How to Perform Backups, Recovery and DownGrades on iPhones

10 October 2019

How to Perform Backups, Recovery & DownGrade on iPhones?

#iPhone,Backup,  Recovery,DFU mode, Downgrade iOS, Differences between modes 

Jump to

1. Soft or Hard reset for iPhones
2. Restore to backups using iTune
3. Backup and Update in Recovery Mode
4. Backup and Update in DFU Mode
5. Downgrade iOS to Other Versions
6. Reset iPhone to a New Phone
7. Differences Between Recovery and DFU Mode
8. Entering the Modes for Different iPhone


 iPhone might encountered the following problems:

• Phone  screen stuck on the Apple logo;
• iTunes didn’t recognize the iPhone
• [connect to iTunes] showed up;
• Phone encountered  problem installing an update;
• Recovering iPhone from a jailbreak;

Also,  there are plenty of complaints about battery drains recently when one upgraded  the iOS from iOS12 to iOS13.    The battery could get warm or took a long time to recharge.  One might want to downgrade the iOS to an earlier version.  This article will describe how.    It uses iPhone 7 as an example

What can be done?

There are at least 6 possible steps to take to handle all those problems described above;

1.  Do noting or just do a soft reset.   This will not erase existing data;

2.  Restore to backups using iTune;

3.  Perform an iPhone Recovery using iTune;

4.  Perform a Device Firmware Update or DFU using iTune;.

5.  Downgrade the iOS to a version used before.  

6.  Lastly,  erase everything and set phone as new iPhone.

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I.  Do nothing or Do a Soft Reset
a) When there is some problem with the iPhone 

Item description	Actions	Remarks Doubleclick to enlarge
1.  Do nothing	1.  Charge the phone to full charge and observe if the problem will go away	Always try your luck first.
2.  Soft reset	On the iPhone,  perform a soft reset by hitting   [setting /General / Reset],  then find and hit [Reset All Setting]	This software setting will not erase any existing data or Apps stored in the phone Doubleclick to enlarge

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II.   Restore to backup using iTune
a)  When one cannot update and restore using iPhone 
b)  Do a backup immediately as phone data might be erased

Item description	Actions	Remarks Doubleclick to enlarge
1. Restoring from iTune backups	1.  Launch the iTune and connect iPhone to Mac or PC using the firewire or lightning cable 2. If prompted,  enter Passcode and tap [Trust this computer] 3. At the top of of iTune menu,  find and tap the phone picture (as shown on the right) and then select the Summary page 4. Click [Restore Setup] in the Back up section.  In the next screen;  confirm the backup and then select the appropriate backup file if prompted	Doubleclick to enlarge Doubleclick to enlarge Doubleclick to enlarge Iphone will restart after the restoration process.  It might take a while from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the data stored inside the phone
2. Updating iOS	1,  Launch the iTune as illustrated above.  2. In the iTune menu,  click the [Update] if one just wants to do an iOS update 3.  If prompted otherwise,  because there is an error messsage,  just continue to do a [Restore and Update]	Doubleclick to enlarge iPhone will update to the latest iOS.

 
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III.  Backup or update in Recovery Mode
a)  When cannot update or restore in iPhone or iTune 
b)  Do a backup immediately as phone data might be erased 

Item description	Actions	Remarks Doubleclick to enlarge
1.  Entering Recovery mode	1.  Turn up the volume of the PC or Mac to detect any sound alert 2. Connect your iPhone 7 to the  Mac or PC with a firewire or lightning cable . 3. For iphone 7,  press and hold the [power] and the [Volume Down] button until the screen turns off.  Continue holding the [power] & [Volume Down] button, 4 Release the [power] & [Volume Down] buttons once you see the apple logo on the phone and thereafter, will see  this screen (shown on the right) on the phone .  There will be also a sound alert and a display on the PC,  telling one is now in Recovery mode. 5.  Repeat the process if not successful .	Double click to play larger video Doubleclick to enlarge Note:  There is no backup facility in the recovery mode;  so better return and do a back up described in section II above if this was no done before
2. Selecting Restore	Press [Restore] button if one just wanted to restore the data and apps.  When prompted to disable the [Find My iPhone],  disable it.	To disable [Find My iPhone],  one would have to tap Settings& [your name] &  iCloud. Scroll to find [Find My iPhone] and turns it off The restoration work will take about 15 minutes.
3. Update the iOS	Press the [update] button	Users will be prompted to confirm the update Doubleclick to enlarge If the iOS is too old,  it will prompt user to do an update when entering recovery mode;  all data and app will be erased.

 
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IV.  Backup or Update in DFU Mode
a)  When cannot restore or update in Recovery Mode 
b)  Do a backup immediately as phone data might be erased

Item description	Actions	Remarks  Doubleclick to enlarge
1.  Performing DFU		This is a deeper restoration process. It will bypass the Booting module call iBoot,  allowing other  versions of IOS firmware to be  installed on the  phone.  Normally,  this will fix the problem if there is nothing wrong with  the hardware.
2. Entering DFU mode	1.  Turn up the volume of the PC or Mac to detect any sound alert 2.  Connect your iPhone 7 to the Mac or PC with a firewire or lightning cable. 3. For iphone 7,  press and hold the [power] and the [Volume Down] button until the screen turns off.  Continue holding the [power] & [Volume Down] button, even after  the Apple logo appears. 4 Don't release the [power] & [Volume Down] buttons until one heard a sound alert and a display on the PC.  telling one is now in Recovery mode.  5.  Meanwhile,  the screen will be black. 6.  Repeat the process if not successful .	click for larger video The difference between Recovery Mode and DFU Mode is when one does not see any picture on the phone and there will a sound alert and display on the PC
3.  Restore or update from backup	1.  Press [Restore from backup] when prompted in the DFU mode as shown.  2.  Select from the dropdown box  the appropriate backup file or any other files such as ipsw file already downloaded from the  Apple website	The iTune will load the iOS from the existing iphone backup file unless [Update] or otherwise is selected

