network settings on the device itself. This is kind of the nuclear option of network repairs as it will delete all wireless networks that the devices have been on and all networking settings will be reset to factory defaults.
      • Tap Settings – General, school up to bottom and tap “Reset”
      • Tap “Reset Network Settings”
      • You will need to re-sign to all networks again by putting in the correct password for the wireless networks as you connect to them.

    For app related issues:

    If you have an app that is misbehaving (crashing, appears “hung” on a screen):

    • Can you press the home button and exit from that app and go into another app?  If so, does the other app launch and work without issue?
      • Completely close out the misbehaving app my double-pressing the home button to bring up the quick launcher and swiping up to fully close the app
    • Re-launch the app – does it work now?
      • If not, force quit the app by pressing and holding the power button for about 7-8 seconds and the “Slide to Power Off” appears
      • Press the home button for about 10 seconds. At about 10 seconds the screen will flash and then drop the home screen.
    • Re-launch the app – does it work now?
    • If you have not been focused by Casper, and you cannot press the home button to exit the app (i.e. the app is completely locking up the screen)
      • Press and hold BOTH the power button and the Home Button for ~10 seconds and the entire iPad will turn off.
      • Press the power button to restart the iPad
    • Check and see if the app has an update that needs to be installed
      • Tap on the AppStore and then on Updates
      • If so, install the update
    • Some apps have been updated and require the latest version of iOS to be on the iPad.
      • Does the iPad have an iOS update that needs to be installed?

    If none of the above resolved the issue(s), please stop by the Tech area for assistance.

    Parent Involvement

    Many parents have expressed an interest in learning more about Parental Controls available on the iPads. Below is some information to help with deciding what level of possible restrictions would work best for your family. I would recommend finding a path that would allow the least restrictive, yet safe and productive, environment for your son or daughter to continue his or her development of making good decisions opposed to them struggling to find ways to hide the bad ones. We are happy to partner with you to enable some of the restrictions from the school level to aid teachers in keeping the learning environment open to growth at a moment’s notice. That said, this device and your child’s personal growth needs to fit into your family goals and structure, so you are free to enable parental restrictions. The information below has been created and provides a guide on Parental Restrictions on the iPad:

    • Have a family discussion about digital devices and come up with ground rules for timely and appropriate use. Suggestions might include: “technology free” mealtimes; device used only for learning activities during the week; video games only allowed on weekends; limited social media use during “family time”.
    • Set guidelines for appropriate social media use. Social Media and the internet can be extremely productive and useful, however, they can also be a vehicle for have long unintended consequences. Encourage your students to provide access to their social media accounts and help guide the posting of appropriate information.
    • For younger family members, the iPad allows for enabling an option called Guided Access. This “locks” the device into a single application of the parents choice keeping younger children focused on a single task as well as preventing the ability to get into any other app until the Guided Access is removed or modified. For more information on Guided Access go to this link: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5509
    • Additional limitations can be placed on an iPad through the use of Restrictions (parental controls). This feature is built into iOS and can be accessed through the iPad Settings app. Settings > General > Restrictions: The Restrictions feature can limit the ability to install apps, restrict the possibility for  in-app purchases, as well as enabling rating controls on websites and media content. Apple provides a very user-friendly walk-thru on Parental Controls: For more on this feature go to http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4213. If you do choose to enable Parental Restrictions on your child’s iPad, please be sure to email the passcode to Scott Weidig, Schaumburg’s Technology Coordinator sweidig@d211.org, so that we can re-activate the App Store in the event that a teacher needs to have your son or daughter download an app for class.
    • Disable/restrict wifi access through the family internet router. Many wifi routers have the ability to set-up automated access “timeframes” for when wireless access to the internet can be used. The wifi router then turns on and off internet access according to that schedule. Other options would be to simply change the wifi password and only provide the new one when deemed appropriate and necessary. Consult the wireless manufacturer’s or internet providers support site for information on whether the wifi router owned is capable of setting up automatic internet access timeframes or for instruction on changing the wifi password/key.
    • Parental control solutions are available for parents to manage internet access on the home network.  Such solutions can give parents the ability to filter internet contents to all devices that connect to the home network.  There are free versions and paid services that will provide more robust control.
    • If you are strongly concerned about social media, gaming, or other app based behavior, it is recommended to read the guidelines listed below. While a link looks intimidating, it is easy to implement and Apple’s help tutorial is available to guide you.

    Below is the guidance on what possibly to restrict in reference to social media:

    • Remove the Facebook, Twitter and other social media apps of concern. Some others you may not be aware of or are thinking about are Kik, Vine, SnapChat, FireChat, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Tumblr, SnapSave, YikYak. To Remove long press and hold the app icon until it wiggles and then tap the little “x” to delete.
    • In Settings>General>Restrictions: (Set a passcode for the restrictions – different from the lock screen passcode)
      • Turn Off Installing of Apps
      • Turn Off In-App Purchases
      • Under Apps > Remove the check on 17+ – That should catch some social media sites and apps that are missed.
    • Under Websites
      • Select “Limit Adult Content” (This is just a grouping to allow them to restrict websites individually)
      • Under Never Allow
      • Add a website: facebook.com
      • Add a website: twitter.com
      • Add other websites which may create concerns…
    • Under Privacy
      • Twitter – Set to Don’t allow changes
      • Facebook – Set to Don’t Allow changes

    Additionally, here are a few of options for monitoring. SHS is not “recommending” any, but they are services parents have referred to in the past. There is typically monthly, quarterly, or annual fees associated with these types of monitoring software systems.

    Circle with Disney

    MobileSpy

    WebWatcher

    If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Scott Weidig, SHS Technology Coordinator sweidig@d211.org / 847-755-4760.