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iPhone X Completely wiped IOS firmware is this possible?

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pr0netflix

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2018
17
1
Hi to all fellow apple users. New to iphone here, moved from android. I have a question.
I had my new iphone x passcode forgotten. It happen right after i bought it. I wasn't signed to apple id so i had to restore it through Itunes (thats what the official apple page says). Since my laptop was very old and outdated widnows, i failed to install itunes. A tech co-worker used his laptop to restore the device. I wasn't watching what exactly is he doing on his laptop, but i saw he force restarted the device Button Up, Down and hold side till Connect to Itunes logo appeared. From there he left the phone and kept working on his laptop, i wasn't able to see what but i think something on his own biusiness. Anyway i noticed at some point the Itunes logo changed to the apple logo on the phone with loading bar (loading), it took around 15 minutes the whole process and the phone showed the Welome screen. It went pefcet and i've set it up. However when i was leaving i asked him what exactly he did and he said he completely wiped the iphone and installed fresh copy of the ios firmware? I thought thats not possible that ios is build in in the device, he said no its totally erased and new ios installed.
I kinda freaked out because, i though it will simply erase settings and content not the entire Ios itself. Did that just destroyed my warrenty? Is it possible that he installed corrupter or infected IOS on my device. (Iphone X)? Back on the andorid, it was possible to install rooted version on custom rom which waas horrible in means of security. So i started wondering is the softoware he installed licensed? How can i check if he installed something illegal. Am not very aware how Apple Ios works but from what i've read the Ios could never be deinstalled and something else installed on its place, than is he lying to me that he wiped my iphone firmware and is it possible that now i am using some modified software? Because this guy is having repotation of being both not very trusthworthy and also very aware of tech and hacking. I am mad he deleted my original ios. What shall i do
 
Not sure why you think you can't wipe and reinstall Ios. Plenty of info out there on the process and how Ios works if you look for it. You can restore and setup as new or DFU depending what your needs are. He used the proper procedure and your warranty is fine. You may want to keep your password somewhere handy if you're forgetful.
 
Bugey, hi there, i am not very familiar to Apple yet. But how can i be sure that the reinstalled IOS was not in some way modified or illegal? I mean, in terms of security, is it possible that he (if ill-minded) installed like Clone Iphone fake IOS version or jailbroke my device remotely from his laptop. Are there any build-in securities of the iphone that will prevent anything than apple signed product (firmware) gets installed on the device itself?

For example, a friend of mine is using cracked version of Windows on his computer, which is full of bugs and probably malwares.
 
If you’re concerned, you can always install iTunes yourself and do a DFU restore yourself to be sure.

If your phone is new there are no current jailbreaks out in the wild that can be used.
 
Iphone is brand new, it was updated to last version. I decided to create password with words instead of 6 digit PASSCODE. i realized i forgot it at the moment i typed it the second time. I wasn't even signed to my apple id. I was with the guy when he started itunes and tapped Update and Restore or only Restore i cant remember.
From there we left the devices doing its thing and he kept doing his work on the laptop while resotring the phone on the backround. However it wasn't polite to keep peaking on his laptop screen anymore so i lost track what he is doing, i was simply watching my iphone screen. It was showing this Itunes Connection logo for like 10 minutes and than the white apple logo showed up with some loading bar like the one when you are updating. Like after 5-7 minutes the Welcome screen showed up and he unplugged it from his laptop. The way it seems there is no way he could've done something. But i noticed some programs on Google that claim they can install ios without itunes. But without Itunes how will the Apple Sservices verify the update process? Thats why i am asking if there is known exploit/danger where non verified software can be installed on iphone without connection to Apple/Itunes. Because on andoid well you can do anything you want. And its terrible. Apple cant allow that i hope.

negativzero my laptop cant run itunes since the windows version is too outdated and i cant update it for couple of reasons. Basica I cant find another laptop anytime soon and i have to start creating apple id, using my social media accounts and so on. If there is any danger i will head to the store and ask them to help me RESTORE it again.
 
I could guarantee you most of your concerns are paranoid.
Whether firmware is restored through iTunes or through the phone, it will always contact Apple server and check firmware signature before applying to your device. So, if firmware is tampered, it will not be applied to your device unless apple’s verification service is hacked or faked.
The firmware restore process is often fast. It is the backup restoring process that will take quite a while to finish.
iOS restore process is mostly independent of computer. Unless the iOS is restored in forensic company.
 
