iPhone: Updating or restoring during times of overwhelming demand

Products Affected

iPhone

Symptoms

 When updating or restoring iPhone, iTunes presents a message saying that the iPhone activation server is temporarily unavailable.

Resolution

If you see this message when attempting to update iOS, the iPhone activation server is temporarily unavailable, and iTunes has not yet updated your iPhone.

You can disconnect iPhone from your computer and continue using it with the currently installed iOS, and then try again at a later date.

Additional Information

In rare instances, you may experience an error -4 message in iTunes, and on iPhone you may see a Connect to iTunes screen. If this occurs, make sure iPhone is connected to your computer. If the Connect to iTunes screen does not go away, try the following:

  1. Disconnect iPhone from your computer.
  2. Wait five minutes.
  3. Reconnect iPhone to your computer.
  4. Open iTunes if it doesn't automatically open.

If the issue persists, follow these troubleshooting steps.

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