My iphone is stuck in recovery mode and itunes will not recognize my phone. I've tried pretty much every trick i can and i still do not know what to do. Someone please help me

Just wanted to add what worked for me- after, literally, months of trying on-and-off to find a solution, innumerable searches on Google/Bing/etc, I found a solution that worked for me after mixing together a few solutions I found on the Internet. My problem was that the original restore was interrupted, and I couldn't re-restore. Every time I powered up my iPod Touch 5g, it would go to the recovery screen, then shut off in 5 seconds. No matter what I tried (DFU mode, hard reset, etc), it would always take me back to the same restore screen, and iTunes wouldn't recognize it. These steps finally got it working for me. Some of them might be excessive and/or unnecessary, but this what got my iPod going again. I use Windows 10:

(1) Go to Control Panel, then "View Devices and Printers."

(2) Right-click "Apple Mobile Device USB Driver"

(3) Click on the "Hardware" tab, make sure "Apple Mobile Device USB Driver" is selected, then click "Properties" on the bottom right

(4) A new "Apple Mobile Device USB Driver" window opens, but with more tabs. In the "General" tab, click "Change Settings" on the bottom

(5) A 3rd "Apple Mobile Device USB Driver" window opens. It should default to the "Driver" tab; if not, select that tab.

(6) Click "Update Driver." Chances are, the driver is updated, but doesn't hurt to make sure.

(7) Then click on "Disable." Your computer should recognize that the iPod's been "disconnected."

(8) After a few seconds, click on "Enable."

(9) At this point, iTunes re-recognized the iPod (finally!) and informed that it needed to be restored. However, it wouldn't get past a certain screen, and then failed to recognize the iPod again. So, I repeated steps 1-7, but before enabling, I uninstalled the driver. After uninstallation was complete, I clicked "enable" and the driver re-installed.

(10) Went back to iTunes, and it again informed me that the iPod needed to be restored. I was able this time to download the new iOS, but after extracting, iTunes got stuck on "Waiting for iPod." Eventually, I got an error message saying iPod could not be restored (error code 21). So, I had to repeat steps 1-8 again (you may have more luck skipping this step- meaning, don't click restore just yet!)

(11) Minimize iTunes, then go to "My Computer," "Windows," "System32," "drivers," "etc"

(12) Drag the file "hosts" to the desktop (I made sure I was in the "Details" screen and moved the *file* hosts- some webpages said make sure you don't move the umbrella named hosts). "hosts" should no longer be in the "etc" folder

(13) Go back to iTunes, and proceed with the Restore process

(14) Going through all these steps worked for me. After my iPod restored and re-synced, I dragged the "hosts" file back to the etc folder.

I hope this helps someone. Like I said, I spent various hours in the last couple of months trying to find some sort of solution, so I hope this saves someone a little time.

I've done all of these, even trying a different USB port, and still, nothing. This is really confusing. Windows 8.1 said something to do with USB malfunction or something and nothing works. I need to restore my iPhone quickly and nothing has happened. My cable is not genuine Apple product. iTunes makes the noise that it makes when I connect the device, but it doesn't say 'iPhone is in recovery mode' or even say 'iPhone' in the corner. I am really fed up and would really appreciate a response.

Thanks,

Nathan.

This worked for me:

1. if you're on PC, plug in your iPhone and check Devices and Printers.
2. Check unspecified devices if there is an Apple Mobile Device USB Driver (Recovery Mode).
3. Update the driver.

Tppicone , I had the same problem and I unplugged the phone from my computer and turn the phone off . I than turned the phone on and the screen showed the connect to ITunes . Pllugged it in and the computer will start recovery mode. I did it once and got back all my data. Good Luck

Press and hold both ur lock button and ur home button for as long as it shows the apple icon(or for as long as it switches off to restart) make sure wen u do dat ur iPhone/iPad is not plugged on to ur PC , ur PC should be connected to the internet, before u plug u plug ur iPhone / iPad make sure u launch iTunes first, then plug ur iPhone/iPad in,iTunes will automatically pick up that ur device is in recovery mode, then u follow the instructions that'll appear on ur screen. It's either u restore or start up as new.

tpiccone wrote:

i searched every possible way ... nothing has worked

Then a Visit to an Apple Store or AASP (Authorized Apple Service Provider) is the Next Step...

Be sure to make an appointment first...

This same issue happened to me. It wasn't my itunes that was messing up, it was my USB port that while the iPhone messed up on me, it didn't recognize it. I just used a different USB port and it worked:D

I had the exact same issue discussed in this thread. My iPhone 4 got stuck in recovery mode while updating to iOS 7.1.2. I tried everything mentioned in this thread but was no use. iTunes could not recognize the phone being connected, I even tried different USB ports, restarted the laptop but nothing helped.

Finally went to a different laptop (old one I had) with iTunes and connected, to my surprise iTunes recognized the iphone in recovery mode.

Restored iOS 7.1.2, then came back to the new laptop and was able to restore most recent backup.

I had the same issue when trying to upgrade to iOS 8

I solved the problem by removing the usb cord from the phone. Then I re-inserted the cord whilst holding the home button.

The computer should now recognise your device and you can restore from itunes.

I had the same issue, what i did is as follows:

1: Check if the device is recognized by the PC.

2:

For XP and Vista:

-Go to My Computer/Computer> Right click> properties> Device manager.

For Win 7 and above:

-Go to Computer>System Properties ( second tab to the top )> Device Manager

3: Once in device manager check under USB Controller ( Universal Serial Bus Controllers) if the iPhone in recovery mode is not listed, go to other devices, you will find iPhone in recovery mode, right click on the listed device and click on update driver.

Once the driver is updated iTunes will detect the iPhone in recovery mode.

I had the same issue just now. I plugged the USB cable in to my USB port on the PC. Powered off the iPhone. Held the home button while inserting the USB cable in the iPhone. The iTunes icon did not appear on the phone. I turned the phone off. Closed iTunes. Removed USB cable from both the iPhone and the PC. Plugged the USB cable in to another port on the PC. Held the home button on the phone while inserting the USB cable. This time the iPhone powered on and gave me the iTunes icon on the iPhone. iTunes started automatically and gave me the option for Update or Restore.

Also add to some of the very helpful actions to completely disable your antivirus/firewall protection. This shouldn't be needed and Apple should work at becoming more compatible with Norton, but I had to do this in order to get my device recognized. Hope this helps someone else.

Start with: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808