iPhone SE failed to upgrade and is now inaccessible

[Alwyn]

Having successfully updated my iPhone SE from my iMac I tried to do the same to my wife's SE from her iMac. As hers only has High Sierra OS 10.13.6 it can only be done from iTunes. I couldn't get an option to upgrade so tried from my iMac which has Catalina OS 10.15.6. It started the upgrade but eventually came up with a message to say that it couldn't be upgraded.

The iPhone is now completely out of action. I have tried to restore it but the only option is Restore and Upgrade and, once again, it failed on the Upgrade. It was backed up to my wife's iMac but I don't seem to be able to restore it from there either.

 

[chscag]

Are those SE phones the original SE models or the new SE? If they are of the older type, updating them to iOS 14 may not be a good idea. The new version of iOS places a substantial load on the phone especially older phones. I upgraded our spare 7+ and it took forever. I also noticed that the phone has slowed down considerably.

Try placing your wife's phone in DFU mode and then afterward try to install iOS again.

How To Put An iPhone In DFU Mode, The Apple Way

DFU stands for Device Firmware Update, and it's the deepest type of restore you can do on an iPhone. An Apple lead genius taught me how to put iPhones

www.payetteforward.com

 

[Rod]

The bottom line here is updating/upgrading on iTunes or the later Finder window method is no longer the best way to go. I know this is closing the gate after the horse has bolted but nowadays it is better and safer to update and especially upgrade iOS on the device itself rather than the old USB connection to a computer method. It avoids all sorts of compatibility issues and is generally faster. Beleive me I was a strong exponent of the old USB method but I have learned the hard way, as it seems have you.

As chscag has suggested try to put it in DFU mode then set it up as a New iPhone then restore it from her backup.

PS. Charlie, thats a great article on DFU Mode. I've saved in my references folder.

 

[ferrarr]

I had a similar issue when I updated my iPad Pro 1st gen . It took about three hours then it finally did it. I restarted my Mini multiple times. I tried restore multiple times and I tried update multiple times. I just kept trying, because I knew it was supported.

Do you shut down both iMacs or just let them sleep?

 

[IWT]

it is better and safer to update and especially upgrade iOS on the device itself

I agree with you, Rod. I haven't had any problems updating or upgrading via iTunes - yet! But updating/upgrading on the device is the likely way forward.

A few points to emphasise if one goes down this route:

1. Have your iPhone on charge.

2. Ensure you are in a high WiFi environment

3. Make sure that you have plenty free space available on your iPhone. Recent updates/upgrades have been in the 5-6 GB range.

Updating/upgrading via WiFi means that the Download is first stored on your iPhone and thereafter Installed. This is not the case if done via iTunes. In that scenario, the Download is stored on the Mac prior to installation on the iPhone.

Ian

 

[Alwyn]

Are those SE phones the original SE models or the new SE? If they are of the older type, updating them to iOS 14 may not be a good idea. The new version of iOS places a substantial load on the phone especially older phones. I upgraded our spare 7+ and it took forever. I also noticed that the phone has slowed down considerably.

Try placing your wife's phone in DFU mode and then afterward try to install iOS again.

How To Put An iPhone In DFU Mode, The Apple Way

DFU stands for Device Firmware Update, and it's the deepest type of restore you can do on an iPhone. An Apple lead genius taught me how to put iPhones

www.payetteforward.com

Thanks Charles, It is the older type. As indicated I eventually managed to update my Series 1 SE but it has 64GB rather than 32GB (I think) on my wife's. Thanks for your article on DFU. I have tried DFU several times. Although I get an instruction to restore my iPhone, when I click on Restore I get a second message which only enables me to Restore and Update. When I do that my iMac tries to restore and comes back with a message saying 'The iPhone "iPhone" could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (2006)'. I followed your procedure exactly with the same result except that the error is now 2005. I have spent upwards of 3 hours on the phone to Apple and have now got an appointment with my nearest Apple store. I hope that they can sort it. In view of what you say, if they can restore it, I will ask them not to update it to iOS 14.

 

[Rod]

A little research on my part seems to indicate that Error 2005 and 2006 refer to USB connection errors so I would be checking your connections, cables etc. I would be very interested in the outcome. Please let us know how you go with Apple ..

 

[Alwyn]

A little research on my part seems to indicate that Error 2005 and 2006 refer to USB connection errors so I would be checking your connections, cables etc. I would be very interested in the outcome. Please let us know how you go with Apple ..

I seem to have to renew cables more often than I would like so you may be right. I'm pleased to say that my visit to the Apple Store was successful. To be on the safe side I opted for a reset rather than an upgrade. All but the most recent pix survived; otherwise we had to download all our non-standard. apps some of which required security that we had mislaid. What is odd that my wife's iMac which has/had a backup isn't seeing the iPhone. Mine did but doesn't now although the cable is charging okay.

All the Apple staff were extremely patient and the last one set up a genius bar booking. There was a socially distanced queue outside the store but I was almost immediately checked in and, after a bit of a wait, I was led to the genius bar and they sorted everything all foc. Colin.

 

[Rod]

It sure sounds like you still have connectivity issues. I assume you have restarted both your wife’s and your computers and have tried different USB ports on both devices?
You can just backup the phones to iCloud and ignore the problem but in the long run I think you need to get them connected to your devices. Have you asked Apple about the problem?

 

[Alwyn]

I have now backed up her iPhone to my iMac as it has Catalina. My wife's iMac recognises her iPhone in Photos but can't download the pix for some reason. It can't see her iPhone at all in iTunes.

I have a more important question. If I can restore her iPhone from the pre-upgrade backup will it keep the upgrade to iOs 14.0.1 or will it revert to 13.7?

 

[lclev]

It should revert to 13.7 if that is what the backup is.

Lisa

 

[chscag]

It should revert to 13.7 if that is what the backup is.

Apple is no longer signing 13.7 and 14.0. So if the restore does not work for some reason, the only choice will be 14.0.1.

My wife's iMac recognises her iPhone in Photos but can't download the pix for some reason. It can't see her iPhone at all in iTunes.

Tell her to use Image Capture instead if she needs to transfer the photos to her computer. That should work even if Photos doesn't.