Q: Stuck at "slide to upgrade" IOS 9

Gave up on the iCloud backup restore for now - my iPad was still completely unstable. So I've done a factory restore again and instead set it up on iOS9 as a new device. Later on, when I'm on my home network and don't have to worry about the random site blocking and data throttling at school, I'll give the "Erase All Content and Settings" thing a go and try a restore from last nights iCloud backup.

OS X Daily link to the Apple repository at appldnld.apple.com.
See the full list here: http://osxdaily.com/2015/08/13/ios-8-4-1-update-ipsw-download/

ok I have an iphone 5c updated to ios 9 from ios 7 but now it is stuck on reboot loops.... I have not connected my iphone ever to a computer.. hence when i connect it to a computer itunes asks for access but i am not able to allow because i am stuck in bootloop any solutions please?

Giving up on 9 entirely - iCloud restore simply doesn't work under it, and I can't live without my old data. Yesterday evening it took just a few minutes from finishing the 9 install to get to 900mb of transfer completed and 8 hours later it was only at 1GB. And this was the second time I tried to get my stuff back - I'd tried earlier in the day with similar results.

So instead I've gone the 8.4.1 IPSW route, which (thank heavens!) is still being signed by Apple. Restore from iCloud seems to be going OK, though I did just get a random error message about something it couldn't restore that I needed to restore from iTunes. Well I don't use iTunes to backup my iDevices - that's what f*ing iCloud is for! Anyhow, it's been about 30 minutes since I started restoring my stuff and it's already up to 3GB worth.

F iOS 9!

Make it go into recovery mode; download the 8.4.1 IPSW and go with it instead; restore iCloud backup; forget iOS9 (for now at least).

I got my iPhone 5 working and updated by removing the passcode. I was going through my settings today and came to the passcode. I was thinking that this had just kept the update from loading. So I set up the passcode again. Immediately, my phone went to a black screen with ann apple symbol along with a status bar. Then it opened up to the 'slide to update'. Again my phone was bricked. Starting the process all over again. DO NOT SET A PASSCODE AFTER RESTORING. Apple this got old a long time ago.

What I discovered is you can't jump from iOS 7 to iOS 9 no matter what software update tells you. You have to go via iOS 8.4.1 first.

If you're stuck in the 'swipe' loop, the only option is to download the ipsw file from OS X daily (see my earlier post) or other source that links directly to appldnld repository and restore the device in iTunes.

Ignore the alert dialogue that asks you to 'cancel' 'restore' update' (hit cancel) and instead hold down the option key and hit 'restore...' in the iTunes main window. Choose the ipsw file that you downloaded, and you'll soon be on iOS 8. From there, you can just do software update from within your device to get to 9.

Took me 12 hours to figure this out, but now my old iPad 2 wifi is on iOS 9 and, I have to say, it runs pretty well too!

EDIT: I keep saying 'restore' because I had nothing to loose. If you've got valuable date, you might try the same process with 'update' in the hope that you'll see your beloved data still in one piece. Tissues at the ready in case not. :)

A really big Thank you, harpreet0singh and joww,

the procedure has brought back to life my iOS7.x IPad2 that was stuck after updating to iOS9.

As stated by Joww, just do an update from 9 to 8.4.1 instead of a restore and no data will be lost.

JOWW ... how were you able to UPDATE in lieu of RESTORE using the IPSW?    I've downloaded it, but every time I try to RESTORE using it I get an error message that the file is not compatible.         

Unfortunately the stupid update "sort of" worked on my PC and thus I don't have a backup I can use to get my data back from, so I want to just UPDATE (revert!) to 8.4.1 so I can then get to 9.0, or **** maybe even leave it at 8.4.1.    How did you successfully UPDATE with an IPSW to go backwards?

JOWW ... how were you able to UPDATE in lieu of RESTORE using the IPSW?    I've downloaded it, but every time I try to RESTORE using it I get an error message that the file is not compatible.         

Unfortunately the stupid update "sort of" worked on my PC and thus I don't have a backup I can use to get my data back from, so I want to just UPDATE (revert!) to 8.4.1 so I can then get to 9.0, or **** maybe even leave it at 8.4.1.    How did you successfully UPDATE with an IPSW to go backwards?

I just followed harpreet0singh's instructions and instead of choosing "restore" I pressed "update" (+shift on the PC to choose the manually downloaded file). Maybe this solution only works for iPads with iOS7x prior to the iOS9 update...?

joww

Thanks....that's what I've done but it won't work.   I've updated my girlfriend's iPhone 5s but she was on version 7.X (forget which) and now the phone is stuck in an endless boot loop......it won't finish booting and just reboots every few minutes.   I've left it go for at least a dozen cycles and it won't finish booting.   And I can't "restore" to an earlier OS, I get the "file not compatible" message.....

thanks anyway.   Glad it all worked for you.

softwater wrote:

 

What I discovered is you can't jump from iOS 7 to iOS 9 no matter what software update tells you. You have to go via iOS 8.4.1 first.

Not true. I went from 7 to 9 by restoring via Itunes in recovery mode, to fix the slide to upgrade issue. No need to go to 8 first.

Your method is over-complicating things.

A friend brought me an old iPad 2 with iOS 4.4.3 on it and it refused to update, we always got stuck in the "plug in to iTunes" screen and received the "unknown error (9)" when updating.

What worked was to try to update to iOS 8.4.1 (which failed and stuck with the progress bar at some 75 %), but then when "restoring" the device it updated to iOS 9. The remaining issue is the "slide to set up" screen loop, even though the restore of personal settings from the backup worked (and you can see all the app as installed in iTunes). The help in Apple's support https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205239 didn't change anything to that problem.

I figured out you can just say "set up as new iPad" and after completing all steps you will end up with your restored backup working fine.