6 Simple Steps to Force Your iPhone or iPod into Recovery Mode

A step-by-step guide on forcing iPods and older models of iPhones (those with the Home button) to go into Recovery Mode

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Last Updated: May 15, 2023 Tested

In order to manipulate your iPod or iPhone's software, including jailbreaking it, you might have to put it into Recovery Mode at one point or another. The process is fairly straightforward, just follow this guide to get started.

Things You Should Know

You'll need to get your iPhone or iPod into Recovery Mode for some troubleshooting or if you plan on jailbreaking it.
Make sure you start with your iPhone or iPod disconnected from your computer.
Press and hold the Home button until the device turns off.

Steps

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The process won’t work if you start with the phone connected to the computer. Leave the cable connected to the computer, as you will be reconnecting the phone later in the process.
Turn off your device by holding down the Power button. When the power slider appears, slide it to the right. Wait for your device to completely shut down before continuing.

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Press and hold the Home button. With the Home button held connect the device to your computer with the USB cable. When reconnected, your device should turn on.
- If the low battery screen appears, charge your device for a few minutes and try the process again.
After a few moments, you will see the "Connect to iTunes" screen on your device. This screen is a picture of an arrow pointing from a USB cable to the iTunes logo. When you see the screen you can release the Home button.
If you are performing a recovery through iTunes, open the program. iTunes will display a message stating that a device in recovery mode has been connected. From there you can proceed to restore your iOS device.
Exit Recovery Mode. If you want to exit the Recovery Mode, hold down both the Power and the Home buttons for about 10 seconds. This will power down your device. To power it on normally, press and hold the Power button for a moment.^{[1]
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I forgot my four digit lock code on my iPhone. What should I do?

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You need to connect it to a computer and follow these steps to restore the device. This is the only way you can unlock it.

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I restored my iPod many times and it is still locked. What now?

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You didn't restore it if your passcode is still apparent. Read and follow the instructions in this article one more time.

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How can I restore my iPod if it is disabled?

Community Answer

If it's an iPad Touch, boot it into recovery mode using the tutorial above. Use a different tutorial if it's a different iPod, then recover it using iTunes.

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Warnings

wikiHow and the authors of this article are not responsible for any damage caused to your device.

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Jailbreaking an iPod may be considered a copyright violation by Apple, and jailbreaking any device may void your warranty.

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