ipad won't restore, unknown error (1)

Hi all I'm new here (first post) but I thought I'd fill you in on my experience with this issue. I have an ipad1 32g wifi + 3G, I also have 2 x iPhone 4. I up dated the iPhones to IOS 5 with no problems at all, it was a breeze, so I thought I'd do my ipad too. It done the same thing everyone here has spoken of, ending up in an endless loop, telling me it needed to restore, but then telling me it couldn't restore and giving me error - 1. I took my iPad to the apple store, sat at the genius bar and proceeded tosit and watch while the genius ended up having the same issues as I did. He checked the error code and told me that even apple don't have a explanation for error code 1. He then proceeded t get the floor manager to come and have a look, and of course, the same result was achieved. After sitting there for almost an hour and a half the STORE manager comes over and tells me there is simply no explanation for error 1. He told me that my iPad was about 6 months out of warranty (which I was already aware of) HOWEVER he then proceeded to explain that apples policy in that circumstance was to replace my iPad then and there on the spot for no charge whatsoever, due to the fact that (as he put it) the device **** itself whilst running an apple recomended iOS update, using apple software (iTunes). To say I was a little surprised and pleased is an understatement. I fully believe like everyone else here that we shouldn't have to pay for a new iPad because apples update doesn't agree with some idevices however I expected that after reading the posts here before i went to the store that I would have to pay for a new one. The apple store at Charlestown NSW australia, were extremely professional and the genius I spoke to was more than helpful. They did however put a note against the serial number of my replacement iPad within apples database that they strongly recommended to me that I SHOULD NOT try upgrading to iOS 5 and that I should wait until the next iOS release to try the upgrade. Covering themselves I guess incase I went straight home, tried to update the new one to iOS 5 and the same thing happened, I guess they didn't want to be giving me a new one every couple of days lol

I am having the same problem trying to upgrade my iphone 4 to ios 5 which results in an unknowen error (-1). I did try atleast 8 ~ 9 times unsuccessfully. Please help! I have been using my Galaxy S2 which is not bad at all, however miss my contacts, music and lots of pics etc.... I might become a fan if can't resolve this problem cause i am not going to buy a device that will be damaged by its creators???

Just wanted to echo some of the comments on this thread. I was having the exact same problems, and was able to get a new iPad today at my local Apple Store.

Be sure to ask for the Store Manager. I had to repeat my request for a manager from the genius who was helping me, but eventually he called her and she replaced my iPad immediately. Stay strong; do not let the Genius Bar tell you that you have to call Apple Care. The store can and will replace the iPad.

Yep. Tried upgrading my wife's iPad 1 (16gb 3G) to iOS5 last night ran into the same exact problem as everyone else. Looks like it's an issue with this model iPad and the new OS. I'd rather not have to jailbreak the thing to get it working again—so looks like an angry trip to the Apple Store is in order for tonight.

Definitely not paying for a new iPad when it was working fine, but we tried to upgrade the software after the CONSTANT PROMPTING from the iPad itself and now it's not working. Definitely Apple's responsibility to resolve the issue. 😠

I have a post about this already. It is basically the same story as everyone else. But in short, my iPad 1 (16GB 3G) bricked when I tried to upgrade to IOS 5. The Genius at the Apple Store tried his best to get it to restore and upgrade but it stayed in the dreaded restore loop. He said it was a "hardware" issue. My hardware, which was working just fine, happened to break just when I was doing the upgrade. Since it was out of warranty, he said he could give me a reconditioned iPad 1 which would take the upgrade for $319.00. I declined the "generous" offer and left the store. An outside repair shop was able to get my iPad to work at the IOS 4.3.5 level with a warning not to try to upgrade to IOS 5.0.

Yesterday I returned to the Apple Store and spoke to a different Genius. I had with me my perfectly working iPad 1 and asked if he would upgrade it to IOS 5. I was honest with him about my experience and he conferred with his Senior Genius. He said if it broke when they tried to upgrade it, it would still not be covered by Apple and the $319.00 for a reconditioned iPad 1 would stand. I did not try to upgrade it again.

