IPad – Running Angry Birds 2 on the iPads

ipad

I have two iPads laying around, and I would like to play Angry Birds on them. I realize that Angry Birds 2 is likely an inferior offering filled with dark patterns and ads, but I don't seem to have much choice so here we go.

One of the devices is iPad mini MD537E/A. It says it is on 9.3.6. Says it's the latest one for that device. App Store will only install some old version of Angry Birds 2, which will display splash screen, ask to log into gaming center (or whatever) and then tell me that I have to upgrade to newer version. Newer version needs iOS 10.0+. I guess this device is too old and it's end of story here?

The other one is iPad Pro 12,9" 2nd-gen MP6G2RU/A. It is on 14.4, which makes it look like a better prospect. However, this one performs even worse: it will start a splash screen, offer me to log in to gaming center, and then nothing happens. Splash screen just stays here. It never goes further.

This iPad previously belonged to a relative and sometimes it pops up a prompt to login into the old account, despite being more or less moved to a new one. Maybe it affects the outcome somehow.

What do I do? How do I actually get some of these devices to play Angry Birds for my daughter?

Best Answer

The fact that the newer iPad is still prompting about an old account indicates it was likely never reset after the transfer of ownership. Even when giving a device to a trusted family member, wiping is always a good idea; the new owner likely doesn't need or want any of the older owner's data. Wiping it will also likely resolve the issues you're experiencing--and even if it doesn't, it will dramatically narrow down the cause.

The caveat is that by wiping it, you will be removing all of your data from the device. You should back up anything important first. If your daughter has already been using the device, it may be difficult to guess what needs to be backed up. Some data, such as game saves, may not be reasonable to back up and restore after wiping.

If you decide to go through with wiping it, follow Apple's latest instructions; they tend to change across iOS versions. As of writing, the process looks roughly like this:

  1. Make sure your device is up-to-date.
  2. Make sure you've backed up anything you want to save and have a plan for restoring it to the device--I recommend using both a cloud backup and an offline backup via your computer. If the iCloud account on the device is the previous owner's, then keep in mind that you will lose access to any iCloud backups when you wipe the device.
  3. "Go to Settings > [your name] > Find My, tap Find My iPhone, then turn it off." This is important. Note that [your name] may actually be the previous owner's name. As of writing, this option is usually at the very top of the Settings page. It's possible that the device isn't connected to anyone's iCloud account, in which case you'll likely see a prompt to log into iCloud in its place.
  4. "Tap Settings > General > Reset", then tap "Erase All Content and Settings"