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Mary asked: “I did an update on my iPad, I think it was a 9.3, something like that, and it’s been a disaster ever since. I’ve talked to Apple and I’ve talked to my provider, AT&T. They sent me a new SIM card. They said it was the problem but it wasn’t. Then they told me that every time I turn the iPad on, take the SIM card out, massage it, then put it back in. Sure enough that’s what i have to do. Anyone else have this problem? The problem started when I did the update. What do I do?”
With all due respect, it sounds like someone just sold you a placebo. There’s absolutely no reason for you to need to massage a SIM card, ever. And you absolutely don’t have to take the SIM card out every time you turn your tablet on.
There’s absolutely no reason for you to need to massage a SIM card, ever.
If you really think this problem is related to the update, you can go to IPSW.me and download iOS 9.2 for your particular iPad (they’re not all equal, choose your actual model), and use that file to roll back to iOS 9.2 using iTunes. Just hold down the Ctrl key and click on the Restore button and select the .ipsw file you downloaded and it should roll your device back. Having said that, it will delete all of your apps and files, so make sure you’re ready to reinstall everything.
Having said that, you never told us what is actually wrong with your iPad, it may very well be a hardware issue that an operating system reinstallation won’t solve. If it’s having trouble talking to the SIM card, that’s not a widespread problem, so you may be looking at an actual physical problem with your specific iPad. It’s possible that when you take it out and massage it you’re doing nothing, but when you pop it back in, you’re causing it to sit just right and that makes it work again.