Restore Your iPad’s Settings

Your iPad offers a way to revert to previous settings, so if you’ve made changes to the Home screen and want it to look as it did out of the box, you can reset Home screen icons. You may have also input network settings you’re unhappy with now, and you can reset those easily as well. You can also reset other things, like the Keyboard Dictionary, and even erase all content and all settings.
To reset any of the settings you’ve changed so far, and to reconfigure the settings to work like they did out of the box:
1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. At the bottom of the screen, tap Reset.
4. Tap the settings to change. Note that opting to erase all content and settings will remove all of the personal data you’ve added so far, and chances are you don’t want to do that.
5. Click Reset to apply the changes.

So when would you want to erase all of your personal data and settings? When you sell your iPad, of course! You can be sure that new models of iPads will be released, and you may want to trade up. That’s why the iPad offers the option of erasing all content and settings. The next model of the iPad may have a camera, a web cam, or a media card slot. Future models may also support Flash, have a paper-thin slide-out keyboard, or even offer a built-in app for Voice over IP (VOIP) for making Internet-based phone calls. Whatever happens, there will likely come a time when you want to sell your current model and purchase something better. Before you do, you’ll need to restore your iPad to its factory settings.

When you restore the iPad to factory settings, you make it appear brand new again, at least on the inside! After it’s restored, there will be no trace of your email accounts, messages, photos, videos, applications, iBooks, or anything else; it’s returned to the state it was in when you purchased it. You must do this before selling it to erase all of your personal data, and to make it easier for the next person to personalize.
To restore your iPad to factory settings:
1. Click Settings.
2. Click General.
3. At the bottom of the right pane, click Reset.
4. To reset your iPad to factory settings, tap Erase All Content and Settings.
5. Click Erase to verify.