DFU Mode

How to Get your iPhone (in/out of) Recovery Mode and DFU Mode

Kiran Konathala • July 4, 2009 • 1 min read

Both recovery and DFU modes are often confusing which just adds to the frustration when accidentally put into either of these modes. You don’t have to restore completely in iTunes. That takes up a lot of time (around 20 minutes and if you have data, it may be longer to get it all back up and running). You can give the following combinations a shot and I have tested them both on iPhone 3.0.

DFU Mode :

Steps to recover from DFU mode :

  • Connect your iPhone to your computer.
  • Hold down the home button and the power button for about 10 seconds.
  • If your phone is connected to your computer you’ll hear a beep as when a USB device is disconnected.
  • Next just press the power button and your phone will startup as usual.

If you’ve accidentally put your iPhone in DFU mode, the steps mentioned above should do the trick.

If you’re in DFU and mid-way through a failed restore, then you will need a complete iTunes restore to get you out of the DFU mode.

Recovery Mode :

Steps to recover from Recovery mode :

  • Hold Power Button + Home button for 15 Secs.
  • Release buttons.
  • Hold Home button for 2 secs.

232 Discussion Comments

  1. I'm having a bit of a problem. I have an unlocked first generation iphone (2G) and it was working fine until I tried to upgrade to 3.0 through itunes. I use windows vista. It is now stuck on the emergency screen, and I've tried everything to fix it, but nothing is working. I know that the phone is still unlocked bc I'm still getting service but I think that I may have to activate it, and I dont know how to do that. I've tried restoring it through itunes by holding down the shift button, clicking restore and then choosing the custom .ipsw file that i downloaded, but that isnt working either. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Please e-mail me back as soon as possible. Thank You!

      1. Hey i have a similar problem. i have a iphone with t-mobile i accidentally restored it to the original factory settings i dont have any backup to the phone and i dont know which firmware to download. So far i tried restoring it through the recovery mode which is shift+ recovery button then i got a error (20) so then i got out of the recovery mode and into the dfu mode to try to retore it and i got error (1601) im not sure if this is happening because i'm using the wrong firmware or what….Any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks

  2. Thanks, I tried redsn0w already and that didn't work either. It prompts me, saying that it did work, but as soon as the phone reboots it goes back to being stuck in the emergency screen. Any other ideas? lol

  4. i have an iphone 3g ive been trying to hack jail brake my iphone for two weeks but cant seem to be able to do it i downloaded the software then tryed then found out i had to download te firm ware ok i downloaded the firm ware but the problem is now is that redsnow keeps asking me to put the phone in to dfu mode i cant do it it so i go in to the phone and restore the phone ok that puts the phone in to restore mode but it takes about two hours but then as soon as connect he phone to the computer itunes takes he phone out of restore mode it keeps syncing every time it syncks it takes it right of restore mode i dont want the phone to sync with the itunes i watched your video it seems so easy i just cant get it in to restore mode or dfu mode im useing windows vista please help me

  5. i have a problem im useing windows vista i downloadd redsnow i downloaded te firm ware every thing was going good but i cant get the iphone in to dfu mode you cant run itunes while red snow is runing i dont ant to un lock the phone its m phone i just want to jailrake it so i can us cydia iveb een trying for days now i watce so many how ts on youtube they make t sem so easy dam

  6. hi my name is anthony i have a iphone 2G and when i press the power button it begins to boot up as normal it shows the apple screen for a while then it turns back off i tried to plug it into the cpu to go to itunes but it doesnt even show up in itunes, im confused as to wat this is but i would like to kno if u can help me
    Once again when i try to turn on my iphone it goes to the apple screen for a couple seconds then it turns back off can u please help me my email is antny622@yahoo.com please contact me
    its a iphone 2G and i had recently updated it to the latest software i beleive it was 3.0 and i rup on windows vista

  7. hi my name is anthony i have a iphone 2G and when i press the power button it begins to boot up as normal it shows the apple screen for a while then it turns back off i tried to plug it into the cpu to go to itunes but it doesnt even show up in itunes, im confused as to wat this is but i would like to kno if u can help me

  8. i watch your video on how to get out a a failed restore mode..i did exactly what you showed on your video and it keeps going back to the screen that shows the cord and itunes CD. by it not working does it have anything to do with it being jail broken? please help, i have pics and videos i would LOVE not to lose..
    i have an iphone 3G 8GB not sure of firmware type and operating system sorry

      1. Hi Kiran…I have the same problem, it is a failed restore, I am not able to come out of recovery mode..pls tell me if redsn0w does not upgrade it ?

  9. I have a first generation Iphone 1.1.4 I use with my tmobile SIM card. 2 days ago while on Ziphone I did something (who knows what) that sent my phone into recovery mode. Have been trying 2 days to get it back and do not know what else to do. I have been online and nothing seems to work. Is it gone forever? How do I get out of the recovery mode when Ziphone wont even detect the phone. Please help. I know this is probably basic stuff but nothing has worked so far.

    1. Hi! Don’t panic, it is not that complicated an issue.

      Does iTunes detect your iPhone?

