Did I Bork my IPhone?

September 11, 2013 10:04 AM

So I got over-excited and upgraded to the beta of iOS 7. Only now iTunes won't recognize my iPhone. It says I need to use iTunes 11.1 or later. I set up my phone as a new phone, but have lost my music, photos and messages in the process. I did back up my phone just prior to the upgrade. I would like to either restore my iPhone to iOS 6 or find a way to make my iTunes recognize and manage my iPhone with iOS 7. What can I do?
posted by joelhunt to Technology (15 answers total)

What version of iTunes are you using?
posted by Perplexity at 10:05 AM on September 11, 2013

Response by poster: I am using 11.0.5.5, which it tells me is the latest version.
posted by joelhunt at 10:07 AM on September 11, 2013

You can't use iOS 7 with the current version of iTunes. Can you restore from an iCloud backup?
posted by Rock Steady at 10:12 AM on September 11, 2013

Response by poster: No, my backup is local. So, like, what are all these people who updated to iOS 7 doing? Just not using iTunes until 11.1 is released?
posted by joelhunt at 10:16 AM on September 11, 2013

Can you restore from the local backup on your computer?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:17 AM on September 11, 2013

This Mac Rumors Thread may have some info for you. Basically you would need to download the iTunes 11.1 beta from the Apple Dev site where you got the iOS7 beta.
posted by FreezBoy at 10:17 AM on September 11, 2013

Anyone who is legitimately updating to iOS 7 has an Apple Developer account (in which case they'd also have access to other pre-release software). For people who get it via other means, it may be difficult...
posted by primethyme at 10:17 AM on September 11, 2013

Response by poster: So, is a downgrade possible? Or am I best served by just waiting until 11.1 is released, probably on September 18th?
posted by joelhunt at 10:19 AM on September 11, 2013

joelhunt: No, my backup is local. So, like, what are all these people who updated to iOS 7 doing? Just not using iTunes until 11.1 is released?

Yes. I connect to iTunes like once a month, if that. If you have an iCloud backup and iTunes Match you really don't need to sync regularly. You might try whatever source you got your iOS 7 beta from to see if they have an iTunes 11.1 beta.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:26 AM on September 11, 2013

This Lifehacker article claims to have a link to iTunes 11.1 beta.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:27 AM on September 11, 2013

Response by poster: Apparently there is no iTunes 11.1 beta for Windows. I guess I will just wait the week and then restore. That Lifehacker article didn't really go into the risks. Oh well, a week without music should be a pretty good punishment for doing something stupid without fully researching it first.
posted by joelhunt at 10:40 AM on September 11, 2013

Best answer: Have you tried putting your phone into DFU mode and restoring from your iTunes which has your backup?
posted by wongcorgi at 10:46 AM on September 11, 2013

wongcorgi is right. I did this exact thing last night. You can't get your old data onto iOS 7 (or at least I haven't figured out how) before iTunes 11.1 is released unless you have a Mac, but you can get your data back on iOS 6 by going into DFU mode to downgrade iOS, then restore.
posted by likedoomsday at 11:02 AM on September 11, 2013

What wrongcorgi said. DFU mode is the panacea for problems like this. I've used it to do similar myself.

http://theiphonewiki.com/wiki/DFU_Mode

If DFU mode ever doesn't work it pretty much means your phone is physically fucked.
posted by jammer at 11:04 AM on September 11, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks all (and especially wongcorgi)! I am successfully restoring from DFU mode. Lesson learned. I will wait for the 18th like a good boy.
posted by joelhunt at 11:11 AM on September 11, 2013