Put an iPhone or iPad into Recovery or DFU mode

Updated on Mar 9, 2026

Reading time ~6 minutes

If you want to reinstall or restore iOS or iPadOS on your iPhone or iPad, you need to put your device into Recovery mode. In some rare cases (such as boot loops or other more significant issues), you may need to trigger the DFU mode instead.

Download and install iMazing

Then follow the instructions below to learn how to enter your device into Recovery or DFU mode.

Try to restore your device in Recovery mode

Triggering the Recovery mode is much easier than triggering the DFU mode. If you can restore iOS or iPadOS in Recovery mode, we advise you to do so and use DFU mode only in rare cases, such as when encountering boot loops.

Note: If you are using macOS, you can disregard any messages displayed by Finder asking if you want to restore your device OS. Instead, you can use iMazing to restore your device OS, if you prefer.

If your device is functioning normally, you can use iMazing to trigger the Recovery mode:

  1. Launch iMazing and connect your device to your Mac or PC.
  2. Use the Reinstall iOS/iPadOS action in iMazing. This will put your device into Recovery mode if it is currently in Normal mode.

Alternatively, you can manually trigger the Recovery mode:

  1. Launch iMazing and connect your device to your Mac or PC.
  2. Follow instructions below depending on your device model:

Once your device is in Recovery mode:

If your device is not already connected to iMazing, please connect it now. Then, follow the instructions to reinstall the operating system.

iMazing reinstall iOS screen with device in recovery mode

Have a look to the following article for more details: Reinstall or restore iOS on a malfunctioning iPhone or iPad


If entering into Recovery mode does not work, here is how to put your device into DFU mode:

  1. Launch iMazing and connect your device to your Mac or PC.
  2. Follow instructions below depending on your device model.

Tip: It's important to have iMazing running on your PC or Mac to allow your device entering in DFU mode.

It's not easy to enter in DFU mode and you may need to retry multiple times. If you see anything displayed on your device such as a logo, your device might be in Recovery or Normal mode, but not in DFU mode. If reinstalling iOS in Recovery mode works, that's good. Otherwise try again to enter it in DFU mode.

Exit DFU mode

If you want to exit DFU mode, press the Home and Power buttons and hold them until the Apple logo displays on your device.

Reinstall iOS complete guide

iMazing reinstall iOS screen with device in recovery mode

Guides

Support Center - Guides