 
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V  Downgrade iOS to Other Versions
a)  When everything restore and update using above methods failed
b)  Do a backup immediately as phone data might be erased

Item description	Actions	Remarks  Doubleclick to enlarge
DownGrade	1 Download the IPSW files from this Apple website https://ipsw.me/product/iPhone 2. Select the correct iPhone model and the next screen will appear 3  Download the desired IPSW files and remember where the files is download 4.  Start up iTune as per normal in recovery mode or DFU mode 5.  Depending on whether one want to downgrade with backup or just do a downgrade.   In the iTune main menu,  click [Restore] or [Update] while holding down the [Shift] key for Windows and [Alt] key for Mac To keep the data,  click [Restore] key;  otherwise,  click [Update] key 6.  Select the IPSW files from where one has just downloaded the IPSW  Note:  The IPSW must be signed by Apple.  Unsigned IPSW not accepted by iTune	IPSW files are firmware file for an iOS  version. Doubleclick to enlarge Doubleclick to enlarge Doubleclick to enlarge

 
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VI Erase Everything and Set iPhone to a New Phone
a)  When everything failed to revive the iPhone
b)  Do a backup immediately as phone data would defintely  be erased

Item description	Actions	Remarks Doubleclick to enlarge
1. Erase everything	1.  Hit  [Setting /General / Reset] to find and hit  [Erase All Content and Settings]	Doubleclick to enlarge
	2. If one does not has a backup copy of the iPhone,  then select [Back up then erase];  otherwise,  choose [Erase Now].	This will erase all existing data and Apps.  One should always save an image copy of the iPhone to the iCloud or to the PC so that  the phone can be restore back to its original condition. Instructions on how to use iTune can be found by goggling Doubleclick to enlarge
	3.  Enter the Pass code and  Apple ID when prompted.  Turn off  [Find My iPhone] as desribed in Section III when prompted	The phone will take sometime to erase all contents
2.  Setup as New Phone	1.  With the iPhone is connected to iTune using the Firewire or lightning cable,  one should be greeted by the  screen shown on the right when starting up of the iPhone 2. Select [ Set up as New Phone] and click Continue.	Doubleclick to enlarge The iPhone will take sometime to configure and when completed,  it will display this picture.  Continue to set up the phone by following the instruction Doubleclick to enlarge
3.  Restore from Backup	Note: Run the phone as a new phone for sometime without any apps restoration just to make sure the installed apps and data are the culprits of the problem. 1.  As per Section II,  start up the iTune and goto the Summary page; 2. Click [Restore from Backup]  in the welcome page of the iTune  3.  Select the desired copy of backup from the dropdown box and click  [Continue]	The phone will take sometime to restore the backup selected. The backup copy of the iPhone must be  already installed in the following PC folder  C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

VII  Send for Repair

a) When everything else failed
b)  Do a backup immediately as phone data might be erased 

If problem still unresolved,  send it to the Servicing Department. May be there is a hardware problem.   Sometimes, by removing and refixing the battery will fix the problem

 

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Differences Between Recovery and DFU Mode

Both Recovery and DFU modes are almost identical.  The former will use iPhone's bootloader called iBoot and the latter,  bypasses it.  Both the Recovery and DFU mode will only accept signed IPSW firmware images.  DFU or Device Firmware Upgrade on the other hand, allows restoring devices from any state, including devices with corrupted bootloader.

The Recovery mode was designed for end users and Apple facilities, while the DFU mode was never meant for the end user at all.


 
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Entering the Modes for Different iPhones

Item description	iPhone 6,5,4, iPad	iPhone 7	iPhone 8, X & 11	Remark
Entering Recovery mode	1. Press and  Hold the [Home] button until the apple logo appears and thereafter iphone screen shows this picture Dblclick to enlarge 3.  PC should acknowledge the connection by this picture Dblclick to enlarge	Ditto same as iPhone 6 except replacing [Home] button with [Volume down] button	1. Quick press [Volume up],  then [Volume Down] buttons 2.  Press the [Power] button until the Apple logo appears and thereafter the iphone screen shows this picture Dblclick to enlarge 3.  PC should acknowledge the connection by the same picture as iPhone 6	1.  PC should acknowledge the connection 2.  If not,   repeat the process 3.  When there is something wrong, the following  picture will show Dblclick to enlarge One must do a factory reset and prepare to lose all data before proceeding further
Entering DFU Mode	1. Hold [Power] and [Home] together for about 8 Secs 2.  Release [Power] button and continue to hold [Volume down] button until the PC displays an alert.   Meanwhile,  nothing shall be displayed  on iPhone screen	Ditto same as iPhone 6 except   replacing [Home] button with [Volume down] button	1. Quick press [Volume up],  then [Volume Down] buttons 2. Hold [Power] and [Volume Down] button together for about 5 secs 3.  Release the [Power] button and continue to hold [Volume down] button until the PC displays an alert Meanwhile,  nothing shall be displayed on iPhone screen	Ditto same as above except nothing should be displayed on iPhone screen
Get out of Recovery mode	Press and hold the [power] and [Home] until the Apple logo appears on the iphone screen	Ditto same as iPhone 6 except [Home] =[Volume down] button	Ditto same as iPhone 7