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February 26th, 2010, 07:45 GMT · By Filip Truta
Download iPhone / iPod IPSW Manually, Restore via iTunes (How-to) |
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Owners of an iPhone or iPod update / restore their software using Apple-provided IPSW files that only work in iTunes. Well, not really, some of them work with jailbreak tools like Blackra1n and PwnageTool, but that’s another story. Apple says that the only legit way to update one's iPhone’s / iPod’s software is by downloading it via iTunes, yet many websites out there offer free downloads even for iPod touch IPSWs.
Whichever way you choose to ultimately obtain your update / restore file, the process of updating / restoring your device to it is basically the same. And it’s very simple, actually. You don’t even need to follow a guide, or anything like that, although Apple has provided several, just in case something goes wrong. Considering that you’re all set up with the necessary software and hardware requirements, once you have your appropriate IPSW file at hand, here’s what you do to restore your device to it. Note: restoring an iPhone/ iPod to a new IPSW file will erase all data and install the new version of the device’s OS over it. We encourage you to make a backup of your content before proceeding with the update / restoration process. 1 - Launch iTunes ( make sure iTunes is up-to-date) 2 - Connect device to computer 3 - Select your device in the list (e.g.: Filip’s iPhone) 4 - click the “summary” tab 5 - hold the Alt key (on Mac OS X) / the Shift key (on Windows) and hit “restore” (as shown in the screenshot below) 6 - iTunes will show a dialog allowing you to select the IPSW file you want your device restored to 7- select the IPSW firmware bundle you want to restore to and hit “choose” 8- be patient and wait for the installation process to be completed by iTunes Here’s another important note (which Windows users should pay particular attention to; also, this is something that only applies if the user chooses to look for the desired IPSW file on the Internet). Your browser may change the IPSW file into a .zip file. For example, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer does this, if used to download the firmware bundle. This doesn’t mean it’s unusable. Instead of wasting time switching web browsers, just rename the file to end in “.ipsw” and iTunes will accept it. Important note: Softpedia does not encourage downloading iPhone / iPod update / restoration files from the Internet. Apple is the only legit source of IPSW downloads. Unfortunately, the company allows customers to download the latest version of the software only, but device owners can choose to save the older IPSW files they’ve previously downloaded and use them to revert to an older version.
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READER COMMENTS: |
| Comment #2 by: sonam on 08 Nov 2010, 00:56 UTC |  reply to this comment | thank u all
i saved my ten hours,,,,,,,,,, |
| Comment #4 by: Anonymous on 03 Jan 2011, 21:41 UTC | reply to this comment | Thanks for this... It really helped to simplify the process. |
| Comment #5 by: xtian on 07 Feb 2011, 19:24 UTC | reply to this comment | you saved my life! thanks a lot, great explanation! |
| Comment #9 by: joman on 22 Mar 2011, 21:37 UTC | reply to this comment | thanks. this saved me alot of time, and money. This was a great explanation. Escpeccialy since i accedentily upgraded to 4.3 thnx for the important note. helped alot |
| Comment #11 by: TegFreak on 17 Apr 2011, 20:45 UTC | reply to this comment | I have downloaded iPod touch 2G 3.1.2 software for my 2nd gen touch and followed this guide. it made it really simple but I keep getting a message saying my firmware file is not compatible. anyone else get this? |
| Comment #12 by: Naija Boy on 06 May 2011, 10:46 UTC | reply to this comment | God bless u man.... This is how info should be gotten... precise and straight to the point. Saved me a lot of pain |
| Comment #13 by: dvdbokser on 02 Jun 2011, 19:53 UTC | reply to this comment | every time i do this i get an error telling me it cant be done. no matter hwat file i use. Both on my iphone and my ipad |
| Comment #14.1 by: gansterboy123 on 18 Jun 2011, 18:26 GMT | hello can u help me with my iphone 3gs its frozen and can u sugest a site to go on to restore it to how it was thanks very much liam |
| Comment #15 by: Lou on 22 Jun 2011, 01:33 UTC | reply to this comment | Awesome help for new starters, cheers :) |
| Comment #16 by: william on 23 Jun 2011, 04:21 UTC | reply to this comment | have been trying to restore my iphone , i get an erro of 1015 pls i need help of how to suve this problem
thanks |
| Comment #17 by: william on 23 Jun 2011, 04:23 UTC | reply to this comment | i have tried and tried to restore my iphone but i get an erro of 1015 pls i need help of how to suve this.
thanks |
| Comment #18 by: Edmondo on 11 Aug 2011, 15:26 UTC | reply to this comment | Is there a way to simply update the firmware instead of restoring? The idea is I have lot of important information on my device that I'm afraid to loose by the process of backing up (I don't want to miss a thing). Is by clicking on update will still erase all my data?
