How to Wall Mount an iPad

ByZach
thumbnail for blog post Installing an iPad Wall Mount

iPads are great in so many applications, especially for smart home control. I love to wall mount my iPads. It give such a clean look and provides a lot of additional functionality to a smart home setup. In this article we’ll go over how to wall mount an iPad. Also, we will get power and data to the iPad without having to run multiple cables.

What’s Required

Choosing A Wall Mount

When searching the internet a lot of different iPad wall mounts will come up. Most of them are clunky and just don’t fit the sleek look a smart home deserves. I have used Simpli Dock for all of my iPad wall mounts in the past, and am very happy with it. The design is sleek and minimal. There are a lot of different options depending on which iPad model is being used. Simpli Dock isn’t truly a “mount”, it’s more of an inset in the wall. This makes it look much better than other options on the market.

For this post I am going to be mounting a 4th generation iPad Pro 12.9″ to the wall. I went with the matte white trim as the walls are going to be painted white. The iPad wall mount color can match the iPad screen color, the wall color, or be something else like carbon fiber. There are lots of possibilities depending on the desired look.

Getting Power and Data to the iPad

There are a lot of different ways to power the iPad. The most common way would be to run a USB cable down the wall and to the nearest outlet, but that isn’t as clean. I am a big fan us using PoE wherever I can. I am going to power my iPad and get it data with just 1 cable and PoE.

What is PoE

PoE stands for Power over Ethernet. This is a great option for low voltage devices that don’t use too much power. It can supply them with both internet and power over a single cable. The drawback with PoE is it either requires the use a PoE injector to get power into the data cable or a network switch that provides PoE. I highly recommend to anyone starting their smart home journey to pick up a PoE+ capable switch, it will undoubtably get used a lot!

Using PoE with an iPad

Now that we know what PoE is, let’s see how we can use it to get power and data to our iPad.

The most common way to get internet to an iPad is by just connecting to wifi! There is nothing wrong with this, but if there is an opportunity to get a device off the wifi network and onto a hardwired connection, I am going to choose that every time.

The challenge with an iPad is that it either has a Lightning Port or a USB-C port, not an ethernet port. We are going to need to convert the PoE from the RJ-45 connector (standard connector on an ethernet cable) to USB-C in the case of the iPad Pro we are using. To do this I picked up this PoE to USB converter on amazon made by PoE Texas. I’ve used their converters on many different projects around my home, and they’re great! This particular adapter comes with a USB-C to lighting cable so that it can be used with older style iPads that still use the lightning port. That being said, I had to pick up a small USB-C cable as well. I chose this particular cable because it has a 90 degree plug on it which is super helpful inside a wall.

Installing the iPad Wall Mount

Now that we have power, data, and our wall mount figured out, we can start on the install!

Placing the iPad Wall Mount

Choosing where to place the iPad wall mount is arguably the most important part of the install. It should be somewhere accessible and frequently trafficked. I chose to put this iPad in the living room right by the couch, and also right by the front door. This works really well because guests can walk right into the home and change any settings they want before they come and sit down on the couch.

As for the height of the wall mount, Simpli Dock recommends mounting it anywhere from 56″ to 60″ (142cm to 152cm) above the floor. I hung mine 56″ to the bottom of the iPad mount and it works really well. For taller people, closer to 60″ is going to be more comfortable.

Cutting the hole for the iPad Wall Mount

Now it’s time to cut the hole for the wall mount! We are going to need our stud finder, pencil, level, tape measure, and the cutout guide that came with the iPad wall mount kit.

  1. Use the stud finder to mark the studs vertically near where the iPad is going to be mounted.
  2. Measure up 56″ to 60″ from the floor to the bottom of where the iPad is going to be mounted, and mark it.
  3. Grab the cutting guide that came with the iPad wall mount kit. Hold it up so that it’s between 2 studs and the bottom is lined up with the height mark from step 2.
  4. Hold the level to the top of the cutting guide to make sure that it’s level. Take the pencil and trace around the cutting guide.
  5. Take the drywall knife and cutout the hole along the traced line.
Hole cut in wall for an iPad wall mount from Simpli Dock.

An ethernet cable from a PoE switch or PoE injector needs to be ran to the hole where the iPad is going. Alternatively, a usb cable can be connected to an outlet somewhere lower on the wall to power the iPad. Wifi can be used for data as previously discussed.

Connecting the Cables

The first step of installing the mount is to get all of the cables connected. Take the ethernet cable and converter and get them plugged in. Take the USB-C cable and plug it from the converter into the back of the iPad wall mount.

Mounting options

The iPad wall mount that I chose has the option to either be “locked” in or easily removed. There is a hard plastic piece that can be removed to allow the iPad to be easily removed by anyone. At my home I chose to remove this piece as I am ok with anyone having access to the iPad. My wife and I also have a short term renal property where we have an iPad installed. I definitely have it locked in there so guests cannot remove it. This changes on a case by case basis of course. If the iPad is being installed in a private home then I would definitely chose to have it easily removable.

If and iPad is locked in to the mount, the way it is removed is via a suction cup. The suction cup that can pull it out of the mount.

To remove the plastic piece that locks the iPad in, first take the backing panel out of the iPad wall mount. This is required for install regardless of if the iPad is going to be used locked or unlocked. The plastic piece should be visible now. This is the piece that makes the iPad either locked or unlocked. It should be labeled as such.

Installing the Pad Mount Into the Wall

The iPad wall mount comes with little plastic clips that snap into the back of the mount. These are what hold onto the drywall and lock the mount into the wall. There are a few mounting points the hooks can snap into depending on what is running through the back of the wall. For this install I put them equally spaced behind the mount.

Next simply push the mount into the wall and use an impact driver or a screw driver to tighten the screws until they clamp onto the drywall. If an impact driver is being used, be very careful not to over tighten the clips as they can break either the clamp or the drywall.

The final step is to put the cover piece back in over the screw holes. There are 2 magnets that should hold it nicely into place.

Next, push the iPad into the mount. The iPad should start to charge and an option in settings that says “ethernet” should show up.

Now everything should be up and running!

Next Steps

Now that the iPad wall mount is installed, the fun can begin! The simplest thing to do is to open the home app and use it as it would be used on any other device. Make sure to have any other smart home apps installed on the iPad that are normally used such as the Philips Hue app or other 3rd party smart home control apps.

Recommended Settings

Typically the iPad should stay on at all times so that it is ready when someone wants to use it. I recommend removing any passcode from the device. Removing the sleep timer so that the screen always stays on is good practice too. This can be done by going to the Settings app > Display and Brightness and changing the “Auto Lock” to never.

I also highly recommend turning on True Tone, Night Shift, and setting the Light/Dark mode to auto in this menu. It will help the iPad to best adapt to the current lighting environment and time of day.

Home Hub

Since this iPad will be permanently on and connected to the internet, it can also be used as a home hub. This will allow access to smart home devices when not on a home network. Apple TVs and Home Pods also work as home hubs. These are a better option as Apple is limiting the functionality of the iPad as a home hub starting in iOS 16. There is no reason not to set the iPad up as a home hub though for additional redundancy.

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