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User profile for user: Tuffy Nicolas
Tuffy Nicolas Author
User level: Level 2
272 points

"The iPhone 'iPhone' could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (10)." iPhone now stuck on "Recovery Mode" screen. How to proceed?

Trying to restore an iPhone 14 to factory settings. (No important data on phone -- OK if memory is totally wiped.)


At first tried connecting the phone to a MacBook (Big Sur OS) for the restore, but for some reason the Finder wouldn't recognize the phone. So instead, I connected the phone (while in Recovery Mode) to an iMac running iTunes in El Capitan. This time the computer recognized the phone, downloaded the restore software package, "extracted" the software, started to install it, and then -- got the error message in the title: "The iPhone 'iPhone' could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (10)."


Subsequently, also as noted in the title, when I now simply turn on the iPhone, it now automatically goes into the "Recovery Mode" screen, even if I simply press the power button without doing the up/down volume button trick.


Problem is, the Big Sur MacBook still won't recognize the existence of the phone, and the El Capitan iMac can't update it, and the phone's iOS is apparently messed up due to being only partly installed, so all I can get is the Recovery mode screen, so I can't restore just using the iPhone itself.


How can I proceed from here to get the iPhone fully restored to factory settings?

iPhone 14

Posted on Oct 19, 2023 5:14 PM

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User profile for user: raman.bhadu
raman.bhadu
User level: Level 1
12 points

Posted on Jan 10, 2024 10:26 PM

my 12 mini is also stuck due to this error and I am unable to solve this

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User profile for user: Tuffy Nicolas
Tuffy Nicolas Author
User level: Level 2
272 points

Oct 20, 2023 11:56 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Well, I finally got the iPhone restored, but only after multiple attempts, restarts, and aborted software downloads and installations. Even though I was ultimately successful, I still don't know what the problem was. I disabled all security software, was using Apple cables and connectors, had the latest updated version of MacOS running on the computer, etc. etc., but for some reason the connection to the iPhone was balky and inconsistent, the software download kept getting interrupted and stalling, the Finder kept freezing up, the extraction and installing of the iOS kept quitting unexpectedly, and so on. I just kept trying over and over for several hours, and EVENTUALLY it all got completed and the iPhone's iOS was restored. So, thank you, although I'll never really know what the actual problem was.


I will say that your "DFU restore" link was excellent, and even though I didn't need to use it, I am definitely bookmarking that page for future reference! Thank you.

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User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
User level: Level 10
211,964 points

Jan 12, 2024 7:06 AM in response to raman.bhadu

From an Apple support article:


If you see error 10, your iOS device might have a newer version of iOS than is supported by your computer. You'll need to update the software on your Mac or iTunes on Windows before you can update or restore your iOS device.

macOS 10.11 and later:

  1. Disconnect and then reconnect your iOS device to your computer. You might need to unlock your iOS device before it is recognized by your Mac.
  2. When you see a message that says a software update is required to connect to your iOS device, click Install to download and install the software so your Mac can update or restore your iOS device.

Windows: Update to latest version of iTunes.

If you continue to see error 10, or you don't see a dialog asking you to update the software on your mac, contact Apple Support.

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User profile for user: Tuffy Nicolas
Tuffy Nicolas Author
User level: Level 2
272 points

Oct 19, 2023 6:15 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thanks for the reply and the video, but it doesn't solve my problem. As I said, at first my MacBook with Big Sur wouldn't even recognize the existence of the iPhone in the Finder. I finally got past that problem by fiddling around with different cables, so now the Big Sur Finder "sees" the iPhone. But now when I click on the "Restore IPhone" button, literally nothing happens. So I'm still stuck. In fact, the Finder window refers to the iPhone as "iOS device," and can't even tell if it's an iPhone or something else -- the phone's iOS must be completely corrupted by now, due to the earlier incomplete attempt at restoring it. So -- still looking for a solution.

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User profile for user: Lawrence Finch
Lawrence Finch
User level: Level 10
211,964 points

Oct 19, 2023 6:20 PM in response to Tuffy Nicolas

Did you follow the instructions in link and the video EXACTLY as described and displayed?


Finder will not be able to identify the type of device until it has be restored. Yes, iOS on the phone is corrupted, but that is irrelevant, because restoring does not require that iOS even exist on the phone. It uses a low level ROM kernel to restore.


You can try a DFU restore→How To Put An iPhone In DFU Mode, The Apple Way, which uses an even lower level boot loader.

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"The iPhone 'iPhone' could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (10)." iPhone now stuck on "Recovery Mode" screen. How to proceed?

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