How to Reset an Apple iPhone From Recovery Mode

By Laurel Storm

An iPhone that doesn't work is no good to you.
i Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

If your iPhone is frozen, unresponsive, stuck in a booting loop or disabled following too many incorrect passcode attempts, you'll find yourself in a bit of a catch-22 situation. Restoring your iPhone to the factory settings may solve the issue, but you can't get into the iOS settings and iTunes won't recognize the device, making both of the usual restore methods inaccessible to you. If that's the case, you can still restore your iPhone to the factory settings by placing it in recovery mode.

Step 1

Press and hold the Sleep / Wake button on your iPhone. Once the red slider appears, slide it to switch your iPhone completely off. If the red slider doesn't appear, hold both the Sleep / Wake and the Home buttons down until your iPhone turns off, then release them.

Step 2

Connect the USB end of the cable to your computer.

Step 3

Hold the Home button on your iPhone and connect the other end of the USB cable to it. When the "Connect to iTunes" screen appears, release the button. At this point, iTunes opens automatically and notifies you that your iPhone is in recovery mode.

Step 4

Click "OK" and then click "Restore" to start the restore process.

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