Check for Service Interruptions
If you’re trying to watch a video through iTunes, you can check Apple’s system status page to make sure services are all available and running at peak level. If you’re trying to watch video through a non-Apple app, you’ll need to check the app developer’s website to ensure their product is running the way it should. These sites vary from app to app, but more popular apps like YouTube or Netflix generally make it easy to find if they’re having issues with their service. They will often post it on their company page or Twitter, and there are also several sites, such as Is The Service Down, that report outages for a variety of services.
Close Apps and Restart iPad
If your iPad is connected to the internet, it may just need a quick restart. Close all apps by accessing the multitask display and swiping up on every app. You can open the multitask display by either double-tapping the Home button or by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and holding your finger in the middle of the screen until multitasking appears. After that, restart the iPad by holding down the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons for several seconds until the Apple logo appears. Once your iPad restarts, try reloading the video. If it still won’t play, try the next step.
Make Sure Your Apps and iOS Are Updated to the Latest Versions
It’s possible some of your apps are not working with one another because your iPad or its apps are out of date. To download the latest version of your iPad’s operating system: You can also see if there are updates available for various apps that may be causing issues with your video playback. Here’s how.
Download the Video Rather Than Stream It
Many iTunes videos are available to download and play directly from your iPad rather than streaming the video from the app. Storing a movie natively can be useful if you want to save one to watch when you won’t have access to Wi-Fi, or if you’re having connection issues at certain times. When the video is open, look for an icon that looks like a cloud with a down arrow. If there’s sufficient space on your device, tap this icon to download the video and watch it offline.
Try a Factory Reset
If all else fails, you may need to reset your iPad to its factory default settings. Keep in mind this will erase everything on your device. You’ll also have to redownload any apps you want, although any paid apps will still be available to you, as they are linked to your Apple ID, not your specific device. If this is the option you want to take, back up anything you want to keep, then learn how to reset your iPad and Eerase all content to properly reset your iPad.
