Trapped in "Press home to upgrade", please rescue my data.

Hello Johnsonshen

Thank you for mentioning Blue Screen of Death (B.S.O.D.). That's a vital piece of information. I sugeest you follow these steps:

Restore your iPhone in Recovery Mode

1. Connect the USB cable to your computer but not to the iPhone.
2. Power off your iPhone by pressing and holding the Power button for a few seconds until the slider shows up.
3. Slide the slider to Power Off the device.
4. Wait for the iPhone to turn off completely. Alternatively, you can press and hold the Power and Home buttons simultaneously. When the phone turns off, release both buttons.
5. While pressing and holding the Home button down, connect the USB cable to your iPhone. The device should turn on.
6. Keep holding the Home button until the Connect to iTunes screen appears. Release the Home button when that screen shows up.
7. You should then see an iTunes prompt telling that your device is in recovery mode and that you need to restore it.
8. Follow the onscreen instructions to proceed with iPhone restore/update. It could take some time for your iPhone to complete the restore so just wait patiently.

OR

Put your iPhone in DFU mode.

If the problem happens after an update, try to put your iPhone in DFU mode and restore it via iTunes on a computer. You can also put your iPhone in DFU mode if Recovery Mode doesn’t work.

Here’s how to put your iPhone in DFU mode:

1. Plug in your iPhone into your computer (Mac or Windows PC).
2. Open iTunes. Make sure you are using the latest version of iTunes on your computer.
3. Power off your iPhone once it’s recognized by iTunes
4. Hold down the Power button for 3 seconds.
5. Hold down the Home without releasing the Power button for 10 seconds.
6. Release the Power button after 10 seconds while continue holding the Home button until you see a popup message from iTunes saying your device is recognized as being in recovery mode. You should now have a black screen on your iPhone, an indication that you’re already in DFU Mode and you can start restoring or updating your device whenever you’re all set.

If the blue screen reoccurs after the restore, it’s most likely an indication of hardware damage. The iPhone’s motherboard or some components might be damaged and therefore requires repair.

I suggest you to follow these steps:

1) Locate the "iOS update file" : For Windows it is as follows:

• Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates
• Windows Vista & Windows 7: \Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates
• Windows 8 & Windows 10: \Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\

For Mac it is as follows:

~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates

macOS Sierra: Go directly to a specific folder

• Connect your iOS device to iTunes
• Once the Screen shows with Update and Restore iPhone,Choose Update
• Instead of Left-Clicking,Perform a RIGHT click and Attempt to Locate the iPSW as shown above for different Platforms.
• If your device is NOT up-to-date then a new iPSW file will be downloaded else download a new one.
• Once you have downloaded iOS will start to update and your device's existing iOS will be overwritten with a new one.

Please Note: This will just Overwrite the old iOS and Replace it with a Fresh Copy. It will NOT remove any data from your device.

Tried and Tested Method on my own iPhone 5C that was bricked on iOS 10 at the time. Will work for any iOS Regardless.

Hello Johnsonshen

I understand how this will feel very anxious and nerve-wracking to you. I was in your place too and I had no backup for my media.

I understand what stress you will be going through but I assure you I will try to help you the best way I can.

PLEASE NOTE: Try to get your device recognized by iTunes and if you get Update please do that !

Do you mean "update" in place of the "Check for Update" ?

Also does the chinese/mandarin text in your image indicate to "Connect to iTunes"?

If so please do.

Also if you have the option to update PLEASE CLICK ON THAT and NOT RESTORE !

This will as I explained before (2 RESPONSES before this) overwrite the faulty software and replace it with a new one. As a result no data will be lost!

Hello Johnsonshen

Here are a few tips in the link below :

https://www.lifewire.com/fix-iphone-white-screen-of-death-2000285

Here is another tip you can try:

"When prompted by the Setup Assistant to press the Home button, restart the iPhone by pressing and holding the sleep/wake button, slide to power off, and then power the device back on. When the device restarts, you should be able to complete the Setup Assistant without being prompted to press the home button."

I would suggest going through all of them if you have not already done so and if the issue persists make an appointment with the Genius Bar .

Hello Johnsonshen

Have you tried this ?

"When prompted by the Setup Assistant to press the Home button, restart the iPhone by pressing and holding the sleep/wake button, slide to power off, and then power the device back on. When the device restarts, you should be able to complete the Setup Assistant without being prompted to press the home button."

Johnsonshen wrote:

Hi Asher Menezes,

Thank you for your advice.

I haven't contacted Genius Bar before. Could they do a backup for me even if the phone is not able to run into its home screen?

No. Your data is effectively gone at this point.

Let me start by saying this “Where there is a will there is a way”

Data in your iPhone on or off will always be there !

As long as there is power to your iPhone and can turn on to some screen at least lock or startup screen the Data Can be recovered by Apple !

May be not by the End-Users but it is possible!

But not easy !

So I suggest you try your level best to get it up and at least showing some part of the OS !

And then try to recover or tell the Genius Bar Technicians to try to do their level best !

I agree with LaCAllen

As someone who has studies encryption, once you loose the encryption key NOTHING can be done, unless there is a backdoor which probably isn't there since Apple is very good in Safeguarding the data.

Hello Johnsonshen

That's the best way to check and figure out if they can do something. Apple Support is great but having a Certified Apple Technician take a look at your device hands-on is even more recommended.