Bricked my iPhone 4 with iOS 5! - Now Fixed !

Stinicker

Yesterday I decided to install "Find my iPhone" and as part of the app install I needed iCloud, which I didn't have on my iPhone. I then searched online and found out I needed iOS 5, so I updated iTunes to the latest version as it was on an older version and then went to to download and install iOS 5, it took about four timeouts before it downloaded and then I began the installation process, before hand I backed up the iPhone however.

About 45mins later it said that the installation had failed and to restore the phone, as the phone is in recovery mode with the cable and itunes logo on the screen.

The restoration then failed and it says "the iPhone could note be restored an unknown error has occured" (14).

I done some research and tried a combination of pressing the home and power buttons until it reset and used different USB ports and three different USB cables and I get the same result everytime. The iPhone starts restoring and then the loading progress bar on iTunes starts overtaking the bar the bar on the phone and then I get the error message as above.

I can't do nothing with the phone as I can't/don't know how to restore it back to factory either and there is dosen't seem to be an option for this in iTunes as the last time I did this It was done through a menu setting in the phone itself.

In my iTunes I have two backups available one from yesterday before the attempt at installing iOS 5 and one from a few days ago when I factory restored the phone as part of troubleshooting the phone with "Three Mobile" as I am fighting them to get out of contract due to the 2G/3G latching on problem which is totally unrelated to this by the way.

So for the last 20 hours I have a €600 ornament doing nothing and god knows how many missed calls and texts.

Any ideas?

Inquitus

Stinicker wrote: »

Yesterday I decided to install "Find my iPhone" and as part of the app install I needed iCloud, which I didn't have on my iPhone. I then searched online and found out I needed iOS 5, so I updated iTunes to the latest version as it was on an older version and then went to to download and install iOS 5, it took about four timeouts before it downloaded and then I began the installation process, before hand I backed up the iPhone however.

About 45mins later it said that the installation had failed and to restore the phone, as the phone is in recovery mode with the cable and itunes logo on the screen.

The restoration then failed and it says "the iPhone could note be restored an unknown error has occured" (14).

I done some research and tried a combination of pressing the home and power buttons until it reset and used different USB ports and three different USB cables and I get the same result everytime. The iPhone starts restoring and then the loading progress bar on iTunes starts overtaking the bar the bar on the phone and then I get the error message as above.

I can't do nothing with the phone as I can't/don't know how to restore it back to factory either and there is dosen't seem to be an option for this in iTunes as the last time I did this It was done through a menu setting in the phone itself.

In my iTunes I have two backups available one from yesterday before the attempt at installing iOS 5 and one from a few days ago when I factory restored the phone as part of troubleshooting the phone with "Three Mobile" as I am fighting them to get out of contract due to the 2G/3G latching on problem which is totally unrelated to this by the way.

So for the last 20 hours I have a €600 ornament doing nothing and god knows how many missed calls and texts.

Any ideas?

Try a different PC

Stinicker

Just spent the last hour on the phone to Apple tech support, but still no joy.

I can't believe that such a simple thing as an OS upgrade could destroy a €600 piece of greatness.

So now I have an a repair envelope from Three as part of their troubleshooting as per my attempts to get out of contract re: the other issue with the network, now Apples software looks to have borked the phone anyway and if my last ditch efforts to save the iPhone fails it will be going back to apple for replacement.

So a quick low down on my efforts to recover the iPhone:

Error 14 is apparently an USB issue, but in reality they don't know.

As per the Apple tech instructions:

I tried recovering the phone using every USB port on the PC using three separate cables on each port.

I tuned off Eset Smart Security and Anti-Virus and the Firewall, and this made no difference.

I then created a new administrator user account in Windows 7 and iTunes is blank in that without my music or settings. I then tried to restore the iPhone and it downloads iOS-5 which is over 700MB so it takes a while, anyway after all that I get the same error message.

I now have updated iTunes on the laptop and I plan to upgrade it to iOS 5 on that, just waiting for the 700MB download again now, this incidentally is my 10th time now downloading iOS 5 as it timed out multiple times last night before I eventually got it down and it the borked the phone and I have downloaded over 7GB of this crap and still no joy only a €600 incapacitated phone at the moment.

Will update the thread as things progress.

Stinicker

Phew....

The laptop upgraded it to iOS 5 and took it out of recovery mode, re-connected it to iTunes on my main pc and it restored it to the backup, except with iOS 5 this time around.

So 20 hours later my phone eventually is getting iOS 5 into it, some bloody ordeal and luckily my laptop pulled me out of this mess in the finish.

Now so to figure out iCloud and if it is worth it etc! and get to where I was at and be able to install "Find my iPhone" and get back to the important tasks.... i.e. defeating Angry Birds