How to put an iPhone in DFU mode – Easy Steps

You can fix many iPhone problems with something relatively simple like a restart. However, more difficult problems may require a more comprehensive approach, called DFU mode. Here’s how to put an iPhone into DFU mode.

How to put your iPhone in DFU mode

Important: If you plan to use DFU mode, do so at your own risk: you bear the responsibility for any undesirable results.

Putting a device into DFU mode is similar to recovery mode. This is what you need to do:

1. Connect iPhone or other iOS device to computer, then open iTunes.

2. Hold down the button the power of sleep (located at the top of the device) to display a slider, then drag the slider to the right to turn off the device.

If the device does not turn off, continue pressing the power button.power and buttonwelcome pressed after the cursor appears. Eventually the device will turn off. Release the buttons when the device turns off.

3. When the device is off, if you have an iPhone 7 or later, press and hold the button the power of sleep and the button volume down.

If you have an iPhone 6 or earlier: When the device is off, press and hold the button the power of sleep and the Home button at the same time.

4. Hold down these buttons for 10 seconds.

Note: If you keep too long, the device enters recovery mode instead of DFU mode. The Apple logo appears when the device enters recovery mode.

5. Release the button the power of sleepbut hold down the button welcome (or the button volume down on iPhone 7 or later) pressed for 5 seconds.

If the iTunes logo and message appear, you pressed the button for too long and need to start over.

6. If the device screen is black, it is in DFU mode. If iTunes recognizes that the iPhone is connected, you’re ready to continue.

7. If you see any icons or text on the device screen, you are not in DFU mode and will need to start over.

What is DFU mode, anyway?

iPhone Device Firmware Update (DFU) mode makes low-level changes to the software that the device runs. Although it is related to recovery mode, it is more comprehensive and you can use it to solve more difficult problems.

When an iOS device is in DFU mode, the device is powered on but has not booted into the operating system. Therefore, you can make changes to the operating system since it is not already running.

When to use DFU mode on iPhone

For most common iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad use, you won’t need DFU mode. Recovery mode is usually the only thing you will need. If your device gets stuck in a loop after upgrading the operating system, or if your data is so corrupted that it doesn’t work properly, recovery mode is your first step. In most cases, use iPhone DFU mode to:

• Downgrade the version of iOS running on the device. Do this if, for some reason, upgrading to a newer version damaged your device or caused apps to stop working properly. Avoid this if possible, but it may be necessary in rare cases.
• Jailbreak the device or unjailbreak it.
• Delete an expired iOS beta version.
• Fix iPhone won’t boot after Apple logo.

It may be necessary to put the device into DFU mode to resolve some situations, but it is important to remember that it is potentially dangerous. Using DFU mode to downgrade the operating system or jailbreak the device may damage the device and violate the warranty.

If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know in the comments. Also check out this guide if you want to learn how to use a VPN on your iPhone.