How to put iPhone into DFU mode? Many users of apple products have not even heard of this, at least until the device works unconditionally and nothing needs to be restored. But, after certain procedures, such as a jailbreak (hacking), even a brand new iPhone 7 is able to go on strike, and iPhone 5 can even “deny service”. Therefore, there is sometimes no other choice than restoring the original firmware. Before you figure out how to restore an iPhone, you need to turn on the necessary mode.
After all, often, you can only “resurrect” an iPhone by turning on DFU. By the way, the jailbreak itself is also done through it. How exactly does it all work on an iPhone and what is DFU mode?
Device Firmware Update (DFU) is a special recovery mode that allows you to enter the iPhone into a special state to perform some operations: creating the necessary partitions in the file system, starting / flashing the bootloader, as well as flashing additional modules and system partitions. It can also be used to recover a password.
So, what is DFU mode is clear. And in what cases will you need to enter the smartphone into recovery mode?
- The device refuses to turn on;
- Standard recovery measures do not work;
- The impossibility of recharging;
- The computer does not see the iPhone.
What can cause such problems? It can be a bad firmware, a hack, or an aggressive application from Cydia - it doesn't matter. It is much more important to know how to fix it.
It should be noted right away that you can enter an iOS device into DFU mode only through the iTunes program - sometimes i-devices, including the iPhone 7, are even afraid to sneeze without it.
How to put your iPhone into DFU mode?
It is important to warn: the procedure for restoring an iPhone in this mode destroys everything that was stored on the device, no matter how sad it may sound. Therefore, it is better to make a copy of everything that is on your smartphone to cloud storage or directly to your computer before starting all manipulations through DFU.
And a small rule: the connection should be made only through the original cable (preferably) to the rear USB ports. It is undesirable to use front inputs and adapters. This is especially true for the iPhone 7. The newer the model, the more whims.
The procedure describing how to enter DFU mode is not easy, but on the fifth try everything will definitely work out. But, especially gifted users, perhaps, will immediately cope with the task.
So, to enter DFU:
- You need to connect your iPhone to your computer - you need iTunes already included.
- Next, you need to hold down the Home and Power buttons, and hold for 10 seconds, then release the Power, but continue to hold Home.
Didn't help and iPhone won't enter DFU mode? How was it determined? After all, even when entering DFU mode, the iPhone screen remains completely black, and this can only be determined by looking at iTunes messages. If everything is done correctly, then "tuna" will display the following message:
But if such an image appeared, it means that Recovery Mode was enabled:
Here it is worth emphasizing the fundamental difference in the iPhone between DFU and Recovery mode, so that inexperienced users stop confusing them:
- Recovery Mode operates within the operating system, is considered more “soft” and does not require iTunes to be enabled.
- DFU works bypassing the operating system - at the hardware level. Therefore, it is more efficient.
How to enable the first mode will not be considered here - therefore, if the iTunes and USB cable icon appears on the iPhone screen, you can safely start the procedure all over again.
More complicated method to put iPhone into DFU recovery mode:
- First you need to completely turn off your iPhone.
- Now the Power button is pressed for three seconds, then the Home button is pressed, held together for 10 seconds, then, just like in the first case, Power is released, and Home continues to be held.
Fail again? However, this is strange ... Then for especially lucky users there is the iReb program, which will tell you how to put the iPhone into the desired mode.
The lightweight utility will control the entry of the iPhone into the required DFU mode - you just need to select the appropriate device, the list of which starts from the iPhone 3g and ends with the iPhone 4s (which does not prevent you from using the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6s and iPhone 7), and then just follow the instructions that appear on screen.
Did it fail again? It is possible that the Home button refuses to obey. In this case, the RedSn0w program will help. You need to launch iTunes, connect your iPhone and open this utility. Then all that remains is to click on the pwned DFU button so that the iTunes beacon about the successful entry into recovery mode.
Let's say it worked out, and all the necessary procedures are done. How to restore the device to its previous state?
How to get iPhone out of DFU?
It's simple - to make the output you need to hold the Home and Power buttons for 10 seconds, thereby rebooting the device.
A small nuance before removing the iPhone from a special state: you do not need to immediately disconnect the cord from the PC without completing the above steps.
Otherwise, another problem may arise here - a capricious gadget will not want to exit DFU mode. Why is this happening and what to do?
This happens due to a banal malfunction of the system, even if it is an iPhone 7. Sometimes programs such as TinyUmbrella, RedSn0w, RecBoot and iReb help to get the smartphone out of the ill-fated mode. How to return the smartphone to normal using RedSn0w?
You just need to go back to the previous mode using this program, and then try to exit DFU by rebooting.
