Q: ANY ONE KNOW WHAT IS ERROR 3 IN ITUNES WHEN I TRY TO RESTORE IPHONE 5 TO IOS 7 IT STUCKS IN THE END AND AFTER 30 MIN THIS COME OUT "UNKNOWN ERROR 3" CAN SOME ONE HELP ME PLZ

Just to add my sons experience with his FOUR MONTH old iPhone 4s. Last week it went to "Searching" as many others and he rang the support people. They told him to do all the usual stuff mentioned in this thread and as none of this worked, they talked him though an Itunes restore. As I'm sure you expect, it failed with error 3 at the update fimware point. At this point he was pretty much abandoned (and incomunicado) and then resorted to brother / father to help him get it working again. Thankfully, I found this thread and realised he was not alone! We tried all the listed solutions except the freezer, (because it was clearly under warranty) although I did switch it off for a while and try a cooler environment.

After no success, he was finally forced to make an appointment at the Leeds store (30 miles away). They did attempt to restore it themselves but they also failed and had to give him a brand new phone, with a new warranty!

I just wanted to add my personal thanks for your persistence/assistance with this matter.

Interestingly, today there is an article in the UK Daily Mail (dailymail.co.uk - Science Page) that bears a significant resemblence to the problems your correspondents have been experiencing. Perhaps this will add weight and further publicity to the issue and help to persuade Apple to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Keep making a noise!

Im gonna try your fix method...

Once I try I´ll comment here...

Thank you kennethyoung

any news?

thanks

None, im getting tired and angry.

Error 3 is a hardware error, presumably the antenna-- my phone went into searching three days ago, and when Apple Store tried to restore, that error came up and the phone could not be restored and that is the explanation I was given.

This is by the way the third phone apple will be replacing of mine since December 2012.  I bought Apple Care Plus, luckily.  I think it's kind of crazy to be coming up on my fourth phone in 16 months because of {different} technical faults with the hardware. 

Any luck?

It doesnt work in my iPhone 4S ... any other method to try?

the only method is to get your phone replaced! it's a hardware problem that can't be fixed...

@kristina195: well, i don't agree with your conclusion.  i had this same problem/error on an iPhone5.

The phone was stuck searching for LTE.  I attempted an upgrade to iOS 7.1.1 and the process failed with the now infamous Error 3.  The iPhone5 was stuck in recovery mode. I tried repeatedly to slog through this recovery mode to no avail.  So then I read through this support forum and read about  the "freezer fix" and decided to try that.  Guess what? It worked!

Are you saying there are other specific flavors of Error 3 for which replacement is the only option?  If so, which h/w errors specifically?

Can anyone from Apple shed some light on this??

Thank God, I got a solution for error 3.

Once I failed to restore due to error 3 i consulted Apple service and replied there is no solution with them other than replacement, for  that I have to pay 372 US Dollars. [in India there is no warrenty after one year]

I consulted a Third party technician in Mumbai, India. They fixed error with fees of 82 US Dollar. But the sim card network shows "NO SERVICE"

Any one need more details please feel free to call me

India Telelphone    0091-9846928103

Email   babymanjaly72@gmail.com 

Same problem on iPhone 5s iOS 7.1.1 signal showed "searching" eventhough I removed the SIM.. tried reseting network settings.. nothing worked. So I tried to restore, and got stuck!!!

Any solution??

You're right.  I'm lying.  They only gave me a new phone because they do not have freezers in the back of the Apple Store. I think that's why "put it in the freezer" doesn't show up on this list of suggestions on how to resolve HARDWARE ISSUES either: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3694#3  Translation of what's below next to "problema:: "CONTINUALLY SEARCHING TRIED RESTORE DFU ERROR 3" is what it says the problem is.  48 hours later my GSM model iPhone5 arrived for pick up.  Handle your problem however you wish.

No need for the snarky response kristina.  Your post simply said:

"the only method is to get your phone replaced! it's a hardware problem that can't be fixed..."

...and nothing more. 

There is another solution that is working for some of us, thanks to kennethyoung.  It is for this sort of help that some us seek out blogs like this.  Not to get reprimanded when we are trying to keep others informed with possible solutions.

Was your iPhone under a warranty?  Is that why they gave you a replacement?  Or did you get lucky and they decided they would be nice and give you a new phone?

And before you reprimand me again for not reading through your receipt, I am not fluent in Italian.

Check for hardware issues

Related errors: 1, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 1000, 1002, 1004, 1011, 1012, 1014, 1667, or 1669.

Try to restore your iOS device two more times while connected with a cable, computer, and network you know are good. Also, confirm your security software and settings are allowing communication between your device and update servers. If you still see the error message when you update or restore, contact Apple support.

This is very vague...What hardware issues are we talking about? If the phones are under warranty, then well and good. If not, then what?  Is it possible that  a software update will cause a hardware to fail???  I think Apple can do better than that.

We had my mother-in-law's iphone 5 replaced because it is under warranty, but the fear is still there. We have a total of 7 iphones in our family, what if it happens again? That is why we need to find a permanent solution for this. @kennethyoung's solution is great, but it is not 100%.  All of this is just guesswork because Apple did not specify which hardware is at fault.

it is a vague and lame response, though I suspect they don't want to write "your phone has to be replaced" so they say the nice thing "bring it in".  I bought my phone on 29 December 2012.  It was defective when I bought it and I had to fight with Apple for a replacement.  Less than six months later, some idiot at the AT&T store did an iOS upgrade (that I did not ask him to do), and that was corrupt.  It killed the battery because the phone kept getting stuck in loops and resetting. Apple replaced the battery, but couldn't fix the corruption issue and replaced the phone because in less than two weeks the battery was damaged again.  The third phone, after five weeks, within hours of being notified about the iOS upgrade, started "searching", and had to be replaced.  I am on my -FOURTH- iphone 5.  I think everything about it is pathetic, and I am lucky I have Apple Care +.  They are very hard to pin down on problems which are documented here, if you get the right person at the store, great, if not, you are told things like "It is completely normal for a brand new iPhone at 100% to last fewer than 5 hours even if you don't use it.  You need to adjust your expectations."   I have been extremely unlucky, and customer service has been inconsistent.