Safari stopped working correctly on iPad mini with retina

[Elliern]

This afternoon, I kept receiving error messages on every web site that the server could not be identified. Sites like cnn, fox news and my aol mail. Also cannot connect to app store. Message says server could not be located.
My games by King are not working and the time on my iPad shows 1:51 am, when it is actually 6:44 pm.

I did a soft reset, no help. Also, safari says cannot back up this device. I have had it for 2 weeks and it worked fine until this afternoon.

Any suggestions? Or is it just broken and I have to return it. Bought it at Costco.

 

[scifan57]

Have you tried resetting your router?

 

[Elliern]

Have you tried resetting your router?

No. We have a "radio" modem in our condo that provides wifi to others in our building. I don't have rights to reset it, even tho we have an 'isolated' network. But, it probably could be done with our network support personnel if I and they were sure that was the problem.

What is likelihood of that being the problem? Other devices are working fine.

Thanks for your help.

 

[scifan57]

No. We have a "radio" modem in our condo that provides wifi to others in our building. I don't have rights to reset it, even tho we have an 'isolated' network. But, it probably could be done with our network support personnel if I and they were sure that was the problem.

What is likelihood of that being the problem? Other devices are working fine.

Thanks for your help.

There's no way to tell for sure without seeing the device but it certainly is possible that a router will not connect to one device while other devices have no problem connecting.

 

[scifan57]

I've moved your thread to the iPad help forum where it will receive better attention.

I've also deleted the duplicate post you made a few minutes after starting this thread. Duplicate postings fragments any resulting conversations, it's also against our rules.

 

[Elliern]

I've moved your thread to the iPad help forum where it will receive better attention.

I've also deleted the duplicate post you made a few minutes after starting this thread. Duplicate postings fragments any resulting conversations, it's also against our rules.

Oops...sorry. Thanks.

I did reboot the modem. Same problem exists. Then just rebooted my iPad again. When it came back on, it says todays date is Friday January 2, 2014.
Am using it now to respond here. But still getting unidentifiable network message. And still no connection to app store. And game apps still not working. Some web pages won't load. Still no cloud back up.

Now having same exact problem on my iPad 2 that I gave my husband. Could it be a problem with safari or the ios? IPhone is fine so far.

 

[twerppoet]

Quite a few things won't work properly if the iPad's time is significantly off.

Go to Settings > General > Date & Time. Turn off Set Automatically. Pick your Time Zone, then manually set the time and date by tapping on them and using the slide-around-thingy.

Once the time is correct, see if you have net access again. If you do, you can try going back and changing the settings back to Set Automatically. With the network access restored the iPad should be able to find a time server and keep itself accurate.

 

[Elliern]

Woo Hoo! That did it. I tried that last night and because it wasn't working correctly, could not change it to the correct date or time zone. The date and year were showing Jan 2014. But year immediately changed to 1971 with no time zone when I tried to fix it. Could get on line but did not look the same as current version of ios.
Tried again just now and correct time zone appeared. Still had Jan 1971. Just kept scrolling month by month until I reached this month, then chose 17, set the time. Got online, and went back and chose select automatically. Can now connect to app store and my game apps are working.
Do you know what caused this to happen? And how could it happen on 2 different iPads?
Thank you so much for your help! I hope this does not become a routine problem. But at least I know what to try first.

 

[Elliern]

Uh oh. That is not working to fix the iPad 2. Reverts back to 1970 as soon as I change it to set automatically. Geesh.

Mini is still working ok.

 

[twerppoet]

I can only a few possibilities, though there are probably more.

One is that there is something wrong with the clock on the iPad. On most computers there is a small battery that keeps the clock working even when the rest of the device loses power. When this battery goes out your clock resets to some default date whenever the computer loses power. The iPad may, or may not do the same thing. No idea.

Another is that you've got a time server on your network that is giving the wrong time and date. That seem very unlikely, but it is not impossible.

Or it could be a glitch in the Date&Time settings; under the category of 'stuff happens'.

Here are the only things I can think of to try:

Settings > General > Reset: Reset All Settings. This wont' delete anything, but a lot of the settings will go back to default. It's been known to fix strange behavior, especially if that behavior has to do with settings, as your's does.

If that fails, you can also try restoring the iPad and see if that helps. Try restoring from a backup first, then if that does not work do a clean restore. Sometimes the settings in a backup can restore the problem along with the data.

In the end you may have to leave the iPad's time settings on manual, and be prepared to fix it again whenever it goes bad. Unless you're still under warrantee, but that's unlikely with an iPad 2.

Good luck.

 

[Elliern]

I can only a few possibilities, though there are probably more.

One is that there is something wrong with the clock on the iPad. On most computers there is a small battery that keeps the clock working even when the rest of the device loses power. When this battery goes out your clock resets to some default date whenever the computer loses power. The iPad may, or may not do the same thing. No idea.

Another is that you've got a time server on your network that is giving the wrong time and date. That seem very unlikely, but it is not impossible.

Or it could be a glitch in the Date&Time settings; under the category of 'stuff happens'.

