How to fix iPhone stuck on “Slide To Open” when upgrading to IOS 9 without a restore and losing your data

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Well with any release of any upgrade I have always learned to backup everything and anything before you do it and unfortunately with upgrading to IOS 9 you may want to do the same. Currently there is a known issue that many are reporting on the net in which while attempting to upgrade to IOS 9 many iPhones are stuck on a “slide to upgrade” screen and they can’t get out of it.

This seems to be happening when you are attempting to upgrade from IOS 7 to IOS 9

UPDATE: As of 10/9/2015 there is an official fix that does not require to restore your iPhone and loss all your data. Apple finally heard your cries.

The “Slide to Upgrade” Fix (Official and Confirmed)

I was finally able to get the iPhone back to work again without having to restore it. Here is how you do it

  1. Plug your phone into your computer with iTunes
  2. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time. VERY IMPORTANT Do not let go of them until you see this screen.
  3. iphone6-ios9-recovery-mode-screen
  4. At this point you will be asked from iTunes to allow your iPhone to sync with iTunes…Confirm it.
  5. Then iTunes will ask you to check your iPhone and allow it to trust iTunes. This is where the dilemma has occurred, because since you are stuck in the “Slide to Upgrade” screen you can’t allow your iPhone to trust iTunes…well as I suspected give it time and Apple seems to have release an update with 9.0.2 which will fix your iPhone being stuck on the slide to upgrade screen and will eventually get your phone to be able to trust iTunes and BAM!!! you have your iPhone back to normal with no restore needed.

Side Note

This was a very personal and gratifying accomplishment for me not simply because I want to fix things, but because the iPhone I was trying to restore was for a personal close friend of mine who’s husband (who was my personal close friend) died days before this bug was known and she had pictures of him on the phone that she wanted to save and she thought she and I was lost forever. I told her to give it time and I was sure that Apple would release a fix for this and tonight that is confirmed.

I am thankful for Apple doing this in so many ways you have no idea, because the legacy of my close and personal friend can be remembered for many days to come.

In memory of my close and personal friend Daniel Riggs