Besides writing a scathing letter to Apple, do I have any other options? Also, IOS 5.01 has been released. Has anyone with an iPad 1 tried this upgrade?

Apple says IOS 5 will work on the iPad 1. For some (many) of us it does not. Why?

Hi, I got the same problem and I just paid for it for $100. What number did you call? 800-275-2273?

I bought an apple tv about 3 weeks ago and had this exact issue when upgrading to 4.4 via itunes. although it was unable to restore error (11), completely bricked the device and was just stuck in an endless loop. Luckily i'd only bought it 3 days earlier so I decided to just get my money back, particularly as I was on my 9th or 10th faulty ipad in a row!

I think apple are experiencing serious problems at the moment on the software front. Not sure why, but there is absolutely no way anybody should be paying for replacements even outside of warranty when its clearly an issue at apples end.

I'd strongly recommend anyone who is told they have to pay money for a resolution speak to trading standards (in the uk) or the equivalent regulatory body in your country.....

Having to pay for a replacement in this scenario is like if you bought a house from a property developer but declined his offer to fit a burglar alarm, then he comes back and robs your house, you go to court and the judge tells you he's not responsible cos you didn't buy his burglar alarm!

I am having the same problem trying to upgrade my iphone 4 to ios 5 which results in an unknowen error (-1). I did try atleast 8 ~ 9 times unsuccessfully. Please help! I have been using my 3gs i phone

Same exact problem here. Being going crazy trying to fix it - it's been probably 14 hours now, and still no luck, always the same error (1) message each time. I'm currently in Austria, no Apple Store in the entire country, and called back to the States to ask Apple Care what to do about this - they were no help, saying I should mail my iPhone 4 back so they could look at it. I'm not paying half the cost of the phone in shipping just for them to look at it...I think this was the final straw for me as far as it comes to Apple products. They work great until they have a problem, then you're screwed. Bad business model, bad customer service. This isn't how Apple should run...

After trying everything else, that's the fix that worked for me: http://www.cultofmac.com/125326/potential-fix-for-ios-5-bricked-first-gen-ipads/

I had the same problem when trying to upgrade from iOS 5 to iOS 5.1 on my iPAD 2 64 gb Verizon 3G. The Apple Store confirmed the problem and was unable to restore my iPAD. They offered an exchange for a rebuilt iPAD of the same model. The Apple support at the store mentioned that they have seen this a few times and attribute it to a hardware problem that shows up sometimes when upgrading to a newer iOS version.

I would just like to chime in that I have the exact same problem with my clean non-jailbroken iPhone 4S (5.1). I was having baseband reset issues the other day so I tried a network reset first, which didn't help, then tried a full restore through iTunes and restore failed, leaving my phone in the recovery mode. Now I keep getting iTunes Restore Error 1 everytime I try to restore. Tried two different Macs and two different usb cables and different usb ports. Even tried putting my phone into DFU mode and trying to restore through iTunes. Working suggestions posted here for iPad don't work for me either since this is an iPhone 4S and none of those "third party" tools suggested support iPhone 4S yet. Apple really needs to provide a new update soon to resolve this problem. I baby my phone and try to do everyting the legit "Apple recommended" way and don't wanna have to rely on anyone's third party solutions (which are not yet available for my case anyway)

Have you had any luck at all? Mine has just done the same and I am trying everything to get it to work again but to no avail! So frustrating!

Nope. I pretty much tried all legit means to resolve the problem on my own. Finally took it to Apple's authorized technical service here in Turkey. After it spent a few days at their service facility I was given a brand new non-refurb replacement iPhone. No problems ever since... and I'm using the same exact apps and setup. Tech service did not give me any explanation as to the cause of the problem, so I guess maybe the memory on the old one went bad and that's why all my attempts to restore it failed.