DFU Restore - What and why?

[eric3312]

Hello,

I was informed by a friend that a DFU restore is essentially the ultimate wipe/restore for an iOS device. Can someone explain why this is and what exactly it does? I understand it restores the phone to factory defaults, but how does it differ from a Recovery Mode restore or just a regular iTunes restore?

Also, I cannot seem to find the right steps to perform a DFU restore on Apple's website...and the steps I find online all differ slightly...can someone who's done this confirm what the steps are?

Thanks for your help and explanation in advance.

 

[C DM]

It's pretty much the same as using recovery mode, and as far as resetting and restoring everything doing a restore as new from iTunes will end up with the same thing.

 

[eyoungren]

(D)evice(F)irmware(U)pdate mode.

http://www.imore.com/how-to-iphone-ipad-dfu-mode

DFU allows a direct firmware upgrade of the device and does not involve your device calling the bootloader. Recovery mode on the other hand calls the bootloader first.

Directions for how to get into DFU are in the link.