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

Hi Berty,

You are very welcome ! I'm glad to hear you are part of the ~75% that my "Freezer Physics" solution works for. I an still hopeful Apple will eventually step up and fix this issue for its users.

hi all. It seems I have the same problem as all the people on here. I have an iPhone 4s that is stuck in the iTunes loop and have tried all the things that you recommend. to no avail.I still just get the error 3 message at the end of trying reinstall. I even phoned apple and the chap there said I cant restore because it is still in someone's account. And until they delete it it wont reinstall my phone was bought off eBay. And the person I bought it off said that she wasn't the original owner of the phone and that she bought it second hand so please be aware of this when buying of this site. Now Im left will a nice looking expensive door stop. unless anyone can help me. thanks in anticipation. 

Thanks again,

I just need to sort out the activation issue now, been on to Three here in the UK and asked them to unlock the phone which they say they will do within 7 days and email me details.  But I am not sure if that will work as I can't get past the Activation screen on the phone at the moment even with a Three sim installed in the phone it won't activate and it has never been Jailbroken as it belonged to a family member until yesterday.  Hence why I wiped it and started with the previous issue, lol.  Good old Apple making things complicated.

I've discussed error 3 with Apple support on the phone now, they've confirmed that it's a hardware fault and the phone is basically a write-off. As my phone is 13 months old Apple want £216 to replace it. This is the last Apple product I ever buy.

Hi Jamie,

I am sure they would have told me the same thing, but as I basically had a paperweight as it was.  I thought putting it in the freeze all day whilst I was out at work would be worth a shot.  And as I said above, it actually sorted my issue out and no more error 3.  I just need to sort out the activation bit now, so give it a try.

I have to say I'm amazed that you have kept up with this topic for so long, not everyone does, specially after resolving their issue. I thank you for that.

I'm having this error 3 issue with a friend's iPhone 5. Tries the freezer method, I wrapped it in paper towels twice for 40mins and it didn't work. I have yet to try it with the ziploc bag and rice for a longer time and on a different computer or doing it with the phone still in the freezer. I've seen perseverance worked for one of the guys so I'm not quitting yet, haha. Anyways, my sister can fix and change parts because she works at it, question is, replacing the motherboard would also work? In case everything else fails.

Again, thanks!

Well I spoke too soon, after having received details of the Factory Unlock being completed by three mobile I was told that I would need to do a restore through iTunes again.  So I am back at the same point again and even with the freezer trick again for over 16 hours the phone is still failing at the same point.  I am now completely fed up with trying to get it working I will now walk away from Apple and it's iPhone and stay with my Windows Phone.

I cannot believe that a company such as Apple would still continue to ignore this error and not resolve it given that they know how to resolve the issue.  I now have a bricked phone and no way forward with it at all as I can't even get an older version of iOS onto it.

What a waste of time and money!

hi kennethyoung i somehow got through with error 3 but now my iphone 5 is not getting activated,there is some problem with imei or something i fell...hv u come across such problem

Hey Kenneth,

I've spent an afternoon reading 38 pages to understand the problem involved and find a fix.

Thanks a lot for the wonderful support you are providing fellow users. It is a highly commendable contribution.

Mine is a factory unlocked iphone 5. While I updated OTA to 7.1.2, there was no problem at all. The problem started when I switched on 3G and was unable to lock on to the network. Switching back to 2G didn't yield any difference. Changed SIM- no difference. Then it started searching and searching, with SIM or without. Tried to restore as one of the measures and then...surprise...error 3. 

I'm fortunate to have a sellers warranty but I'm wary of getting a replacement. This forum is reassuring and scary at the same time. Been a 3GS user for 5 years and bought a new one because I wanted a glitch-free experience and my 3GS has run its marathon. Refund looks like a better option.

IM very tempted to try The Freeze!

AS of now, I have, as my girlfriend likes to say, a rotten apple. I'm very disappointed and have started to believe a friend who keeps saying they have lost the plot after Jobs departed.

I really appreciate the support provided by the more knowledgeable folks out here. It is important that you know this.

Thank you.

kennethyoung, I just wanted to add to your list another user whose iPhone 5 was restored with "the freeze".  I too was getting unknown error (3) repeatedly on iTunes. Tried different computers multiple times, etc., and nothing worked.  Since my phone is out of warranty I thought I'd give the freeze a try.  40 minutes in the freezer in a ziploc freezer bag and the firmware restored correctly with no errors and I now have a fully functioning iPhone 5 again!  Unbelievable!  Now I can cancel my genius bar appt I had scheduled for tomorrow.  Thank you so much!

(I have to say, though, if you're still under warranty you may as well take it to apple and get a new one.)

HI Jefferyc,,

You are welcome! I'm glad the "Freezer Physics" worked for you!

I agree that if you are under warranty, you should have your iDevice replaced by Apple, as the problem could occur again on a future update.

Hi Fiddler89,

If you are out of factory warranty, give the Freezer Physics a try. I appears to work about 75% or more of the time. Besides, you have a brick right now. What's the downside?

Hi Hitesh007,

Not sure what "not getting activated" means exactly. Can you provide more details as to what you see and how you got to that point?

Hey Kenneth,

ive been reading the thread and following along. My roommate started having the shame issues and the unknown error 3 came up. Can't restore, exact same symptoms as just about everyone else. She's going to take her iphone to get replaced.

Im not sure why Apple is making u guys pay for replacements but my friends iPhone is the iPhone 5C brand new, and having the exact same issue.  So it seems like it's an issue with the software n hardware communicating, something in the software is causing the hiccup directly.  I'm not sure if that's much help it seems like u guys pretty know much what's going on.

i Didn't see comments regarding the new iPhones just a lot of ppl updating with old phones. Hopefully my info helps and tells u there is an issue with error 3 in new iphones as well. I think it should be covered by Apple, obvs my friends phone is under warranty, but I hope u guys r able to get replacements ! Good luck I just wanted to share my info with u guys.

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your feedback on seeing the same issue on the new 5c.

Yes it is a firmware issue. Yes Apple engineers know about from interacting with me. Yes they know how to fix it. Yes they have decided for reasons only they know NOT to fix it at this time. When it happens to a famous blogger like John Gruber, the fix will "magically" roll out.