4s stuck after interrupted update to iOS9

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4s stuck after interrupted update to iOS9

Hi!

My iPhone 4s is stuck on the 'plug and iTunes' screen after an unsuccessful update to iOS9 via iTunes on my laptop. Now I can't get iTunes to recognize that the device is connected, although the laptop is giving me a little 'connected device' boop to indicate it thinks something is connecting and disconnecting when I restart the phone. I have tried rebooting both the phone and computer.Still get the same screen. And so I went over to the online support section, and realized I need my IMEI to get support. But I can't get that because my phone is stuck... Am traveling and would really appreciate help getting my phone to work again. I only tried the update on a trip because I needed wifi and my wifi has been gray lately. But now I don't even have a working phone.

Thank you for trying to help!

Fingers are crossed!

iPhone 4S, iOS 7.1.1, trying to upgrade to iOS9

Posted on Nov 25, 2015 9:02 PM

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Answer 1

claga Author

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Nov 26, 2015 8:42 AM in response to claga

Resolved.

Found this page helpful for getting iTunes to recognize my phone which was stuck in recover mode:

iPhone, iPad, or iPod not recognized in iTunes for Windows - Apple Support

Particularly:

Find out if the computer has USB 3.0 ports. Within Universal Serial Bus Controllers, locate any entries containing "USB 3.0" or "SuperSpeed USB" in the title. If these are listed, you have USB 3.0.

If you have USB 3.0

Try to connect the device to a different USB port. Try each port until the device is recognized. Some computers will have dedicated USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. If so, a USB 2.0 port might resolve the issue."

Be patient once you engage the "update" procedure via iTunes. There were times in the process when I wasn't seeing any sign of progress, but let the phone and computer do their thing and the update did finally go through. At other points, you will see a progress bar on your phone or screen, and they don't seem to be progressing.

The most nerve-wracking step was when the "respond on your phone" prompt popped up in iTunes, and all I had on the phone screen was an apple and progress bar that wasn't moving at all for a while. Just let the phone and iTunes continue as they are, until the progress bar completes (for me it was over 10 minutes): then the apple screen disappears and you get a 'Hello' screen on the phone. Once you have slid to set up, you will get a pop-up prompt to trust the computer, and then iTunes is happy and you can go through the rest of the set-up on the phone screen.

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