I need to restore my iPhone 6 to factory settings but the phone is frozen on "message indicating that I must connect to iTunes". I do this and try to restore and it is not successful. Please assist

2. When to Use iPhone Recovery Mode

Most of the time, we don't need to put the iPhone into Recovery Mode when we are trying to restore an iPhone. However, if your iPhone cannot be recognized in the following situations, you will need to get your iPhone into Recovery Mode:

• Installing a new iOS firmware.
• Updating iOS to the latest version (iOS 14 for now)
• Restoring iPhone from a backup
• Updating from a beta version of iOS to a public version
• iPhone Stuck on Apple logo, white screen, black screen, and others.

Please kindly note that using recovery mode to restore your iPhone will delete all the data and settings on your iPhone. Your iPhone will be like a new iPhone. It is always recommended that you backup your iPhone regularly, so that you can restore a backup to your iPhone when it has been restored.

3. How to Enter Recovery Mode

Steps for iPhone 8/X/11/12 to Enter Recovery Mode

1. Connect the device to your computer.
2. Quickly press the Volume Up button. Then quickly press the Volume Down button.
3. Press and hold the Side button until you see the "Connect to Computer" logo. Don't release the button when you see the Apple logo.

Steps for iPhone 7 to Enter Recovery Mode

1. Connect the device to your computer.
2. Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Side button at the same time. Don't release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.
3. Keep holding the buttons until you see "Connect to Computer" logo on the screen.

Steps for iPhone 6 & Earlier Models to Enter Recovery Mode

1. Connect the device to your computer.
2. Press and hold the Home button and Side button at the same time. Don't release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.
3. Keep holding the buttons until you see "Connect to Computer" logo on the screen

4. How to Exit Recovery Mode

You can exit iPhone Recovery Mode by force restarting your iPhone:

iPhone 8/X/11/12:

Quick press the Volume Up button and the Volume Down button. Then hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

iPhone 7:

Hold the Side button and Volume Down button together until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

iPhone 6 & Earlier Models:

Hold the Home button and the Side button together until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

If your iphone cannot be found : can be a hardware problem :

• try with another usb/lightning cable
• connect to another usb port on your pc
• check if there's no dirt/dust inside the lightning connector port on your iphone (happened to me : my phone didn't charge anymore. After removing the dirt it worked again. Carefully remove dust with a fine brush - be very very careful not to damage the internal contacts - I don't recommend using a needle)
• or maybe the lightning port on your iphone is broken (mine broke down for audio, when wiggling the lightning plug /cable it sometimes worked/didn't work for audio output, I guess this can affect data traffic too) -> then a repair shop is your last option.

some other possible fixes found on the web : (I just googled your error message)

2. Check Apple Mobile Device USB Driver

Sometimes, iTunes fails to recognize your iPhone because the Apple Mobile Device USB driver is not or improperly installed. So you can check Device Manager to see if the Apple Mobile Device USB driver is rightly installed. Follow these steps to open Device Manager:

Press the Windows and R key on your keyboard to open the Run command.

In the Run window, enter devmgmt.msc, then click OK. Device Manager should open.

Locate and expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section.

Look for the Apple Mobile Device USB driver.

3. Uninstall the Antivirus or Firewall Apps

Sometimes, the antivirus or firewall apps may cause the connection failure between iPhone and PC, and that's why the iTunes can not recognize your iPhone. To solve the issue, you can uninstall the antivirus and firewall apps temporarily. After iTunes detects your iPhone and finishes restoring, you can reinstall those apps.

4. Update iTunes to the Latest Version

Generally the issue of restoring, including the error message 'The iPhone cannot be restored. The device cannot be found', arises when the iTunes application is not updated to its latest version. To get this done, here's the step by step tutorial.q

6. Restore with iTunes using Recovery Mode

In this section, we are going to know how to use the 'Recovery mode' to restore your iPhone to factory settings with iTunes. This only works for people who have never tried this method.

Launch iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone with your computer using the lightning cable.

Put your device into Recovery mode. When your iPhone is in recovery mode, you will see the "Connect to iTunes" logo or a cable pointing to the PC on the screen.

iTunes will detect your iPhone in recovery mode and ask you to restore your device. Click OK on the screen and then click Restore iPhone to get your iPhone restored. Wait for a short while and it will finish soon. Then you can set up your iPhone which is like a new device now.

hello,

If your iphone is stuck : Try soft reset first (on iphone 6) : push and hold down home button and sleep/wake button at the same time, keep both buttons pressed down until apple logo appears, then release.

You can then reset your phone to factory settings without itunes : go to Settings / General / Reset / Erase all content and Settings

[Edited by Moderator]

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

If you encounter any errors reply with the full text of the error message.

Then you can try recovery mode :

Force quit iTunes. Press COMMAND+OPTION+ESC, click on iTunes and click Force Quit.