0

I have an iPhone 6 iOS 8.0. And I want to restore it. So I downloaded the iOS 8 firmware for iPhone 6 from this link then I opened itunes and pressed shift+click on restore button and then chose my downloaded ios 8.0 firmware, but I get the below error message:

The iPhone couldn't be restored. An unknown error occurred (3194)

I searched the internet and some people suggested modifying the hosts file found in this location C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc by removing or commenting the apple.gs lines. But I still get the error. So if anyone could please advise how to restore to the currently installed iOS 8.0 without updating.

Hosts file contents:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handle within DNS itself.
#       127.0.0.1       localhost
#       ::1             localhost
#74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
#127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com
Improve this question
6
  • Apple is no longer signing iOS v8.0.0 installations. You will need to restore to (as of this writing) 8.1.3 which is the latest version available. The HOSTS file settings are to ensure that iTunes can talk to the update server, which isn't the issue in your case.
    – tubedogg
    Mar 5, 2015 at 4:37
  • @tubedogg so there is no possible way I can restore to my factory settings or iOS, which in my case is 8.0?
    – Tak
    Mar 5, 2015 at 4:38
  • Correct. The restore process downloads the latest version of iOS and installs it with factory settings.
    – tubedogg
    Mar 5, 2015 at 4:44
  • @tubedogg that's ridiculous (talking to apple not you :) ), I don't want to update to the latest as my brother already did and he is not happy, there should be a way to restore and have the same current iOS.
    – Tak
    Mar 5, 2015 at 5:09
  • 1
    Ridiculous or not, that is the way it is. Without Apple signing the update, your iPhone will not install it. See Wikipedia: "SHSH blobs are created by a hashing formula that has multiple keys, including the device type, the iOS version being signed, and the device's ECID (a unique identification number embedded in its hardware).[6] When Apple wishes to restrict users' ability to restore their devices to a particular iOS version, Apple can refuse to generate this hash during the restore attempt..."
    – tubedogg
    Mar 5, 2015 at 5:13

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

(Just so this question has an answer...)

Apple is no longer signing iOS v8.0.0 installations. You will need to restore to (as of this writing) 8.1.3 which is the latest version available. The HOSTS file settings are to ensure that iTunes can talk to the update server, which isn't the issue in your case.

You are basically attempting to downgrade the software on your iPhone (since the restore process installs the newest version, and you want to restore but then go back to iOS 8.0). You cannot downgrade iOS unless Apple is still signing the previous version, which usually only occurs for a very small window after a new update is released.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .