Fix Error 3194 from iTunes During iPhone Restore

Dec 6, 2010 - 524 Comments

iTunes

Error 3194 in iTunes will usually prevent an iPhone, iPad, or iPod from being able to successfully restore. Typically Error 3194 will show up when iTunes is not able to communicate with Apple servers.

If you run into Error 3194 in iTunes when trying to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you might be able to fix it by addressing some connectivity issues. There are also some unique situations where Error 3194 seems to be triggered when unsigned or expired firmware is used, often during an iOS downgrade or upgrade, jailbreak attempt, or even during some restores.

If you experience the error on your iOS device, read on for some troubleshooting advice so that iTunes will function with the restore or iOS update as intended. This applies to all versions of iTunes on both Mac and Windows PC, and we’ll cover a variety of troubleshooting tricks aimed at fixing this issue.

How to Fix Error 3194 in iTunes

iTunes Error 3194, Error 17, Error 1639, Error 3000, Error 3100, and similar errors are typically the result of iTunes not being able to contact the update server from Apple. Try the following tips to resolve the error message.

Confirm Internet Connectivity

First, verify that the computer running iTunes has an active internet connection and is able to access the outside world.

Sometimes restarting the computer as well as the router / modem can resolve connectivity issues.

Confirm Nothing is Blocking Connections

Next you’ll want to make sure that any router, firewall, security software, anti-virus, or other similar software is not actively blocking domains and access to Apple servers.

An easy way to test this is to disable those types of filtering and see if iTunes can restore the iPhone or iPad as expected.

Wait a Few Minutes and Try Again

Sometimes there is a blip in internet connectivity, and simply waiting a few minutes and trying again later can resolve the issue on its own. This is particularly true if the error seemingly came out of nowhere.

Try Another Computer with iTunes

If you have access to another computer, Mac or PC, try using that computer with iTunes to see if it works to restore the device. If it does, it’s likely that the other computer is having a problem connecting to Apple servers.

Verify Nothing is Blocking Hosts Domains Which Can Cause Error 3194

If you still encounter the 3194 error, or you find another iTunes error, go into the computer hosts file and place # (pound sign) in front of any IP addresses that reference ‘gs.apple.com’, thereby preventing their association. If you see an IP in front of the gs.apple.com domain it may be placed there from another application (often related to jalibreaking or modifying iOS software) and this can block the ability for iTunes to connect to Apple servers, which prevents a restore.

This may look something like the following:

#74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
#127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com
#74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

Save the hosts file and try to restore the iOS device again.

Flushing DNS cache is sometimes necessary after modifying the hosts file on a Mac or Windows PC.

Each IP rule with a # in front of it becomes voided. You can also delete the IP’s and their associated domains, but that isn’t entirely necessary.

If you’re having trouble figuring out the whole hosts file situation, click here for a walkthrough on the process, demonstrating how to make changes to hosts and how to make those changes take effect if they are not instantly recognized by the OS.

How to Fix Error 3194 if Jailbreaking

If you see Error 3194 and you happen to be jailbreaking (or attempting to) the device, then it may be fixed by temporarily blocking Apple’s firmware signing services. This usually only applies to older iOS versions with older jailbreaks, but nonetheless we’ll maintain this for posterity.

The fix is the same regardless of what operating system you are using:

  1. Quit iTunes
  2. Locate your hosts file, in Mac OS X it is located at /etc/hosts and in Windows it is located at c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
  3. Open the hosts file with Administrator privileges
  4. Add the following lines to the very bottom of the hosts file and save the change:
  5. 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

  6. Connect your iPhone to the computer
  7. Launch iTunes
  8. Put the iPhone/iPad/iPod into DFU mode by turning the phone off and then holding down the sleep and power button for 10 seconds, then release the power button but hold onto the home button until iTunes tells you that the device is now in recover mode
  9. Use the iTunes Restore feature as usual with the iOS device

You may need to flush your DNS cache for the change to take effect, though usually just quitting and relaunching iTunes is sufficient to get the app to recognize the change.

Once your iOS update is finished, go back to the hosts file and remove the “74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com” line again so that iTunes can properly update as usual. This is an essential step otherwise you may encounter future errors when trying to update or install iOS versions.

For those who want to know, the IP address being temporarily used and re-associating gs.apple.com with is saurik’s (of Cydia fame) signing server.

Note that iTunes Error 3194 can also happen sometimes if the wrong firmware version is used, and you will see an error message like “This device isn’t eligible for the requested build”, which is why it’s necessary to always use the appropriate firmware files for your device if you are performing manual updates. Or better yet, just let iTunes or iOS update itself without trying to use the firmware files manually.

itunes error 3194 If you need them, you can get the latest versions of iPhone and iPad firmware as IPSW files here, all firmware comes directly from Apple. Keep in mind that the signing window for downgrading iOS versions has shrank dramatically, and without a history of storing SHSH blobs there is no way to revert back to prior versions of iOS once that happens. In that case, no amount of tweaking hosts or adjusting IP’s is going to make a difference to restore to older IPSW, and thus you would have to either keep the current iOS version or opt to upgrade to a newer version to escape the 3194 error.

Why does error 3194 happen when users are trying to jailbreak?

If the 3194 error is encountered related to jailbreaking, it’s likely because at some point in time, they used a jailbreak utility to modify their iOS device, and in that process of modification the jailbreak tweak modified the hosts file thereby blocking Apple’s servers. Initially that’s not a problem, but it can trigger the error when iOS is later attempted to be updated to a new version, restored from a backup, or modified. Most modern jailbreak apps will make the necessary changes to prevent the error from ever being triggered, but that isn’t always the case.

In more rare occurrences, Error 3194 can happen when there is an unrelated connectivity problem between the client and host server during an iOS upgrade or restore. In those cases, usually attempting again in another minute or two will let the issue sort itself out and things will be working again as usual.

Thank you to Parakeet for providing this fix.

Updated on 6/19/2019 and 1/4/2015

.

Related articles:

Posted by: Paul Horowitz in iPad, iPhone, iTunes, Troubleshooting

524 Comments

» Comments RSS Feed

  1. Blair Shawn says:

    Thanks for sharing, this is really helpful.
    However, I notice that this guide mostly focus on the problem with the computer end. In fact, error 3194 can originate from ios error on the mobile device end.

  2. rogue84 says:

    I got this code as well when trying to recover my crashed phone. It was stuck in that apple logo screen. Hard reset did not help. ITunes only recognized the phone in recovery mode so i couldn’t access my data, nothing.

    I went to a repair shop and they told me it could not be fixed, because it was a broken motherboard. They concluded this after trying to connect a different battery and it didn’t help.

    Today i went for a second opinion to another repair shop (as found it a little hard to believe it was a motherboard problem). He replaced first the battery, nothing happened. But when he replaced the display, it suddenly came on again. As it was a spare second hand display, he gave it to me free off charge and now my phone works perfectly again. So happy i tried this; i was about to throw it away!

    So, if your phone is frozen on the apple logo screen and when trying to repair you get this 3194 code, it could also be your display that is broken! It’s worth a try! Such an easy fix!

