iPad 2 Stuck in Recovery Mode and Won't Restore

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Level 1

15 points

iPad 2 Stuck in Recovery Mode and Won't Restore

My iPad 2 is stuck in recovery mode and won't restore. It has been stuck like this for at least a year. It was my aunts, she loaned it to one of her friends, they returned it messed up. She wasn't able to figure out what was wrong with it so she put it in a box to sit. My cousin found it and showed it to me, he asked if I could fix it, I told him I would try. That was about 4-5 months ago, and I don't know how long it sat in the box, but I know it was at least a year. I have tried to fix it on three different computers, plus my cousin who works with computers tried to fix it but couldn't. He told me that I'd probably have to take it to the Apple store, the only problem with that is I'm pretty sure the warranty would be up, and the closest Apple store is a view hours away. I have tried to restore it. I have tried to update it. Nothing has worked. I tried to download the firmware for it and restore it that way, but at the very end of the restore it said it could not be done. Right now all it shows on the screen is the "plug into iTunes" thing. I do not know which iOS it is, and can't really find out because when I plug it into iTunes it doesn't give me any information except the serial number and the fact that it is an iPad 2. Any suggestions as to fixing it? I would very much like to give it back to my cousin as a surprise birthday gift. Please help. Oh, and sorry about putting it in all the categories, I don't really know which one fits best.

iPad 2, Windows 8, null

Posted on Mar 6, 2015 2:51 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

ShawnSantos

Level 1

5 points

Mar 6, 2015 3:16 PM in response to vexroat

Have you tried a restore in DFU mode? Sometime when a normal restore doesn't work, a DFU restore does the trick.

Entering DFU Mode on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Plug your device into your computer with a USB cable.
Turn off the device.
Hold the Power button for 3 seconds.
Hold the Home and Power buttons for 10 seconds.
Release the Power button but keep holding the Home button.
After about 15 seconds you will be alerted by iTunes saying that it has detected a device in Recovery Mode.

Make sure that when it says in iTunes that it is in restore mode that the iPad's screen is blank, that means it's in DFU mode.

Hope it helps

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Answer 2

vexroat Author

Level 1

15 points

Mar 6, 2015 4:59 PM in response to ShawnSantos

I put it into DFU mode and it started to restore, but at the very end it stopped and said "The iPad could not restored. An unknown error occurred (-1)." I don't know what this error code means... My iTunes is up to date, as is all the software on my computer, nothing else was plugged in at the time... so I really don't know what to do now.

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Answer 3

Mar 7, 2015 6:46 AM in response to vexroat

In that case it is a hardware issue. I advise you to go to an Apple store or a Apple Authorized Service Provider, there they will offer you a price to exchange the old iPad for a new one (same model and capacity).

Here you can locate the nearest Apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider:

https://locate.apple.com/country

Hope it helps 😉

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