The dreaded "Stuck at Apple Logo Screen," but, this time its DIFFERENT!

[TheMixer55]

I have read everything there is to read about restoring an iPhone in recovery mode.

And, I know what usually causes this problem. I have experienced it personally many times after installing a new Cydia app. But, I've never had to restore my phone. One time it took over an hour, but my phone always finally boots up from the apple logo.

But this time is DIFFERENT. I didn't install anything new. I havent even opened Cydia in over 6 months. No new iTunes apps. NOTHING. Then I restart my phone, and BAM, stuck at Apple Logo Screen.

Since it has always fixed itself before, I decided to let it sit. 6 hours later, I am still looking at an Apple logo. It hasn't rebooted, no "connect to iTunes" screen. Just a constant apple logo.

So its strange - my phone seems to be bricked, but I literally haven't done a damn thing but make calls and use the internet on it in MONTHS.

So, I have no idea what causes this, or why it isn't correcting itself like it always has.

But here's the thing: I haven't backed it up in a looooong time and I have a lot of files and pictures that I seriously can't lose, so the restore option isn't great for me.

Is there ANYTHING I can try before just flat-out wiping my phone? ANYTHING? I'm desperate here.

Thanks for any ideas/suggestions.

 

[PsstGreek]

First, it's impossible to brick an iPhone. You can always restore and the thing will work.

Which iPhone do you have?

 

[TheMixer55]

Sorry, I guess I worded that incorrectly. I know the iPhone isn't broken, I am aware I can restore it in recovery mode.

But, for me that is a LAST resort, as I have some VERY precious data on that phone that (stupid me) I haven't backed up lately. I am trying to find a workaround to get this thing to boot at least once, OR to copy some data (pictures, etc) onto my computer before restoring.


I have a 3GS, old bootrom, jailbroken 3.1.2 with blackra1n.

I saw a thread somewhere about re-jailbreaking in DFU mode to get the thing to boot up, but it was an older thread and the links were all broken. Could something like this help me?

 

[mikelegacy]

Sorry, I guess I worded that incorrectly. I know the iPhone isn't broken, I am aware I can restore it in recovery mode.

But, for me that is a LAST resort, as I have some VERY precious data on that phone that (stupid me) I haven't backed up lately. I am trying to find a workaround to get this thing to boot at least once, OR to copy some data (pictures, etc) onto my computer before restoring.


I have a 3GS, old bootrom, jailbroken 3.1.2 with blackra1n.

I saw a thread somewhere about re-jailbreaking in DFU mode to get the thing to boot up, but it was an older thread and the links were all broken. Could something like this help me?

Did you already try to just force reset the thing by holding the Sleep/Home buttons until it restarts? I had a problem with my old 3GS when It kept turning off randomly and I had to reset the phone doing that a couple times. Again, I'm assuming that you know this, just making sure.

EDIT: This ISNT putting the phone in DFU mode. It's merely a FORCED RESTART. You never take your finger off the sleep button. Just hold the two buttons until the screen turns black and continue to hold until the Apple symbol comes back again. Sometimes it takes 20 or more seconds to do this.

 

[TheMixer55]

Did you already try to just force reset the thing by holding the Sleep/Home buttons until it restarts? I had a problem with my old 3GS when It kept turning off randomly and I had to reset the phone doing that a couple times. Again, I'm assuming that you know this, just making sure.

EDIT: This ISNT putting the phone in DFU mode. It's merely a FORCED RESTART. You never take your finger off the sleep button. Just hold the two buttons until the screen turns black and continue to hold until the Apple symbol comes back again. Sometimes it takes 20 or more seconds to do this.

Yeah, I've tried this a few times. It just keeps rebooting to the apple logo and getting stuck there.

Also, I've found in a few "tutorials" that when the iPhone is having this problem, you can plug it into your computer and iTunes will recognize it as "an iPhone" but not your iPhone. Most tutorials then suggest putting the phone into recovery mode and restoring.

But, as my phone is now, iTunes won't recognize it at all. I havent tried putting it into recovery mode because I really dont want to restore, but, is this significant at all?

 

[mikelegacy]

Yeah, I've tried this a few times. It just keeps rebooting to the apple logo and getting stuck there.