  3. rogue84 says:

    i have the exact same problem. Took my phone to a repair shop and they told me as well it was the motherboard that was broken and so they couldn’t fix it. Crazy! And a little hard to believe! Have you found a solution to it yet? I am dying to retrieve some precious lost data

  4. Ally says:

    Hye,i am an Iphone 5s user and currently having a problem with it where it just stuck on Apple logo like wouldn’t go anywhere better. I discovered the Itunes recovery mode but error 3194 occured when i try to restore or update it. I did tried on the hosts file thingy,unfortunately,i just dont know where on the earth it has gone. And looking at all these comment got me puzzled with the tech words.”firmware” “cache”. I asked some ppl bout it and they said the motherboard or harddisk was broken.I wasnt really sure myself and so i decided to try to fix it on my own in the first place which again,unfortunately i am a total noob in this. Can somebody do enlighten me? :(

    • rogue84 says:

      Hey Ally, i have an update and perhaps this will help you too! I went for a second opinion to a different repair shop and my phone is FIXED!
      It was NOT the motherboard / harddisk, but my display! The second he replaced it with another, everything worked again.

      It’s really strange that a broken display makes the iphone freeze and be unrecognizable in iTunes even and cause that 3194 code when trying to recover it. But it happened with mine.

      It’s worth a try!

  5. Sarcast says:

    Try to reset your network settings in the iPhone settings, and make another restore attempt after the reboot.

    This fixed it for me, after 8 tries and dozens of ‘fixes’ scattered around the internet.

    • Ally says:

      Hye,do you mind explain it very specifically regarding this matter?
      I am trying to fix it on my own since i’ve seen lotsa ppl able to fix it on their own. Many tell me this happen bcos of my Iphone’s motherboard or hard disk is broken. I once created the “hosts” file thingy,seeing that from the applesupport but seems that i hardly able to understand the flow :(

  6. ghasem says:

    I`m writing this because I wasted lots of time over finding the result and hope this help others.
    I had a problem with my iphone 4s when upgrading to ios 9. In the middle of process I stuck into recovery mode and couldn’t get out of it.
    When I tried to restore it with itunes there was a problem ( error 3194) and when you go for solvation it says you need to change sth in host files or you need to disable antivirous or firewall or use below programs:

    Finally I found that everything goes back to my firm ware version. I found the right one and restored it with itunes.

  7. Bigyan says:

    thanks for the fix… :)

  8. laksdj says:

    This doesnt’ work. I”m administrator. It asks me to save file so I save it but says I don’t have permission to save it to the hosts file and do i want to save it to documents. Obviously saving it to documents won’t work. So now what? My phone is full (100mb left at last check) and phone won’t start. last time I restored phone no problem and saved everything. Now I keep getting error 3194.

    Now what?

  9. Furkan says:

    Hello , thank you very much 3194 error has been resolved.
    All contents etc / hosts file , I’ve erased all of them.
    It had jailberak iPad.

  10. samuel says:

    i have iphone 4 and i tried to jailbreak it with pangu but it stuck on apple logo then i tried to restore it but error encountered 3194 and now stuck on itunes or something like DFU mode
    then i tired it again again error 3194
    then i tried in another laptop and computer

    on windows 8 .1
    i disabled my firewall
    i tried putting host file

    #74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
    #127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com
    #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

    one by one with # symbol and with out symbol
    i have used tiny umbrella but it only fetch ota it has no any tss server i don know how to use it

    my host file looks like this
    # Copyright (c) 1993-2009 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 handled within DNS itself.
    # 127.0.0.1 localhost
    # ::1 localhost

  11. David says:

    Try a signed firmware instead a normal one.

    1. Download the right one for your device

    2. Use Shift + restore in iTunes and choose the signed firmware

    DONE

    It helped in my case. And i tried EVERY tip from the web and additionally 5 to 10 different PCs or Macs. Nohing worked untill I used the signed Firmware.

    My iPhone 4s was never jailbroken.

    Leave me feedback if it helped in your case too.

  12. Min says:

    Hi,

    I tried all possible ways for 2days, I have downloaded the correct firmwares for my iPhone 5, which is the iPhone 5 GSM according to how Apple catalogues them, I held down shift + restore and selected the ISPW and I still get the error 1394, I created a copy on My Documents and deleted the original one that was on the etc folder, and still getting the same error!

    Please help!

    • Mike says:

      Correction:

      Error 3194.

      I have also flushed my DNS, disabled my Windows Firewall and my AV as well, yet Im still getting the same error.

      Please help!

  13. Min says:

    I made the changes, but it won´t let me save the changes, it asks me to save the file in an alternate folder.

  14. jordan94 says:

    I want do update my Iphone 4s from 7.0.4 to 7.1.1.
    I use Windows XP. Itunes version 12.0.1

    I did all necesery and all combinations with ‘hosts’ but still nothing.
    -Cant do the update even in DFU mode.
    -I’m clearing DNS carche (using C CLeaner) after adding or deleting #apple’s_IP’s
    -i added # infront of all IP’s apples combinations,
    -allso tried to delete all things inside ‘hosts’ file
    -or even deleting the file ‘hosts’

    Nothing. I tryed more then 30 times with all posible combinations but nothing.

    help?

  15. Tony says:

    Like many of you, I had trouble saving the file because I could not open the file as an ADMINISTRATOR!

    I solved it (at least it worked for me). I am running windows 7 by the way.

    Anyways, right click the “hosts” file and go properties>security.

    Select your user and give full permissions.

    Like I said, it worked for me.

  16. jjjchico says:

    thank you

    it works

  17. Awais says:

    Just turn off your window firewall you will never see any itunes error.

  18. Tony says:

    I had error 3195 just as iTunes begins to verify so added the extra entry into the host file.

    I then tried iTunes again and I get the following error:

    unable to contact the software update server

  19. Slobodan says:

    Try to use Redsn0w to fix your problem.

  20. alfa says:

    please help me
    i don’t know what to do while i was restoring ios 7.0 on my iphone, my itune shown error 3194

  21. kishan panchal says:

    i love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! saved my phone

  22. William_dh says:

    I SOLVED the problem by moving the file “hosts” to my desktop
    (in case it wouldn’t work. I could have deleted it)
    And it WORKED!
    I opened iTunes and everything worked! :))))

  23. SeepMan says:

    Thank you, You’re a life saver! After the first part I just started getting error 3004 but I put a # in front of the IP and it started working! Thank you! I was worried my iPhone was broken!

  24. reinaldo says:

    hey. do this works on ipod touch 5g with ios 7.0.4?
    thanks

  25. Zaber says:

    end up in error 21.any suggestion?

  26. AdamInToronto says:

    I had this problem during my recent iPhone4 update from 4.3.3 to 6.1.2. I tried updating half a dozen times, always failing during the Verification stage.

    I solved it by changing a setting in my router, an old WRT54G. The setting:

    Under Security->Firewall, there is a setting labelled “Block Anonymous Internet Requests”. Once I unchecked the option, the update was able to proceed. It still took a long time to complete the update, but it no longer was getting stuck on the Verification stage.
    The setting might exist in your firewall (hardware or software) with a different name. The WRT54G help refers to the option as “Block WAN Request”.

  27. Ken says:

    Not sure what to say but thank you so much. Let me break down my steps to benefit those who couldn’t get these steps to work. It took me 3 hours of trying each combo of things and nothing worked. Tried and failed many times before this worked for me.

    1. Exit ITunes (This is important)
    2. Update “hosts” file to #74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com (need to include that # sign)
    3. Open ITunes
    4. Hold both sleep and power button until ITunes recognizes the Ipod is in DFU/Restore mode.
    5. Click restore and it should run and fix your Ipod

  28. Akash shah says:

    Thanx a ton !!! u helped me get through this problem which ate up my entire weekend

  29. Deepesh Jain says:

    It worked….all we need to do is to save the hosts file while having iTunes closed.. :)
    Thanks !!

