Error 1601 or 1602 when restoring iPhone or iPod touch in iTunes

Issue

When trying to restore your iPhone in iTunes, you may see the following message followed by an error code 1601 or 1602:

The iPhone could not be restored. An unknown error occurred.

Or when trying to restore your iPod touch in iTunes, you may see the following message:

The iPod "[username]" could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (1602)

Solution

Completely remove iTunes and Apple Mobile Device support and then reinstall iTunes 7.5 or later. Click the appropriate link below for instructions on how to accomplish this for your operating system.

Windows XP
Windows Vista
Mac OS X

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple's recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.