Stuck in Restore Mode-Won't stay in DFU mode

grannysmith · Apr 24, 2014

I replaced the battery in my phone today (very carefully). When I rebooted the phone it told me to plug it into iTunes.

I immediatley noticed there was no serial number. When I click on Restore iPhone it goes through some of the motions but cannot restore it for various reasons (I've gotten error (35) (11) and "The device isn't eligible for the requested build.").

I've read that I need to go into DFU mode but when my phone is plugged into my Mac I am unable using any method to power it off. I have a perpetual itunes logo with the plugin cord screen.

I've tried redsn0w to kick it out of recovery mode...which it does for a brief moment but then immediatly the apple icon comes up and it goes back into recovery mode.

Can anyone help? My phone is worthless to me at this point.

willerz2 · Apr 24, 2014

Never heard of an error 35, but error 11 can be caused by one of the following

Attempting to restore a custom IPSW on iTunes 11.1.X
Attempting to restore using an IPSW that's not that of the latest IPSW (can also lead to the ineligible build error)
Attempting to restore an iPhone 3G/3GS which was flashed on the iPad Baseband without creating a custom IPSW to preserve the baseband

Your device does not need to be at the point where it's completely turned off to place your device into DFU mode. As long as you press and hold both the power and home button together for 10 full seconds, then releasing the power button but remain holding the home button for up to 15 seconds, you'll be in DFU mode. If not, you can create a DFU IPSW and use iTunes to place the device into DFU mode, which is outlined here.

grannysmith · Apr 25, 2014

Could this be a hardware issue? I did the IPSW thing as outlined above. iTunes begins to go through the process and then I'm given: "The iPhone "iPhone" could not be restored. This device isn't eligible for the requested build."

Is it possible I hosed up my hardware somehow during my battery change? I was super careful and "delicate" when changing it. But, I've got some sanctimonious guy on the apple forums who is Congratulating me for opening my phone and busting the hardware. Of course, I'm getting no answers there.

In iTunes it doesn't recognize my phone. For example the serial number next to the phone says, "n/a"

I'm just wanting to do a complete hard reset of my phone. I don't care what I lose data wise.

willerz2 · Apr 25, 2014

grannysmith said:
Could this be a hardware issue? I did the IPSW thing as outlined above. iTunes begins to go through the process and then I'm given: "The iPhone "iPhone" could not be restored. This device isn't eligible for the requested build."

Is it possible I hosed up my hardware somehow during my battery change? I was super careful and "delicate" when changing it. But, I've got some sanctimonious guy on the apple forums who is Congratulating me for opening my phone and busting the hardware. Of course, I'm getting no answers there.

In iTunes it doesn't recognize my phone. For example the serial number next to the phone says, "n/a"

I'm just wanting to do a complete hard reset of my phone. I don't care what I lose data wise.

You can try a NAND reset of your device by taking the battery out, and leaving it out for a few hours, then reassembling it. Most importantly, make sure the ground is reassembled properly.