  30. Dominique says:

    All i had to do was put a # in front of these 3 at the bottom and save it and it worked
    #74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
    #127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com
    #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

  31. Dominique says:

    dude you are the frickin best i’ve been working on this for hourrrsssssss and this worked!!

  32. star4 says:

    I tried this and it did not work I still got the error

  33. Adham56 says:

    All i want to say is, Many Thanks Man.

  34. Aurei says:

    IT WORKED!!!

    What I did was removed the last 2 number lines and replaced it with the line ‘#74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com’ and saved while iTunes was closed.

    Opened iTunes, put phone in DFU, iTunes identified ipod in recovery mode, went ahead and clicked “Restore and Update.”

    Thanks so much!

  35. Xero says:

    I have tried all above mentioned solutions but I’m still getting this error 3194.
    But one thing I would like to tell is, “I have actually no issue restoring iOS. It works like a charm without editing or deleting “hosts”. I have iphone 4s iOS 6.0.1 but I am trying to restore it with iOS 6.0.1 beta. When I tries to restore my phone with beta files I have this error otherwise it normally restores.

  36. kain says:

    umm it will not let me save on host
    i did #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com and it say i can not save in that plz help

  37. nore says:

    My phone couldnt recognise the simcard after I tried to fix error 3194 and restore it.. any way to solve it?

    my phone is iphone 4 ios 4.3.3 jailbreak and was updating ios 6

  38. nore says:

    I think iphone 4 is locked now in itunes it says

    “The SIM card inserted in this iPhone does not appear to be supported.
    This iPhone is not currently setup to work with carrier you’re attempting to use. Please insert another SIM card from a supported carrier or request that this iPhone be unlocked”.

    anyway to unlocked? anyone?

    Thanks

  39. mijkolsmith says:

    It worked for me! It’s not hard at all. Only thing i don’t get is why it won’t work without doing it. But nvm, it worked.

  40. Hashan says:

    it work

    thank you !!!

  41. Silver says:

    Does this work for the current softwares of itunes and iphone 4s?

  42. sypyryzjpsaw says:

    oh yippee i renamed the ‘hosts’ file and it worked. 4-5 frickin’ hours of sitting infront of the computer. its time to get some rest. Just wanted to say thank you to this website and whoever commented the solution that helped me. :)

  43. salen says:

    i can’t save the host file as administrator .. please help !!

  44. mustaq says:

    THANKS FOR GREAT(#)

  45. Vikas says:

    its not working for me,… :( error 3194 everytime i try to restore

  46. SteevC says:

    This worked great! I quit my job and had to give my phone back, so I tried to do the factory reset to unjailbreak it and remove Cydia…no luck and got the 3194 error…I thought I was screwed! After hours of trying everything including umbrella and redsn0w…nothing would work on this 4S 5.1.1. I downloaded the proper restore file, modded the host file as above, restarted iTunes and the phone and followed the instructions. Worked perfectly!!

    THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  47. regina6614 says:

    hi, i’ve tried it and i could up till the step where it requires me to save. the computer pops up and says that i need permission from the administrator when i am the administrator..help?
    thanks

  48. Anonymous says:

    i have already fix this problem when i upgrade from ios 4 to 5.1.1, just use tiny umbrella to request to cydia if have saved your SHSH blobs then if yes then you can restore your apple unit, save SHSH blobs to your computer then download the latest jailbreak tool of redsnow from that tool you can stitch the local blob to ipsw file of ios 5.1.1 to come up a custom ipsw. then download ireb-r5 to pawned state your unit and restore it with itunes.

  49. waqas says:

    hi

    i have an iphone 4s with ios 5.1 and i understand that the jailbreak is available is only for ios 5.1.1 because as I use redsn0w 09.12.b2, the jailbreak option greys out.

    I tried to update my iphone 4s to ios 5.1.1 but i get 3194 error. I tried resolving it with all available info on web but no use.

    1. changing host files
    2. using tiny umbrella – the option “Set Hosts to Cydia on Exit” is always greyed out still I changed the hosts files both fo windows and for tinyumbrella

    what i should do. Can anyone help. I am willing to jailbreak without updating or with updating. but i want an untethered jailbreak.

  50. shanky says:

    hello everyone, i have iphone 3gs with ios 5.1.1 n my firmware is 05.16.05. I have tried above procedure more than 10 times still getting same 3194 error. Everything i have tried

  51. Elizabeth says:

    Hello,
    This was not working for me.
    I have an iPod Touch 4th generation with iOS 6. iOS 6 is a load of crap and I want to go back to iOS 5.1.1. I have downloaded the ipsw. file and I want to restore my iPod with this. I could not find this hosts file everyone’s finding (I have Windows XP by the way) Instead I went to Notepad, clicked Open and put in this file (c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts) as the name. It opened the so called “hosts” file and I typed down the bottom of the file 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com. I saved it into a different folder (I do not know of this etc. folder) and put my iPod into DFU mode. Opened iTunes, Shift and click Restore but it still comes up with the 3194 error. I’m not allowed to download this “Tinyumbrella” everyone’s talking about (my mother won’t let me)

    Is there an easier way of doing this?

  52. Help! says:

    Hey, I followed your steps, but then when I try to restore agian a new error came up. It says “error 21”. Please help me!

  53. Jaxo says:

    IF after editing hosts files, that doesn’t work :
    1. Open hosts files (in notepad opened as an administrator)
    2. Copy all the content in another notepad instance (opened as an administrator)
    3. Delete hosts file
    4. Save the content copied as “hosts” in the same directory you deleted the first hosts file
    5. Add this entry “74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com” in the hosts file, save and close
    6. Enter this address “http://gs.apple.com” into your navigator and enter (if it redirect to cydia home page, GOOD !!)
    7. Restaure your desired firmware via itunes
    8. Smile :)

  54. amido says:

    hey guys
    your solution didnt work, feel more bad now to see that it works for others.
    i’ve done exactly what you sed with the host file :
    i wrote down at the end #74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
    but still not working same erros 3194 my iphone 3gs doesnt turn on no more. can anyone help please im desapear for a soloution .???

  55. ish says:

    c/window/system32/driver/etc/
    there is no hosts file in my computer
    plz help me :(

  56. galaxy says:

    what do u u mean by the Open the hosts file with Administrator privileges. i am stuck here pls reply asap

  57. mike says:

    I got an answer to what Apple did to those of us who didn’t get what we paid for. Samsung.

    that’s where I’m going.

  58. Mojo says:

    Didn’t work for me.. :(((

  59. batman says:

    i am the administrator but i still cant get past the admin point can anyone help????

  60. maaria says:

    Ahhhh thankyou so much. I have a jailbroken iphone on 5.1.1 and it wouldnt let me update to ios6 and wouldnt let me use my phone either (said connect to itunes) Tried so many stuff on the internet but this took literally 5 mins!

    For those who say that you dont have permission to edit the file. make sure your on the administrators account. find note pad, right click run as administrator.. and file open and search the file!

    Thankyou once again =D

  61. One finger says:

    I tried the hosts I put #74.208.105.171gs.apple.com and #74.208.10.171gs.apple.com but I still get the error 3194 I put my iPhone 4s in to DFU mode to and have the lasts iTunes but still no luck can anyone help please!!!! Do u have to jailbrake it as I never jail broken my iPhones.

