Sometimes when iOS device users are using iTunes to restore or update their device, they would see a window pop up that says The iPhone “XXX“ could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (23).

Causes of iTunes Error 23

To prevent this iTunes error 23 from recurring, it’s important to find out its cause. This problem happens when:

  • Your iTunes software suffered from corrupted download or incomplete installation.
  • Your windows registry is corrupted by a recent iTunes-related software change (install or uninstall).
  • Your windows system files or iTunes-related program files are corrupted by virus or malware infection.
  • Other programs maliciously or mistakenly deleted iTunes-related files.
  • Below is a list of troubleshooting steps to resolve your iTunes Error 23 problems. I'll use iPhone as an example to show you how to fix iTunes error 23 and the instructions below can also be applied to other iOS devices.

    How to Fix iTunes Error 23

    SOLUTION 1: UPDATE ITUNES TO FIX ITUNES ERROR 23

    If you are not using the latest version of iTunes, then this iTunes error 23 is likely to be cause by the outdated iTunes. Download and install the latest version of iTunes and try again to see if the iTunes error 23 is gone.

    To see if you are using the latest version of iTunes on Windows, open iTunes and click Help>Check for Updates on the menu bar.

    iTunes check for updates

    To see if you are using the latest version of iTunes on Mac OS, open iTunes and click iTunes>Check for Updates on the menu bar on the upper-left corner.

    iTunes check for updates

    SOLUTION 2: DFU MODE

    If the former solution doesn't work, try using DFU mode to restore your device. DFU, which is short for Device Firmware Update, stops your iPhone from booting up all the way so that you can connect it to iTunes and restore the iPhone and start fresh.

    DFU Mode takes some practice to use because it requires a pretty precise set of actions, but try a few times and you'll get it. To enter DFU Mode, follow the instructions below:

    • Step 1. First plug your iPhone to your Mac or Windows PC and open iTunes.
    • Step 2. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on your iPhone for 3 seconds.
    • Step 3. Swipe the Slide to power off slider to the right to turn off your device.
    • Step 4. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for 3 seconds. After 3 seconds, keep holding the Sleep/Wake button and start to press and hold the Home button(on iPhone 7/7 plus it's the volumn down button) for 10 seconds.
    • Enter DFU Mode

    • Step 5. After 10 seconds, release the Sleep/Wake button and keep holding the Home(Volumn Down on iPhone 7/7 plus) button until you see a popup from iTunes that says iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode.
    • Detected iPhone in Recovery Mode

    • Step 6. Click OK to close the popup and in iTunes, click Restore iPhone and on the following popup, click Restore to confirm.
    • iTunes Restore iPhone

    How to back up iPhone before restoring

    Sometimes things tend to go wrong when users are trying to restore or update their iPhone with iTunes, one of the bad results being data loss. So if you are planning on updating or restoring your iPhone, you should probably have your iPhone backed in advance. iTunes is a good backup tool from Apple but it's not for everyone. For people who has a lot of data in their iPhone but only need part of his data to be backed up, there are better choices out there than iTunes. Leawo iOS Data Recovery is a practical data recovery program as well as a data backup program which you can use to back up your iPhone. It allows you to selectively back up the files in your phone, which is a great feature for people who don't need their whole phone to be backed up.

       

    Below are the instructions for using Leawo iOS Data Recovery to back up your iPhone.

    1. Download and install the program in your computer, fire it up and you will see 3 tabs on the interface. Click Recover from iOS Device.

    Back up iPhone

    2. Connect your device to computer with a USB cable(the one that came in with your device is preferred). And the program would recognize your device. Click Start button and the program would start to scan your device.

    Back up iPhone

    3. When it's done scanning, the program would list your data on the left column, select the files you want to back up and click Recover button in the bottom right-hand corner.

    Back up iPhone

    4. On the following popup, select a folder to store the files you've selected by clicking the Open button and then click Go button to start backing up.

    Back up iPhone

    If you did lose files during an update, you can also use Leawo iOS Data Recovery to recover data from your iPhone, the procedure is basically the same as backing up your files. Just enable Only display deleted items so that you can quickly pick out the deleted items.