Monthly Archives: April 2017

fixed : “Your iPad could not be activated”/”Activation server temporarily unavailable”-error

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9

Question :

After my iPad tried to update to iOS 9.3.x (this also goes for iOS 11.2.x) last night, I had to re-enter my AppleID and now I’m getting a blank page with only this error message :

“Your iPad could not be activated because the activation server is temporarily unavailable. Try connecting your iPadto iTunes to activated it or try again in couple of minutes.”

But even if I wait a couple of minutes or even an hour, and try again, I get stuck with this same message…

How can I fix this ?

 

Answer :

Apple Support has a tutorial on how to fix this, but a lot of times that doesn’t work :

If you can’t activate your iPad 2 (GSM model) after you update to iOS 9.3

If you can’t figure out how to do that, or you’ve tried and it doesn’t work for you, try this :

  • if you have an iPad with a GSM SIM-card installed, make sure you have the SIM’s 4-digit PIN-code at hand, then pop the SIM-card out using a bended paperclip or the official tool that’s comes with every iPhone and every SIM-card enabled iPad
  • then, on your Mac, go to Apple-icon (top-left in the menu bar) –> system Preferences –> iCloud
  • in the window that opens, see what eMail-address is listed under your name ; make sure to remember that eMail-address : this is your iCloud-account name (which might be different from your AppleID or iTunes Store-account name)
  • then click on “Account Details” and type the password that is connected to your iCloud-account name
  • if a new window opens, remember this password and close the window
  • if you get an error message that your password is incorrect, make sure you find the password and try again (you can try several times, but if you get a warning that you have only a limited amount of attempts remaining, stop immediately !! and skip this step)
  • now return to your iPad and do a reset by pressing the Home-button (physical button below the screen) and the Power-button (physical button on the right edge or top edge) simultaneously until the screen goes black and the white Apple logo appears
  • now, proceed though the following screens as you normally would until you are asked to enter your Account Name : there you should enter the eMail-address that is your iCloud-account name and the corresponding password
  • if this works, don’t forget to put the Sim-card back into your iPad and you’re done
  • if you happen to run into the Activation Server error page again before you get to the page where you should enter your Account Name, do this :
    • open the AppStore-app on your Mac
    • make sure you have installed all official Apple updates (especially iTunes)
    • connect your iPad directly (so without USB-hubs) to your Mac using the iPad-to-USB-cable
    • on your Mac, open iTunes
    • then do the reset on you iPad agian, simultaneously pressing the Home- and Power-buttons until the Apple logo appears
    • now iTunes (on your Mac) should detect your iPad
    • if it doesn’t, try the reset again
    • if it does, see if you can go trough all setup screen on your iPad
    • if you are unable to do so, go to iTunes on your Mac
    • if a message appears you need to unlock your iPad, type the screen unlock code on your iPad
    • if a “Trust this iPad ?” message appears on your Mac, click “Trust”
    • if a “Trust this Mac ?” message appears on your iPad, click “Trust”
    • now you see a small button with an iPad on it next to the Music/Films/etc.-pulldown menu ; click on it
    • in the next window, you should now be able to initiate the iOS-update of your iPad from your computer
    • then wait for the update to complete
  • afterwards, do not forget to put the SIM-card back into your iPad

Good luck & enjoy 😉

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fixed : Benq monitor stays black when MacBook is switched on

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2

Question :

I have a Benq BL2420PT external monitor as a desktop screen connected to my MacBook using a Displayport-cable (actually a miniDisplayport-to-Displayport-cable). When my MacBook goes into sleep mode or the Ben monitor goes into sleep mode itself the screen goes black. But when I try to revive the monitor by moving my external mouse or pressing any key on my (external) keyboard, the MacBook starts up, but the Ben monitor’s screen stays black.

This same thing sometimes happens when I startup my MacBook and close the lid before the Benq monitor switches on.

What can I do to fix this ?

 

Answer :

The following trick might help for other Benq monitors, and maybe even for different brands of monitors also. This works for the Benq BL2420PT monitor if the screen stays black even when the connected Mac is turned on :

  • on the frame of the screen, bottom right, you see 5 indicator lights, next to the Power-indicator ; these are all touch-buttons
  • if the Power-indicator/button is steadily glowing in white, don’t touch it ; only if it has another color, touch it to switch on the monitor
  • if the Power-indicator still doesn’t glow white, check if all cables are connected properly and make sure the physical ON/OFF-switch on the bottom of the screen is switched ON
  • touch the one indicator light/button that is nearest to the centre of the screen (so the most left one)
  • if a message appears “No cable connected”, just wait
  • if a menu appears with 5 cable connectors to choose from, don’t touch anything, just wait
  • just wait (usually up to 30 seconds, sometimes even a minute) and the screen will switch on

NOTE : the most important thing is that you DO NOT (neither accidentally nor intentionally) touch any other indicator/button ! as this usually screws up the monitor’s software setting that corresponds to the physical cable connection (to correct that, you should toggle around with the these touch-buttons until the menu with the 5 cable connectors reappears and you can then choose the one that corresponds to your physically connected cable)

If the above doesn’t work, look here for alternate procedures to revive your black screen :

fixed : MacBook’s external monitor screen stays black

That’s it !

enjoy 😉