iPhone Recovery Mode

My iPhone 5 has been acting up lately and for several days I had to do a hard reset every time I had to charge it.

iTunes recognized the phone and said I had to a restore.

After the restore if I use the latest iPhone backup to go back to all the apps I have etc. will I have the same problems again? Or, do the apps just get put on top of the restored OS?

Your latest backup will have all of your information (apps, messages and settings) and if you put it back after a restore, it will all come back..

@Trolle

Peripheral to your main problem, to which Ashwin has given you the answer; - as a matter of strategy, I think it is a good idea to keep iTunes fully up to date with all your apps. This you can do by opening iTunes > select Apps from the media list (top left) > select Updates (top centre) > Update all apps (bottom right).

Doing this means that you can remove or install your apps via iTunes if the need arises. Much quicker.

Another advantage is that iTunes will retain every app you've ever downloaded for your iDevices.

If you find an app won't work on your iPhone, say, and you try to re-download it from the App Store, it may have been withdrawn or upgraded to meet the requirements of a new iOS which your iDevice can't run - then you're stymied. But connect your iDevice to iTunes and the "old" app is still there and can be installed.

Just a few thoughts.

Ian

My question was more aimed at whether a restore also restore the OS. If there is something wrong with the OS will a restore from backup just reintroduce the problem?

I know that the apps will come back but will the potential OS problems as well.

But on to bigger and more important questions:
IS MY IPHONE TOAST?

I plugged in the iPhone and got the message that I had to do a restore.
I did a restore where iTunes downloaded the latest iOS for the phone.
The phone did the update thing where there is the white progress bar on a black background.
Once that was complete I didn't get a message or anything.
Now the phone just shows the charging icon but does not show up in iTunes.
The phone has been plugged in all day and would not charge, hard reset or anything similar; hence the restore.

Hi Trolle

I'm really sorry to read this. Well, you know the answer to one question: a Restore downloads the latest iOS your iPhone can run. It "assumes" that one of the problems necessitating the Restore function, was iOS-related. With a new iOS in place, it then restores your apps and settings etc.

But, not in your case, it seems. I imagine that you have disconnected the iPhone from the Mac and tried to reconnect it again?

Still not recognised? Not looking good. If you can't get anything from the iPhone on its own and nothing when you connect to your Mac/iTunes - then I think it's funeral time. But wait for wiser counsel. Someone may have further ideas.

Ian

Thanks for the answer regarding the restore and iOS.

I have restarted iTunes, unplugged the phone, tried a hard reset on the phone, etc. Nothing works.

I have already begun looking at new phones. The ultimate dilemma: buy a new iPhone or a second non-smart phone to wait for the next iPhone model. I was already planning to buy the next model iPhone upon release.

Perhaps an even better option: The Apple on line refurbished store. The store now carries refurbished iPhones that are like new. They have been restored by Apple with a new screen, case, and battery and are fully warranted for one year. They currently have a large stock of the iPhone 6s and 6s+ in varying storage sizes and colors.

I buy nearly all my products refurbished. Latest is a new 2016 13" MBP with 1 TB HDD and 16 GB RAM.

I live abroad so that's not really an option at the moment; but plenty of places selling refurbished iPhones.

OK, that's too bad. Yes, for now only the US Apple refurbished store is stocking iPhones. I believe they will expand that to Canada and the UK in the near future.

If I buy an iPhone with a smaller HD than a previous one and restore from a backup can I choose what apps/content to include?

Since there will not be enough room.

Not possible if you use iTunes to restore from as it will try to restore everything and probably balk when there isn't enough space. Third party software works but there aren't any that I know of and can recommend which are free.

Why don't you just buy an iPhone with a larger storage capacity? I currently use an iPhone 7+ with 128GB storage but am only using about 10% of that. Just like the hard drive in your Mac... the more free space it has to work with, the better it will work (and faster).

Strange question...probably last one.

Any way to see the GB on a phone that will not turn on? I forgot the HDD size. Checked to find any receipts online but I don't have any from where I purchased the phone 4 years ago.

I tried the a.... model but it just shows up with the variants.

I think I went 32GB.

Unless you're able to turn the phone on or have the original Apple box with the serial number, you won't be able to determine what size the storage was. Do you have the serial number written down anywhere? How about the Apple model number? Either one will allow you to lookup the phone on the Apple site or another site and that will give you the size.

As a bit of info, if it was 32 GB, you can purchase a 6, 6+, 6s, or 6s+ with 64 GB of storage. That size is somewhere in the middle and should not be expensive.

Thanks for all the help.

There is a trusted sales site of pre-owned iPhones in my area.

I have tried to charge from the computer, outlet, and external battery.

The phone appears to recognize the charge since when I remove the charger cable the icon appears on the screen to plug in a charger. When I plug it in the icon changes to under charge again.

Even after an entire day of charging on any of the 3 types above there is no difference and I cannot turn the phone on.

If you have a backup of your iPhone in iTunes, it should have the serial number associated with the backup, or so I thought.

I can't see the iPhone in iTunes so I do not know if I can see any information regarding phone or the backup itself.

I found the backup file itself but can't decipher the serial number anywhere in there.

The serial number and details are listed in Devices on your Apple ID page. applied.apple.com


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