First things first, we have to be honest with you. Although iPads are great for digital signage as they are much cheaper than commercial-grade screens and can easily be picked up from your local department store, they aren't the most reliable long-term solution for digital signage with ScreenCloud. The reason why we say this is because the ScreenCloud iOS player has the following limitations:

For the most part, iOS devices work just fine, and yes they are powerful enough to run even demanding content. However, if you are making new purchases, we recommend you go with Android or Fire OS options instead. If you already have iOS devices at hand, we do support many devices running recent versions of iOS or iPad OS, and we see no harm at all in you using them as a starting point to your digital signage journey.

That being said we only recommend iOS 10.3 or higher (preferably iOS 12 or later or the latest version of iPadOS) and with 5 GB of storage space or higher (preferably 16 or 32 GB of storage or higher)

Check out our minimum requirements and list of recommended and supported iPads here.

For more information, check out our article The Buyer's Guide to Digital Signage Hardware: Pros, Cons and Potential for more help on selecting which hardware is best for your digital signage.

In this setup guide, we will be using the iPad Mini, however, if you have any other models, the setup process should be very similar.

Now if you've already set up your iPad and are ready to get started installing the ScreenCloud player app, please skip ahead to 3.1 but if not, continue following along, this is going to be easy.

2.1. First, unpack your iPad and connect it to a power source using the included adaptor and USB cable.

2.2. After you power on your iPad for the first time, you'll be greeted with the setup screen, please follow the steps as shown on the device, here you'll also have an option to use your iPhone or iPad running iOS 11 or later for quick set up, but of course, you can also choose to set it up manually.

2.3. Next, slide up to get started connect the iPad to your preferred Wi-Fi network, and follow the on-screen instructions.

2.4. You will now have the option to create a passcode for your iPad. If you are going to use this iPad solely for digital signage purposes, we'd recommend not setting up a passcode, you can skip this step by selecting the passcode options and selecting "Don't use password".

2.5. In the next step, you'll have quite a few options to restore your data. Pick the one you'd prefer or select "Don't Transfer Apps & Data" if you want to set up your device as a new iPad.

2.6. Now sign in with your Apple ID, or create a new one and follow the on-screen instructions. Note if you skip this step you can just create one later in the settings menu.

2.7. Next, you will be promoted to select agree to confirm you understand the Terms & Conditions.

Learn how to use ScreenCloud with our full walkthrough article, follow step-by-step to get started on how to use ScreenCloud for digital signage. This will help you become comfortable with the setup process and the main features of using ScreenCloud.

3.1.1. Once you get your iPad set up, navigate to the App Store and search for the ScreenCloud Player app by selecting the search tab and entering ScreenCloud in the search box. Click get or download the ScreenCloud Player app to begin the installation.

3.1.2. Make sure your iOS device is connected to Wi-Fi for the most optimal performance. You may experience connection issues if using a mobile hotspot or data plan to run the ScreenCloud app.

3.2.1. Launch the ScreenCloud player app on your iPad or iPhone and make a note of the pairing code - this is the code you need to enter into the Screens section of your ScreenCloud account. You can also scan the QR code for the ScreenCloud player app to use your phone to pair the screen to your account.

3.2.2. Log into your ScreenCloud account at https://studio.screencloud.com on your laptop, PC or phone. If you are new to ScreenCloud, you can sign up for a free trial.

3.2.3. Once you’re in, you'll see the ability to add a new screen within the Screens panel. Select the New Screen button on the top right corner of your screens tab.

3.2.4. Enter the pairing code that you see on your screen, and click Continue. Go ahead and name your screen as well.

3.2.5. And that's it, you are now ready to set any content you'd like to show on your screen. You can now add and manage the content shown on this screen using your ScreenCloud account.

Image: The ScreenCloud player app menu for the iPad and iPhone, which appears on the right side of the screen. Advanced Settings is opened in this sample.

There is one key configuration that is very important when you want to use your iPad as a digital signage device and that's the feature called Guided Access available in iPadOS or iOS settings menu.

Guided Access allows you to limit the use of your device to only one single app and control what features are available. This is very useful when you use your iPad as a digital signage device because it prohibits anyone without the passcode from navigating away to other apps and also prevents them from tampering with your device settings.

4.1.1. To access Guided Access, go into the settings menu, select Accessibility, and enable Guided Access.

4.1.2. Once you turn on Guided Access, just go ahead and set your passcode.

4.1.3. Now depending on the iPad model you use, you will have the option to either use Touch ID or Face ID to end Guided Access. We recommend turning on the Accessibility Shortcut option so that you can easily access the Accessibility Shortcut Settings when you are in a Guided Access session.

4.1.4. To begin using Guided Access with Digital Signage, go back to the ScreenCloud Player App, and simply triple-click the side menu button or the home button of your iPad, tap start and enter your guided access passcode.

You can also access additional settings by triple-clicking the side button or the home button, entering your passcode again, and tapping the menu options at the lower left-hand side of the screen.

4.1.5. To end the Guided Access session, just double-click the side menu button if you're using a device with Face ID or the home button if you're using a device with Touch ID. Or just triple-click the button you set up your guided access with, enter your passcode, and select End.

4.1.6. When using an iOS device with an OS version before 12.1.1, you may experience screen dimming after 20 minutes. This is a known issue on the older iOS version and Apple has released a fix for this on iOS 12.1.1. in December 2018, but requires a change to a new setting to prevent the screen from sleeping.

Please go to General > Accessibility > Guided Access and make sure that the setting Mirror Display Auto-Lock is switched on.

We recommend that you always keep the device OS version up-to-date to access the latest feature updates and bug fixes.

If you want to pair your iPad or iPhone with a different ScreenCloud account, or if you need to reset the pairing for any other reason:

4.2.1 Press and hold the screen on the iOS device for 2 seconds

4.2.2. A menu will pop up on the right side of the screen. Click Reset Pairing to reset the pairing on the device. You'll be shown the pairing code, and can now re-pair this device.

If you want to change the settings of your screen, for example, to change the name of your screen or the screen orientation, simply press and hold down on your iOS device's screen and you’ll access the settings panel. Here you can select from the four different screen orientations, as well as rename the screen. Please note that you can also change the screen name in your ScreenCloud Studio account.
​
There is also a Reload action, as well as a Clear cache action if you open the Advance settings of the player app's side menu.
​

The ScreenCloud player app for iPadOS and iOS can continue displaying if you connect it to an Airplay-compatible display. Please note that the dimensions of your iPad or iPhone will display on the screen.

Please see Apple's support documentation on how to mirror your screen: Use AirPlay to stream video or mirror the screen of your iPhone or iPad.
​

ScreenCloud Touch is available on the Pro or Enterprise subscription plan. For pricing, please see here. To learn which other features you obtain when upgrading to Pro and higher, check out Upgrade your ScreenCloud Subscription to Gain New Features and Apps.
​
​4.5.1. With a Pro or Enterprise subscription plan, you will see the Touch feature for your screen in Studio. This can be found under a screen's Settings > Advanced Settings. You will need to enable this to allow the Touch feature to work for your paired iOS or iPadOS device.

4.5.2. Please see the Touch setup guide to learn which type of content is interactive and how to enable this.

4.5.3. When you have content ready for a touchscreen device, the final step is to enable Interactive mode for the ScreenCloud player app on your device.

4.5.4. To open the ScreenCloud side menu in interactive mode, you can now click the top right corner of your screen.

And that's it - Good job! You have successfully set up your iPad or iPhone with ScreenCloud.