  62. anton says:

    tried force restoring my iphone4s as cant get past my security safety password screen but wont let me into my hosts file

  63. Stetson says:

    i have the iphone 4 and when i click cydia it just flashes for a second then goes back to the board screen (apps etc.)

    its on straight talk so since there is no cydia i cannot send mms messages which is totally silly.

    so i have got redsn0w and tried to reboot and re jailbreak

    that doesn’t work it just flashes again same deal…..

    next i have tried to restore using itunes and i get the error message 3194 so i have tried to put the phone is “D” mode as i call it or recovery mode then go inot hosts and input the #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com thing and turn off itunes turn it back on then the same message comes 3194 and i have tried to restore with firmware 5.1.1, 5.0, and 4.3.5 none work…..i have tried every single (#) deal that has been supplied in all the comments here and nothing works i have tried it with the (#) and without for all three firmwares i also have deleted hosts and tried with all three firmwares and still no luck same error message 3194

    please any help ?? :… (

  64. Calvin says:

    It doesn’t work for me.

    I have keep trying and trying and it’s still shows me the 3194 error.

    I’m giving up..

  65. Gabone says:

    Downgrade IOS6 to IOS 5.1.1

    Fix Error 3194
    The fix is the same regardless of what operating system you are using:

    Quit iTunes
    Locate your hosts file, in Mac OS X this is /etc/hosts and in Windows this is c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
    Open the hosts file with Administrator privileges
    Add the following lines to the very bottom of the hosts file:
    74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com
    Connect your iPhone to the computer
    Launch iTunes
    Put the iPhone/iPad/iPod into DFU mode by turning the phone off and then holding down the sleep and power button for 10 seconds, then release the power button but hold onto the home button until iTunes tells you that the device is now in recover mode
    Use the iTunes Restore feature as usual with the iOS device
    Once your iOS update is finished, remove the “74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com” line from your hosts file again so that iTunes can properly update as usual. If you need them, you can get iPhone firmware, iPad firmware, and iPod touch firmware directly from Apple.

  66. SuperiorSystems says:

    I upgraded to IOS6 and am trying to go back to ios 5.1.1 and ive tried all of the suggestions on this forum so far. has anyone been able to go from IOS6 to 5.1.1 yet?

  67. NickBreezy89 says:

    Help. cant add host file part….. help??

  68. Hustle_609 says:

    Getting very very frustrated with my unjailbreak of my iphone. I have had my iphone 4s jailbroken for a while and i dont want it anymore and i want to upgrade to IOS6. Ive tried many ways to go back to normal but the error codes keep popping up. Mainly the 3194 and 1602 pop up. Ive went threw very carefully following every exact detail of this article and still can not unjailbreak my phone. Really need help before i lose it!

  69. jonhy25 says:

    To Ramazan Killic: hey can u tell me your steps to configure the virtual machine with your itunes and iphone/ipodtouch. I don’t know if Oracle VM VirtualBox supporting extern storage, so what should i do to confirm if it is or not. Thank you

  70. Erichms447 says:

    First I got Error 3194,I add the code in Hosts file..and try to restore to 5.1.1, but now it says error 21 or 31.
    Can anybody please help me in solving this problem, it’s the first time, i got these problems…
    Each time, I was successful in jailbreaking, restoring ,unlocking etc.. but this time I’m getting sick with this..My iphone 4 is still on recovery mode. Can I use Tiny Umbrella to get this bloody Recovery mode off? Will i be able to save SHSH blobs? Anybody, please help….I’m really grateful!

  71. Nicky says:

    I am following all directions but receiving “Error 3194” every time. What can I do to prevent this?

  72. AndruA says:

    Thank you for sharing your solution 47!

    I’ve literally spent 12 hours in front of my computer trying to solve this problem and restore my phone. I’ve been through many jailbreak problems before but this time I really thought I was screwed. You’re a life saver.

  73. Ed says:

    thank you – saved me!

  74. beitanu says:

    i dunno how to thank you man… i wasnt gonna find the solution w/ ur help…

    really really thank you!!!

  75. 47 says:

    hello guys…try this, it worked for me after two days surfing and still not finding solution…turn off itunes and DELETE your host file,[in Mac OS X this is /etc/hosts and in Windows this is c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts]

    Then turn on Itunes and press button “Restore”
    Greetings from CRO :)

  76. Guillermo says:

    You’re incredible… it worked!

  77. Wasim Akram says:

    hi bro,
    Tnx but i tried its not working its giving the same promlem again,it is to be mentioned that i have a ipon 3GS jailbreak IOS 4.2.1
    plz give me a suggestion……

  78. Wasim Akram says:

    Bro,
    I did all the steps,but still it is showing same error.It is to me mentioned that i have i pon 4gs jailbreak pon its stuck up in apple logo,plz suggest me um dying to make it run…….

  79. chase says:

    THANKS SOOOO MUCH!!!! YOU SAVED MY PHONE!! :)

  80. adven says:

    there is no “run as admin” when clicking right

  81. Riz says:

    This worked Gr8 for me…THANKS ALOT!!!

  82. camo says:

    worked for me thanks boss

  83. saeed-rafie says:

    74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

    thanx

  84. Hasan says:

    Hi there
    Im trying to restore my iphone 4 to ios 5 and i added the extension to the host file using administrator privileges but still its not working for me it still shows the error 3194 in itunes.
    Please help

  85. NiGhtmare says:

    when i try to add )74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com) in the file and save i cant do it…what should i do??? plzz help needed..thanx in advance

  86. Coop says:

    it worked thanks!!!!!

  87. vitix says:

    i have tried all but i still got the message of the error 3194, what could i be doing wrong?

    thanks

  88. Fam says:

    I have tried all means of restoring my iOS 4.2.1 but error 3194 still there . What is the next alternatives? Pse help!

  89. iosalba says:

    Thanks.
    Finally got my ip4 working again.
    Was stuck on greenpoison logo and itunes gave error 3194 whatever i tried.
    Had to do it a little different from above.
    Hope this helps someone who is reading this….
    1. Find your hosts file and make a copy (backup)
    2. Now open your hosts file in notepad and delete all lines that contain the phrase “apple.com”
    3. Next type #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com at the end and press enter.
    4. Save your hosts file and exit it.
    5. Connect your iPhone (whilst in DFU mode) to itunes and restore stock firmware from Apple (no need for shift+restore)

    Job done. Took about 10 minutes and iPhone restored to factory :-)

  90. helen says:

    i am trying to unjailbreak a phone i bought, i have tryed updating phone to newest settings… wont work. i have tryed restoring the phone back to factory settings through itunes that doesnt work just throws up a error code 3194. i have tryed deleting everything from my setting on the phone and even that doesnt work!! i am at a loose end now and wud really appreciate some help with this…

  91. Stephen Thompson says:

    I love you guys this worked perfectly

  92. Terry Tibbs says:

    I gave up and binned mine and brought a Samsung galaxy S2. What a phone no more problem with updating or jailbreaking. Why are apple soo protected about there OS, just relax.

  93. ofek says:

    thank you so much!!!

