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How to Put an iPhone Into DFU Mode

How to Put an iPhone Into DFU Mode

Posted May 2, 2008 at 9:01pm by iClarified
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DFU means Device Firmware Update. If a restore using Recovery Mode doesn't work you will want to use DFU Mode as a last resort. When placing your iPhone into DFU Mode it does not load the OS before attempting the restore.

Watch the Video!
For your convenience this tutorial is available in video format also. Watch it below...


To put the iPhone into DFU mode so you can do an iTunes firmware restore follow these steps:


Step One
Open iTunes and connect the iPhone to your Mac.
How to Put an iPhone Into DFU Mode

Step Two
Press and hold the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time.
How to Put an iPhone Into DFU Mode

Step Three
After exactly 10 seconds release the Sleep/Wake button. Continue holding the home button until you iTunes pops up a message telling you that it has detected an iPhone in recovery mode.
How to Put an iPhone Into DFU Mode

The iPhone screen will remain black like this:
How to Put an iPhone Into DFU Mode

NOTE***: It may take a few attempts to get your iPhone into DFU mode. Generally, I hold down both buttons then release the Home button just before I think the Apple logo would appear. If you are still holding both buttons down and you see the Apple logo you are holding them down for too long!

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Comments (239)
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jorda mc namara
jorda mc namara - January 17, 2018 at 3:58pm
my home bottom is broken so how will I do it
Cat Head
Cat Head - March 10, 2017 at 1:13am
For iPhone 7/7+ you need to press the volume down button.
Donald Dcruze
Donald Dcruze - February 17, 2017 at 4:20pm
Fresh green juice wins health points over packaged fruit juice and smoothies on several counts
Ethan Woods
Ethan Woods - June 18, 2016 at 10:51pm
Thanks that helps me go back to iOS 9.3.2 for the not-so great iOS Developer Beta 1 ^^
sfthornes
sfthornes - June 10, 2016 at 1:11pm
Thanks that helps
Kendall Chavez
Kendall Chavez - April 4, 2016 at 11:57pm
will this reset the iphone? how long does it take??
Abdul Haque
Abdul Haque - October 9, 2015 at 7:51pm
Friend It is downloading Update it is not restoring Phone Kindly Please Help What I have to Do..........?
Imtiaz
Imtiaz - October 1, 2015 at 10:26am
very well done. very thanks to you. it solved my problem. love u. uummmmhhh
samandrea
samandrea - June 16, 2015 at 12:23pm
Can i put my iphone 5s into recovery mode on a computer i haven't synced with before??
jaiannah
jaiannah - June 4, 2015 at 6:02am
i have ipad 3 i want to fully reset it to make new apple id and icloud acc but it has a previous apple id i didnt know the password what should i do
guy mariano
guy mariano - March 12, 2016 at 4:30am
return the stolen iphone
Juan Torres
Juan Torres - May 4, 2015 at 6:44pm
after putting an ipad in dfu mode when it resets will it still ask for previous apple id?
Cris McClure
Cris McClure - May 10, 2015 at 2:44am
hey I just got an iPod touch 5th generation and it was my but he's ex-girlfriends when they broke up she gave it back to him but never told her iTunes password how do I get around that and restored to factory settings any idea?
Mitchell Apps
Mitchell Apps - August 7, 2015 at 11:36am
If u have find my iphone u can remotely wipe it otherwise ur out of luck man
guy mariano
guy mariano - March 12, 2016 at 4:31am
yea usually a stolen iDevice or bought from a third party without knowing about find my iphone..
tech-admin
tech-admin - May 6, 2016 at 3:44pm
Very narrow minded to think that the phone is stolen. I am a company admin and deal with all the time when ex employees put their personal icloud account on my corporate phones. This is also not uncommon for people buying/selling used phones. If the seller does not go through the setup and deactiavte the account, the buyer will have issues.
Dr.Hyde
Dr.Hyde - April 23, 2015 at 1:46am
how can u do it if screen has passcode and is cracked/unresponsive and have no idea what the itunes account info is cause person it was bought from is looney tunes?!
CStokes
CStokes - April 6, 2015 at 8:30am
This solved my "ipod touch upgrade ios 2.2.1 to 4.2 error -1" problem I have had for more than a year. Thank You. Remember to backup your latest state of the IPOD.
Michelle0322
Michelle0322 - April 3, 2015 at 2:28pm
I have my iPhone unlocked so I can use it for any carrier, will doing this DFU on it discontinue the unlock?
jacqueline
jacqueline - April 1, 2015 at 7:39am
Its working!! Thanks so much. every detail in this post was apt and essential so thanks for not leaving anything to chance!
mirul
mirul - March 11, 2015 at 4:01am
help
justine jude
justine jude - March 7, 2015 at 3:27pm
pls help me ,, my iphone need to connect in itunes and upgrade or restore it but when the restoring has 75% it stuck and there is an error(1) what shuold i do?
christine.schneider
christine.schneider - March 6, 2015 at 9:22am
thank you for saving me from driving into town to the apple store with 2 little kids! I solved the problem within 10mn following the easy instructions. thank you!! christine
Iann
Iann - December 9, 2014 at 2:38am
Does this only work with a Mac?
mojohaas
mojohaas - December 26, 2014 at 5:02pm
This works with any computer that you can download iTunes onto. I have a Dell, a HP, and a Sony vaio and it works for all of them.
kriagmore
kriagmore - December 1, 2014 at 4:00am
For the record, my ipod touch is 5th gen, and my laptop 10.6 . And when I followed through with the instructions it worked until I got an error message of 4005, and basically my laptop's version of itunes was not up to date, although it said it was. Currently the latest version is 12.0.1. And my laptop was reading "This version of itunes (11.4) is the current version", which is incorrect and misleading. So I switched to my later model - and it works. Ensure that your stuff is up-to-date or it won;t work.
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