iPad 3 is Stuck in an Endless Rut

[60andRetired]

While I was emailing myself several iBooks, my screen briefly had a couple of blank "squares" (i.e. not all of the icons within a folder could be seen). At that point, it froze and went to the black screen/Apple icon. I tried multiple times to reboot with no luck. Later, I began to get the "Need to charge" screen. But I cannot seem to charge it because I can't turn it off and so it continues its attempts to reboot -- running down any charge I could otherwise get. Have tried multiple chargers and have been able to get as far as the "connect to iTunes" icon, but iTunes just continues to "wait for a response from iPad". I think I may need to replace it, but haven't been able to get iTunes to back it up for quite a while, so I desperately need to restart it long enough to transfer some of the data to a new iPad if I can't revive it completely. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[J. A.]

Welcome to iPad Forums, 60andRetired!

The screen you described as”connect to iTunes” icon, means you can’t restore it as usual, you’ll have to use recovery mode.
Here are Apple’s instructions:
If you can't update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

If that doesn’t work, try DFU mode:
DFU Mode for Dummies

Hope that helps.

 

[60andRetired]

Welcome to iPad Forums, 60andRetired!

The screen you described as”connect to iTunes” icon, means you can’t restore it as usual, you’ll have to use recovery mode.
Here are Apple’s instructions:
If you can't update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

If that doesn’t work, try DFU mode:
DFU Mode for Dummies

Hope that helps.

Your assistance has been very helpful, but I am writing to ask for even more. I have worked my way through the recovery mode several times making some progress each time. Thus far, I have managed
1. to update IOS
2. to have the update verified
3. to have iTunes recognize the iPad's serial number a couple of times
4. to have iTunes briefly recognize the iPad's existence once - taking me to the backups/settings screen for a couple seconds

Most recently, iTunes indicated that the recovery was complete and the my iPad would open in iTunes after it restarted, but that never happened (even though I waited overnight). This morning, iTunes indicated that it could not connect to my iPad because it was locked with my passcode. Now, I am still sitting on the black screen with Apple logo, although when plugged in to charge -- and disconnected from iTunes -- the Apple logo flashes off and on periodically. Would you recommend that I continue cycling through recovery, do something in addition to what I have done thus far, or move on to trying DFU mode? I wasn't clear from the instructions if DFU preserves or wipes my data. I have to do everything possible to try to recover the data and documents as well as the stuff stored in iBooks that I have on there, so I don't want to do anything that will eliminate my data.

Thank you again. I really appreciate your invaluable assistance.

 

[scifan57]

Have you turned off or disabled any firewall and anti-virus program on your computer?

DFU mode will wipe all the data from your iPad but you're at the point where it's the only hope of getting the iPad back to a functional condition.

 

[60andRetired]

Have you turned off or disabled any firewall and anti-virus program on your computer?

DFU mode will wipe all the data from your iPad but you're at the point where it's the only hope of getting the iPad back to a functional condition.

I am hoping maybe it is too soon to give up??? Failed to mention that during the recovery process my screen inverted to black Apple icon on white background twice - with "slide to enter" passcode at the bottom. I was able to slide to the passcode screen and enter it both times. So my hope was that maybe that could happen again. Would love to hear your thoughts. Also, if things like firewalls and antivirus programs make a difference, does it make sense to continue to try recovery on various other computers? Thank you very much.

 

[Jupiter7]

Have you an Apple Store near you? What you describe sounds suspiciously like a hardware fault. They would run a diagnostics test free of charge. Regarding backups, are you signed into an Apple iCloud account? If so, your iBooks data will be saved. Also, you might be backing up to iCloud without realising it.

 

[Janace]

Unless you add iTunes as an exception, the firewall and antivirus program might prevent iTunes from connecting to Apple servers or to devices. If you have created your data on iTunes before, maybe you can recover some of your data after restoring iPad. BTW, if your iPad can be identified by laptop, you might be able to import your files in the hard disk of iPad. But obviously, the DFU mode would be the best way for you to fix the stuck iPad.

 

[scifan57]

Unless you add iTunes as an exception, the firewall and antivirus program might prevent iTunes from connecting to Apple servers or to devices. If you have created your data on iTunes before, maybe you can recover some of your data after restoring iPad. BTW, if your iPad can be identified by laptop, you might be able to import your files in the hard disk of iPad. But obviously, the DFU mode would be the best way for you to fix the stuck iPad.

That's why I suggested that the OP turn off his firewall and anti-virus before attempting the restore.

 

[60andRetired]

Unless you add iTunes as an exception, the firewall and antivirus program might prevent iTunes from connecting to Apple servers or to devices. If you have created your data on iTunes before, maybe you can recover some of your data after restoring iPad. BTW, if your iPad can be identified by laptop, you might be able to import your files in the hard disk of iPad. But obviously, the DFU mode would be the best way for you to fix the stuck iPad.

How would I attempt "to import your files in the hard disk of iPad"?