  94. Ajay says:

    My Ipod is jailbroke, I used to sync app through itunes even after Jailbreak, but recently when i tried to sync a game i couldn’t i thought that putting it in DFU mode would Fix my Problem, But after putting it in DFU I tried to restore it through itune, the apple update search is never ending and when i cloase it, it asks me to restore & update but after that it is showing The Ipod cannot be restored and an unknown error occured (3194)
    pls help me

  95. Ivy says:

    I was on ios 5 jailbroken. and i wanted to restore and upgrade to factory setting on 5.0.1.. my itunes is 10.6 and i keep getting either the errors 3194 or 1601 and 1602.. how do I resolve this? i tried everything on here.. followed all the steps.. nothing is happening.. my iphone 4 is a no show :/ please help me out.

  96. janwillem says:

    I read all the instructions, it just does not work. whatever I do I still get the 3194 error. I’ve used
    # 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
    # 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

    with and without hash nothing just works.
    I think I can throw my iphone away.

    I used tiny umbrella nothing works.
    Please can somebody please help me?

    • trung says:

      The same happened to me, since iOS 5.1 is launch, it seems we can not upgrade to 5.0.1 using this method anymore. Anyone can help?

      Thanks

  97. Bao says:

    My ipod is stuck on “Preparing to restore”

  98. […] Clear Hosts File: Look at your hosts file for anything blocking Apple’s servers and comment them out, this is mostly relevant to jailbreakers and if you see “Error 3194“ […]

  99. Emma says:

    i have a jailbroken ipod 4g on 5.0.1 and i tried restoring it but it came up with the little loading circle/flower and I’m getting really mad what do i do?

  100. kohmars says:

    Thank you thank you thank you

  101. hany says:

    ok , im doing this right now , but is it suppoused to take a long time for “verifying iphone restore with apple”?!!

  102. anshul says:

    hi i got iphone 4 and its unlocked its version is 4.0.2 and firmware is 01.59.00 i wanna upgrade it to ios 5.0.1 keeping same firmwire and even i wanna jail break it but when i try to do it using iPhone4.ipsw.5.0.1.ipsw it gives me the error 3194 so please help me how can i resolve this problem thanks in advance

    • idshil says:

      You should probably read the instructions that this page is written for on how to fix error 3194

      • anshul says:

        hi thanks but its not working .

        • Ramazan kilinc says:

          I had the same problem each time. So I decide to search on the web; remove the ip adress from the host etc, etc.. The easiest way to solve this problem is;
          1. Istall a ”Virtual Pc”program like; Vmware(VMware recommended), microsoft virtual machine, etc (It is important that the virtual machine supports Extern Storage)
          2. Download and install an os (windows seven recommended)on the virtual machine
          3. install itunes
          4. update your iphone/ipodtouch on the virtual machine

          ps. sorry for my bad English

          • jonhy25 says:

            Hey could you explain more specificly each steps to configure the virtual machine with itunes and extern storage. I don’t know if Oracle VirtualBox has it so… i need your help. Thank you

  103. Readme says:

    Worked like a charm. Perfectly. What I found out was that if you repeatedly get this error trying to downgrade, try the latest update then try the downgrade. Surprisingly it worked for me. Just that I upgraded to iOS 5 then back down to 4.2.1 just in the name of music (Mewseek). email me If u guys need more help.

  104. Habi says:

    Edit as Administrator account

  105. Bobby says:

    I not able to save host file. Windows stop me to save it

  106. Ranj says:

    Hello all..PPLLLZZZ somebody help me i have iphone 4G bb 4.11.08 it does not works with anything and i tried to downgrade it to 4.3.5 but always i get error 3194 plzzzzz plzzzz someone help me..i bought this phone for mistake on ebay plzzz i need help…thanks

    • derpy says:

      The instructions written on this page tell you how to solve Error 3194, maybe you should read them.

    • rickynct11 says:

      hey i had the same problem error 3194
      what i did was simple delete itunes install the new itunes u have to upgrade the firmware higher then wat u have, mine was 4.5 itunes upgrade it to 5.1 after that go to dmf mode
      and thats it

  107. Kelvin says:

    This is weird. I had passed the error 3194 stage, and gotten stuck on 1013.
    Now it is stuck at 3194 EVEN AFTER changing the last line.
    Confused right now…..

  108. Tabish says:

    my iphone 4 was on 4.3.3 and was using gevey pro in it. After removing an app (Anyring) from cydia i restarted my iphone and it started showing apple logo. after that i tried to restore it using 4.3.3 firmware it shows an error 3194. I even changed the #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com as well as this on too #74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com but still its showing 3194.

    My question is that?

    host file changing problem or restoring it to 4.3.3 again!!!

  109. Garreth says:

    This is the definitive answer:

    You have to make sure your Hosts file is not blocking any Apple servers

    Then update iTunes to the newest version

    Then click on Restore

    You have to use the proper IPSW file so if you are downloading and using IPSW you must make sure it matches your iPhone.

  110. adrian says:

    GREEAAT it worked (finally….). iPod4 OS 5.0.1
    Below are my trial and error :
    1. added 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in hosts (failed)
    2. also added 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com in hosts (failed)
    3. remove file hosts (failed)
    4. delete all entries in hosts file, and keep files there, not delete it (IT WORKED)
    Thank you all of you, you saved me :)

    • robert says:

      i have the same problem with my itouch 3g. what do u mean delete all entries in hosts and keep files there?? can you copy paste the hosts to understand what u mean.thanks

  111. rob says:

    I don’t jailbreak, don’t even know how. I have a 3gs that I never updated, it still had 3.1.3 (if you can believe it!). However, lots of apps weren”t working anymore, and even some features of the phone. I tried to simply update to 5.whatever and I got the dreaded 3194 error. I followed all the steps above with the Hosts files (by the way, I also had a Host file that was an Umbrella File, whatever that is, so I had to experiment a little). I tried changing the ip address after the # symbol, and nothing ever worked. I then read a post where the person simply deleted the Host file and it worked. I deleted the file, but still nothing. But the eureka moment was simply restarting iTunes AFTER deleting the Host file, and YES! Worked like a charm. I wasn’t sure after the firmware loaded successfully if I should choose Set Up as New Phone or Restore From Backup, so I instinctively chose Restore from Backup so that I could get all my info; so-far so good (not quite done Restoring at this point)
    Thanks everyone!

    • John says:

      THANK YOU! Restarting iTunes AFTER I removed the host file (to the desktop) work perfectly to restore my iPhone 4S. I was struggling, still getting errors after deleting the hosts file, it was so incredibly frustrating. Restarting iTunes after the removed worked like a charm. Thanks again for sharing, something so small to overlook changed everything. 4S is working like a champ thanks to you. A++++++

  112. Alex says:

    I love this post!!!, ty very muchh

  113. read says:

    read the instructions, it works

  114. nisha says:

    tried all possible ways mentioned above.. unable to get rid of error 3194.. i so badly want to update my phone to normal.. no more jailbreak.

  115. stella says:

    i have jailbreak and truing to remove it. tried the above but error 1601….
    what do i do now?

  116. Bebe says:

    i tried every alternative above I’ve removed the # signs, tried the tiny umbrella bit, it didn’t work either. I have been attempting this for over a week now and still get these darn error msgs the most recent one is 1015-___- can someone please pm me? I really would like to upgrade to ios5.0.1

    • LouisPei says:

      Please, you do NOT want to update to IOS 5.0.1… It decreases the battery life… I’m reading these comments to try a way to downgrade my Iphone to ios 4.3.3 …
      Be happy with what you have…

  117. Bebe says:

    I tried it but get the error message 1015 after I have changed the code in notepad. someone help me please. My iphone 3gs is jailbroken to 4.3.2 but i have been attempting to upgrade to ios 5.0.1 bt have been getting errors:16,21,9134, 31<<, 20, etc. WTF!

