I have an iPad Mini running iOS 9 that has music, photos, apps, etc on it, and I dropped it an shattered the screen. It still will connect to the computer. I have an appointment to get it "repaired" at the Genius Bar, but they really replace it with a fresh piece of hardware.
What do I need to do to completely back up my iPad so that the new hardware will be as seamlessly like the old one as possible? Ideally, I'd like to have the same playlists, photos, settings, stored passwords, high score in games, etc. I have a Mac to back up to (and restore from).
This is an iPad with cellular service, so I plan to transfer the SIM from my current device to the new one.
I've done a "full backup" in iTunes, but I want to be sure it really backs up everything. Does it? If not, what else do I need to do to make this as seamless as possible? Are there some things that I can't back up no matter what I do?
When I spoke with a Genius Bar employee today, he indicated that playlists that I created on my iPad would not be backed up by any of these procedures. Does anyone have any experience with how to make the music on my iPad transfer as exactly as possible to the new hardware?
Best Answer
To be safe, run two backups.
There are things that do not back up like pairing records to trust specific computers, but those are by design and unlikely to be something you even want to back up if you could opt in to them.
Your SIM will transfer most likely (all Apple iPads are not carrier locked) and the store staff can assist you if you should need some carrier activation step. I would arrive early (at least 15 minutes) for the appt and expect to be there 45 minutes. That way if the store is slammed, you won't be surprised by a delay. Most stores have a caching server and fast internet, so you might stay longer to get an iCloud restore going if your internet is more tortoise than hare.
Lastly, I don't know if cellular data boost works during an iCloud restore, so I wouldn't put the SIM card in the iPad while iCloud restore was running if paying for that amount of data is unwelcome.