Everything is useless and again it is not clear how to exit the recovery mode? Then you can try to distort the battery. True, for this you have to remove the back cover with a screwdriver and a suction cup. A sometimes difficult task ... By the way, in some cases, after a successful opening, replacing the battery can help.
Last measure
If it was not possible to exit DFU mode, then there is only one way out. This is a complete flashing - it mostly helps.
Switching to DFU mode on all Apple smartphones is the same. If you don't know how to enter this feature, please follow our instructions.
1. Transfer procedure
To put any iPhone into DFU mode, do the following:
- Connect your machine to your computer using a USB cable. In this case, the operating system on the PC / laptop must be either Windows or Mac, and with iTunes installed (but do not start it yet). If you don't have this program, download it from apple.com and install it.
- When connected, turn off your iPhone. To do this, it is most convenient to simply hold down the power button, it is also “Power” (located on the side or top). You can also simultaneously hold down the "Home" button, it is also "Home" (large, round, located under the screen on the front side of the device), and the aforementioned "Power". If you chose the second option, keep these two buttons pressed for exactly 10 seconds (at least). Launch iTunes on your computer.
Clue: On the iPhone 6, the on/off button ("Power") is located on the side. This is the only difference when it comes to how to put different models of Apple smartphones into recovery and update mode.
- After 10 seconds, release "Power", while "Home" do not release. Hold down the Home button until the message shown in Figure #2 appears on the computer. It indicates that the connected device is in recovery mode. Actually, this is what we need.
Important! The process of switching to the desired mode from the moment you release the "Power" button, but hold the "Home" button, can take about 30 seconds, and in some cases up to a minute. Don't release the button! If nothing happens after a minute, start over.
Also remember that when you switch to DFU, absolutely nothing will be displayed on the smartphone screen. Only a message on the computer indicates that you did everything correctly.
If something happens on the smartphone, it starts to turn on or some pictures appear on it, then something is wrong.
It is very important to adhere to the time frames indicated above - we hold the power button and the "Home" button for only 10 seconds, and the "Power" button for up to a minute, until a message appears in iTunes.
Now you know how to transfer an Apple smartphone to DFU. But this instruction is relevant only for those cases when all the keys are in working order. If this is not the case, you will have to use workarounds.
2. We go into DFU with broken buttons
Important! This method assumes that you will jailbreak your iPhone, that is, replace the firmware on it with a custom one. In this case, the guarantee for the device will cease to be valid.
If you don't want to jailbreak, take your phone to a service center. For advice and to find your nearest service center, visit support.apple.com . Read more about contacting support in our article.
And now let's move on to how to enter DFU mode without using the buttons.
To do this, do this:
- Download and install the redsn0w utility. You can download it, for example, at iphonehacks.com.
- Run the program and successively click on the "Extras" buttons, in the next window "Even more" and then "DFU IPSW".
- Now download the official (this is important!) Firmware. If you want your device to have the latest version of iOS, download the firmware from apple.com. But if you need an older version, then you can find it, for example, on the site newapples.ru. Although there are a huge number of such sites, and you can choose any of them. Often firmware can also be found on the forums.
- In the next window, select the file with the official firmware and click "OK". You will have to wait a bit until the program creates custom firmware from the official one and installs it on your smartphone. It is impossible to say exactly how long this process takes. It all depends on the model. But you will see on your screen the progress of this action.
- When the firmware is finished, launch iTunes on your computer. At the same time, hold down the "Shift" button if you have Windows and "Option" if Mac. A message will appear telling iTunes to restore the data on the connected device. Click Restore.
- Now the smartphone will be connected to the computer, and at the same time be in DFU mode. This is what we needed.
As you can see, you can put your iPhone into recovery and update mode with or without working buttons. True, in the second case, you will have to jailbreak.
When you need to reflash your phone or update IOS to the latest version, DFU mode becomes a must. Also, in any emergency situation, this mode is indispensable. If you decide to deal with the situation yourself, but do not know how to enter this state of the device, this article will answer all your questions.
How to enter iphone into dfu mode - difference between DFU and Recovery Mode
Many users of iPhone phones have come across the recovery mode (in the English-language interface “Recovery Mode”), but they did not understand how it differs from the mentioned DFU. The first leaves your device in working condition: you see a picture on the screen, the phone responds to the touch. The second option involves working with the phone without directly entering the shell. In other words, the device does not respond to any touches and button presses, and its screen remains black and blank.
Algorithm for entering iPhone into DFU mode
So, you will need your phone, a personal computer and a usb cable through which you will connect the device.
Connect your iPhone to your laptop or computer via cable, be sure to turn it off.