  118. ttom says:

    triedd it, not working
    trying to factory restore iphone 4 cdma

  119. Leooo says:

    I got this error message when I am trying to update my software on my iPhone 4 from 4 to 5! It’s not working despite doing the above! Any ideas?

  120. Leooo says:

    Will this work when I’m trying to get the latest update on the iPhone 4?

  121. lolyouloljkeil says:

    Thanks for this helpful article, I finally got my iPhone restored to ios 5. Props to the author! Thank you so so much. :)

  122. Raj says:

    the advice given is to download the latest Itunes and put your phone into DFU mode and then restore. I was running ios5 on 3gs and it took an hour but the restore worked and the 3194 error is fixed. Th solution should work for all iphone.

  123. Sparsh says:

    Help Still Getting the same error :(

  124. samnap says:

    I jailbroke my iphone 4 and am on version 4.3.5. I have tried everything here. I get past the dreaded 3194 error and the restore goes a lot further than before… Just before it is almost completed, I get a message saying restore could not complete due to an unknown error. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

    • kat g says:

      i just dwngrd from 5.0 to 4.1 (8B117) on a 3gs successfully with the following: I moved my original host file to desktop , opened it from desktop added info below then saved it but saved as all files instead of txt

      # Copyright (c) 1993-1999 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

      #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com (i added the # symbol because I continued to get error 3194 without # symbol)

      I was trying to downgrade to 4.2.1 but it wouldn’t work so I decided to try 4.1

      I hope this helps

      • JEREMIE says:

        Hi my phone was 4.3.4 untethered using geveysim and i have upgrade it to 5.1 and. I want to downgrade it to 4.3.4 with host #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com i still get error 3194. Please help

  125. Norm says:

    Tx, it worked for me

  126. amani says:

    Thank you soo much. I thought my iphone was a goner. this fixed it. thank GOD

  127. Dave says:

    Im able to do all the steps except saving the host file after deleting the gs.apple.com
    when is save, it tells me that Im not an administrator so cant save, except I am the admin, ive tried several things, but to no avail.

    help?

    • Kelvin says:

      This should help you:

      1 – Open the Windows start menu

      2 – search for the notepad application and then right click the notepad icon to open it

      3 – Choose “Run as administrator”

      4 – From Notepad, browse to the Hosts file folder (/windows/system32/drivers/etc) and open it directly

  128. FullIOS says:

    OMG. it got rid of error 3194. Thank you so much.!!!!

  129. cupcakes114 says:

    I have an iphone 4 jailbroken on 4.3.3. i tired to restore back to factory settings and got stuck in safe mode. error 3194 popped up. i then added the host file “gs” which allowed me to get past 3194 but then encountered error 1013. I dont care if i lose the jailbreak i just want my phone out of safe mode! Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

    • Kelvin says:

      I’m in the same conundrum as you. Completely stuck on error 1013.
      Experts, please advice. Been 24 hours now. No iPhone is tantamount to hell !

  130. Pocky says:

    uhh guys can anyone help me?
    im trying to update or restore my ipod touch 4g ios 4.3.4 to ios 5.0, but when i hit shift+update then locate my ipsw it says error 3002 then when i hit shift+ restore then locate my ipsw i get a 3194… what should i do?

  131. Gus says:

    WORKS LIKE mAGIC if you keep on getting the 3194 error heres what you should do!

    I updated my itunes to the most recent version, i then started tinyumbrella, startedthe TSs server, initiated restore with itunes tada! workssssss :D

    THANk you so much took me 24 hours to figure it out!

  132. Shoanks says:

    Gevey sim does work on 4.3.5

  133. SkylineGtr says:

    i confirm that this works when u delete the host file.

  134. SAd says:

    Some one help i removed the host file still getting error :(

  135. Conn39 says:

    Folks, I just moved the host file from (windows) folder “etc” into a new folder. After that, 3194 was history and the update to the new OS worked fine. As always: The iPhone is a brilliant piece, but Apple’s PC software/iTunes is not.

  136. Peter says:

    THANK YOU SO MUCH I TRIED A THOUSAND OTHER WEBSITES AND A MILLION TIMES

  137. Elvis says:

    Hi,

    i had just spent hours trying to figure this out. if you are using windows, find the hosts file make sure that everything has a # in front of it. This is for the iphone 4 ios 5, make sure that you dont have any ip’s.

  138. Kamal says:

    I have a iphone 4 and it was last on ios 4.3.1 or was it 4.3.3. I have been using it in the US and, with the Gevey Sim, in nearly all the other countries in Europe and Asia. However, a friend was home and he messed around with my phone and upgraded it to ios 5.0
    I tried to downgrade it back to 4.3.3 bb 04.10 which I have saved with tinyumbrella. But somehow, while I was putting it in DFU mode it got stuck on the Itunes and USB Cable logo.
    I have no clue what to do now.
    Please Help. Thanks in Advance.

  139. Angelhaha says:

    thanks a lotttt!!!!!
    it reli helps!:)

  140. Miguel says:

    Hi everyone,

    I’ve tried to downgrade my iphone 3gs ios 5 to 4.3.3

    I use tinyumbrella and it was sucessful.

    However i couldn’t fix the signal problems, even with jailbreak… and try to upload to ios 5 again

    Now my iphone have died, the screen is blank and only pass when trying to restore…

    (I have try many solutions here but i always have de error 3194 or unknown 28)

    please help meee

  141. Sourabh says:

    Hi,

    i don;t what happened to my iphone it is only showing apple logo. i tried restoring the same but unable to do that due to the unknown error 3194.

    i have now deleted the host file from system32/etc.

    could you please give me some link from where i can download it again?

    please help.

  142. TRY THISSSS! says:

    try deleting anything that has gs.apple.com (pretty much the last two line not including what you are “suppose to add”) this worked for me after 8 hours of trying everything to restore my iphone

  143. Daniel says:

    to anyone with a jailbroken ipod getting error 3194, READ THIS NOW. i was trying to update and restore my ipod touch right now and was getting 3194, i tried this adding that ip address thing in the host files and noticed i had already had that in there before from earlier, so i added it anyways and it was in there twice, still didnt work. BUT then i went back and i deleted it and deleted the one that was already there too and now my restore worked! hope this works for some of u guys too!

  144. aN says:

    THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!
    WORKED PERFECTLY!

  145. jimw says:

    Ive tried everything to restore my phone. ive deleted the host file ive added the link to the file ive deleted everything up to the “for example” in the host file and nothing works.. The phone was not jailbroken so i dont get why it still wont work.

  146. Grisel says:

    omg thank you so much i was freaking out already it worked after many tries!:)

  147. Digital Fortress says:

    I tried everything and couldn’t get past the 3194 error to recover my tethered jail broken iphone 4. As soon as I downloaded the newest itunes and put the phone in dfu or w/e it is when it shows the sync cable and itunes prompting you to connect to the computer, it recovered with no problem:)

  148. arman azam says:

    there was no need to ad that thing on hosts, it works without it!! thank you so much, i was scared i cudnt do it :)

  149. Shaun says:

    hey guys!!! well i tried updating my ipod!!! i tried more than 50 times!!! finally i succeeded!!!
    ok all you have to do is delete the host file!!! n put ur device in dfu mode!!! click on restore!!!! this is it!!!! worked for me !!! :) :) :)

  150. maso_ says:

    it worked..lol i just deleted host restarted and it works

  151. nebiZz says:

    it working, but when i restore iphong i get the error (1) pls help!!

