As well received as Apple's new iPad has been, it's not been without a few technical hiccups. Here we've rounded up the most common faults and annoyances and provided a solution for each.
Obviously, if you suspect that something is badly wrong with your iPad, your first port of call is to take the faulty unit back to your point of purchase for a replacement.
Otherwise, read on and we'll help get your problem solved.
1. iPad not charging or slow to charge
The iPad is a hungry beast, and requires a high-powered USB port to charge. Plug it into an old laptop and you get a 'not charging' message.
Even with relatively recent laptops it doesn't always work. For example, even on a recent aluminium MacBook, if we plugged our iPhone in first, then plugged in the iPad, it wouldn't charge.
However, plug the iPad in first and your MacBook will allocate its USB port to "high power" and work. But even if your iPad charges when connected to your USB device, you'll still find that it charges quite slowly.
For the fastest charge possible plug your iPad directly into the mains using the supplied charging plug.
Another useful tip to know is that if you put your iPad into sleep mode, then even older, lower-powered USB ports will be able to charge it, albeit slowly.
2. Can't connect to a Wi-Fi network
There has been a lot of press coverage over the iPad's Wi-Fi problems. The jury is still out on whether this is a genuine design fault, since the vast majority of iPad users haven't experienced these issues, but we did experience something similar with our test unit one day when web pages failed to load.
And that's despite having all 3 signal bars lit in our Wi-Fi connection, which remained unbroken. We solved the problem with a hard reset - simply press and hold the iPad's Sleep/Wake button until a screen asking you to slide to power-off appears. After your iPad has reset simply press and hold the Sleep/Wake button again to restart it.
3. Can't sync Outlook Calendar or Contacts
Your iPad can sync events from your Outlook calendar and contacts on a PC. While this often works flawlessly, syncing isn't a trivial matter, and your computer, or the iPad, can get confused.
The end result is that nothing syncs properly. The solution is actually pretty straightforward. You need to reset your iTunes Sync History (in iTunes choose Edit/Preferences/DeviceHistory/Reset Sync History). Doing this should have you syncing properly in no time.
For more information see this Apple Support article.
4. Losing the network after sleep
If you find that your iPad is losing connection to the network after it's been to sleep and you've woken it up, try turning the brightness up slightly. That's right, we're not kidding, and it does sound like tech voodoo, but several usershave reported that it completely fixed their problem.
Go on, try it - what's the worst that could happen?
5. Argh! There's no word count in Pages!
Unbelievably, Apple hasn't included a word count in Pages. While this might not matter to the casual user who simply wants to write a letter to their bank manager explaining why their iPad purchase tipped their account into the red, for anybody who has to write professionally, it matters. The solution is found in an app called Pastebot.
It's a clipboard manager that not only enables you to copy multiple items to the clipboard, including images, but also gives you an automatic character or word count on any text you've selected.
If you're too tight to spend the £1.79 that Pastebot costs on the App Store, don't forget that there are quite a few websites that will enable you to get a quick word count on pasted text, like Wordcounttool.com, for example.
6. Exporting documents from iWork is a pain
Exporting documents you've made changes to, or created, from any iWork app (like Pages, Keynote or Numbers) back to your PC or Mac can be a real pain.
Not only do you have to plug in your docking cable and wait for your iPad to sync pretty much everything (unless you've turned every other sync option off), but the whole implementation is a bit messy – the documents aren't actually synced at all in the true sense of the word – new versions are created instead.
You also have to manage the documents from within a small window inside the Apps tab of iTunes. If you're on a Wi-Fi network then it's actually a lot less hassle to simply email the document to yourself from within the iWork application.
All three of the iWork apps enable you to do this, and as a bonus feature, Pages enables you to email documents in Word file format, too.
7. iPad isn't recognised by iTunes
There have been reports of the iPad not being recognised by iTunes once you connect it to your Mac/PC. This is related to the USB charging issues mentioned in our first tip, and general USB flakery, so the first thing to do is to unplug all other USB devices on your Mac/PC, then reconnect the iPad to a different USB 2.0 port. Don't connect it to your keyboard's USB port – go straight for your Mac/PC.
If you've still got no joy then try the old hard restart trick – hold down the Sleep button until a red slider appears, then power off and restart by holding down the Sleep button again. Now restart your computer and reconnect your iPad. Of course, it almost goes without saying that you need the most recent version of iTunes installed as well.
8. I can't use the App Store on my iPad!
Apple recently sent around a media advisory that the international release of the iPad had slipped back to the end of May due to unprecedented demand.
While this is good news for the iPad as a platform, it's like having Christmas cancelled for many Apple fans who are left with no choice but to shake their fists in silent fury at their American counterparts as they continue to glory in a glut of iPads.
Of course, some brave, brave souls have taken matters into their own hands and either got an American friend to buy them an iPad and post it to them, or they've had to fly to New York for an urgent business meeting. However, these lucky few have then been thwarted by the functionality of Apple's App Store.
You see, you can't buy apps (even free ones) on the iPad itself using an iTunes account from a country where the iPad hasn't launched yet. If you find yourself find this dubious position then don't fret – there are workarounds. The easiest solution is to simply buy and download the apps in iTunes on your Mac/PC and then sync them over to the iPad. That works fine. The other solution is to create a US iTunes Store account.
9. I want the iPad on pay as you go!
The iPad comes in two flavours – Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G. While international pricing has yet to be announced, opting for a 3G model immediately puts $130 on the US price.
You're also on a contract that's restricted to just one provider. In the US that's AT&T (not everybody's first choice for a provider). International contracts will obviously be with other providers, but why limit yourself? Another solution is to get a MiFi.
This handy little gadget costs just £50 and has a pay-as-you-go 3G connection via 3. It creates a mini Wi-Fi hotspot that you can then connect your cheaper iPad Wi-Fi to, thus saving yourself the hassle of a contract and the extra expense of buying an iPad Wi-Fi + 3G.
7GB of data costs just £25, which might not sound like much, but would last a lot of people over a year, easily. The MiFi is also battery powered, which is handy, so it won't drain your iPad's battery. Be aware that it only works in areas of the country that have 3G coverage.
10. No phone calls!
The iPad might look like a giant iPhone, but that's where the similarity ends. It's not a phone… unless that is you install a VOiP app like the free Skype, that is.
The iPad has a microphone, so with Skype installed you can make calls and text at Skype's competitive rates, or call other Skype users for free. The only problem is that you end up looking like Dom Joly holding it up to your ear to talk, not that you have to do that, but everyone does the first time.