Hi to you too :) My question is, and again pardon me for probably asking ridicilous questions but i come from android expiriance :D, lets say the guy had some modified ios firmware stored on his laptop- he himself has one or two iphones and he told me jaibreaks them easily. So lets say in theory he tried to pull something on me and tried to install a cracked firmware (if such things exists with apple at all, because i know of cracked windows and androids only), and he somehow closed itunes so no verification process was happening. Is that possible or the iphone wont install anything on itself unless its connected to apple services. Becasue lets say he showed me the Itunes bar but then when he turn his laptop away from me he closed it and ran some other program, pray to God not hacking one. I know its probably paranoia, i've never ever heard of iphone being hacked that way, but still for peace of mind i decided to ask here.
[doublepost=1519743237][/doublepost]I had nothing backed up since the phone was after factory erase- i factory erased the phone through settings to try to fix a problem with crushing apps, once i erased it, when i started to set it up again i chose a very strong word-number password and forgot it at the same second i typed it the second time, so i knew what was going to happen. I tried to erase the password or change the password but it wanted me to type the old one first. So at this moment i knew i would need to resotre again and i tried but it wanted the password for the settings erase to happen. So i tried thorugh my laptop which failed to install Itunes and at that point i contacted this guy since he was the only one around with laptop. And he erased it using Itunes (unles he did something esle). So no backup were made..
 
Well if you won't listen to us, then the only thing we can advise you is to take it back to Apple and get them to restore it for you.
 
Should have gone to the Apple store. Anything is possible if you let a third party restore firmware to your phone.

Best to only let Apple restore your device. Until then, don’t use it for anything secure like banking or enter any passwords in it.

If it isn’t Tim Cook that is performing the service, I would be weary.
 
There is no Apple Store in my country .. But i cant believe its possible that a third party app could install corrupted ios on the iphone. What about all the people who buy used iphones- are they all at risk that the previous owner may have installed some cracked ios.

negativzero i will try to restore the device myself thorugh itunes but currently my laptop fails to install the program, its probably because my windows 8 is outdated.
 
Last edited:
Jpack do you mean to mail it with email or to ship the phone to Turkey or Italy (where the closest Apple store is?)
 
pr0netflix said:
Jpack do you mean to mail it with email or to ship the phone to Turkey or Italy (where the closest Apple store is?)
Click to expand...

Phone Apple to find out. They will tell you the best location to mail an Apple product for servicing.
 
If it's possible to mail my phone to a apple store to repair i will because apart from that i have other problem with my iphone becoming unresponsive. I happend before and after that accidental restoration that happened.
[doublepost=1519745006][/doublepost]So than i should bypass the warranty that i was given by the tech market i bought it (Technomarket), and send it to where i am told after i contact apple. If this is really possible i will be calling them tonight, but i remember when i bought it the tech smart guy from the market told me if any problem is present to contact them solely, i fear not to mess something up?
 
JPack said:
Should have gone to the Apple store. Anything is possible if you let a third party restore firmware to your phone.

Best to only let Apple restore your device. Until then, don’t use it for anything secure like banking or enter any passwords in it.

If it isn’t Tim Cook that is performing the service, I would be weary.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't trust Tim, its gotta be Steve only and I don't care if his bones have to be dug up to perform the restore ;)
 
On the Apple official page it says that i can only use Itunes. I am not sure if you are serious right now..
 
pr0netflix said:
On the Apple official page it says that i can only use Itunes. I am not sure if you are serious right now..
Click to expand...
For restore yes. For a factory reset no.
And again, don’t feel so paranoid. If anyone can install a cracked iOS into any device by just using iTunes, no one would use iPhone iPad or whatever ever.
The thing you see that he closes iTunes after a while is because verified iOS firmware is loaded on the device. Anything else is done on the device. No iTunes interference required. We have passed the time that iTunes is required to setup the phone already.
 
shirsaki, so if i understand you right, some third party apps can factory reset the device as if its manually facoty erased from settings, but without reinstallin the softoware.
Reinstalling the software (Itunes Restore), can only be done and verified thourgh apple services? So those third party apps on google that claim they can reinstall the ios are simply fake.

