iTunes wont recognise iPhone

In addition to this, (didn't know how to edit the top post) I can't seem to get into DFU mode. I don't know why. I have a slight worry that the home button doesn't work (hence why I can't go into DFU) but before this problem started the home button worked perfectly and I had no suspicion that it would break or anything. it still 'feels' like it works as a button

I somehow managed to fix it. 🙂

Solution:

It seems that iTunes could only recognise my phone if I plugged it in a certain way.

With the phone in one hand, I used my other hand to hold the cable (with thumb+ side of index finger) just under the head of the usb end.I then pushed the cable in (towards the phone). Without bending the cable, I slowly adjusted my hand till it worked. I knew this worked because I heard the notification sound from my pc.

This wasn't an issue of getting the right cable because I have used other cables which worked on other phones but not mine (this leads me to believe the port (hole) of my phone is slightly deeper than usual. that said i usually dont have this problem of needing to push the cable in to get it to work. I do however have a problem of getting cables that work (which could be relevant). My trusty one (which isnt actually trusty) works if i move it about and orientate it in a way that it works i.e. its very tempermental

well anyway....

Knowing all this, I held the phone in my armpit (to free up a hand), and again reoriented the hand holding the usb cable while pushing in towards the phone such that it worked (heard the notification sound from my laptop). with my other hand I started the process of restoring the ios on the pc.

NOW I HAD TO BE CAREFUL. If I moved out of position (even a little bit) the phone would disconnect and the restore would fail, so I had to painstakingly stay in position for the whole restore process. It took about 4 attempts but I succeeded in the end. You should watch out, even if itunes is still "extracting" the ios file my phone could still disconnect (i would only know if it disconnected when i get a failure message after it finishes extracting). i had to hold still throughout the extracting, the iphone checks, the actual iphone restoring process (where you see the loading bar on the phone) etc. after the extracting period, the notification sounds my pc makes when i plug something in went off occasionally which worried me, but i still kept still and in position throughout till i succeeded. so you cant necessarily trust the sounds completely

The restoring my backup process was not as painstaking. I plugged everything in, wiggled the cable a little till i could see my phone in itunes, then just restored the backup easily.

my hand aches from holding the cable for so long but i have succeeded in the end. I don't believe I have ever seen advice like what I have mentioned on the internet so i hope this will help everyone who seem to have tried everything without success