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Level 1

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How do I unlock iPhone without losing pictures/videos?

HELP! I was updating the latest operating system on my iphone4, but it got stuck in recovery mode. The screen shows an Itunes logo, a USB and an arrow from the USB to the Itunes logo. In Itunes, it says "iTunes has detected a phone in recovery mode. You must restore this phone before it can be used with iTunes." There is no error message or error number. I clicked on the "Restore" button, but it said it will erase everything by restoring the original factory settings. How do I fix this problem without losing all the pictures and videos I took with the phone? Nothing has been transferred to or from the phone except contacts. I only have two songs on the ipod portion of the phone, but would like to preserve them if possible. Please help me save my pictures and videos!

Message was edited by: Viceman010

Dell Optiplex GX270, Windows XP Pro

Posted on Mar 23, 2011 7:02 PM

31 replies

Mac-Medic

Level 6

17,301 points

Mar 24, 2011 6:20 PM in response to Viceman010

Great news! You might want to stick with iOS 4.2.1, as some people are having graphic issues with 4.3. I would go and do a manual restore of iOS 4.2.1 at this point though. Just do a backup in iTunes first and then restore as outlined in my link.

Basic troubleshooting steps.

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M.H.esq

Level 1

8 points

Mar 24, 2011 7:35 PM in response to roaminggnome

Hello, how do I transfer my phone from my pc to new macbook pro, I have transferred my contacts from outlook to macbook pro as well as music library. Not sure on apps or actual phone

Viceman010 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2011 12:17 PM in response to roaminggnome

Roaminggnone,

Thank you for your interest in helping me. There was no misunderstanding regarding syncing an iPhone to a computer. I did that for the phone book since the data is so small as opposed to massive video file sizes. Other than one ring tone and one song, I have never had any interest in loading anything from a computer to my phone.

Having a phone closely tied to a home computer is not what I prefer, but that's the reality of this type of 21st century product. However, backing up photo and video is something I viewed as safeguard from a lost, stolen or damaged phone; not from a software update compromising the phone. It's still somewhat of a nuisance to repeatedly be connecting a phone to a computer, and a phone should not be so easily vulnerable to crashing or locking. I'm sure there will be future software updates and iPhone models to better avoid this scenario.

I'm very thankful you were on this forum to help out and try your best. However, to give up so easily without any idea or suggestions of recovery methods was disappointing ("I doubt that there is anything you can do now. Sorry.") Again, I know you meant well and sympathized with my plight and nobody can be expected to have all the answers.

Fortunately, Mac Medic was immediately helpful with a several ideas to recover my data. The RecBoot utility was the perfect solution in my case. Google searches reveal others that have helped people with similar difficulties, so there are legitimate rescue methods available out there. Please pass the word around to others who encounter a similar situation. My thanks for your time and presence on this forum.

VM

TriniG

Level 1

81 points

Mar 25, 2011 1:14 PM in response to M.H.esq

M.H.Esq, it's not polite to hijack someone else's thread. You should create your own thread after you have done a search in discussions and have not found an answer you are looking for. More than likely you will find this answer under migrating data from PC to Mac. After you transfer everything, try syncing to the new computer. You may get a message saying that your iPhone was synced to another computer and if you want to sync to a new computer it will erase everything on your iPhone and sync with the contents from the new iPhone. That's why you need to migrate your data first.

Mar 25, 2011 6:03 PM in response to Viceman010

Tinyumbrella may help you, it has options to kick the phone out of recovery, or if you put the phone in DFU mode an option to fix recovery will be highlighted

Viceman010 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 28, 2011 10:52 AM in response to Mac-Medic

If I've already backed up my address book on my computer and my photos/videos on an external hard drive, what else is there to back up on iTunes? Is there some type of general OS backup through iTunes as well (i.e. Firmware backup)? Wouldn't a manual restore then erase everything (not including apps)? Once bitten, twice shy...

roaminggnome

Level 10

106,365 points

Mar 28, 2011 11:07 AM in response to Viceman010

" However, to give up so easily without any idea or suggestions of recovery methods was disappointing ("I doubt that there is anything you can do now. Sorry.") Again, I know you meant well and sympathized with my plight and nobody can be expected to have all the answers."

This is true. We each answer to the best of our ability. Giving up is not the same as not knowing. These programs that solved you issue are outside of the normal design and intent of the iphone and are not supported by Apple. As such, I have no knowledge or experience with these options

Mac Medic came with the answer 11 minutes after my last post. Was there a need to duplicate this response in order to avoid disappointing you?

I will certainly mention these other options in the future.

I am glad that your issue is resolved.

Hopefully understanding the design and intended use of the iphone will help you in the future, as was my intent.

Viceman010 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 28, 2011 1:05 PM in response to roaminggnome

roaminggnome,

You've misunderstood the context of my reply to you. It was absolutely nothing personal and I carefully worded my remarks to avoid making it appear sarcastic. I regret it if I fell short. I'm well aware it's not just a telephone, but a sophisticated mini computer which is rather fragile since mine locked due to a software update. I have never seen a real computer lock or crash like the my iPhone did during a Windows Update. This fragility necessitates backing up data on a home computer, although people don't typically back up their home computer data with an external hard drive or something similar.

It had nothing to do with avoiding you "disappointing" me, only that your statement implied it was a lost cause and we should leave it at that. I would have said something more along the lines of "I don't know of any ideas (supported by Apple), but there could very well be someone else who does" or "I'll do some research and let you know if I find anything". Both remarks would address the 11 minute issue as well. Again, no hard feelings and thanks for looking out for me and other users during our times of crises:)

sme17

Level 1

0 points

Nov 2, 2013 11:46 AM in response to Viceman010

Hello Viceman010 and Mac Medic (be@MacOSG.com) ,

I am having the same issue with an iPhone 4s! Very, very frustrated with Apple right now. I have hundreds of photos on my iPhone that I did not get a chance to back up and don't have the iCloud working. I read both of your messages here and they are all very informative. Thank you very much for posting.

However, my laptop OS is windows 8 and a 64 bit - cannot run the RecBoot unless the OS is windows xp or 7. I tried RecBoot off a friend's mac, but I'm a novice on a mac and could not run the .exe file. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Feb 5, 2014 8:37 AM in response to Viceman010

i backed up all the stuff on my ipod but recently i went on a vacation with my friends n forgot to take my camara, so i took pictures from my ipod. now when i came to sync the pictures and videos of the vacation, I forgot my password and now i have no clue of what it was........ please is there anyway that i can get this to open so i can store those memories in my computer?????????

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,747 points

Feb 5, 2014 8:39 AM in response to chamal de costa

No. You're going to lose them. If there were a way to bypass the passcode, it would be wothless.

Feb 5, 2014 8:49 AM in response to KiltedTim

what if i recover the ipod, then will those pictures b there

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,747 points

Feb 5, 2014 8:51 AM in response to chamal de costa

No. If you "recover" the iPod, it will be completely erased and iOS re-installed. If they are not already backed up, you're out of luck.

Feb 5, 2014 8:59 AM in response to KiltedTim

no everything is backedup except for the pictures ans vidoes that i took on the vacation, they are very presious to me, if you can please help me to save them in anyway

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,747 points

Feb 5, 2014 9:02 AM in response to chamal de costa

There is NOTHING you can do to save them. If they were not backed up, it is too late to back them up now. The only hope is IF you had iCloud backups turned on, you can plug it into power where it can connect to a WiFi network it knows and maybe they will be backed up over night. Provided the device isn't already disabled.

How do I unlock iPhone without losing pictures/videos?