iPhone DFU Mode:What’s It and How to Enter and Exit iPhone DFU Mode?
Last Updated on April 24, 2023 by Ian McEwanWhen our iPhones encounter serious issues, our experienced friends may suggest us to fix the issues by entering DFU mode. But we may be confused about what DFU mode is and how to enter and exit it. This guide may help you to understand. Please follow it and get answered.

What iPhone DFU Mode Is? What DFU Mode Stands for?
DFU Mode stands for Device Firmware Upgrade. When your iPhone and other iOS devices are in DFU mode, the device is powered on but hasn’t booted up the operating system. Consequently, you can make changes to the operating system itself with computers or iTunes because it isn't running.
Some iOS problems can be addressed in DFU mode.
For example:
When to Use iPhone DFU Mode?
- Downgrade the iOS system of your iPhone to the previous version, which cannot be done with recovery mode.
- Jailbreak your iPhone or un-jailbreak it.
- Upgrade your iPhone from an expired beta version of the iOS.
- Your phone is stuck while upgrading.
- Other issues arise but cannot be solved by recovery mode, like data corruption or malfunction etc.
How to Enter iPhone DFU Mode for iPhone X/8/7?
As what we know, there is no actual Home Button on iPhone 7 and newer. As a result, for iPhone 7 and beyond, the Home Button will be switched to the volume down button, compared with iPhone 6 and older. Please follow the steps below to enter DFU mode.
Step 1: Open iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone to the computer with USB cable.
Step 2: Turn off your iPhone.
Step 3: Hold down the Side Button for 3 seconds.
Step 4: Hold down The Side Button and the Volume Down Button simultaneously for 10 seconds. If you hold too long, you may enter recovery mode and you need to restart.
Step 5: After 10 seconds of the last step, release The Side Button and keep holding the Volume Down button for another 5 seconds and then let go of it.

At this time, if your device’s screen remains black but iTunes informs you that your device is connected, you can move on. But if there are any icons or texts on your device’s screen, you need to start again because it means that you are in recovery mode.

How to Enter iPhone DFU Mode for iPhone 6s and Earlier?
How to put iPhone 6s and earlier into DFU mode is quite similar to the steps above. Just need to shift the volume down button to Home Button. Here are the specific steps:
Step 1: Run iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.
Step 2: Power off your phone.
Step 3: Hold down the Power Button for 3s.
Step 4: Hold down the Power Button and the Home Button for about 10 seconds. This step cannot last too long.
Step 5: When 10 seconds pass, let go of the Power Button and keep holding the Home Button for another 5 seconds.

How To: Get into DFU Mode on your iPhone!
How to Exit iPhone DFU Mode?
The misfortune is that sometimes even we follow the above procedures cautiously, our phone cannot get access to DFU mode. What’s worse, our phone may be stuck in DFU mode. To exit, without any help from outside, what we can do is to force our devices to restart.

To restart:
- For iPhone 6s and earlier, press the Home Button and the Side Button simultaneously until it reboots.
- For iPhone 7 and beyond, hold down the Volume Down Button and the Side Button simultaneously until it reboots.
Exit iPhone DFU Mode without Data Loss and Fix other iOS Errors.
How to Exit iPhone DFU Mode without Data Loss?
However, there is a more advisable and desirable way to exit when being stuck in DFU Mode. That is to exit with the assistance of DataKit iOS System Recovery, an excellent program designed specifically to solve iOS system’s issues, including being stuck in black screen, white screen, recovery mode and DFU mode etc. It can bring your phone to normal without data loss, which cannot be guaranteed by restarting our phones forcibly.
Here are the steps to use iOS System Recovery. It is easy to operate.
Step 1: Choose iOS System Recovery to run
Install iOS System Recovery on your computer and launch it. And then connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable. When your phone is recognized automatically by the software, you need to choose Standard Mode to run, so that your data will not be lost. Click “Start” to proceed.

Step 2: Download Firmware according to your iOS version
Complete the following choices according to your iPhone’s information and then click “Download”, so that a firmware fitting with your iPhone will be downloaded.
Step 3: Fix your iOS system
After finishing downloading the firmware, click “Start to Fix” then the program will begin to fix the system. Please wait for about 15 minutes. At last, your phone will recover to normal.

That is all about DFU mode. Hopefully, this article can offer you some help in understanding DFU mode and how to enter and exit it. Last but not least, iOS System Recovery serves as an iOS system repair tool. It is quite trust-worthy in fixing your malfunctioning iOS system. Whenever needed, you can download it and have a try.
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Exit iPhone DFU Mode without Data Loss and Fix other iOS Errors.