Prodigy on iPad

Yes, you can play Prodigy on an iPad. Download the free Prodigy Math app from the App Store, sign in with the student account, and the full game works, with the same wizard, pets, and progress as on any other device. If the app will not install, or the iPad belongs to the school, the Safari browser route at play.prodigygame.com is a solid backup that needs no install at all.

How to install Prodigy on an iPad

Open the App Store on the iPad, tap Search, and type Prodigy Math. Tap the Prodigy Math Game by Prodigy Education, then tap Get. The app is free, so there is no payment step, though it offers optional in app purchases for membership. If the iPad asks for the Apple ID password or Face ID, that is the Apple ID on the iPad, not the Prodigy account, so use the Apple ID there. Once it finishes, tap Open, then sign in. Students sign in with their Prodigy username and password, or with the Google or Clever button if the school set that up. The first time the game opens, the student picks Math, chooses a wizard, and play begins. Check that the iPad has free storage before installing: the game needs room to download and to update, so if the iPad is nearly full, remove unused apps or photos first.

Playing Prodigy in Safari

If the app will not install, the browser route works well on an iPad. Open Safari, go to play.prodigygame.com, and sign in with the student account. The game plays in the browser with the same wizard, pets, and progress, because progress is tied to the account, not the device. Add the page to the Home Screen from the Share button, and it opens like an app next time. Keep the iPad in landscape for the widest view, and tap the full screen option in the game for more room. The one thing the browser cannot do as smoothly as the app is save the login, so the student may need to sign in each time.

Which iPads work

Prodigy runs on iPads that can install apps from the App Store and run a recent iPadOS version, which covers the iPad, iPad Air, iPad mini, and iPad Pro ranges sold in recent years. Newer iPads run it best, because the game has grown heavier over the years with more zones, pets, and effects. A very old iPad may still run it in Safari, but expect slower loading and shorter battery life. Check the iPadOS version from Settings, then General, then Software Update, and install any update before blaming the game. If the App Store says the app needs a newer iPadOS and the iPad cannot update any further, the Safari route is the answer.

Signing in on an iPad

Students sign in with their Prodigy username and password, or with the Google button if the school uses Google accounts, or with the Clever button if the school uses Clever. If the Google button shows the wrong account, open Safari or Chrome, sign out of the wrong Google account, and sign in with the school account first. If the password is forgotten, the parent or teacher can reset it from the parent or teacher dashboard. The full login steps are in Prodigy login for students. A student who plays on an iPad at home and on a Chromebook at school should use the same account in both places, because progress lives on the account, not on the device.

App will not open or keeps crashing

If the app closes as soon as it opens, start with the simple fixes. Close the app fully by swiping it away from the app switcher, restart the iPad, and open Prodigy again. If it still crashes, check for an app update in the App Store, because a new version often fixes a crash on a new iPadOS version. If there is no update, offload the app from Settings, then General, then iPad Storage, then Prodigy, then Offload App, and reinstall it. Do not delete the app and its data unless you have to, because that signs the student out, though the wizard and progress are safe because they live on the Prodigy account. As a last step, delete the app and install it again from the App Store.

Game will not load or runs slowly

A game that sticks on the loading screen usually has a network or storage problem. Check the Wi-Fi first: move closer to the router, or forget the network and join it again. A weak signal loads the game slowly and can freeze a battle halfway through. Next, check storage: an iPad with almost no free space cannot load new zones properly, so free up room. Close other apps running in the background, because Prodigy shares the iPad memory with everything else open. If the game loads but battles lag, turn off Low Power Mode, which can slow the processor, and lower the screen brightness a little to save battery. Finally, restart the iPad once a week, because an iPad that has been on for weeks gets slower over time. The wider set of fixes is in Prodigy not working: login and app problems.

Tips for parents: Screen Time and controls

iPads have strong parental controls, and Prodigy fits them well. Use Screen Time from Settings to set a daily time limit for Prodigy, a downtime schedule, and a passcode the child does not know. Prodigy itself has no built in time limit, so the iPad limit is the one that matters. A good routine is 20 to 30 minutes of Prodigy after homework, which is long enough to finish a few battles and a quest. Keep the parent Prodigy account separate from the child login, and never save the parent password on the child iPad, because a child who finds it can change settings and membership. Check progress once a week from the parent dashboard, and praise the skills practised rather than the level reached. If the iPad is shared between children, give each child their own Prodigy account, so their wizards and progress never mix.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Prodigy not working: login and app problems
• Prodigy login for students
• Prodigy on Fire tablet

This site is an independent guide. It is not the official Prodigy site, and it is not affiliated with Prodigy Education.