How to Put an iPhone Into Recovery Mode
Many problems with the iPhone can be resolved by restarting it, but some more complex problems require putting the iPhone into Recovery Mode. This shouldn’t be your first troubleshooting step, but sometimes it’s the only one that works.
Recovery Mode is a last-resort troubleshooting step you can take with an iPhone having problems with its operating system. Putting a device into Recovery Mode allows the iPhone to run and connect to iTunes or a computer while not booting up the iOS. Doing this lets you update the OS to a new, working version or restore a working backup onto the device. It’s not hard to use, but it’s something you only use when other things don’t work.
To put an iPhone into recovery mode, follow these steps:
What you do as your first step depends on what iPhone model you have. If you have an iPhone 8 or newer, you can skip this step. On an iPhone 7 or earlier, begin by turning off your iPhone by holding down the Side button and the Volume Down button. Hold until the slider appears at the top, and then swipe the slider. If your phone doesn’t respond, hold the Side button and the iPhone Home button together until the screen goes dark (on the iPhone 7 series, hold Volume Down instead of the Home button). The second step depends on what operating system your computer is running. If you have a Mac running macOS Catalina (10. 15) or higher, open the Finder. If you have a Mac running an earlier version of the OS, or a PC running Windows, update iTunes to the latest version and open iTunes. Plug the syncing cable into your iPhone and then connect it to your computer. What steps you follow next depend on what model iPhone you have: iPhone 8 and newer: Press and release the Volume Up button, and then do the same to the Volume Down button. Then press and hold the Side button until the Recovery Mode screen appears. iPhone 7 series: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons until the Recovery Mode screen appears. iPhone 6S series and earlier: Press and hold the Side and Home buttons until the Recovery Mode screen appears. You’ll know your phone is in Recovery Mode when the recovery screen appears. Apple Inc. A window pops up in the Finder or iTunes (depending on which you used in step 2) offering to let you Update or Restore the phone. Click Update. This action tries to fix the problem by updating the operating system without erasing your data. If Update fails, put your iPhone into recovery mode again and this time click Restore. This option will replace the data on your phone with an older backup or a fresh installation of the iOS. That’s not ideal, but it may be your only option at this point.
How to Restore iPhone
You can choose to reset your iPhone to its factory state or restore your iPhone from a recent backup of your data.
If you have an iPhone 8 or newer, you can skip this step. On an iPhone 7 or earlier, begin by turning off your iPhone by holding down the Side button and the Volume Down button. Hold until the slider appears at the top, and then swipe the slider. If your phone doesn’t respond, hold the Side button and the iPhone Home button together until the screen goes dark (on the iPhone 7 series, hold Volume Down instead of the Home button).
If you have a Mac running macOS Catalina (10. 15) or higher, open the Finder. If you have a Mac running an earlier version of the OS, or a PC running Windows, update iTunes to the latest version and open iTunes.
iPhone 8 and newer: Press and release the Volume Up button, and then do the same to the Volume Down button. Then press and hold the Side button until the Recovery Mode screen appears. iPhone 7 series: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons until the Recovery Mode screen appears. iPhone 6S series and earlier: Press and hold the Side and Home buttons until the Recovery Mode screen appears.
You’ll know your phone is in Recovery Mode when the recovery screen appears.
It’s not common, but an error can sometimes stop you from restoring your iPhone or another iOS device. If you encounter this problem, learn how to fix iPhone error 4013. You can also encounter error 3194.
How to Get Out of iPhone Recovery Mode
If restoring the iPhone succeeds, your phone will automatically exit Recovery Mode when it restarts.
You can also exit Recovery Mode without restoring your phone (if your device was working properly before. If not, Recovery Mode is still your best option). To do that:
Unplug the device from the USB cable. Hold down the Sleep/Wake button (or Side, depending on your model) until the iPhone turns off, and then let it go. Depending on your model, you may also need to hold the Volume Down button. Keep holding until the Apple logo reappears. Let go of the button and the device will start up.
If Recovery Mode Doesn’t Work
If putting your iPhone into Recovery Mode doesn’t solve your problem, the problem may be more severe than you can fix on your own. In that case, you should make an appointment at the Genius Bar of your nearest Apple Store to get help.
When to Use Recovery Mode
You should use iPhone Recovery Mode when you:
Install an iOS update, and your device gets stuck in a continuous restart loop. It happens if something goes wrong with the update or your battery is extremely low during the installation. Update the operating system or restore the device from a backup, but the process fails, and iTunes no longer sees the device when you connect it. Upgrade from a beta version of iOS, and there’s a bug. See the Apple logo or Connect to iTunes icon onscreen for a few minutes with no change.
Restoring your iPhone using Recovery Mode lets you either update the OS or delete all data on the device. Ideally, you’ve got a recent backup of your data in iCloud or iTunes. If not, you may end up losing any data added between your last backup and now.