Also, I've found in a few "tutorials" that when the iPhone is having this problem, you can plug it into your computer and iTunes will recognize it as "an iPhone" but not your iPhone. Most tutorials then suggest putting the phone into recovery mode and restoring.

But, as my phone is now, iTunes won't recognize it at all. I havent tried putting it into recovery mode because I really dont want to restore, but, is this significant at all?

Not entirely. I have had a few issues when iTunes wouldn't recognize my iPhone, but putting it into DFU/recovery mode has always done the trick. If it's any sort of software issue, then putting it into DFU/recovery mode should force the iPhone to become recognizable.

 

[TheMixer55]

Not entirely. I have had a few issues when iTunes wouldn't recognize my iPhone, but putting it into DFU/recovery mode has always done the trick. If it's any sort of software issue, then putting it into DFU/recovery mode should force the iPhone to become recognizable.

But at that point, a restore is the only real option, correct?

Just so I am sure I am being clear:

I can enter DFU mode, so I know I can restore the phone.

BUT, I don't want to lose some critical files on the phone, so I am trying to find a way to either:

a) Boot the phone so that I can save files

b) Somehow get to the file directory while having this issue, so I can save the files manually.


I am not able to connect to the phone to retrieve files while on the apple screen OR in DFU mode. I have tried SSH and iPhone Browser, nothing will recognize it.

 

[mikelegacy]

But at that point, a restore is the only real option, correct?

Yes, I would definitely ask PsstGreek or Applejuiced before you make any final decision as they are WAY more of experts that me on this, but in my eyes, a restore would be the only option if you have gone through all the stops in getting it restarted and it still won't...I don't run into too many people who have issues with the "Boot phone out of recovery mode" feature in TinyUmbrella. That usually works...

Just so I am sure I am being clear:

I can enter DFU mode, so I know I can restore the phone.

BUT, I don't want to lose some critical files on the phone, so I am trying to find a way to either:

a) Boot the phone so that I can save files

b) Somehow get to the file directory while having this issue, so I can save the files manually.


I am not able to connect to the phone to retrieve files while on the apple screen OR in DFU mode. I have tried SSH and iPhone Browser, nothing will recognize it.

If you have tried the TinyUmbrella method and have tried a force restart, I can't think of much else you can do to get the thing turned on. You might lose some data here man...

 

[TheMixer55]

If you have tried the TinyUmbrella method and have tried a force restart, I can't think of much else you can do to get the thing turned on. You might lose some data here man...

I cant get tinyumbrella to even recognize I have plugged an iPhone in.

I can only go into DFU mode. Since the thing is on a continuous Apple logo, I can't get the thing to go into recovery mode.

Is there a specific way I am supposed to get tinyumbrella to recognize my phone?

 

[TheMixer55]

It just seems dumb... the data is all still there on the phone. Why is it so hard to just go grab it and copy it on to my PC?

Only with an iphone would this be such an issue. The software that helps it boot is slightly messed up, so the whole hard drive is just inaccessible?

 

[Applejuiced]

Give recboot a shot to see if it can kick it out of recovery.
You said you had no luck with TU to recognize it and kick device out of recovery right?
Did you have open SSH installed by any chance? Can you connnect and copy things out with cyberduck or winscp maybe?

 

[PsstGreek]

Your only option now is to restore your iPhone since it's deep in recovery. If you have the SHSH saved for 3.1.2 you can restore back to it. You just have to edit your host files.

 

[mikelegacy]

It just seems dumb... the data is all still there on the phone. Why is it so hard to just go grab it and copy it on to my PC?

Only with an iphone would this be such an issue. The software that helps it boot is slightly messed up, so the whole hard drive is just inaccessible?

A mobile device like this isn't like a computer. You can't just take the hard drive out and transfer the data even if the rest of the hardware is shot. In theory I suppose it could work, but noone that I know of does this.

It's not just an iPhone problem, if an android had a similar problem, you'd be S.O.L. You're sentence should say "only on a mobile device would this be such an issue".

 

[mikelegacy]

Just so I am sure I am being clear:

I can enter DFU mode, so I know I can restore the phone.

