7 Easy Ways to Troubleshoot iPhone Won’t Restore [iOS 15 Included]

When you try to restore iPhone data, you may encounter the situation that iPhone won’t restore from backup. Maybe your iPhone cannot be restored after updating the system like iOS 15. Or probably you are stuck in recovery mode and your iPhone won’t restore in recovery mode. There may also be an error with your iPhone or iTunes, such as iPhone restore error 4013, so iTunes won’t restore iPhone. Whatever the reason, iPhone restore not working can be annoying.

Many people ask: How do I fix the restore error on my iPhone? To solve people’s problem, this article will show you several common reasons why iPhone won’t restore and six quick fixes. These tips apply to all iPhone models and iOS systems, including the newest iPhone model and system.

Also Read: How to Fix Data Recovery Cannot be Completed >

Why Won’t my iPhone Restore

To solve the problem of iPhone not restoring, you must first find the cause of the problem. Then, why can’t I restore my new iPhone, or the old one? You can’t restore iPhone due to various different reasons, and here we have listed the common scenarios for iPhone won’t restore problem:

• Your iPhone is connected to your computer via a broken or problematic USB cable.
• iPhone won’t restore after an iOS update or iTunes update.
• An unknown iTunes error occurs during the restore process.
• The restore was interrupted when it was attempted using iCloud.
• Your iPhone has gone through the jailbreak process.
• The backup is corrupt or incompatible.

7 Tips to Fix iPhone Won’t Restore Problem

Considering that many people are troubled by iPhone restore problem, in this section, we provide you with 7 proven tips to fix the iPhone won’t restore issue. These methods are also workable considering you may update the iPhone system to a new iOS version. If the iPhone could not be restored, please read on.

Tip 1. Check USB Cable and Wi-Fi Connection

Sometimes the reason why your iPhone cannot be recognized by iTunes is that your cable is damaged or you forget to turn on Wi-Fi. And if it is because of the USB cable, you can change to another one to try to fix the error.

Tip 2. Fix iPhone Won’t Restore With an iOS Repair Tool

If your iPhone could not be restored due to iOS system issues like black screen spinning wheel after iOS update, stuck on Apple logo, boot loop, etc., you can use iOS system repair tool to fix iPhone will not restore issue. PhoneRescue for iOS is a highly recommended iOS system repair software. And most importantly, PhoneRescue can also give the best protection to the data in your iPhone during repairing the iPhone restore problem, so that you can still view and use the data freely after the issue is solved. To learn more about PhoneRescue’s features, keep reading.

• One-click repair of iOS system – Still spending a lot of time and energy to search for the reasons and solutions of system problems? With PhoneRescue, you can solve your iPhone restore problem with one click in just a few minutes.
• No risk of data loss – No need to worry about your data will disappear. PhoneRescue’s Advanced Mode can ensure that your data won’t be erased while fixing iOS system issues.
• Supports to fix a variety of iOS system problems – Almost all common system problems are covered, including but not limited to iOS update failure, black screen, white screen of death, stuck on Apple logo, and recovery mode loop.
• Including iPhone 13 and iOS 15 – PhoneRescue has extremely high compatibility even with the latest iPhone model and iOS system.

Download PhoneRescue for iOS for free now and follow the instruction below to solve iPhone won’t restore problem step by step!

Step 1. Launch PhoneRescue on your computer and connect your phone and computer with a USB cable. On the Device Rescuer interface, select Repair iOS System, and click the arrow in the lower right corner.

Step 2. In the new interface, select Advanced Mode and click the arrow button. This mode ensures that the data on your iPhone will not be erased during the system repair process.

Step 3. Follow the on-screen instructions to put your iPhone into recovery mode and download the firmware. Once the download is complete, the repair process will start automatically. You just need to wait for a few minutes.

Tip 3. Fix iPhone Won’t Restore With an iTunes Repair Tool

Some people may also restore iPhone from iTunes, but iTunes could not restore the iPhone. Apart from iOS system issues, iTunes errors may also cause iPhone not to be restored. For this situation, you need an iTunes repair software to help you solve iPhone won’t restore issue. You can try AnyFix – iOS System Recovery to fix iPhone won’t restore issue. It can solve 200+ iTunes errors, such as iPhone won’t restore, iPhone is disabled connect to iTunes, iTunes error 4013, etc.

