Recovery Mode puts the iPhone into a state where it can be plugged into a Mac or PC, from which you can push a fresh version of iOS onto the device. DFU vs Recovery Mode: Which One Do You Need? From there you can reinstall iOS, or carry out other rescue operations, as detailed below. Both of these are activated by tapping out a combo of button presses on the handset itself right after powering it up, and both are designed to let you hook your dead or malfunctioning iPhone up to a computer via USB, even when the iPhone won’t boot into iOS. In order to jailbreak an iPhone, for example, you have to crack the boot loader so you can load a modified version of iOS.īut what if the iPhone won’t start up at all? In that case, there are two options: Recovery Mode, and DFU, or Device Firmware Update Mode. The bootloader is important, because it governs what can be loaded on the device, enforcing Apple’s rules and security restrictions. One of these is the loading of the bootloader, called iBoot, which in turn loads iOS. That seemingly simple procedure obscures several other processes happening in the background. A short while later, the iPhone is up and running, asking for your passcode.

When you power on your device, the Apple logo usually appears. A quick note: wherever we refer to an “iPhone” or “phone” in this post, you can also assume it applies to an iPad. Here’s what DFU Mode is, what it’s really for (and not), and how to get into it. And yet this obscure tool is essential for resurrecting a dead iPhone, or rolling back an unwanted iOS update. It’s hard to activate, and the screen stays blank when you finally manage to trigger it. The DFU Mode in iPhones and iPads is an emergency tool that’s not designed for most people to ever see.

How to enter dfu mode ipad pro