  152. Kasper Schill says:

    “steve says:
    August 9, 2011 at 11:54 pm
    this work!!!! from reading all the reply

    ATTENTION

    i had searched the web to find all manner of fixes for my iPhone4 running 4.3, and none worked! apart from one
    To rid the tiresome 3194 error when trying to do a clean restore you must:

    1. Download iREB

    2. Download Tiny Umbrella

    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com

    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)

    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state

    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”

    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore

    8. choose desired ipsw

    9. viola!

    let me know if anyone else has the same luck”

    ITS WORKS!!!! THX MAN I LOVE YOU!!!<3<3<3

    • Xia Xu says:

      Wait dammit I did this all correctly and both 3194 and 1604 error didnt show up but I keep on getting 2005 error, people say it has something to do with usb but I updated my usb device, it seems to be working perfectly fine, reinstalled bonjour, apple mobile device support, apple software update, and itunes. Plugged to all of my usb ports and it just doesnt work.

    • wtfer says:

      Same problem here.. After try use Tinyumbrella just get stucked at 2005 error.. Tried in diferent usb ports, diferent pc’s and even diferent cables and the only thing i have its 2005 error. Please help :(

  153. Ankit says:

    oh dear lord if the person who made this article is a woman, over the age of 18, I’d bang you so damn hard!

    THANKS A LOT, YOU SAVED MA IPOD!!!

  154. andy says:

    any solution to get rid of the 3194 error while downgrading from ios 5 to ios 4.3.3.
    please help

  155. Aby says:

    PEOPLE LOOKING FOR THIS SOLUTION EASY WAY IS TO UPDATE YOUR ITUNES AND DELETE THE HOST FILE. IT WILL NOT HARM THE ITUNES OR ANY APPLICATION IN ANY WAY.

    P.S GEVEY SIM WORKS WITH 4.3.5 AND IF YOU PRESERVE
    THE BASEBAND AND UPDATE TO CUSTOM IOS 5, GEVEY WILL WORK PERFECTLY WITH IOS 5.

    HOPE THIS HELPS :)

  156. MFB says:

    WORKING FOR ME. (just simple restore mode, no need for dfu and iReb)

    1. Download iREB (skipped)
    2. Download Tiny Umbrella
    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com
    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)
    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state (skipped, put into recovery mode instead)
    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”
    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore
    8. choose desired ipsw (4.3.3 in my case)
    9. viola!

    THANKS!!! Been trying to re jailbreak since this morning. Im using redsn0w now instead of jailbreakme

  157. Manoj says:

    Thankl you it worked for me :)

  158. Alex says:

    Thanks a lot. It resolved my problem too :)

    speed, yes it works on my Iphone with 4.3.5.

    I’ll try to run it on 5.0 tomorrow :)

  159. Kenny says:

    Works like a charm on the first try thank you! just intime for the iOS 5 :)

  160. mick2d2 says:

    Worked perfectly, thanks a million.

  161. Haresh says:

    I m using iPhone 3gs with ios 4.0(8A293) baseband:05.13.04

    I baught it from Australia and update it there with ios 4.0 that time it was unlocked

    Than I unlocked it in India
    Once I tried to update it with 4.3.3 but it was giving error 10XX
    And it stuck up in Recovery mode, Than I took help of TinyUmbrella to get out of recovery mode
    Later on I was unable to access Settings > Generan > Network > Cellular data network to set APN and Internet

    Now i want to update with latest version of ios but it is giving error 3194 and blocking me

    I tried solution posted on some bolgs like put iphone in DFU mode and try to restore/update
    Or
    Update it with Recovery mode by editing your host file
    Also tried solution posted here
    But none of them are works for me.

    Anyone can help me please?

    I want to use my internet access on my iphone

    Please……. Please……. Please…….Please…….Please…….

    Thanks

  162. Abdul Hamidu says:

    Hey guys, I got the same problems too with my ipod touch 4g, tried renaming the hosts file to no access, tried removing the etc folder to no access, tried including the ip address to no access, then decided to download the new update from apple direct link for 4.3.5 and it worked without any problems. Use the same trick and it will work out, after all you do not need to JAILBREAK your ipod touch 4g as it uses no SIMCARD.

  163. Lois says:

    THANKS!! I’ve been trying to restore for two days and this was the first resolution that actually worked. appreciated!!!

  164. n0name says:

    I think that solution is that new iTunes doesn’t support anything else than latest firmware, so if you have updated your iTunes try to downgrade it or just do as I did, put the latest firmware witch is 4.3.5 and it will work just fine.
    Your baseband will not be uppdated so you can still unlock it if you need it…

  165. RORY says:

    HELP! I can’t edit, rename or anything to my hosts file, it says i need permission from SYSTEM. I tried to over ride it by going into the properties as admin, but the boxes to tick and untick are gray. HELP!! my iphone has been stuffed for days!

  166. jhajha says:

    can anyone please help me..
    im trying to update my itouch
    but i suddenly reset all settings
    when i open it up again it doesnt start up normally
    i tried to restore it but this error occured.
    can anyone please post a video on the steps
    to do so i can fix my ipod touch. btw im using ipod touch 4th gen running on ios 4.2 help please..

  167. amin says:

    thnks man just delete the host file its work thanks very much great idea

  168. Dumpy says:

    ATTENTION

    i had searched the web to find all manner of fixes for my iPhone4 running 4.3, and none worked! apart from one
    To rid the tiresome 3194 error when trying to do a clean restore you must:

    1. Download iREB

    2. Download Tiny Umbrella

    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com

    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)

    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state

    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”

    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore

    8. choose desired ipsw

    9. viola!

    let me know if anyone else has the same luck

    Regards

    THIS works!!!! i just spent 4 hours trying to get my girlfriends ipod touch 4g to restort and THIS actually fixed it!

  169. Babur says:

    Do you have to restore to the same iOS that you had before? I had 4.1 and it doesn’t seem to work. I have an iPod Touch 4.

  170. santhosh says:

    i was jail breaking my i phone 3gs and i was struck up with 3194 error and restored using in this host file 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com

  171. Hacked900 says:

    Ok guys heres a couple of solutions for your ipod stuck in DFU mode or whatever!
    1. Plug your ipod into the computer whilst holding home, once its plugged and hold it for another 10 seconds then restore in itunes
    2. Plug ipod into the computer, then hold power and home till you here the computer ‘ding’ or make a noise, hold for another 5 seconds and let go, your idevice will have the apple symbol
    3 put it into dfu mode whilst having it plugged in and restore in itunes

  172. ben says:

    worked! thanks

  173. MJ says:

    I think this fix might not work on latest Itune 10.4.1.10 bcos i had tried but no luck, all i can think about is, it doesn’t works with latest itune starting from 10.4.*.*

  174. j says:

    Thanks! Even after all this time this still saved me! I pulled my old iPhone 3G running 4.0 out and sold it on eBay I needed to erase data and then iPhone would not boot. iTunes would not let me restore either back to 4.0 either in recovery mode. Since I had saved my info with Cydia I was able to follow these steps and get the iPhone working again and sold. Yes!