      If Yes : Restore to the latest firmware via iTunes 3.0.1.

      If No : Let me know, we can troubleshoot it differently…

        1. Perfect! We are on the right track then. All you have to do is try to turn your iPhone off (push the power button and home button till the display turns off)…

          Once you turn your iPhone off, push the home button and while holding down the home button connect your iPhone to your PC. Then let iTunes restore to 3.0.1…

          1. Ok. Once I hold the home button and connect my IPhone I see no option anywhere for Itunes to restore. I get the same SIM card message. Do I need to continue to hold the home button even after I connect? I tried that too and nothing, same recovery mode screen. Thanks for helping me out with this, my head is about to explode after hours. You are the only person that has even tried to help. Thanks. Now what do I do next?

  11. I have gotten nowhere, my fault bc i do not know what Im doing. Even after Itunes restore I keep getting the message SIM not supported, insert a new SIM. Not sure what else to do. Anyone out there have any ideas for me. Its a first generation IPhone 1.1.4 stuck in recovery mode. Thanks.

  12. Well Im not sure. It says it restored to wait and it will restart something. Then all that shows on the actual phone is the Itunes with the USB and Itunes givesme the SIM error message. I will go to ur redsn0w part and try to take over from there.

  14. So i guess i have no options, i even try using iRecovery, but i am not even sure how to use it. We i am out of luck, i would take the iphone to Apple but i do not have a AT&T account, and thats the first thing they do at apple, check to see if you have a AT&T account. Any ideas.

  15. Well, this is what i did, i called Apple support, they had me delete iTunes and reinstall it, i still had error 1015, just can get pass that. They are going to send me a new iPhone next day fedx with a $499 hold on my credit card util they receive they bad iPhone. I went to the Apple store in the pass and they would not look at the phone if i did not have an active AT&T account. So when i get the new IPhone tomorrow i will need to jailbreak it so i can use it with Tmobile, but i am a bit nervous that i may screw up the new iphone. The new iPhone will come with 3G 3.0.1 firmware. so will need a clean 3.0 ipsw to jailbreak it, i am correct on that. Where can i find a good and clean 3.0 ipsw, because i think i used a corrupted file.

    1. Well, in the Apple store : You have to be assertive. Tell him that your friend upgraded to 3GS and you bought this from him. You are planning to transfer to ATT or some bull! Trust me it works! It depends on the way you talk to the genius!!

      Once you get the new iPhone, post a message here and I will walk you through the jailbreak and unlock. Follow my steps and you will be all set! I will give my iPhone if anything happens to your iPhone! Trust me it will work, it is simple!

  17. i have a first generation iphone
    i am running windows vista on my laptop
    it all started cause my friend somehow got my phone into recovery mode while we were at work. i dont know how he did it or anything i just know he never plugged it into a computer. he just held both buttons cause he thought thats how you turn it off.

  19. yeah thats the one i have been trying and it doesnt seem to work.
    its hold both buttons for like 12 seconds (when it shuts off and the apple logo starts back up)
    then release the power button and continue to hold the home button

    1. Then you are better off downloading QuickPwn 2.2.X version from downloads section on this site and install it, launch it while the iPhone is connected to the PC. It should kick the iPhone out of recovery mode… try it….

  21. Hello. Here's my scenario: I was upgrading my 1st gen iPhone 2G to 3.0 using iTunes on Windows XP. From what I remember, it completed the upgrade of the OS to 3.0.1 and then started backing up my phone. It was taking a long time, so I decided to go to sleep. When I woke up 4 hours later, there was a pop-up screen/dialogue box. I don't remember exactly what it said (I should've written it down), but basically something went wrong and I'm now getting the usb cord pointing to the iTunes cd logo. When I connect the phone to iTunes, I get the dialogue box that says that it's in recovery mode and I must restore it before it can be used with iTunes. I've tried your technique in the video above (Recovery Mode), but once the Apple logo comes up and I let go of the power button (still pressing the home button), the usb & iTunes logos reappear instead of the Apple logo persisting. I don't know if this matters, but after about a minute, the usb & iTunes logos will disappear, then the Apple logo will quickly appear, then back to the usb & iTunes screen again. It keeps doing this unless I turn it off completely. Please help.

    2. mine keeps doing the exact same thing!! i went to 02 and they gave me a new phone and it still does it! im going back to 02 again, and they are gonna give me a new iphone again! hopefully it might work

  23. ok i have a major problem i ordered an iphone 2g through ebay it is already unlocked but how do i get my internet and all that to work since att is being gay and saying they cant add the package bc it shouldnt be unlocked??

    1. Hi! To start with, you don't have to tell ATT that you have an unlocked iPhone, it is none of their business. Just go ahead and add Medianetplan with 200 free sms (includes internet) for $20. Is that the plan you were looking for? Since you are using ATT, it doesn't matter if the iPhone is unlocked or not!

      – Let me know if you have any internet package on your ATT account(login to ATT.com and see rate plan features).
      – Put the sim in a normal phone before logging in to ATT
      – Select and choose Medianet plan! You are up and running on ATT's EDGE network!

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