Besides, if your iPad or Apple TV is not running well, you can also use AnyFix since it can fix 40+ iPad Problems, 20+ iPod touch Problems, and 20+ Apple TV Problems. Now, check some of its main features below to get a deeper understanding of this software.

Having known the impressive features of AnyFix, you are highly encouraged to download AnyFix when you faced iPhone won’t restore due to iTunes errors. Here are the specific steps.

Step 1. Launch AnyFix > Connect your iPhone to the computer via a USB cable > Choose iTunes Repair.

Step 2. Choose iTunes Connection/Backup/Restore Errors and tap on Scan Now.

Step 3. After AnyFix analyzes the errors, click on Fix Now button and then the OK button to allow AnyFix to repair.

Step 4. Now you only need to wait for the fix process to finish. And the iPhone won’t restore problem will be solved.

Tip 4. Restart Computer, iTunes, and iPhone

If you receive a message showing “there was a problem during restore please restart your iPhone”, you should try to restart your iPhone as it indicates.

You may know how to restart the computer, iTunes, and iPhone. And if possible, you can have a force restart your iPhone: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons for at least 10 seconds until the Apple logo disappears.

Tip 5. Make Sure Your iPhone Has Trusted Your Computer

If it is the first time you connect your iPhone to computer, you should make your computer be trusted by your iPhone. After connecting, just unlock your iPhone and tap “Trust”.

Tip 6. Update to the Latest iTunes Version

Make sure you have installed the latest version of iTunes on your computer. Sometimes the old iTunes isn’t compatible with your iPhone. So just go to update your iTunes to be the newest after going to Apple iTunes download page or iTunes menu bar.

Tip 7. Try Again and Again or Contact Apple Support

There are some other reasons why iPhone won’t restore, such as your backup being corrupted or too large. So you should try again. And after trying all methods, and still getting some unknown errors, such as error 1600, you can contact Apple Support for help. And there are some fixes of unknown errors you can refer to.

How to Restore iPhone without iTunes?

If the above methods still can’t solve the iPhone won’t restore or iTunes won’t restore iPhone problem, a great iTunes alternative can help solve this iPhone won’t restore problem as soon as possible. Here are 2 iTunes alternatives recommended. Both of them are proved to be quite effective by millions of iPhone users.

1. Restore iPhone with PhoneRescue for iOS

Can’t restore iPhone because error occurred? How can I restore my iPhone without iTunes? If even with the above methods, your iPhone won’t restore, you can try on the superb iTunes alternative tool – PhoneRescue for iOS to restore your iPhone from iTunes or iCloud backup in the condition that iTunes is not available.

Unlike restoring iPhone from iTunes, restoring data through PhoneRescue will not erase the original files on your iPhone, keeping your data intact as much as possible. And PhoneRescue also allows you to preview and select the data you want to restore so that you can really regain the data you want instead of blindly restoring. Also, no matter how much data you have, the entire restore process will only take you a few minutes. Just download PhoneRescue and follow the steps below to restore your iPhone!

Step 1. Open PhoneRescue on your computer > Connect your iPhone to the computer via a USB cable > Choose Restore from Backup mode > Click on Right Arrow to continue.

Step 2. Select one backup that contains the data you want to restore > Click the arrow button again > Select the data categories and click OK.

Step 3. Preview and choose the data you want to restore > Click the Recover button to restore to your iPhone now.

2. PhoneTrans – Back up and Restore iPhone with Ease

PhoneTrans – Phone to Phone Transfer is a professional iPhone switcher that supports transferring data from iPhone to iPhone with great ease. To make sure all data can be safely restored to the new iPhone, PhoneTrans also provides several options to back up the iPhone and restore data from iTunes, iCloud, and Google account. That is to say, iPhone users can easily fix the iPhone-won’t-restore problem through restore iPhone using PhoneTrans.

Let’s download PhoneTrans and check out how to use it to fix iPhone won’t restore issue.

Step 1. Open PhoneTrans on your computer. Also, connect your iPhone to the computer. Choose the Phone Restore on the left panel. Then choose iTunes Backup and tap on Start Restore to go on.

Step 2. Select the exact iTunes backup and click on the Full Restore button to retrieve data from iTunes backup to your iPhone.

The Bottom Line

The above are the common reasons and solutions for iPhone not restoring that we have summarized. Through a comprehensive comparison, PhoneRescue is obviously the most recommended method, because it can not only repair iOS system and iTunes problems, but also help you restore your iPhone. Download PhoneRescue and use it to fix iPhone won’t restore problem!