An unknown error occurred (4005) – The iPhone could not be restored

In this article, we will explain how to fix “An unknown error occurred (4005) – The iPhone could not be restored”. Many iPhone users reported error 4005 when they try to update or restore iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch through iTunes. This error generally occurs iPhone users try to restore iPhone XS (Max) or any other iPhone model using iTunes, it is also known as “iTunes Error 4005”.

The reason for iPhone error 4005 is because the software is not properly downloaded or installed or it may be infected by a virus or maybe interrupted during download while updating or restoring. Here are possible ways you can fix “An unknown error occurred (4005) – The iPhone could not be restored”.

Restart Your Device

First to fix iTunes error 4005 is to restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and then try to connect your iPhone to iTunes. Here are steps to restart your device.

For iPhone 8 and older models:

• Press and hold the on/off button until you get the slider “slide to power off”.
• turn off the iPhone or iPad by sliding.
• Wait a few seconds till the phone is fully turned OFF.
• Now turn ON your device

For iPhone x and later models:

• Press and hold the on/off button and volume button until you get the slider “slide to power off”.
• turn off the iPhone or iPad by sliding.
• Wait a few seconds till the phone is fully turned OFF.
• Now turn ON your device

Restarting your device can solve “An unknown error occurred (4005) – The iPhone could not be restored”.

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Force reset your iPhone

To force reset your iPhone follow these steps to solve iPhone or iTunes error 4005.

• On an iPhone X or later: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery-mode screen or Apple logo.
• On an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Then press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery-mode screen or Apple logo.
• On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold both the power side and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery-mode screen or Apple logo.
• On an iPhone 6s or iPhone 5s and earlier, iPad, or iPod touch: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the recovery-mode screen or Apple logo.

Force restarting your device can help you to solve the problem with iPhone error 4005.

Not able to transfer your photos from your iPhone or iPad to Windows or Mac. Check out the article here.

Also some other possible solutions

1. Are you connected to the Internet (test using Safari and visit http://www.apple.com)
2. Is the iPhone connected to wall power or have enough juice?
3. Do you have enough space on the iPhone (about 7 GB)?
4. Did you also try updating via computer iTunes (needs latest version) with iPhone connected and selected?

Check your network connection

Note that for Home Sharing, all of your devices need to be on the same home network or connected to the same WiFi router.

Always check your Home Sharing is connected to the same network as the device you are trying to connect. If you have a guest network, make sure that all of your devices are on the same guest network.

Checking network connection can help you to solve the problem with “iTunes or iPhone error 4005”.

Try contacting Apple Care

At the end of every article, I recommend my users to contact Apple Care.