How to put Apple iPhone 7 in DFU mode

What is DFU mode, what is recovery mode

DFU stands for Device Firmware Update, and means the same as recovery mode. It means that the Apple iPhone 7, connected to the computer with iTunes, will boot but will not load the operating system iOS, allowing to restore the device after a big crash, or to update the firmware if necessary.

A computer with iTunes installed is necessary to put the Apple iPhone 7 in recovery mode, and the iPhone must be connected with a USB cable.

How to put Apple iPhone 7 in recovery mode

After the Apple iPhone 7 has been plugged to the computer using an Apple lightning cable, start iTunes on the computer.

The button combination power and volume down must be pressed simultaneously and hold, until the Apple iPhone 7 turns off.

Keep pressing the buttons, power button and volume down, and keep doing it when the Apple logo is shown on the Apple iPhone 7 screen.

Only when the Connect to iTunes information is displayed on Apple iPhone 7 screen, the buttons can be released.

How to put Apple iPhone 7 in DFU mode

The message “There is a problem with the iPhone that requires it to be updated or restored.” should appear on iTunes, as the Apple iPhone 7 suffered a huge software error, or the restore might have failed.

In that mode, there are two possibilities, to restore the Apple iPhone 7 or the update the iOS operating system, depending on the exact problem with the phone.

Once the firmware has either been restored or updated, the Apple iPhone 7 will reboot by itself, and exit that recovery mode.

Exit recovery mode Apple iPhone 7

To exit the recovery mode, for example when experiencing an Apple iPhone 7 stuck in recovery mode, there is a way to force the iPhone to exit the DFU mode.

To achieve it, press and hold the power and the volume down button at the same time. After a while, the Apple logo should appear on the Apple iPhone 7 screen, and the Connect to iTunes message should disappear.

After that, the Apple iPhone 7 will reboot, as the errors should have been solved by iTunes.