Fix Error 9 When Updating Or Restoring iPhone

Are you frequently seeing Error 9 when updating or restoring your iPhone?

It is a good practice to update your iPhone whenever a new iOS update is available. It is also convenient that you have many options on how to update (or even restore) your iPhone. One of the common ways is by using iTunes

However, there have been some issues that were encountered when using iTunes to update or restore your iPhone. One of these errors is Error 9. What’s even worse is that you cannot do anything on your device if this error appeared, so an urgent fix is always required.

But do not fret because we’re here to help save the day! We have compiled a list of things that you can try to resolve this issue. So read on if you are ready to find out how to eliminate this annoying issue.

Let’s jump right in!

1. Try Updating The iPhone Again.

It may be weird to try updating your iPhone again, but this is the easiest thing to do if you fail at it the first time. After all, if your iPhone disconnects during the process of updating or restoring it, you may get this error.

However, take note that you should first connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network and that it has at least 50% battery life to prevent any interruptions while you are updating or restoring. Finally, check if Error 9 when updating or restoring your iPhone will still appear.

2. Check USB Cable And Port.

Another common reason why this error will appear is if the USB port or cable is damaged. So if you have tried updating your iOS again and the issue is still there, the next thing you should do is to make sure that your USB cable and port are properly connected and working fine. 

Here’s how you can check if your USB cable and port are working fine:

  1. First, make sure that your USB cable is not loosely connected to your computer.
  2. After that, confirm that you are using the USB cable that came with your iPhone. Otherwise, you should get another certified cable.
  3. Then check that the USB port is not damaged. You can do this by switching to another USB port.

Now, check if Error 9 will still show up when updating or restoring your iPhone. Hopefully, it already resolved the issue, but if not, let’s move over to our next method.

3. Update macOS To The Latest Version.

If the first two methods did not work, the next thing you can do is to update your macOS. If you are guilty of delaying it when prompted to update, then this is the right time to do it.

Here’s how you can restart your Mac:

  1. Begin by going to the Apple menu and click System Preferences.
  2. After that, click on Software Update if an update appears.
  1. Next, select Update Now to download and install the update that appeared.
  1. Then restart your Mac (only if it did not automatically restart).

With that out of the way, see if Error 9 when updating or restoring your iPhone will still appear.

If you also happen to experience the issue with the Google Meet camera not working in Chrome on your Mac, updating your macOS you should definitely do to resolve both issues.

4. Try A Restart Or Force Restart.

If you still don’t see any changes, you should restart your phone now. This should be done as soon as you have modified some settings on your iPhone to make sure that they have been changed.

But if a single restart did not work, you may try it once again to ensure that your iPhone has properly restarted. If at first, you don’t succeed, then just try it again, right?

Here’s how you can restart your iPhone:

  1. Begin by pressing and holding down the Side or Power button. Do this for a few seconds.
  2. After that, a prompt with a red slider that shows ‘slide to power off’ will appear. Drag it to the right to trigger your iPhone to turn off. 
  1. Then press the Side or Power button again until you see the Apple logo. This will trigger your iPhone to turn back on.

However, if a restart did not seem to make any difference, you can force restart your iPhone instead. To turn off your iPhone, it will physically stop your iPhone’s battery from connecting to your phone. The process will be different depending on your iPhone model, so make sure you only follow the steps that are appropriate for you.

Here’s how you can do a force restart on iPhone 8, 8 Plus, SE, and so on:

  1. First, press then quickly release your iPhone’s Volume up button
  2. Next, repeat it for the Volume down button.
iphone 8 force restart
  1. After that, press and hold the Side button until your iPhone turns off. 
  2. Then just wait for a few minutes until the Apple logo appears before releasing the Side button.

Here’s how you can do a force restart on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus:

  1. Begin by pressing and holding down both your iPhone’s Volume down and Sleep/Wake buttons at the same time to trigger your iPhone to turn off.
difference between restart and force restart on iphone
  1. After that, just wait for a few minutes until the Apple logo appears before releasing both buttons.