Why is the downloaded file labeled at the end "restore" is there an "update" version of it? |
| Comment #19 by: justinlee on 11 Sep 2011, 18:55 UTC | reply to this comment | thank you so much i downloaded the ipsw for a website but couldnt install it but thanks to you i could:) |
| Comment #19.1 by: tomas on 13 Oct 2011, 00:20 GMT | I could not install it in my iphone, how did yo do it? |
| Comment #20 by: Kiki on 23 Sep 2011, 09:04 UTC | reply to this comment | really thanks a lot... you save my ipad...... |
| Comment #21 by: CoPresidentNerd on 13 Oct 2011, 00:13 UTC | reply to this comment | "Instead of wasting time switching web browsers" if you're using Internet Explorer as your web browser, switching web browsers is anything but a waste of time. Make the internet a better place, try Chrome, FireFox or Safari. |
| Comment #22 by: ButtahNBred on 13 Oct 2011, 02:37 UTC | reply to this comment | wonderful! Saved me the additional hour of downloading the iOS5 from iTunes. :-) |
| Comment #23 by: Jeanp12 on 27 Oct 2011, 11:04 UTC | reply to this comment | Hey, i got a problem, when its finishes charging the first bar and starts verifying the restorations a message pops-up saying that there is a mistake (3194) Anybody knows what this means? |
| Comment #25 by: budoy01 on 13 Nov 2011, 01:44 UTC | reply to this comment | im restoring it but it errors someone help me plssss i cannot use it its been locked up :( |
| Comment #26 by: budoy01 on 13 Nov 2011, 01:47 UTC | reply to this comment | i have tried and tried to restore my iphone but i get an error of 1015 pls i need help of how to solve this.
thanks |
| Comment #28 by: Joe on 05 Jan 2012, 10:30 UTC | reply to this comment | I applied the same method but without success as the message says" ….the file is not compatible.." while updating firmware iOS 5.0.0 to 5.0.1. I think that method doesn't work with iOS 5 version as we can download the new firmware directly from the iPhone itself. |
| Comment #30 by: ahmada on 10 Jan 2012, 19:20 UTC | reply to this comment | amazing thank you alooooooot :):) it works with me |
| Comment #33 by: Jake on 22 Apr 2012, 12:23 UTC | reply to this comment | Grazie mille Flip!!! Buon Lavoro...Now I have my iPhone restored. |
| Comment #34 by: benquin on 21 May 2012, 13:31 UTC | reply to this comment | All of us iPhone users would love to have our iphones updated via iTunes. Unfortunately, Apple still needs to do a lot of work to make it possible for us to do that. We all "HATE" having to look for the .ipsw file online to enable us to update our phones. I tried updating via the phone itself: settings/general/software update... it failed. Tried updating via iTunes.. it failed. This is the worst thing that a customer can experience. Apple needs to style up! The only consolation is once this horrible process of downloading the .ipsw file from the internet and restoring the phone (terribly long process) is complete, we are able to use our favourite phone once again. APPLE if you are reading.. PLEASE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE! |
| Comment #35 by: chirandu on 07 Jun 2012, 16:15 UTC | reply to this comment | wat do i do when my phone is already in recovery mode??? |
| Comment #35.1 by: sam on 16 Feb 2013, 07:06 GMT | just download your desired firmware version then launch itunes once your device detected click on your device appear and hold shift button and hit restore this process allow you to browse your downloaded ipsw or frimware |
| Comment #35.2 by: Yonas on 02 Mar 2013, 14:48 GMT | why just u use Android? its very simple to get software updates there once its available... lol! |
| Comment #36 by: alec on 13 Jul 2012, 19:34 UTC | reply to this comment | YAY now i can load ios 6 beta onto my iphone |
| Comment #37 by: Hamid on 14 Jul 2012, 17:51 UTC | reply to this comment | So nice guide. Thanks a lot. The solution was "Shift" key. Wow....... |
| Comment #41 by: mughalG on 24 Sep 2012, 19:40 UTC | reply to this comment | very easy and nice guidance note.............thanks |
| Comment #43 by: CG CT on 14 Oct 2012, 15:08 UTC | reply to this comment | A real big help, an apple store gave me the upgrade on a flash but i could not remember how to install it, thanks once again. |
| Comment #44 by: mrpostia on 12 Nov 2012, 03:46 UTC | reply to this comment | plz tell which file i have to rename ...plzzz |
| Comment #45 by: je655 on 10 Feb 2013, 18:23 UTC | reply to this comment | shift was all i need to know thank you |
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