TUTORIAL - Failsafe method to restore the current version of IOS

blabla · Dec 3, 2011

I get over the error "3194" but now its error "2005" and I've tried everything with cabels and its steel the same error(2005).

Jmills87 · Dec 3, 2011

2005 usually means your iTunes is outdated.

MKN · Dec 8, 2011

Thank you sooooooo much!! <3

ErikK · Dec 9, 2011

Unable to restore iphone 4s unknown error (36).

I followed all steps but get an unknown error. It looks like the phone can't prepare itself for restore. The progress bar doesn't go anywhere. It fails to restore and then gives me the unknown error (36) message and goes back into recovery mode. Any help please?

f4780y said:
Welcome to the iPhoneForums.net tutorial on the failsafe method to restore the current version of IOS on your device.

From time to time our iPhones do get messed up and you want to get the device back up and running on the latest firmware so you have a fresh platform to start over. This guide will help you get your device restored with the latest firmware whilst avoiding most of the common iTunes errors along the way.

1. Update iTunes to the latest version
If you are going to install the current version of IOS reliably, make sure you are running the latest version of iTunes. Use the "Check for updates..." menu item in iTunes.

To restore 5.x IOS you must be on at least iTunes 10.5 or newer...

2. Fix Hosts File
Lots of iPhone owners mess with their hosts file but don't really understand the changes that have been made or why they made them. Usually it is to allow an older firmware to be installed by using SHSH Blobs from Cydia. Having a hosts file which is pointing towards Cydia and not Apple is probably the number one cause of issues when trying to restore a device. Normally, this gives an iTunes Error 3194. To make sure your hosts file is pointing back to Apple, follow this process:

Download the latest version of TinyUmbrella from here - The Firmware Umbrella - TinyUmbrella

Once downloaded, start the TU program

Switch to the "Advanced" tab

UNTICK the option which says "Set Hosts to Cydia on Exit"

Close TinyUmbrella - We will not use this application again during this process, so make sure it is closed.

Alternatively, if you know how to edit your hosts file manually, remove ALL references to gs.apple.com from the file and save it.

On Windows the hosts file can be found in: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

On OSX the hosts file lives in /private/etc/hosts

3. Download the IOS5 firmware to your desktop
iTunes is not very forgiving when it comes to unreliable internet connections or times when the download servers are being put under a lot of strain, e.g. when a new firmware is released. Therefore, it is usually best to download the firmware file directly to your desktop and then direct iTunes to use it.

Download the latest version of IOS for your device from our sticky here - http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/i...ple-ios-firmware-download-links-iphone-17213/

If you are using Windows and Internet Explorer, make sure you rename the file back to have an extension of IPSW if it gets renamed with ZIP. This is a fault of Windows and IE. Do NOT extract the ZIP file

4. Put your device into DFU mode
Restoring a device by just connecting it to iTunes and pressing restore will only work if the phone is working properly. Invariably, and especially if you are looking at this post, something has gone wrong before you got here, so it is unlikely that a normal restore will work. In order to get the restore to complete normally, you MUST put your device into DFU mode.

In order to put your device into DFU mode, with the iPhone connected to your computer and turned on, you must press the "home" and "power" buttons together for EXACTLY 10 seconds at which point you must release "power" but continue to hold "home". After about 15 seconds, the device will enter DFU mode.

Once your device is in DFU mode the screen should be blank. If anything else is showing on the screen, such as the "connect to iTunes" logo, you got it wrong. You must get the device into DFU mode successfully. Try again

If you need more help with DFU mode, see our guide here - http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/iphone-jailbreaking-17/dfu-mode-dummies-16020/

5. Temporarily Disable 3rd Party Tools
Sometimes, 3rd party apps such as firewalls, anti-viruns, and anti-malware software can interfere with the restore process, particularly on Windows. If you are having trouble, it's best to temporarily disable all these on your PC whilst you carry out the restore.

6. Restore in iTunes
Finally, you are ready to restore your device using the firmware you downloaded in Step 2. Make sure the download is complete of course!

Open iTunes and it should report that it has discovered a device in recovery mode and must restore it. Good! That's exactly what we want. Click the OK button to dismiss the dialogue box.

Now you must Shift-Restore (Windows) or Option-Restore (OSX) to select the firmware you downloaded. This means you must hold down the shift key (on Windows) or the option key (on OSX) on your keyboard whilst clicking the "Restore" button in iTunes with your mouse. If you do this correctly, an Explorer or Finder window will pop up and allow you to navigate to the firmware file you downloaded in Step 2. Find the IPSW file and choose it for the restore.

Done! iTunes should now restore your firmware file on your iPhone without any errors.

If you run into problems make sure you followed all the steps correctly and also check you are not connecting via a USB Hub. Always connect directly to your PC. Try a different USB port and if possible a different cable. If it still fails after this, post details of the error message and we'll see if we can help.

Any comments or suggestions on how to make the process even more failsafe are welcome

MikeCorruption · Dec 28, 2011

I was having so many problems until i read this thread, thank you

i think the problem i was encounting was i had iTunes 10.3 and was trying to update my iPhone to iOS5.0.1

dan409 · Jan 3, 2012

Hello

I have tried for the past two days to restore my Iphone 4 back to stock with no success. I
have the latest version of Itunes installed. (10.5.2.11)

I have made sure my hosts file has no instances of gs.apple.com in there and used the latest version of Tiny Umbrella and unticked the Set Hosts to Cydia option. I even went as far as completely deleting and redoing my hosts file by importing a new one from Microsoft help site.

I have downloaded IOS 5.0.1 three different times from the link here just to make sure I didn't get a corrupt download. I am using firefox browser so the file extension name is correct and ending with the ipsw extension.

