Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Restore iPhone with error 13 or 1611 in iTunes

I had a user who accidentally unplugged their iPhone 3G while it was in the middle of updating. It appeared to render the phone useless, and trying to restore it didn't work. I even tried using recovery mode but that didn't help either. iTunes would get to a point where it would say "Preparing iPhone for Restore", then fail with error 13 or error 1611. Needless to say I called Apple iPhone support and they said it was a hardware issue that required me to send it in. However, while I was waiting for the Apple support person to finish writing up my case, I found the answer to fix it without the need to pay or send it away. It's called DFU mode, which is a step beyond Recovery mode. It boots the phone, but doesn't allow the OS to load, which then is supposed to allow you to downgrade, upgrade, or restore the phone. Thanks iHackintosh.com!

To enter DFU mode:
1. Connect your iPhone to your computer
2 . Turn iPhone off. You may have to hold the power and home buttons down together to force the phone off
3. Once the phone is off, hold the power and home buttons together for 10 seconds exactly
4. After 10 seconds, release the power button but keep holding home until the computer recognizes that a USB device was plugged in
5. iTunes should detect your iPhone correctly, and also allow you to restore to the factory default settings

Note that the screen should be black, even though the phone is on and recognized by the computer. If the Restore Logo is present on the phone's screen (it's the iTunes logo, CD with musical notes, and the picture of the cord), you are in Recovery Mode. If this is the case, shut the phone off and start over at step #3.


19 comments:

deadpool84 said...

THANK YOU!!!

Unknown said...

Thanks, you have saved me from murdering any employees tomorrow!

rslygh said...

You're welcome. I'm happy to hear this has been helpful.

Shaman said...

Also, if you've jailbroken your phone and need to get it back to it's pre-jailbreak/unlocked state to take it into the store or something you can do this, a bit more complicated, but very similar: http://iphoneunlockprogram.com/index.php/2009/10/how-to-restore-iphone-after-jailbreak/

Unknown said...

Thanks very much,it worked like a charm.

Daedelas

F1rE said...

Hi guys pls help me i have a huge problem with my 3GS i have it for 3 days and when i try to restore it in recovery mode not works not eaven in DFU mode when when the apple appears and the loading line apears in 3 seconds it restarts itself over and over again and i get error 1611 pls help me i tryed everthing over inet. i`d be verry happy if i fix it 10x !!!

rslygh said...

Hi F1rE,

Sorry to hear you're having issues with the phone. Even more sorry to tell you that if you can't get the phone to restore in recovery or DFU mode, it's likely that you're going to have to have Apple look at it. The good news is that since you have a 3Gs, it should still be covered under warranty and you shouldn't have to worry about the problem on your own.

Walk the Talk said...

Eternal gratitude to you! My iPhone went 1611 just hours before I had to get on a transatlantic flight. You saved me. Thanks!

F1rE said...

I still didnt restore it from 1 month ...:( i tryed everything all over the internet...what should i do if my iphone is not having warranty i buy it from a guy with no warrant :(

rslygh said...

F1rE,

Sorry again, but if your phone is not covered under warranty, and it will not restore when in DFU mode, I think you're out of luck. I did notice in your first post you mentioned the Apple logo screen, which shouldn't appear when you're in DFU mode. You may want to make sure you're getting into DFU mode first before giving up on it, but if it is indeed getting there and still not working I believe you have a bricked iPhone and would need to purchase a new one.

F1rE said...

Hey rslygh i think i have a chance ! tell me if it`s true...i`ve heard that it must be released a bootrom update for the iphone and then it should work...

rslygh said...

Sorry F1rE, but I don't know the answer to that. You might as well try it if your phone is already bricked. You could try downgrading the phone as well in case that would somehow help and if you can get it to work. I've never done it myself, but this article gives a walkthrough: http://www.ehow.com/how_2214485_downgrade-iphone-firmware.html or I believe you can just hold down the Option key on a Mac when you start iTunes to see a firmware option for a phone. Feel free to Google other downgrade instructions/walkthroughs, but I'm not very familiar with them other than knowing that they're out there. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

OMG. F1rE and I have the same problem!!!
Everytime I try to restore it both DFU and recovery, it restarts and goes back to Recovery. >___< I hope this one's not a hardware problem.

To F1rE, have you solved that issue yet? If you did, please share.

Walied said...

guys i have a couple of Q !

1st if the F**uckin restoration got errors how can i get back from the screen of the usb & i-tunes

2nd can i access the i-phone with anyrpog like disk aid & the programs that allows you to enter your i-phone files & delete all files from it .

thanks

Unknown said...

Works perfectly! This should be in the wiki, thanks a bunch! -kze

Anonymous said...

i cannot get it to go to a black screen! it never says how to do it right. if i have to hold the power and home button down to turn it off, then what? i release them and then immediately hold them both down again? i keep getting apple logo then connect to itunes screen no matter what i do.

i am so sick of failing technology. so sick of it.

rslygh said...

If you're stuck in the recovery mode try using Recboot.exe to force it out of recovery. That might help you if you're stuck in the recovery mode loop. I'll leave it up to you to find a source for Recboot that you feel is trustworthy though.

Pickle said...

OMG Thank you so much! it finally worked

Pasha said...

Thank you SOOO much, i had almost given up having tried all the other suggestions made
you are a STAR