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bigchief

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 26, 2009
902
180
I'm trying to activate a new iPad mini 4 and the activation server can't be released. Is apple having trouble today?
 
Lesson learned. Never buy an Apple device to be opened and use on Christmas Day. This new iPad Mini 4 128gb will not open over wifi or through iTunes after trying for 8 hours. Merry Christmas Apple.
 
Lesson learned. Never buy an Apple device to be opened and use on Christmas Day. This new iPad Mini 4 128gb will not open over wifi or through iTunes after trying for 8 hours. Merry Christmas Apple.

Did you make sure it's not network related by trying to activate via another means of internet connectivity?
 
ericwn YOU DA MAN! Just tried using hotspot with my iPhone 6 (AT&T) and it worked!

Thanks much Sir, happy to hear it worked. It's unlikely that the world's biggest and very customer experience focussed company has their server farm down over the holidays, so I took a wild guess and thought the issue is somewhere in the current network config. Enjoy the device - and hope your frustration turns into a good time!

Cheers,
E.
 
Lesson learned. Never buy an Apple device to be opened and use on Christmas Day. This new iPad Mini 4 128gb will not open over wifi or through iTunes after trying for 8 hours. Merry Christmas Apple.
Well, obviously that was not the issue -thumbs up-, but considering Apple rolls out huge releases, the whole premise was kinda silly, IMHO. Now myself, OTOH, went on the cheap and got an Apple Certified Refurb iPad Pro 12.9. 5 minutes into the activation the system shut down, came back up with a screen looking like it was sand blasted with fushia sand, shut down and never came back (despite reasonably heroic efforts). So MY lesson is that certified refurbished are crap that should be avoided year round. Sorry for the thread hijack, but even at the end of the day, still kinda stings.
 
Well, obviously that was not the issue -thumbs up-, but considering Apple rolls out huge releases, the whole premise was kinda silly, IMHO. Now myself, OTOH, went on the cheap and got an Apple Certified Refurb iPad Pro 12.9. 5 minutes into the activation the system shut down, came back up with a screen looking like it was sand blasted with fushia sand, shut down and never came back (despite reasonably heroic efforts). So MY lesson is that certified refurbished are crap that should be avoided year round. Sorry for the thread hijack, but even at the end of the day, still kinda stings.

Ouch, that sucks, but thanks for sharing your experience! Seems that the issue didn't really surface before or was so intermittent that the technician didn't see it.
If it's any comfort to you, many people in Mac forums love their refurbished stuff and made good experiences with it (while enjoying the savings + full warranty).
Maybe give it another try with another device?
 
I'm trying to activate a new iPad mini 4 and the activation server can't be released. Is apple having trouble today?

Just keep trying. The internet is generally being hammered this time of year, especially Christmas Day. Just think of all those devices people have got that connect to the internet, and all the media being streamed.

EDIT: ah I see you got it working :)
 
Maybe give it another try with another device?
Oh, I did :) I missed most of the new unit sales. Target's sale was still going on, but not the greatest deal and selection is crap. I hit up eBay and found a used 128 GB Cellular 12.9 iPPro for about the same as I was going to pay for a 32GB Wifi only refurb. Sure, you take your chances. But, at this point I'll go with a used unit that is operating properly -cross fingers- than something a technician passed through QA to get a "certified" badge. This will be #6. The amount of use that the others get justified a 12.9-inch model in the stable, IMHO. Good to hear your issues were sorted as well :)
 
Just keep trying. The internet is generally being hammered this time of year, especially Christmas Day. Just think of all those devices people have got that connect to the internet, and all the media being streamed.

I seem to remember a few years back that so many people were trying to activate Apple products that the servers actually crashed for a bit.

Glad to see you finally got it up and running. That mini 4 is a fun device.
 
I had the same issue activating my iPad Mini 4 last night as well. Although on the third or fourth try I got it to work.
 
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