Doesn’t iTunes restore remove everything from the device anymore?

[akash.nu]

It has been a few years since I have restored my phone via iTunes but decided to go for it today having updated to iOS 11 last evening and faced slowness and general battery drainage.

I put my phone on DFU mode and then restored via iTunes. When the device booted up, all my apps and texts and everything else seems to be already there as they were before.

Can someone confirm if this is expected behaviour these days?

 

[Givmeabrek]

Don't you have the option to restore as new or restore from backup?

 

[akash.nu]

Don't you have the option to restore as new or restore from backup?

Nope, nothing, it literally booted up and asked for my password. I wonder if I am missing something here. As far as I was aware of there is no way to “update” a device from DFU mode, one has to restore it.

 

[Givmeabrek]

But once you restore it then you can always restore your old backup?

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes - when you restore from backup (on the screen when your iPhone rebooted after the install which gives you the choice to either continue as a new install (fresh from the factory), or the other choice, which is to install from backup, either a local one, or from iCloud.
Guess you went through that so quickly that you didn't notice
Or, I expect that entering your AppleID password just restored to what it was before (and would be an update if the downloaded iOS was an update for you - DFU being a mode that you would use when you don't have another choice, or simply want to make sure that the existing system is completely wiped before the restore, where you have no choice other than a restore.

 

[akash.nu]

I did not actually get that screen where you choose to restore from backup or setup as new device. It completed the process and just booted up and asked me to type in my pin and there it was, all apps and everything right there.

 

[DeltaMac]

Any restore will ask at some point if you want to restore "as new", or to restore from a backup.
Maybe you simply missed it.

I did the same as you, only in reverse. DFU restore last week (I was have strange crashes + lockups.)
Then a normal iTunes restore when iOS 11 was released this week. Both times asked for "new" or restore from backup.
The only difference is that I did not do a DFU restore to install iOS 11. The DFU restore installed the last update of iOS 10.
SO --- I don't know if a DFU restore with iOS 11 is somehow different now.
I do refuse to upgrade to iCloud drive, so have only a local backup. Maybe that's the difference if the iCloud backup is automatically restored as soon as you log in - that's probably it.

 

[akash.nu]

Any restore will ask at some point if you want to restore "as new", or to restore from a backup.
Maybe you simply missed it.

If that screen appears then there is no way to get around it without noticing it & I know that process very well.

I did the same as you, only in reverse. DFU restore last week (I was have strange crashes + lockups.)
Then a normal iTunes restore when iOS 11 was released this week. Both times asked for "new" or restore from backup.
The only difference is that I did not do a DFU restore to install iOS 11. The DFU restore installed the last update of iOS 10.
SO --- I don't know if a DFU restore with iOS 11 is somehow different now.
I do refuse to upgrade to iCloud drive, so have only a local backup. Maybe that's the difference if the iCloud backup is automatically restored as soon as you log in - that's probably it.

Every time I have done this before I got that screen but this time around it just seem to let me sign me in and I arrive at the normal screen. I think I will give it a go again just to ensure that I have done it right.

 

[DeltaMac]

I have done the same (redo a restore) when "something did not feel right" - so I support your plan to give it another go...

 

[akash.nu]

So figured out what the issue is. Even in DFU mode you get both the options - restore or update. I must have clicked on update last time.

This time around it’s going through the proper procedure.