Step-by-Step Guide on Fixing the ‘iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes’ Error

September 7, 2022

You’re probably reading this piece on your computer while you’re facing the “iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes” on your palm. Well! You’re not alone. Many users witness the same error, but the good news is that it’s fixable. So, keep reading the article and let’s fix your disabled iPhone together. 

Five Steps to Fixing Your Disabled iPhone Through iTunes & Finder

Connect your disabled iPhone to Finder or iTunes to a computer to restore the phone. So, if you have a Mac or Windows computer, follow these steps. Contrarily, if you see the “unavailable” error on your iPhone, you can fix it through the “Erase iPhone” option on the lower-right side to unlock it. 

Step 1: Turn your computer on, but don’t connect your iPhone.

Step 2: Enter your iPhone’s recovery mode.

For iPhone 8 and later models:

1. Press and keep holding the power button along with the ‘Volume Down’ or ‘Volume Up’ button, until you can see the slider.
2. Drag your iPhone’s slider to turn off your iPhone.
3. Connect your disabled iPhone to your computer while holding the ‘Side’ button. 
4. Continue holding the button until the ‘Finder’ or ‘iTunes’ recognizes your phone in the ‘Recovery’ mode.

 For iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus:

1. Switch off your phone. 
2. Press and hold your iPhone’s ‘Volume Down’ button while connecting it to your computer through a USB cable.
3. Release the ‘Volume Down’ button once you see the ‘Recovery’ screen. 

For iPhone 7 and previous models:

1. Power off your iPhone.
2. Hold the ‘Home’ button while connecting the phone to your computer.
3. Release the ‘Home’ button after entering the ‘Recovery’ mode. 

Step 3: Find your iPhone on Mac or PC.

• For Mac: Locate through iTunes or Finder by selecting your iPhone icon or device name.
• For Windows: Locate through iTunes on Windows PC by clicking on the device icon.

Step 4: Restore your iPhone.

Allow your computer to download and install the latest version of iOS from Apple’s website and restore your disabled iPhone in a few minutes. This step will erase all the data from your iPhone. 

Step 5: Complete the set-up (as you do when you buy a new iPhone). If you have created a backup, select ‘Restore’ to retrieve your data.  

Conclusion

You can fix the “iPhone is disabled. Connect to iTunes” error with the help of a computer, iTunes, or Finder. All you need to do is connect your device to your Mac or Windows PC and follow the above five steps.