Here are the only things I can think of to try:

Settings > General > Reset: Reset All Settings. This wont' delete anything, but a lot of the settings will go back to default. It's been known to fix strange behavior, especially if that behavior has to do with settings, as your's does.

If that fails, you can also try restoring the iPad and see if that helps. Try restoring from a backup first, then if that does not work do a clean restore. Sometimes the settings in a backup can restore the problem along with the data.

In the end you may have to leave the iPad's time settings on manual, and be prepared to fix it again whenever it goes bad. Unless you're still under warrantee, but that's unlikely with an iPad 2.

Good luck.

Again, thank you for your help.

I tried to 'reset all settings'. But, said I had to enter 4 digit restrictions passcode.
Since I don't know what that is, I could not proceed.

Since this will be a 'new' iPad for my husband, I considered restoring the device to original settings. But, not sure how to do that. Is that a clean restore? Plus was wondering if it would prevent him from upgrading to the latest 7.1.2 version. My daughter missed an upgrade and now cannot upgrade her iphone to the latest version.

I am also worried that this will turn into a recurring problem on the mini. I have not read of others having the same problem. But, if resetting the date and time works, and no other problems occur, then I can handle that.

 

[twerppoet]

The restrictions passcode is the one you set under Settings > General > Restrictions. This area allows you to limit access to certain features and apps on the iPad. It's mostly about parental control.

If you did not set it, someone else probably did. Time for a family conference.

You can restore the device by two methods. You can either connect it to a computer with iTunes installed and restore it that way, or you can go to Settings > General > Reset, and chose Erase all Content and Settings. You'll need to disable Find my iPad in settings first, if it's turned on.

Restoring through iTunes on the computer tends to be more complete, but you can try the local iPad reset first, and then the computer later if it does not work.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Neither of these will affect the current version of iOS or prevent you from upgrading later, as long as the upgrade is compatible with your hardware.

There is no way to tell if you have a re-occuring problem until, well, it re-occures a few times.

Good luck.

 

[Elliern]

The restrictions passcode is the one you set under Settings > General > Restrictions. This area allows you to limit access to certain features and apps on the iPad. It's mostly about parental control.

If you did not set it, someone else probably did. Time for a family conference.

You can restore the device by two methods. You can either connect it to a computer with iTunes installed and restore it that way, or you can go to Settings > General > Reset, and chose Erase all Content and Settings. You'll need to disable Find my iPad in settings first, if it's turned on.

Restoring through iTunes on the computer tends to be more complete, but you can try the local iPad reset first, and then the computer later if it does not work.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Neither of these will affect the current version of iOS or prevent you from upgrading later, as long as the upgrade is compatible with your hardware.

There is no way to tell if you have a re-occuring problem until, well, it re-occures a few times.

Good luck.

Thanks again.
. Unfortunately, my mini just experienced the same problem again. It was fine until I plugged it in to recharge some while eating dinner. During that time, or shortly after unplugging it, the set time and date automatically got turned off. When I turned it on, the date reverted to 1970 and the time was no longer current. I scrolles to the current date again and then reset the time. Closed the settings icon. Made sure I xould get on line. Went back and set the automatic on button for date and time. Seems to be working ok again.

Also the mini seemed very hot. Took it out of its cover to cool some.

Re iPad 2. No one has ever used it but me. (Just me and hubby here). I am pretty sure I did not set a pass code. However, I did take it to Apple store once and is possible they set one. But if so, it is long forgotten.
I looked at the pass code settings section. And here they are:
Turn passcode on is is blue
Change passcode and require passcode is gray
Simple passcode is in bold black and turned on
Erase data is gray and green on button is shaded green.

Now seriously thinking of returning the mini. Still have over 2 months of use available. Yay Costco.

 

[twerppoet]

The passcode and restrictions code are two different things. The passcode is for unlocking your iPad from the lock screen. The restriction code is to protect any restrictions you set under Settings > General > Restrictions.

I'm afraid I don't have any other advice. It's odd. If the iPad mini is less than 90 days old you have free Apple Tech support, or if you got AppleCare for it you have 2 years of free tech support.

You can also try a genius bar appointment, if you have an Apple Store near by. They can check it out. You won't be charged just for the appointment and having them look.

 

[Elliern]

I appreciate all your time and suggestions on my problem.
Unfortunately we don't have a 'real' Apple store here. I will give Apple Tech support a call. Since both iPads are having the same problem, I don't see how the new mini is at fault, but both are registered to me and I back up both to the cloud. At this time, neither device will work when the set time automatically is set to on.
I will also call our local wifi tech. They recently just installed new wifi throughout our large community. The modem/radio device in our unit serves 3-4 other home owners. I know they have been adjusting the settings behind the scenes. Have no idea if that could affect the iPads, but won't hurt to ask. My neighbor's iPad has not been affected, though. So probably not the problem.

One more question, please.

If I do wind up getting a new device. How can I get my photos and apps without synching to my old iPad 2? I am afraid of synching with it since it is corrupted. I have not backed up to iTunes in years. But since both devices are corrupted, don't see how that would help. Hate to lose everything. But looks like that could happen.