iOS 5 Update failed and iPhone 4 stuck on Apple Logo/Loading circle cycles

I am in the same boat... went through all the usual errors today, started with 3200, then 3014, then 3004 before finally having the reboot symptoms you describe... I've tried a bunch of things, including removing the sim card but can't get it to recover... I'm thinking this is an onsite visit for a replacement type of problem unfortunately.... as there is no USB activity either.

Same here... And I tried desperately removing the sim but in vain!!!

same problem here.

Any ideas to how solve it?

Okay, had the same problem and was able to get back to the "restore" deal where the phone askes to be plugged in via USB... make sure the 30pin connector is disconnected, hold both the Power and Home buttons down until it turns off (or appears to turn off)... if the apple logo comes back, repeat holding Power and Home again as soon as possible... eventually it will just turn off and the logo won't come back. If that doesn't work, you can try Power and Home first and on reboot just Power also, I've had mixed results.

Once you get it off... Hold the Home button and plug in the 30 pin while the USB side is plugged into your computer running Itunes.

That is where I am at and attempting to get the IOS 5 iphone software downloaded. says 9 hours to download it, so I won't be able to see if I can recover it for a while...

Hope this helps you out.

After a terrible day full of iPhone disasters, I followed these steps exactly and not only did it turn my phone on so I could actually use it, but once it was plugged in and restored, it had previously backed up all of my apps and information, which was then put directly back on my phone. AND it automatically downloaded iOS5.

Just to clarify, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your iPhone is disconnected from the USB cord.
2. Hold down the power button and the home button simultaneously. The Apple logo should appear - KEEP holding until it appears your iPhone is off.
3. Once your phone is off, plug JUST the USB portion of your cord into your computer (iPhone should not be connected yet).
4. Hold down the home button, and then plug in the 30 pin portion of the USB cord.
5. iTunes should give you specific steps after this point.

I also found it helpful to restart my computer before I tried any of the steps, as well as check for updates. Again, when I follwed these steps, it worked perfectly after an entire day of error messages, the Apple logo and loading screen alternating, etc. Big thanks to BigDog88! You brightened my day a trillion fold!

That did the trick!! Thanks so much. I can live again.

Thanks BigDog88, you've saved me a visit to the city :-)

Thank you BigDog and jburrs. That is a life saver. I so didn't want to drive to my apple store, and I thought it was un-recoverable. SUPER advice and it worked. THANK YOU THANK YOU! God bless!

Just want to send out my appreciation as well - was getting pretty frustrated trying different things. I'll have to remember this trick for when nothing else seems to work.

Thanks!

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

i am gonna spread your wisdom.

much love from Malaysia 🙂

I brought my unit to Globe (service provider) for repair. I should have read this earlier. Waited the whole night for the IOS 5 update. This is depressing

Thanks a million - it worked perfectly!

Gotta love the internet and support communities 😀

I can't thank you enough BigDog88... God bless you!

Not worked for me. It just endlessly keeps restarting itself. What are the options for getting on contact with someone at Apple to discuss this? Is it to just go to an Apple store?

I had the same thing, tried those steps (thanks very much for them) I was still failing until realized I had my computer docked and the USB connection was going though the Hub on the dock. It all worked when I undock my computer and connect the ipad directly to the computer with no other USB devices attached then did those steps above.