Setting up my new iPad Air M2 13”

Dear Apple Community ✨

Hi 👋

I NEED YOUR HELP 🥺

I am really freaking out because I have actually never before experienced this problem, and I’m starting to grow concerned..

I got a new iPad the other day ( 9th Gen ) and I set up it up perfectly just like I have done with previous iPhones or devices. Everything went perfect!!!

But unfortunately, turns out the iPad wasn’t the best choice for me, as I am currently enrolled into university and I need a more updated device.

So I have a purchased outright a BRAND new purple 13” Apple IPad Air M2, which I have only just unboxed this morning! But when I went to set it up, I connected it to my iPhone ( which is an iPhone 15 Pro Max with updated IOS 18.1 ) and I got a little side tracked and left it on the table with the iPad Air waiting to be setup and installed, and when I came back to continue the setup over an hour later, my iPhone had disconnected itself from the IPad ( because my iPhone had received missed calls & messages, so I’m assuming it just disconnected from the iPad to receive the calls & because I had left it for so long without proceeding with the initial setup ) and now it’s not working at all! And whenever I try to connect the two together again, it tries to proceed and it initiates the setup and then requires me to hold my iPhone next to the iPad to scan the image from the iPad, and then it says on my IPhone that a new device has been added but on the iPad itself, it says “ Can not setup with IPhone “ and so I tried to log in manually with iCloud, but it keeps saying I have nothing in iCloud because I haven’t backed up my iPhone & so then I try to use the iPad 9th gen to set it up that way, & initially it said it was successful, but that there were only “6 items” transferred over to the new ipad Air, bit I have THOUSANDS of images, notes, messages, videos & photos, contacts, apps and music and more on my iPad that isn’t transferring over to the Air 🥺😩

And this process was continuing for around 2-3 hours

So I decided to delete the “ new device added “ in my iPhone and iPad in the devices, and then shut it down and restarted the IPad air and both my phone and iPad to refresh all devices and connections hoping it would just restart because it said it was able to restart the entire process over again… But then it just continued like this for another 3 hours!!!

So, this is where I am at now, messaging here on Apples community page, asking for help and I am currently logged into the iPad 9 Gen, and I have purchased MORE iCloud storage, and I am currently “ backing up “ my iPhone Pro, and the iPad Air is switched off ( as I have deleted it all and in hopes it will refresh and restart the initial process all over AGAIN for the umteenth time ) but the iPhone back up has been taking it’s sweet time ( almost two hours backing up now and have paid TWICE extra to purchase MORE extra storage ) and it’s now so 6:50pm and I have been doing this for my ENTIRE day as I started at around 9:45am … so for over 9 hours!!! Just trying to set up my new iPad from my iPhone 15 pro max with an updated 18.1 IOS 😩🥺😭

Any help or advice would be TRULY DEEPLY APPRECIATED, .. i just want to know how I can set up my new iPad from my iPhone Pro … I have now purchased the extra storage and I am currently backing up the iPhone so that I can try log into the iPad Air and back it that way ….

ANY HELP OR ADVICE AT THIS POINT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!, 🥹

Did I muck up the initial setup because I left the two devices alone without immediate attention in the initial process?

Am I going to be able to retrieve all of my information & personal storage & apps memory from the iCloud if I just click “ set up as a new iPad “ 🥺🥺🥺

or am I going about it the right way now, by restarting the iPad and having it turned off for the last 4 hours now?

Did i ruin the iPad Air as it has been through the process of the initial setup so now it’s not recognising the devices as “ new “ because it was already accepted as the setup had worked when in fact it actually hadn’t?

I am soo extremely tired & very much confused …

I have googled my questions, and watched a bunch of YouTube videos… but I can’t seem to find anyone with the same problem as me…

#HELP ! As I am feeling beat 🥺😭😩

Thankyou

x

[Re-Titled by Moderator]