Here’s how you can do a force restart on iPhone 6, 6s, 6s Plus, and SE:

  1. Begin by pressing and holding down both your iPhone’s Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time to trigger your iPhone to turn off.
  2. After that, just wait for a few minutes until the Apple logo appears before releasing both buttons.
difference between restart and force restart on iphone

Once you are done with all of that, check if Error 9 will still show up when updating or restoring your iPhone. We’re eager to find out, so don’t forget to comment it down in the comments section below!

5. Try Recovery Mode.

Nonetheless, if after a restart or force restart and the issue still persists, you can try putting your iPhone in ‘Recovery Mode’. Then you can restore it using your Mac. This should fix critical issues like this, and at the same time, will allow iTunes to fix any corrupted system components, which may have caused the issue.

Before anything else, ensure that your Mac or iTunes application is on the latest version. Trust us, this will save your time and effort when the need comes up.

Here’s how you can put your iPhone 8, 8 Plus, SE (and onwards) in ‘Recovery Mode’:

  1. Begin by connecting your iPhone to your Mac.
  2. Now, open Finder (on Catalina) or iTunes (on Mojave or lower versions).
  3. Then press and quickly release your iPhone’s Volume up button and do the same step for the Volume down button.
  4. Next, press and hold the Side button until you reach the ‘Recovery Mode’ screen.
  5. A window should open up on your screen which will prompt you to choose between Update or Restore. Choose Update.
  1. Lastly, just wait for a few minutes until the update has been finished.

Here’s how you can put your iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in ‘Recovery Mode’:

  1. Begin by connecting your iPhone to your Mac.
  2. Now, open Finder (on Catalina) or iTunes (on Mojave or lower versions).
  3. Then press and hold the Top (or Side) and Volume down buttons at the same time. 
  4. After that, ensure that you keep on pressing and holding down both buttons until you reach the ‘Recovery Mode’ screen.
  1. A window should open up on your screen, which will prompt you to choose between Update or Restore. Choose Update.
  2. Lastly, just wait for a few minutes until the update has been finished.

Here’s how you can put your iPhone 6s (or earlier) in ‘Recovery Mode’:

  1. Begin by connecting your iPhone to your Mac.
  2. Now, open Finder (on Catalina) or iTunes (on Mojave or lower versions).
  3. Then press and hold the Top (or Side) and Home buttons at the same time. 
  4. After that, ensure that you keep on pressing and holding down both buttons until you reach the ‘Recovery Mode’ screen.
  5. A window should open up on your screen which will prompt you to choose between Update or Restore. Choose Update.
  6. Lastly, just wait for a few minutes until the update has been finished.

With that out of the way, check if the issue has disappeared. Fortunately, the same issue will not reoccur, but if it does, you should know what to do next.

6. Try Dr. Fone.

If the issue still remains, but you have already reached our sixth method, you should think about trying Dr. Fone!

Dr. Fone is one of the top brands in the market if you are to compare it with other repair tools. True enough, it has many tools that you can use to maintain your device, and one of these tools is the ‘System Repair’ tool which can fix both iOS and Android system issues. 

It also offers other additional tools such as the ‘Phone Backup’ tool, ‘Phone Manager’ tool’ and ‘Screen Unlock’. You can find all these efficient and smart tools inside Dr. Fone’s toolkit.

Still not convinced, are you? We can honestly tell you that millions of users all over the world are already happy with using Dr. Fone. This is because there are more than 50,000,000 Dr. Fone users around the world.


Try Dr. Fone Now! 



7. Contact Apple Support.

Unfortunately, if nothing in our list resolved this annoying issue for you, you should go ahead and contact Apple Support. It is a must to reach out to them as they can always provide additional troubleshooting that can help you resolve the issue. 

However, if you want to avoid contacting Apple Support just to perform exhaustive troubleshooting steps, you can just go to your nearest Apple Store to have your iPhone checked by Apple-certified technicians. Though remember to check your service and support coverage options first.


Now, we have reached the end of our article, but we are hoping that we were able to help you in resolving Error 9 when updating or restoring your iPhone. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments section and we’ll be glad to answer them for you!


If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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