iPhone stuck in recovery mode - error 40

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Level 1

4 points

iPhone stuck in recovery mode - error 40

Hi all,

My iPhone 5 is stuck in recovery mode. Won't restore on my MacBook Pro.

Not jailbroken, MacBook running OS X 10.6.8, latest iTunes (11.0.4). No third party anti-virus. iPhone recently unlocked for use on other networks.

The iPhone software was up to date, but has twice in the last fortnight cut out and had to be restored. This time it won't restore at all.

Any ideas? Could it be a hardware issue and not the 'can't connect' that some of the advice has mentioned?

Thanks in advance,

Tristan

iPhone 5

Posted on Jun 22, 2013 4:00 AM

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Answer 1

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griff w

Level 4

3,622 points

Jun 24, 2013 8:57 AM in response to TrisL

Hi there,

According to the article "iTunes: Specific update-and-restore error messages and advanced troubleshooting"

error 40 is usually caused by iTunes not being able to communicate with the update server.

These errors typically occur when security software interferes with the restore and update process. FollowTroubleshooting security software issues to resolve this issue. In rare cases, these errors may be a hardware issue. If the errors persist on another computer, the device may need service.

Also, check your hosts file to verify that it's not blocking iTunes from communicating with the update server. See iTunes: Advanced iTunes Store troubleshooting—follow steps under the heading Blocked by configuration (Mac OS X / Windows) > Rebuild network information > Mac OS X > The hosts file may also be blocking the iTunes Store. If you have software used to perform unauthorized modifications to the iOS device, uninstall this software prior to editing the hosts file to prevent that software from automatically modifying the hosts file again on restart.

If the troubleshoot steps above don't resolve the issue, I would recommend referring to the article for further steps and how to contact Apple Support.

-Griff W.

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