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How To Restore iPhone Without iTunes

Apple promotes its entire ecosystem when releasing a new product. In the early days of the Apple iPhone, in order to update the device, back it up, or install new applications, you would have to go through a multi-step process.

You needed to sync it up to your computer (usually through a USB cable) and wait for the information to download to iTunes and then onto your computer. Now, however, this is no longer necessary. Few people synch their computers with their phones any longer.

In fact, with the help of Apple's iCloud, most information is backed up without ever going onto the computer. In this article, we will be discussing how to restore iPhone without iTunes. 

Of course, with that said, the occasional sync with iTunes is beneficial as it helps save everything from text messages and contacts to application data and phone settings. As iTunes is no longer critical to using an iPhone, there are many people who no longer use their computer along with the phone

This can lead to some problems down the road though, should you ever find yourself with the need to restore your iPhone. If you find yourself in this position, you need to learn how to restore iPhone without iTunes.

By taking advantage of this how to restore iPhone without iTunes knowledge, you won't have any problems at all with recovering and restoring old information.

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What Is an iPhone Restoration?

person restoring her iphone

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An iPhone restoration is when you restore your phone back to a previous update. Sometimes you might accidentally disable your phone, or another issue occurs that prevents you from using your phone. When this happens, you will probably need to restore the iPhone.

Restoring your phone comes in a few different formats. The first is to restore it back to factory settings.This means it removes everything and reverts it back to when you purchased the phone. The second method is it restores your phone back to a previous iOS update.

Sometimes a new iOS update won't work correctly on your phone (especially if you have an older model and it isn't functioning correctly with the latest iOS update). Whatever the reason is, you must restore the iPhone to go about fixing the problem.

 When you learn how to restore iPhone without iTunes, you'll have the needed knowledge to correct this kind of problem.

​When is an iPhone Restoration Necessary?

restoring her iphone

Image via Pixabay

There are several reasons you might need to know how to restore iPhone without iTunes. For starters, you may have entered the wrong passcode too many times, which has completely locked you out of the phone.

You may have entered recovery mode, and it is stuck, or you've entered the DFU mode and need to restore yourself out of this. The easiest way to restore your phone is with iTunes on your computer. iTunes will communicate with the phone, unlock the device and give you everything you need to restore the device.

So if you're in need of knowing how to restore iPhone without iTunes now, try to back up your phone onto your computer with iTunes. This way, if you ever need to restore the phone later on down the road, you'll have an easier time doing it.

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​How to Restore iPhone Without iTunes

If you've used your iPhone without ever connecting it to iTunes, you can't download iTunes and begin right now. That won't work. It only works if you regularly sync the phone with iTunes. In order to go about restoring your iPhone without iTunes, you must download a recovery software called "Fonepaw." It is available for download on both Windows and Mac computer systems.

Once you have finished downloading the software, you must then open the downloaded information and allow it to install. Your OS may ask if it is alright to install as it came from a third-party source (it didn't download through the App Store). If it asks this say it is "Ok" to continue.

With the software installed and ready to go on your computer, connect your iPhone to the computer. Use the USB cable used to charge the phone and plug it into the iPhone, then insert the USB cable into a USB port on the computer system.

Once the iPhone is identified by the computer, the software will detect it is in recovery mode. Click "Confirm" if this happens. If your iPhone is completely disabled (such as from not entering in the correct passcode) choose "Advanced Mode."

After selecting the "Advanced Mode" option follow the on-screen prompts to enter DFU Mode. If your phone was in recovery, the software will walk you through the restore process. If this is the case, you can skip the recovery DFU mode feature.

If you need to enter DFU mode, select the kind of iPhone you have. Once you have selected the kind of phone, turn off the device and reconnect it back to the computer. Now, push down and hold the volume down and the Side button for eight seconds. Now, release the Side power button but keep the volume button down for another five seconds to complete this step.

A new window will appear on the screen. You must select the "iPhone" category, followed by the device type (model type, such as iPhone 7 or iPhone X), then choose your device model and the iOS version you want to recover your phone too.

Once you have selected these features chose "Repair," and the software will begin installing the necessary firmware based on the selections you have made. This might take a while, but once it has finished, your phone will be ready to go.

However, you'll still need to restore your data, because without restoring your data you'll have a clear device, without any non-factory applications, not to mention none of your contact or account details.

Recover Data


Chances are, you'll want to recover your iPhone data. The next step in how to restore iPhone without iTunes is to recover the lost data. If you don't have iTunes most of your information will be backed up on the iCloud. There will be information that is lost forever, but you'll have all of your contacts and other essential data.

To begin, you must download the "FonePaw iPhone Data Recover" application. Again, choose whether you have a Mac or PC, then follow the installation prompts, show it's okay to install a third-party program and complete the installation.

Connect your iPhone to the computer and let the software load. It will begin to automatically scan over your iPhone. You can stop or pause the scan at any time, although it can take some time to finish, so it's best to let it complete its scan to move forward with how to restore iPhone without iTunes.

Once the software has finished scanning your phone, a new window will load. It will show you a number of different categories, including "Videos," "Contacts," "Notes," "Camera Roll," and so on.

You'll also have several different "Message & Contacts" options, including your text messages, WhatsApp messages, Message Attachments and so on. Check off the box for everything you want to be restored back onto the phone.

If there is information, you're not interested in deselecting the box. When you do this, the information will not be recovered and placed back onto your phone.After checking off all the boxes, you're interested in choose "Recover."

Once you do this, all the files will begin to install into your device. It is important to understand that sometimes all of your information will not be found with this scan. It's another reason why you need to regularly back up your iPhone's data, either onto iTunes or up to the iCloud

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Restoring from the iCloud


If you saved your information onto the cloud, you're in luck, and it will be easy to recover everything. Just make sure you have a strong Internet connection (connect to Wi-Fi for this, or you'll burn through all sorts of data downloading everything).

If you have an older iPhone (anything from the iPhone 5C to the iPhone 6S) select the "Settings" option, then choose "iCloud," followed by "iCloud Backup." With this open choose "Tap Back Up Now" to download and install everything.

If you are using a newer iPhone, beginning with the iPhone 7, choose the "Settings" option, then select "General" and finally "Erase All Content and Settings." This will restart your phone. After it reboots, a new screen will load.

Follow the Setup Assistant," then choose the "Apps & Data Screen" and select "Restore From iCloud Backup." From here, everything will download onto your phone from iCloud.

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​How to restore iPhone Without iTunes: Conclusion

In the world of modern technology, it is important for you to always have a backup of your information. In previous years, you were forced to synch up the iPhone to your computer in order to update it.

While it's easier than ever before to update your phone, this leaves you susceptible to problems in the event of needing to restore the phone.

Due to this, it's still a good idea to periodically back up everything onto your computer and to choose to back up your data onto the iCloud. As long as you do this, you'll be good to go.

By following these instructions, you'll know how to restore your iPhone if you don't have iTunes and you'll also know how to recover lost data back to your phone.



Last update on 2022-08-04 at 19:11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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