phone stuck on connect to itunes screen after update attempt

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phone stuck on connect to itunes screen after update attempt

Hi, hope someone can help me. I connected my iPhone to my computer to transfer my photos from the phone to the PC. I have automatic syncing turned off.

When I connected, I was prompted to update the iTunes version, which I did. It's now version 9. Then I attempted to update the iPhone version. I got a message saying I had to transfer my purchases first, which I did. Then I tried the update again. The update seemed to take awhile, then I got a message saying it failed. There was a "More Information" button which just prompted me to send info to Apple, which I did. Unfortunately I didn't save the info.

At that point all my iPhone info no longer showed in iTunes, and the only active option is Restore. It does say "Your iPhone software is up to date," which would seem to indicate that the update did work...I tried disconnecting and reconnecting my phone. When I do this, I get the message "iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore this iPhone before it can be used with iTunes."

I would rather not Restore the phone unless I have no other options, since I have 600 pics, contacts, etc on the phone...Of course not backed up since this is the first time I've tried to transfer data.

So I tried a few things:

- I disconnected and reconnected the phone several times.
- I restarted the computer several times.
- I went to the Apple site and tried the troubleshooting steps for "stuck on connect to itunes screen" (which is what my phone is currently doing).
- I ran the diagnostic checks in iTunes (output below - I ran this while the phone was plugged in yet it says it's not found).
- I held down the Home and the Sleep/Wake button until I see the Apple icon.
- I went to My Computer > Manage and tried to update drivers, but the phone doesn't show in the device manager.
- I tried a different USB port and there are no other devices connected to the machine.

Nothing worked, my phone is stuck on the connect to iTunes screen and I get the error message every time I plug it in. I haven't tried another computer bc I don't have one and I'm not sure how to create/use another user account on this machine.

I wouldn't mind calling support but my phone doesn't work...Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

============

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
ASUSTeK Computer INC. 1005HA
iTunes 9.1.0.79
QuickTime 7.6.6
FairPlay 1.7.16
Apple Application Support 1.2.1
iPod Updater Library 9.0d11
CD Driver 2.2.0.1
CD Driver DLL 2.1.1.1
Apple Mobile Device 3.0.0.102
Apple Mobile Device Driver 1.46.0.0
Bonjour 2.0.0.34 (214.3)

Current user is an administrator.
The current local date and time is 2010-03-31 02:42:39.
iTunes is not running in safe mode.

Video Display Information

Mobile Intel(R) 945 Express Chipset Family
Mobile Intel(R) 945 Express Chipset Family

** External Plug-ins Information **

No external plug-ins installed.

** Network Connectivity Tests **

Active Connection: LAN Connection
Connected: Yes
Online: Yes
Using Modem: No
Using LAN: Yes
Using Proxy: No
SSL 3.0 Support: Enabled
TLS 1.0 Support: Enabled

Firewall Information

Windows Firewall is off.

Connection attempt to Apple web site was successful.
Connection attempt to iTunes Store was successful.
Secure connection attempt to iTunes Store was successful.
Secure connection attempt to iPhone activation server was successful.
Last successful store access was 2010-03-31 02:22:42.

** iPod/iPhone Connectivity Tests **

iPodService 9.1.0.79 is currently running.
iTunesHelper 9.1.0.79 is currently running.
Apple Mobile Device service 3.0.0.0 is currently running.

Universal Serial Bus Controllers:

Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C8. Device is working properly.
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C9. Device is working properly.
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CA. Device is working properly.
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CB. Device is working properly.
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 27CC. Device is working properly.

No FireWire (IEEE 1394) Host Controller found.

Most Recent Device Not Currently Connected:

Fifth Generation iPod (iPod with video) running firmware version 1.3

iPhone 3G running firmware version 3.0

** iPhone/iPod Touch Sync Tests **

No iPhone or iPod found.

Message was edited by: gobblygook

Message was edited by: gobblygook

Asus eee, Windows XP

Posted on Mar 31, 2010 12:32 AM

Reply

Answer 1

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Mar 31, 2010 1:54 AM in response to gobblygook

Your only choice at this point is to restore your iphone. Since it appears from your post that you have never synced to this computer, you of course will not have a backup to restore from. That means your only choice is to restore as a new device & re-sync your itunes content. Unfortunately, all of your contacts, calendars, pics in your camera roll, etc., will be lost. Its not a good idea to use the iphone or any phone for that matter as a storage device, as things like this can & do happen. You should be syncing on a regular basis. The first thing done when you do sync is an iphone backup. You should also transfer pics in your camera roll to a supported application on your computer on a regular basis, much like any digital camera. You can always sync pics back to your phone, but if the only copies are on the phone, you run the risk of losing them.

See if you can force the phone into recovery mode:

Leave the USB cable connected to your computer, but NOT your phone, itunes running, press & hold the home button while connecting the USB cable to your dock connector, continue holding the home button until you see “Connect to iTunes” on the screen. You may now release the home button. iTunes should now display that it has detected your phone in recovery mode, if not quit and reopen iTunes. If you still don’t see the recovery message repeat these steps again. iTunes will give you the option to restore from a backup or set up as new.

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Answer 2

gobblygook Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 31, 2010 2:07 AM in response to wjosten

thanks for your reply wjosten. i understand that it's not a good idea to store everything on my phone.

it seems like the phone is already in recovery mode based on the message itunes is giving me.

is there any way to get out of recovery mode with a 3G and have my phone return to normal? i realize you already said my only option is to restore, however i've seen a few sites/videos that say it's possible to exit recovery mode.

not sure if that's only if it didn't go into recovery mode due to a failed update in the first place. the exit methods i've tried haven't worked.

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Answer 3

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Mar 31, 2010 2:13 AM in response to gobblygook

What's most likely happened is that the firmware upgrade failed, thus leaving you in the state you're in now. Of course, without a functioning OS, your phone is useless until its restored. In your case, that means restoring as new, since there is no backup to restore from. I wish I had better news, but until you get your phone functioning again there's not much you can do...there is no magical combination of button pushing that's gonna fix this.

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