- wait a couple of seconds after turning off the device,
- now simultaneously hold down the Home button, which is located in the center of the phone at the very bottom, and Power from the end,
- count exactly ten seconds to yourself,
- release your finger from the end of the phone, from the Power button,
- keep holding down the Home key,
- after a couple of seconds, your computer will recognize the iPhone in DFU mode,
- if nothing happens on the screen, just repeat the algorithm again. It is also possible that you simply held the buttons down too long, or not enough. Hold both buttons again and count to ten, if this does not work, just look at the second hand of the clock.
How to put iPhone into DFU mode without pressing buttons
If you know for sure that one of the Home or Power buttons is broken, or the algorithm described above does not work. Then try to follow the instructions in this article given below:
- download the “DFU” utility, that's what it's called,
- save to your computer on drive C,
- connect iPhone via cable,
- make sure the iTunes app is definitely disabled even in the background,
- call the command line by pressing Win + R or on laptops Fn + Win + R,
- enter the following phrase into the command line “C:/DFU / DFU iBSS.m68ap.RELEASE.dfu” without quotes and press the Enter key.
Your Apple phone is now in DFU mode with no buttons.
There is also a second utility called "redsn0w" that modifies the firmware directly. Download it and install. Then go to the following options: “Extras - Even more - DFU IPSW” and wait for a few minutes until the program itself creates a new firmware file.
Now you can launch iTunes and flash your phone by selecting the file you created. The function of the utility is that it adds an algorithm to the IOS firmware file that automatically enters the iPhone into DFU mode before installing the update. After that, the problem of entering the phone into DFU mode will no longer bother you.
Any iPhone, iPad, or media iPod touch can be entered into DFU mode. To be honest, I myself have never entered my iPhone into DFU mode, they say that newbies do not succeed right away, to enter the device into this mode, you need to adapt, which we will do today. As a sample for experiments, we will take the Apple iPhone. A feature of entering DFU mode is a completely black screen, and there are no identification marks on the iPhone screen, if the transfer to DFU was accompanied by at least an inscription, as in the picture on the left, it would be a little clearer.
In addition to DFU, there is another mode called (recovery mode). What are these two modes for? They are mainly used to flash or restore the firmware of their iPhone. It also happens that the iPhone or iPad crashed and the iOS firmware does not start, in such cases they use the Recovery Mode and DFU modes. To begin with, they always try a softer mode - Recovery Mode, but if it does not help, then they already use the DFU mode.
Sometimes DFU is confused with Recovery Mode. So that you do not get confused, I will try to explain what is the difference between them:
- When you put your iPhone or iPad into Recovery Mode, appears on the device's screen. When entering into DFU, the screen of the device has a black display.
- It is not necessary to use iTunes to enter Recovery Mode. DFU mode without iTunes cannot be launched, I tried it myself.
- The Recovery Mode is launched using the iOS operating system, and the DFU mode bypasses the operating system, i.e. at the hardware level.
How to put iPhone in DFU mode
We will look at two combinations that can put our iPhone into DFU mode. You can use any more convenient. Before we begin, launch iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone or other gadget to it using the supplied cable. Do not use USB adapters, plug the cable into the computer itself. After the iPhone is connected to a computer with iTunes running, we try to put the phone into DFU mode using one of the methods below:
Method 1. How to login to DFU
Putting iPhone into DFU mode. Method number 1
The easiest way to enter the iPhone into DFU is as follows - simultaneously hold down the Home button (Home) plus the power button (Power) and count up to 10. After 10 seconds of holding, release the Power button and continue to hold the Home button (Home).
Method 2. Second attempt to enter into DFU
Step by step start DFU mode in iPhone. Method number 2
This method is called more correct, but it is more difficult for beginners. and wait for the device to turn off completely. Now we hold down the Power button and count up to 3 seconds in the place with it, we hold down the Home button. Now, while holding Home + Power, count to 10 and release Power, but continue to hold the Home button.
iTunes during DFU mode startup
When completing the entry of the iPhone into DFU mode, it is useless to look at the phone screen, since it will simply be black, you need to look at the running iTunes program, which will detect a device running DFU mode and display the following message:
iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode. You must restore this iPhone before using it with iTunes.
If you saw such a notification, and a single button appeared in iTunes - Restore iPhone, now look at the phone screen, if the screen is black, then it is in DFU mode. If something is not pressed correctly, then an image with the iTunes logo and a USB cable may appear, which means this is Recovery Mode.
How to exit iPhone in DFU mode
If, in the process of reading the instructions, you entered your working iPhone into DFU mode, you can exit the phone using the usual one - by holding the Home + Power buttons for 10 seconds. The phone will reboot and work normally. To exit the manually launched Recovery Mode, we used the same way to exit Home + Power for 10 seconds. With the cable connected, after holding Home and Power for 10 seconds, the phone may not start, then after that press the Power button and it will turn on.
