What Does Attempting Data Recovery Mean on iPhone? Fixed!

Is your iPhone stuck in the Apple logo and attempting data recovery loop? What does attempting data recovery mean on iPhone? Find ways to fix iPhone attempting data recovery issue.

Lora

By Lora / Updated on June 12, 2023

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Stuck on the “Attempting Data Recovery” screen

“My brother recently got an iPhone 7 but he forgot its passcode. We have tried to factory reset it via iTunes. There was one error message of 0xE800015. When we finally get to the correct screen on iTunes. It requires updating iTunes. The iPhone has been stuck on a white screen saying 'Attempting Data Recovery' once that is gone. It says it has failed and comes back saying press home button to recover. Is there anyone to know how to fix this issue? Thanks a lot.”

Some of us experienced the same problem when restoring from a higher iOS version to a lower iOS version using iTunes without a backup. The “attempting data recovery” screen took a long time (maybe 10 minutes), and it was followed by a suggestion to “press home to recover.”

attempting-data-recovery-pic

iTunes will display a notice stating that “iTunes could not connect to the iPhone because it is locked with a passcode” and will not do any data recovery operations during this process.

The message "Attempting Data Recovery Failed" will appear repeatedly on your iPhone's screen. Attempting Data Recovery so many times will eventually result in your iPhone is disabled.

What does attempting data recovery mean on iPhone?

Many iPhone users want to know what iPhone attempting data recovery meaning. Users all around the world have claimed that their iPhones became stuck in the ‘attempting data recovery' loop when they were trying to install iOS updates. Some users believe that updating via iTunes is preferable, although "Attempting data recovery" can also occur during an update via iTunes.

The "Attempting data recovery" problem occurs when you attempt to update an iPhone or iPad to iOS 16,15, 12, 11.2, 11.3, or 11.4, whether via OTA or iTunes. This delays the update and deletes part or all of their data from their iPhones. Apple Company has not provided an official explanation or solution for the problem.

When you upgrade to a new iOS, the notice "attempting data recovery" may indicate that your iPhone's storage space is very low. This scenario is more common in small storage iPhone devices, such as the 16GB iPhone, although large storage devices are also suffering the same error upon updating.

Possible reasons for attempting data recovery iPhone

The attempting data recovery on iPhone usually occurs when iOS is updated via iTunes. There are three possible scenarios of the iPhone attempting data recovery.

  • Downgrading iOS from iOS 14 to 13 or below
  • Users disconnect the iPhone to the computer or Mac when updating via iTunes
  • Update iOS after jailbreak

Based on the experiences of customers who have resolved the update error, there are several methods you could try to fix attempting data recovery loop. If you have lost data due to the "Attempting data recovery" error during an iOS upgrade, there are still solutions to recover lost data from your iPhone.

How to fix attempting data recovery loop

Some iPhone users have been trapped in the "Attempting data recovery" loop, which drives them insane. In any case, you can try the following methods to fix iPhone attempting data recovery.

Method 1. Press the Home button and wait

There’s no need to panic if your iPhone is stuck in attempting data recovery. Simply press the Home Button and wait for the update to complete. When the update is finished, your iPhone will return to normal operation. If you can't wait for an extended period of time, you'll have to look for other methods.

Method 2. Force restart the iPhone

If your iPhone keeps displaying "attempting data recovery" with no progress, a force restart may assist you in resolving the error. A force restart is always an effective way to solve lots of iPhone problems. For different iPhone models, there are different steps for force restart.

For iPhone X/XS/XR/11/12/13/14/8/8plus/SE 2:

Step 1. Press and fast release the Volume Up button.

Step 2. Press and fast release the Volume Down button.

Step 3. Press and hold the Side button (Power) until the Apple logo appears.

For iPhone 7/7 plus:

Press the Volume Down button and Sleep/Wake button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears and then release the two buttons.

For iphone 6/6s/SE 1:

Press the Sleep/Wake button and Home button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears and then release the two buttons.

force-restart-iphone

Method 3. Put your iPhone into recovery mode

If force start can’t work, you could fix the attempting data recovery issue by putting your iPhone in recovery mode. This method is generally useful when an iOS update fails, and you need to put your phone in recovery mode to resolve the issue. Need to mention that this method would probably erase all the data in the iPhone.

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to the computer.

Step 2: Force restart your iPhone but don't release the buttons when you see the Apple logo, wait until the “Connect to iTunes” screen appears.

iphone-recovery-mode

Step 3: Then launch iTunes. A pop-up message will show the options to Restore or Update. Select “Update”. iTunes will try to reinstall iOS without losing data. If the “Update” couldn’t fix the issue, you could repeat Step 2 and choose “Restore”, which will erase all the data on the iPhone.

itunes-update-note

Step 4. Wait for the update or restore process to complete and set up your device.

What happens when iPhone goes into recovery mode?
Putting your iPhone into Recovery Mode will erase all your iPhone data. You need to set it up again like a new device. If you want to recover iPhone data, you can restore them from iTunes backups. If you haven't backed it up, you can set it up and download some files from your iCloud. 

How to recover data after attempting data recovery loop fixed

Putting your iPhone into recovery mode could fix the issue of “iPhone stuck at Apple logo”, but you will lose all of your iPhone data. You could recover lost data from iPhone after attempting data recovery loop fixed from iTunes or iCloud backups.

Steps to recover data from iTunes backup

Step 1. Launch iTunes and connect your iPhone to the computer with which you have made iTunes backup before.

Step 2. Click your device icon and click “Restore Backup” under the Backups menu.

recover-data-via-itunes

Step 3. Select the latest backup and click “Restore”.

choose-a-backup

Steps to recover iPhone data via iCloud backup

When resetting your iPhone after fixing attempting data recovery, you could recover iPhone data from iCloud backup.

Step 1. When comes to Apps & Data screen, tap “Restore from iCloud Backup”.

apps-data-screen-iphone

Step 2. Sign in to your Apple ID and then select the latest backup from the list.

Bonus tip: how to recover lost iPhone data?

After iPhone attempting to recovery data, you may find some iPhone data lost. How to recover them? The easiest way is to use a third-party iPhone data recovery tool-MyRecover for iOS. All you need to do is to download and install it on your Windows computer and then connect your iPhone.

The software will scan your iPhone automatically to quickly find the deleted or lost iPhone data. It can restore photos, videos, contacts, call history, notes, voice memos, WeChat history, etc. You can get the deleted data back within three simple steps easily. 

Wrap it up

Hopefully, suppose you encounter such an update error in the future. In that case, you will be able to easily fix the issue and get rid of the iPhone stuck on the “Attempting Data Recovery” error by force restarting and putting the iPhone to recovery mode.

Besides, the most important thing to avoid iPhone data loss is to make a regular backup via iTunes or iCloud. A freeware-FoneTool could be a good alternative to back up your iPhone important data selectively or fully. In this way, you don’t need to worry about your vita data would be lost due to an iPhone update bug anymore.

Lora
Lora · Editor
Lora is an editor of AOMEI Technology. She is also a tester and editor of AOMEI Data Recovery Tools. -- "Keep testing, write the most useful tutorials for helping people recover the lost data for Windows and phones" is the most meaningful thing for her. Dedicated to creating helpful tutorials, she hopes her tutorial can assist users to effortlessly solve data loss problems on their personal computers and mobile phones.