I am putting my device in DFU mode properly and when I open Itunes. It says it has found a device in recovery mode and must restore it.
I then hit Shift and then clcik on Restore and the select firmware screen opens up and I place the 5.0.1 ipsw file in and click on restore.

It starts the restore process by extracting the firmware, that works fine. When it goes to "preparing Iphone for restore" that is where it always times out and I get a 1602 error message.

the only way I can get the phone to work again is to re-jailbreak using redsn0w. I have even tried a restore by using the Pwned DFU mode in redsn0w and I still end up with the 1601 or 1602 error..

I also have my firewall turned off and all anti-virus and spyware programs disabled...

Any help would be very much appreciated.. TIA

dan409 · Jan 5, 2012

bump Anyone ???????????????????????? Any ideas at all ?

f4780y · Jan 5, 2012

dan409 said:
Hello

I have tried for the past two days to restore my Iphone 4 back to stock with no success. I
have the latest version of Itunes installed. (10.5.2.11)

I have made sure my hosts file has no instances of gs.apple.com in there and used the latest version of Tiny Umbrella and unticked the Set Hosts to Cydia option. I even went as far as completely deleting and redoing my hosts file by importing a new one from Microsoft help site.

I have downloaded IOS 5.0.1 three different times from the link here just to make sure I didn't get a corrupt download. I am using firefox browser so the file extension name is correct and ending with the ipsw extension.

I am putting my device in DFU mode properly and when I open Itunes. It says it has found a device in recovery mode and must restore it.
I then hit Shift and then clcik on Restore and the select firmware screen opens up and I place the 5.0.1 ipsw file in and click on restore.

It starts the restore process by extracting the firmware, that works fine. When it goes to "preparing Iphone for restore" that is where it always times out and I get a 1602 error message.

the only way I can get the phone to work again is to re-jailbreak using redsn0w. I have even tried a restore by using the Pwned DFU mode in redsn0w and I still end up with the 1601 or 1602 error..

I also have my firewall turned off and all anti-virus and spyware programs disabled...

Any help would be very much appreciated.. TIA

1601 and 1602 can often be associated with bad USB communication. Make sure you are not using a hub. Try a different USB port, and there is a chance it could be the cable... Other than that, you seem to have covered the bases.

zuluwhiskeyfox · Jan 5, 2012

dan409 said:
Hello

I have tried for the past two days to restore my Iphone 4 back to stock with no success. I
have the latest version of Itunes installed. (10.5.2.11)

I have made sure my hosts file has no instances of gs.apple.com in there and used the latest version of Tiny Umbrella and unticked the Set Hosts to Cydia option. I even went as far as completely deleting and redoing my hosts file by importing a new one from Microsoft help site.

I have downloaded IOS 5.0.1 three different times from the link here just to make sure I didn't get a corrupt download. I am using firefox browser so the file extension name is correct and ending with the ipsw extension.

I am putting my device in DFU mode properly and when I open Itunes. It says it has found a device in recovery mode and must restore it.
I then hit Shift and then clcik on Restore and the select firmware screen opens up and I place the 5.0.1 ipsw file in and click on restore.

It starts the restore process by extracting the firmware, that works fine. When it goes to "preparing Iphone for restore" that is where it always times out and I get a 1602 error message.

the only way I can get the phone to work again is to re-jailbreak using redsn0w. I have even tried a restore by using the Pwned DFU mode in redsn0w and I still end up with the 1601 or 1602 error..

I also have my firewall turned off and all anti-virus and spyware programs disabled...

Any help would be very much appreciated.. TIA

What happens if you do a simple restore with iTunes. Forget about all the ipsw file and holding shift while clicking the restore button. Just let iTunes do it's thing. The KISS method.

dan409 · Jan 6, 2012

Thanks for the replies. I had to bite the bullet and completely re-install my operating system. XP pro. Obviously something got corrupted along the way.

Was way overdue for a re-install and in the end itunes works great now and the computer is a lot faster..

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post

Dan

almafaeez · Jan 29, 2012

just wanted to say thank you so much for the help. i restored without any problems after your tutorial.

f4780y · Jan 29, 2012

almafaeez said:
just wanted to say thank you so much for the help. i restored without any problems after your tutorial.

You are very welcome.

robmar1 · Feb 9, 2012

I,am running windows seven operating system.
I have internet explorer which I rarely use I prefer fire-fox.
Is the fire fox browser as useful as internet explorer for the jailbreak and everything else that may be needed.
I have an I phone 4 GSM bell network purchased it a year ago running on a 4.2.1 greenposion jailbreak im very happy with the phone but am now considering updating to 5.0.1 through itunes then re- jailbreaking it using redsnow.
Im just curious how much better it is then the one i currently have and whether i will need to put my phone into dfu mode or not in order to update with itunes.

robmar1 · Feb 10, 2012

I also have google chrome if that is any better

Thomasjtsi · Feb 10, 2012

robmar1 said:
I,am running windows seven operating system.I have internet explorer which I rarely use I prefer fire-fox. Is the fire fox browser as useful as internet explorer for the jailbreak and everything else that may be needed.I have an I phone 4 GSM bell network purchased it a year ago running on a 4.2.1 greenposion jailbreak im very happy with the phone but am now considering updating to 5.0.1 through itunes then re- jailbreaking it using redsnow.Im just curious how much better it is then the one i currently have and whether i will need to put my phone into dfu mode or not in order to update with itunes.

Hi Rob... honestly you've got it all down pretty well. First and foremost... make sure and perform a backup via iTunes before updating. Yes it's a good idea to enter DFU mode before updating... then update to 5.0.1 via iTunes. Once that's complete perform the Jailbreak via redsn0w which can be downloaded from here.... Dev-Team Blog.