Once, after an unsuccessful attempt to update the firmware, it got out and our iPhone fell into a permanent recovery mode, from which only helped to get out. Perhaps if the iPhone does not exit DFU with a reboot, then you can try programs like TinyUmbrella or iReb. So far, I have not come across a similar situation, but if I do, I will definitely tell you.
You need to enter the device into this mode if the user of the "apple" gadget encountered problems when updating the operating system or when flashing the smartphone with a jailbreak. In addition, by transferring the iPhone to DFU-mode and returning it to its normal state, you can fix a number of system errors that can lead to incorrect operation of the device.
DFU mode on iPhone (otherwise - firmware updates) are constantly confused with recovery mode(recovery mode). In fact, the difference is huge, and it is as follows:
- recovery mode– softer mode compared to DFU; in recovery mode iPhone gets through the "OS" iOS, and in DFU Mode bypassing her. Mode DFU applies only when recovery mode refuses to help.
- In mode DFU cannot be accessed if the device is not connected to the media combine iTunes. To enter into recovery mode it is not necessary to connect the gadget to a PC.
There are also external differences between the two specific regimes. At the gadget DFU MODE completely black screen, no Apple logo; the gadget does not respond to pressing " Home" and " power" separately. On located in recovery mode, the USB cable and icon are visible. iTunes.
How to enter iPhone into DFU MODE?
There are two ways to enter an "apple" gadget into DFU mode - both are applicable to any of the Apple devices. The first one is:
Step 1. Connect iPhone to PC and launch iTunes.
Step 2. Press the buttons " Home" and " power» at the same time and hold for 10 seconds.
Image: w3bsit3-dns.biz
Step 3 Let go" power", a " Home» leave it pressed until iTunes there will be no message about iPhone being detected in emergency mode.
Image: nastroyka.zp.ua
The gadget itself will not let the user know that it has switched to DFU MODE.
The second way to switch to the firmware update mode is considered more correct, however, it is often not obeyed by beginners. The initial action is also to connect the smartphone to iTunes- then proceed as follows:
Step 1. Turn off the device - wait until its screen is completely off.
Step 2 Hold down the " power", count down 3 seconds, then press additionally " Home". This is where the main difficulty lies: you need to perform these operations so that the iPhone does not turn on in normal mode.
Step 3. Count down 10 seconds after pressing " Home and let go power». « Home"Don't let go.
Step 4 AT iTunes a message will appear - in the window click " OK».
Is it possible to put an iPhone into DFU mode if the physical buttons don't work?
To get into mode DFU without using physical buttons, you will have to transform the existing original firmware into custom firmware using a simple utility called redsnOw. You can download this program for Windows and OS X.
Before you start using the utility, you need to download the appropriate firmware to your PC hard drive. Then you should act like this:
Step 1. Run redsnOw and follow the path Extras» — « even more» — « DFU IPSW».
Step 2 In the window " DFU-mode IPSW workaround» click « OK».
Step 3. Through File Browser find the firmware you downloaded earlier (format file ipsw).
The utility will start creating custom firmware - the progress of this process is reflected in the status bar.
Once the process is complete, a message will appear stating that the IPSW file has been successfully created. In the message you will see the path by which you can get to the firmware.
You can distinguish DFU-firmware from the original one by its name: custom firmware always has the prefix "ENTER_DFU_".
Step 3 Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch the iTunes program, go to the gadget control menu by clicking on the smartphone icon.
Step 4. Press and hold on your Windows PC keyboard “ Shift” (on Mac — “ Option”) and click on the button “ Restore iPhone…”.
Step 5. Select custom firmware in the window that appears.
Step 6. iTunes will warn you that restoring your iPhone will delete your data - click " Reestablish».
From this moment, the firmware will be downloaded to the smartphone via DFU Mode.
How to get iPhone out of DFU mode?
Bringing your iPhone back to normal is quite simple:
Step 1. Disconnect the gadget from the PC.
Step 2 Press the buttons " Home" and " power» at the same time and hold for 10 seconds. It remains to wait until the smartphone exits DFU mode, reboots and starts working in standard mode.
If the gadget is connected by cable to the computer, then after a 10-second wait, you need to release the buttons and hold down " power» for another 3 seconds (similar to normal power-up).
Conclusion
Entering a smartphone into DFU mode is a rather dangerous procedure; if the user makes a mistake, the iPhone may end up in the " eternal apple" or in " recovery loop” - getting out of these modes is not easy. To return the smartphone to normal operation, you will have to use additional software, like iReb or Tiny Umbrella, or turn to specialists for paid assistance (if there is no time to master special programs).