BUT, I don't want to lose some critical files on the phone, so I am trying to find a way to either:

a) Boot the phone so that I can save files

b) Somehow get to the file directory while having this issue, so I can save the files manually.


I am not able to connect to the phone to retrieve files while on the apple screen OR in DFU mode. I have tried SSH and iPhone Browser, nothing will recognize it.

Now that I think of it, you may be able to get SOME files off of the iPhone. Try downloading FUGU and see if it recognizes the iPhone. I know that FUGU is used to root the phone so you can add files for theming, so it basically shows you all of the root files of the iPhone. You might have some luck finding the files in there, but then again, if you can't turn it on, i'm not sure if it's going to recognize it. Even if it does turn on, I'm not sure how much data you can actually retrieve through FUGU, if any.

 

[TheMixer55]

Give recboot a shot to see if it can kick it out of recovery.
You said you had no luck with TU to recognize it and kick device out of recovery right?
Did you have open SSH installed by any chance? Can you connnect and copy things out with cyberduck or winscp maybe?

Is this considered "being in recovery mode?" From what I can tell, I can't get the thing in recovery mode. I can only get it into DFU mode. Again, this has never happened to me before, so I'm not too good with the lingo. Anywho, my computer doesnt recognize the device AT ALL when its showing the apple screen. I cant get iTunes or any other program to even notice that its plugged in. When I put the phone in DFU mode, iTunes will recognize it (and give me the option to restore), but I can't get anything else (tinyumbrella, iPhoneBrowser, etc) to recognize it. If I could theoretically get the phone into recovery mode, would tinyumbrella notice it?

I had SSH installed, but I can't seem to get it to work, so it must not be activated in its current state. I checked my router, and the iphone is definitely NOT connected to it. Unless I am mistaken, I think doing anything wireless is out of the question.

Thanks for the suggestions though?

 

[TheMixer55]

Your only option now is to restore your iPhone since it's deep in recovery. If you have the SHSH saved for 3.1.2 you can restore back to it. You just have to edit your host files.

Its funny. I was planning on updating to 4.2 today, so I was going to back up all my SHSH blobs, backup all the photos, do an itunes backup, etc. Then, update/restore.

For whatever reason I decided to restart my phone before doing all of this since it had been sorta sluggish, and out of the 1,000 times I've restarted my phone over the past few years, THIS TIME is the one time it decided to never wake up.

It's a very irritating epitome of murphy's law (dying right before backing up and restoring), but it also means I have no SHSH blobs saved on my PC.

Is there anyway to restore while saving my photos and stuff without them?

 

[TheMixer55]

I tried using recboot and got the following results:

When plugged in with the apple logo, iTunes wouldnt recognize the device and therefor recboot wouldnt either.

I put the phone in DFU mode, connected it to iTunes, then ran recboot and got the following result:



C:\Users\Yadda\Desktop\RecBoot>iTunnel --autoboot
Will try to kick connected devices out of the Recovery mode..
dfu_connect_callback


Its been sitting like that for a few minutes now, so I don't see it doing much...

 

[TheMixer55]

I have one more thought....

Shortly before I powered the device down (leading to this problem), I was backing some stuff up in Chronus preparing for the update.

I got a warning that the HD was almost full. Chronus finished up, I deleted about 500MB of videos, then restarted. This is when this problem arose.

Could this be related to the HD being full? Worse, could it be related to Chronus?

 

[Applejuiced]

Is this considered "being in recovery mode?" From what I can tell, I can't get the thing in recovery mode. I can only get it into DFU mode. Again, this has never happened to me before, so I'm not too good with the lingo. Anywho, my computer doesnt recognize the device AT ALL when its showing the apple screen. I cant get iTunes or any other program to even notice that its plugged in. When I put the phone in DFU mode, iTunes will recognize it (and give me the option to restore), but I can't get anything else (tinyumbrella, iPhoneBrowser, etc) to recognize it. If I could theoretically get the phone into recovery mode, would tinyumbrella notice it?

I had SSH installed, but I can't seem to get it to work, so it must not be activated in its current state. I checked my router, and the iphone is definitely NOT connected to it. Unless I am mistaken, I think doing anything wireless is out of the question.

