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User profile for user: powerbook1701
powerbook1701 Author
User level: Level 3
666 points

Restoring iPhone via iTunes but using iCloud backup

I have an iPhone 4S that is NOT sync'd to an iTunes on a computer, but is sync'd to iCloud. I need to wipe it competely and restore it to the lastest iOS and then use iCloud to restore the setting and content via wifi.


I am asking to make sure I've got this correct:

  1. Start up phone in recovery mode
  2. Use itunes to restore


I'm fuzzy on what happens when the iphone restarts AFTER the iOS is restored to factory? Will I be able to eject it from iTunes before it get's sync'd to that iTunes and then continue on with the phone in hand to restore settings and backup from iCloud?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 15in 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7/4GB

Posted on Feb 27, 2015 2:40 PM

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User profile for user: sberman
sberman
User level: Level 10
264,093 points

Posted on Feb 27, 2015 2:47 PM

You ask a good question. But the only way to restore an iCloud backup is to first do this to your iPhone:


Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings


You will then set up your iPhone as if you just took it out of the box as a new device. As you set up your WiFi connection and enter your Apple ID, you will be invited to restore your iPhone from the iCloud backup.


UPDATE: Rereading your post, I see you say "... synched to iCloud" in the first sentence. I assume you mean you have backed up your iPhone using iCloud.

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User profile for user: sberman
sberman
User level: Level 10
264,093 points

Feb 27, 2015 2:47 PM in response to powerbook1701

You ask a good question. But the only way to restore an iCloud backup is to first do this to your iPhone:


Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings


You will then set up your iPhone as if you just took it out of the box as a new device. As you set up your WiFi connection and enter your Apple ID, you will be invited to restore your iPhone from the iCloud backup.


UPDATE: Rereading your post, I see you say "... synched to iCloud" in the first sentence. I assume you mean you have backed up your iPhone using iCloud.

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User profile for user: powerbook1701
powerbook1701 Author
User level: Level 3
666 points

Feb 27, 2015 2:57 PM in response to sberman

Let me further my question with one point. I do regulary back up to iCloud (nightly). But, I want to restore my iPhone with a new install of the iOS. My understanding using just the Settings......Erase All...is that it wipes the data and makes the phone new, but is still using the iOS that currently installed in the phone (and doens't download a fresh copy). I was thinking that if I start in recovery mode, use iTunes to restore, that I could eject before it offers to sync to my iTunes. I just haven't done it that way and wasn't sure if I would be offered the option of ejecting...

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User profile for user: powerbook1701
powerbook1701 Author
User level: Level 3
666 points

Feb 27, 2015 3:03 PM in response to Csound1

Right. But, if you just use the iPhone to erase, doesn't it just start up with iOS (minus all my content and apps) already installed? I didn't think it downloaded a new copy of the iOS to use....


For example, if I have 7.1.3 and erase via the phone, it starts back up in 713, not 8x. Right? Or am I off on this?


Edit: my bottom line here is I need a fresh copy of the iOS, not the existing.

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User profile for user: powerbook1701
powerbook1701 Author
User level: Level 3
666 points

Feb 27, 2015 3:16 PM in response to Csound1

Csound1, please, please.. I'm not offering an argument here. I'm just trying to learn and understand. I already have the latest iOS update on the phone. What I need is to get a fresh copy of the iOS on the phone and then restore from my iCloud back up. Sorry if I wasn't explaing it propery. But please don't think I was arguing.


make sense? Again, my apologies if you thought I was arguing 🙂


*fresh, meaning new, not just my data

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User profile for user: rockmyplimsoul
rockmyplimsoul
User level: Level 6
11,155 points

Feb 27, 2015 3:49 PM in response to powerbook1701

If you already have the latest iOS, and you go through the Erase All Content and Settings, I don't believe you'll get a "fresh" installation of iOS since it is already installed. But perhaps it does perform an over-the-air iOS install, not entirely sure to be honest.


But it sounds like what you're trying to do is "dig deeper" into the restoration process to cure a problem? If so, instead of Erase All Content and Settings right off the bat, here's what you could do:


1- Restore from iTunes, that will force a full download of iOS (if your computer doesn't already have it) and re-install iOS completely.

2- At the end of this process, set your phone up as a new device with a different name than it has now (this is temporary).

3- Let the restore complete, and don't bother loading apps, media, etc.

4- Now initiate Erase All Content and Settings and then select your iCloud backup.

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User profile for user: powerbook1701
powerbook1701 Author
User level: Level 3
666 points

Feb 28, 2015 11:20 AM in response to Csound1

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I am indeed trying to dig deeper and "replace" the ios on my phone (which is the latest) with a fresh copy..that copy being a complete replacement from scratch. It turns out, from my visit to the Apple store today, that the Erase Content setting will "refresh" the current iOS copy on your phone so that it's "like new," but will still be whatever iOS was already on the phone. This process takes only a few minutes, which is why this particular process does not download a replacement copy of the iOS but just clears all user data and reverts back to factory setting. The apple store was able to wipe the phone using iTunes there with the phone in recovery mode, then I was able to start from that point with an iCloud restore OTA with wifi. My phone was having issues that suggested, from their testing, that the iOS itself needed replaced with a new copy.


Thanks to all who kept me going in the right direction and also for providing different options. What I learned here will help me down the road if I ever need to restore or even just refresh my iOS. 🙂

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Restoring iPhone via iTunes but using iCloud backup

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