Yes i understand i am paranoid but i've been andoird by far and andoirds as you probably know can be so brutally rooted (whcih happened to one of my devices), that no factory restore helped. It even destroyed my warrenty because it was bought through carrier who wont allow rooting. The rooting happened manually when a person got access to my device. Which is the reason i am paranoid a bit now.

But i've never heard apple device, being unreversable jailbroken, i dont think its possible?

About the situation i didn't see him closing the itunes app, once he started it and tapped restore i was no longer seeing what is happening on his screen, only on mine. So since he said he jailbroke his devices i was wondering what if he has some modified IOS stored on his laptop and tried somehow with some program to push it in on my device, meaning that now i may be having a friwmare that may have been compromised somehow? I am not sure if any of the things i am talking are possible with apple at all. But my work is assoissiated with accounts that must be very secur.
 
There is NO jailbrake for iOS 11.2.6 forget everything you know about android it has nothing in common with iOS. Apple is a closed system, you can’t download a bogus version of iOS period. Apple has to verify the iOS version you download before it will even be allowed. Just use you phone and quit being so paranoid
 
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In my case past problems with andoird cause that parnaoia. Yes i do understand Apple is another level of security. I am not saying anything happened. Its just my first apple product and it took me lot of financial cut downs to get it and you know that feeling when you have something new and so on. Just like with kid haha :)
My questions are more out of educational point of view as someone new to apple's system. I know thing or two about apple even that i never owned their device before. I know no know viruses or malwares do exists (even if they do they arextremly rare) and i also know that if you jailbreak your device you can always remove the break with resotore, something that does not always work on andoird, not to mention windows.
It just this verificaiion process that prevents non apple signed firmware to be installed on the device is the thing i cant understand how it works. I trust apple, and you who are helping me here, but i always want to know how things are done, even risking of being annoying. Ofcourse i've tried to investigate myself first Here is what i cant understand. On the apple official page and from other similar topics i read that Itunes is the only program that can install or update firmware on the iphone (or the iphone itself using over the air download through wifi, if i understood that part right) The itunes, connects with the apple services, which start to follow the installation process and verify everything that is being installed on the iphone. If the services detect something wrong (corrupt file or anything) they will stop the installation at once and error will show up on the itunes screen. So even if the ios firmware was installed from before that on the windows laptop, the itunes will verify it again through the apple services before inject it to the phone. That i understand perfectly.
Now there are programs on google lik drfone or something like that that claim they can do Itunes job. Now according to one of the members here who told me that Itunes is the only one who can restore but other programs can factory erase the device without itunes. Does that mean that those programs simply erase the content like if you erase it from settings or do they also reinstall/update the firmware the same way as itunes but witout itunes itself.
In other words, could other program, different than itunes, install/reinstall/update firmware on the iphone, and if so can such program be modified to inject cracked/hacked version of IOS on the iphone. Can the IOS firmware at all get cracked like for exapmle widonws can be? Will the iphone at all allow other program, that is not connected to apple services, to make changes on it's firmware and if now what mechanism the device itself has (like bootloading verification), that will block a firmware that is not comming verified from Apple?
Yea its deep but still if anyone can give me more clear answer it will be great.
Apart from that i do wanna thank to all that replied to my topic. Thanks very much for helping with my parnaoia :)
 
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If you go into settings/general/reset/erase all content and settings, it will remove all the data and return all settings to default. The OS isn’t touched. The only way to install a fresh version of iOS is to do it through iTunes.. If you try to download and install a older version of iOS that isn’t being signed anymore it won’t work. All iOS downloads except jailbrakes have to be signed by Apple without exception. This is why if your on a firmware that isn’t being signed anymore and you restore your OS it will install the latest version not the version that was on the phone. It’s very safe.
 
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Thats exactly what i wanted to know. So in theory even if i have doubds that this guy somehow compromised the firmware, although there is no way from what we know he could have done that, but simply restoring again from Itunes as negativezero suggestet will automatically install new verified firmware, no matter whatever the old one was corrupt/jailbroken and so on so on.
Clear restoration from itunes clears it all. Thats what i wanted to know, thanks very much again for taking the time to explain. I plan to be around in this forums. I have another more of a hardware issue that i expirianced with my X but i ill started another topic about it. Thanks again and take care :)
 
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