Thanks for the suggestions though?

Give this one last shot: http://blog.alltechrelated.com/2010...ne-and-kick-your-iphone-out-of-recovery-mode/
Download the above program and try to click "exit Recovery mode"
If its still not going nowhere then your only 2 options is to restore it or sit there and look at it
Next time you gotta be more prompt backing up your iphone more often thru itunes.
I see folks all the time getting into situations like that losing everything and they didnt backup their phone for months and some even years. It only takes 5-10 to sync and back it up on itunes

 

[TheMixer55]

Unfortunately it didn't work... Oh well, guess I'll recover. I synched it about 3 months ago so it isn't a total disaster, just had some pictures of my newborn niece that I (nor my family) wanted to lose. Beyond that, basically all the app data, notes, voice recordings, and other stuff that I really, really wanted to keep.

But, if there is nothing to do... guess that's life. No use worrying over something I can't change. I just wanted to exhaust all options before I hit a button that essentially threw away the last 3 months of my life.


One last thing... This is the thread I was referencing earlier:

http://modmyi.com/forums/general/710060-solution-iphone-shut-off-during-boot-stuck-apple-logo.html

He seems to think you can essentially re-jailbreak your phone and get it to work. But again, I am not techy enough to know if this applies to my situation, or if it will even work in my situation. Any help on this one?

One FINAL thing: after trying all this stuff on my phone you wonderful people have suggested (thanks again!), the situation seems to have changed.

Now, instead of a steady apple logo that won't go away, it "resets" itself every now and again, screen goes blank for a second, and then it boots back to the apple logo. So, instead of trying forever, it is now trying for a bit, giving up, and trying again.

Does this actually mean anything, or is it just a glorified version of the same issue? It certainly wasn't doing this earlier.

 

[mikelegacy]

Unfortunately it didn't work... Oh well, guess I'll recover. I synched it about 3 months ago so it isn't a total disaster, just had some pictures of my newborn niece that I (nor my family) wanted to lose. Beyond that, basically all the app data, notes, voice recordings, and other stuff that I really, really wanted to keep.

But, if there is nothing to do... guess that's life. No use worrying over something I can't change. I just wanted to exhaust all options before I hit a button that essentially threw away the last 3 months of my life.


One last thing... This is the thread I was referencing earlier:

http://modmyi.com/forums/general/710060-solution-iphone-shut-off-during-boot-stuck-apple-logo.html

He seems to think you can essentially re-jailbreak your phone and get it to work. But again, I am not techy enough to know if this applies to my situation, or if it will even work in my situation. Any help on this one?

One FINAL thing: after trying all this stuff on my phone you wonderful people have suggested (thanks again!), the situation seems to have changed.

Now, instead of a steady apple logo that won't go away, it "resets" itself every now and again, screen goes blank for a second, and then it boots back to the apple logo. So, instead of trying forever, it is now trying for a bit, giving up, and trying again.

Does this actually mean anything, or is it just a glorified version of the same issue? It certainly wasn't doing this earlier.

I'm telling you, try FUGU or DiskAid both of which are ways to transfer files to and from the iPhone...it's worth a shot to see if you can access it....

 

[TheMixer55]

I'm telling you, try FUGU or DiskAid both of which are ways to transfer files to and from the iPhone...it's worth a shot to see if you can access it....

Okay, I'll definitely give it a shot. Thanks.

Since iPhoneBrowser nor TinyUmbrella could even figure out my phone existed, I'm not too optimistic though.

EDIT: Diskaid wont recognize it, and FUGU is wireless (as far as I can tell) and my phone definitely isnt connecting to my router, so...

 

[mikelegacy]

Okay, I'll definitely give it a shot. Thanks.

Since iPhoneBrowser nor TinyUmbrella could even figure out my phone existed, I'm not too optimistic though.

EDIT: Diskaid wont recognize it, and FUGU is wireless (as far as I can tell) and my phone definitely isnt connecting to my router, so...

Sorry man, I feel for ya. I wasn't superbly optimistic either, but I thought I'd give it a try

 

[Applejuiced]

Hey at least we tried

 

[mikelegacy]

Hey at least we tried

Can't condemn us for that!