Repair iOS Operating System on MacBook
Davis Turner
Friday, June 16, 2017
As Apple launches iOS 10.3.3, iOS 11 successively, users are busy about keeping their iOS devies up-to-date. It is exciting to get new features, however, it is also a headache when the update fails and bricks your iPhone, iPad, iPod, or you get system problems after iOS update. These are the common problems that could happen to the operating system on your device during or after iOS 10.3/iOS 11 update:
- iPhone 7/7 Plus/6/5s is stuck at recovery mode when the iOS update fails, which shows a black screen with a lightning cord connecting to an iTunes logo.
- iPhone/iPad is frozen on the Apple logo screen in the middel of iOS update.
- iPhone/iPad is sent into a boot loop after a failed update.
- iPhone/iPad/iPod gets stuck at headphone mode after updating to iOS 10.3.3 or iOS 11.
- iPhone 6 becomes unresponsive and shows black screen with spinning wheel randomly after iOS 10.3/iOS 11 update.
If any of these operating system errors happen to your iOS device, you can try to fix the device to normal with the following methods on your MacBook, iMac.
Force Restart iPhone/iPad
Firstly, you should try if you can repair the abnormal devicew without computer. If your iOS device is unresponsive or frozen when updating to new iOS, you can try to force restart the device.
For iPhone 7/7 Plus without home button, press and hold power + volume down buttons for about 10 seconds until you see the Apple logo.
For iPhone 6s or eairlier and iPad, press and hold power + home buttons for about 10 seconds. Release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.
Restore/Update iPhone/iPad with iTunes
If you couldn't force restart the device, you can restore or update your iOS device with iTunes. Please make sure you have the newest iTunes installed on your MacBook or iMac.
Restore Frozen/Unresponsive iOS Device
Step 1. Launch iTunes on your Mac.
Step 2. Use workable lightning cable to connect your iPhone/iPad to MacBook.
Step 3. When the iTunes detects your device, click the device and navigate to Summary page.
Step 4. Choose Restore iPhone... to restore your device. The iTunes will promt that a restore will erase all your data, click OK to continue.

Restore/Update iOS Device in Recovery Mode
If your iOS device is stuck at recovery mode, you can use iTunes to restore or update the device. If your device has other system problems, you can also put the device in recovery mode to perform a restore.
Step 1. Put your device in recovery mode by pressing and holding power + home buttons (power + volume down buttons for iPhone 7/7 Plus), until you see a black screen with light cord plugging to iTunes logo. Skip this step if your device is already in recovery mode.
Step 2. Launch iTunes on your MacBook and connect your device to the computer. iTunes will detect the connected device and show this pop-up window:

Step 3. If you choose Update, your device will be updated to the latest iOS version. If you choose Restore, all contents and settings on your device will be wiped out.
Use iOS System Repair Software for iPhone/iPad on MacBook
When trying to restore or update iOS device with iTunes to repair system problems caused by iOS update, some users get new problems: they can't restore iOS device with iTunes with Find My iPhone/iPad enabled; the restore or update never complete as it get stuck in progress bar screen; it shows new iTunes errors after update or restore.
If iTunes fails to help you repair iOS system, you can try Passvers iOS System Recovery. The program can:
- Fix iPhone/iPad stuck at recovery mode, DFU mode, black/blue screen, unresponsive/frozen screen, headphone mode in one click;
- Provide you two modes to repair iOS system: recovery mode (which doesn't wipe out your data) and DFU mode;
- Walk you through the repair process with thorough guide;
- Update your device to latest iOS version after the repair.
Most iPhone/iPad system repair software only offer Windows version, but iOS System Recovery is available with both Mac and Windows version. Download the free trial version of iOS System Recovery on your MacBook.
Step 1. Launch iOS System Recovery on MacBook. Choose More Tools > iOS System Recovery.
Step 2. Connect your problematic iPhone/iPad to MacBook with lightning cable. The program will quickly detect your device and show that your device is in abnormal state. Click Confirm to continue.

Step 3. Follow the tutorial on the program to put your device in recovery mode. If your device is stuck at recovery mode, skip this step.

Step 4. The program will display the information of your device. Please check if the information matches with your device. It is important because the program will download firmware to your device according to the information. After you have checked, click Repair to begin.

Step 5. The program will begin downloading suitable firmware and repair your iPhone/iPad. When the repair is completed, the device will reboot automatically and be back to normal.

As you can see, repair iOS system using iOS System Recovery is much easier and more smooth than using iTunes. Any other question about repairing iOS system problems after iOS 10.3/iOS 11 update? Leave your comment below.