Let me reassure you: there are no dumb questions on this forum and we are always happy to help.
Now, I'm the one confused: You talk about downloading an update and at the same time you mention that your phone is disabled and needs to be restored.
If you need to do both, you have to start with restoring your iPhone and, for this, you need to use iTunes and you must let it finish. You cannot disconnect your iPhone while it is being restored. Once you iPhone is restored, you can proceed with the update.
Now, the recovery mode doesn't use Wi-Fi as far as I know. So your Wi-Fi has nothing to do with the recovery process.
Could you confirm that my understanding of your situation is correct?