Website Refresh/Sleep Timer

[Novice]

We are a solar contractor and just installed a system for a church that is using the iPad as a kiosk. The iPad will be displaying the website that shows the current production of the solar system. We need the iPad to refresh the website periodically so as to update the display. However, once the church is locked up for the night, the iPad should shut down and sleep until the church reopens in the morning. It would be beneficial if the timer had a weekly schedule, ie wake up earlier on Sunday, go to sleep earlier on Tuesday, etc. Preferably, I would like to find an app that does both of those things. I have been able to find an app that just refreshes the website, so if there is one out there that will power up and down or sleep and awake up on a timer that will do. Additionally, the website should be pulled up automatically in the morning. Is that another app or if the iPad just sleeps at night will the website still be active in the morning? Thank you for your help.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Unfortunately this is not possible for a non-jail broken iPad. 'Shutdown' and 'Sleep' are iOS (operating system) functions that are not accessible to third-party apps. The iPad 'sandboxes' apps and severely restricts their ability to interact with each other and iOS. Such interaction as is allowed is strictly under the control of iOS. The upside is that the iPad cannot be infected with a computer virus. The downside is that the sort of app <-> iOS interaction that you want is not possible.

As you're aware, some clever programmers have found a way to circumvent these restrictions - jail breaking - and, for such jail broken iPads the sort of timer that you are looking for is not only possible, but available from the Cydia store, where jail broken apps are marketed.

But a jail broken iPad is not only open to viruses, it operates outside mainstream Apple support, so - more or less - you're on your own if you choose that route.

Tim
Scotland

 

[Novice]

Thank you Tim

That is not what I wanted to hear!
Thank you for your response!