  175. Everhart says:

    I concur, deleting the hosts file located at C:\windows\system32\driver\etc\hosts works. I would suggest saving the hosts file to a jump-drive so that you can replace ‘hosts’ back into drivers folder after iphone restore is complete. You must completely remove the ‘hosts’ file from your computer for the restore process to work right in itunes; therefore saving it to your desktop will still allow your computer to utilize the file and botch your itunes recovery progress with the X3194 error.

    • Everhart says:

      Almost forgot, another cause of the error may be that you need to update itunes to the latest version or you WILL get the X3194 error even when ‘hosts’ file is gone.

    • dimple says:

      ‘jump-drive’ meaning? where exactly can I save it after deleting the hosts from C:\windows\system32\driver\etc\hosts ?

  176. Mysterios Being says:

    I think the newer software of itunes, the bigger possibility it will not work in this method or any kind of method posted in TS or in the comments.

    The only way to solve your problem is to un install your itunes (the current installed in your computer), and install the older itunes (prefereble 9.0 version),

    after installing itunes.. no need to edit your host on C:/windows/ bla bla bla bla bla whatever LOL :)
    just go directly to the new installd itunes and put to DFU mode your iDevice, and SHIFT+click restore on itunes and tyada!….

    because the older version of itunes does not verify the IPSW to the apple,

    save your day :)

    • kader says:

      Hey Mysterios,,,

      Did it work for you ? i have turned my phone in dfu mode by iREB and Turned on TSS server and then restored my Ipod touch 4. but after completing restoring iTunes tells me to reboot my ipod. but after Reboot my Ipod open in DFU mood.

      I just can’t exit from DFU mood. i tried fix recovery. did not work.
      If something really work for you in this case then please do suggest me a solution.

      thanks

    • me says:

      Where to get 9.0 version?

  177. kid says:

    hi Guys..
    im using iphone 4…ios 4.3.5
    the iREB n tinyumbrella method did good to bypass the 3194,,,but im stuck at 1013…tried to exit recovery with tinyumbrella, but nothing happens after that…my phone still in DFU mode (i think so as it is still with a black screen)

    Experts,any possible solutions for this problem for this iphone-idiot…?

    tqtq…

  178. jrchicopb says:

    one last question blueheavens, do i have to click shift+restore in itunes to update from 4.1 to 4.3.3 ios, like you said on step 7? I thought the itunes restore only works to downgrade the ios. It also upgrades the ios using redsnow/snowbreeze? Am i wrong? Thanks a lot

  179. San says:

    Thanks Blueheaven, worked like a charm! TSS server was the answer to this 3194 annoyance.

  180. Dan says:

    Blueheaven, thanks!

    Saved me staying up too late tonight. Worked for me.

  181. ben vaid says:

    i finaly after 2 days searching the internet did it !!!!

    ios 4.3.3
    redsnow 16
    snowbreeze 2.7.3

    *DL=download

    step1

    1.DL the snowbreez
    2.DL the redsn0w
    3.DL the IPSW from the direct link in original apple site (find the link in google serch)

    step2
    1.run the snowbreez and put the IPSW in it and let it prosess the file . it will make another IPSW on desktop

    2.put 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com at the end of the hosts file close and save it

    3.run Itunes put your iphone in DFU mode or Recovery mode . hold SHIFT then click on restore . select the IPSW file on the desktop (snowbreezed file) it will do it just fine

    4.then open the redsnow for better jailbreaking and as it guide do it.

  182. aftab says:

    thanks a lot
    i spent hours and hours to restore

  183. blueheavens says:

    i had searched the web to find all manner of fixes for my iPhone4 running 4.3, and none worked! apart from one
    To rid the tiresome 3194 error when trying to do a clean restore you must:

    1. Download iREB

    2. Download Tiny Umbrella

    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com

    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)

    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state

    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”

    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore

    8. choose desired ipsw

    9. viola!

    let me know if anyone else has the same luck

    Regards

    very thanks

    • Haitham says:

      all solutions did not works with me but this one :
      1. Download iREB

      2. Download Tiny Umbrella

      3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com

      4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)

      5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state

      6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”

      7. now open itunes and shift + click restore

      8. choose desired ipsw

      9. viola!

      let me know if anyone else has the same luck

      Regards

      very thanks

      • help says:

        This was the only solution that worked after searching tons of websites. Thank you!

      • David says:

        Excellent, I tried them all.
        Give this solution a go people :) It worked well for me too.

        Incase you don’t know how to get tinyumbrella
        Here’s a link to the download right here. It’s the latest version :) (note the date for those who come here a few years later)
        http://thefirmwareumbrella.blogspot.com/
        Ignore anything directly under, there’s two download links for irrelevant things
        The one you’re looking for is on the side called tinyumbrella[WIN]

        And don’t worry, it’s not complicated, don’t touch your host file (unless you’ve already edited it)
        Just run this program (make sure you’ve got it in PWN’d dfu mode)
        and click start server, Go to itunes and use the downloaded firmware you have downloaded. (shift click restore)

        To enter Pwned dfu mode, use the file you used to jailbreak the iphone in the first place. Run it like you’re about to do a tethered boot. BUT DON’T CHECK TETHERED BOOT!
        A few option below is the option you’re looking for,
        (boot in pwn’d dfu mode)

        This is all you need to know :) Good luck!

        • me says:

          I am still getting 3194 error. I am not sure about DFU mode. Screen on my iPhone is dark all the time (except it shows charging), but when I run iTunes, the program shows message: Your iPhone is in recovery mode. So I guess I am in the DFU mode, right?

  184. Leonardo says:

    thanks! :D

  185. Charlie says:

    when i try to save the file it says i have to ask the administrator for permission. i am the administrator. So what do i do?

  186. raj says:

    ireb works, editing hosts does not. if you turn on tss server on tinyumbrella you should bypass 3194 even without saved shsh. all thats with an iphone 4, on 4.3.5. I havent finished retore, so you might get another error later on, but nothing that i know of

  187. jujuo says:

    Hello,
    I did and have exactly the same issue.. I don’t know what to do more..
    Did u find a trick ?
    thank you

  188. Dark_eye says:

    Thank you so much, been looking for a solution for so long. Much appreciated. :D

  189. CMGUNN3R says:

    This work’s if you follow it properly. I’m using (Win7) iTunes v10.3 and was downgrading from 4.2.1 – 4.0.1 Before doing this fix I kept getting error 3194 with standard firmware, But all is good now.

    Thanks

  190. antonis says:

    Followed instructions as below but iTunes stays on “verifying Iphone restore” thus not continuing the setup.

    1. Download iREB
    2. Download Tiny Umbrella
    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com
    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)
    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state
    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”
    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore
    8. choose desired ipsw
    9. viola!

  191. Adam says:

    WORKING FOR ME.

    1. Download iREB
    2. Download Tiny Umbrella
    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com
    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)
    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state
    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”
    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore
    8. choose desired ipsw
    9. viola!

  192. steve says:

    this work!!!! from reading all the reply

    ATTENTION

    i had searched the web to find all manner of fixes for my iPhone4 running 4.3, and none worked! apart from one
    To rid the tiresome 3194 error when trying to do a clean restore you must:

    1. Download iREB

    2. Download Tiny Umbrella

    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com

    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)

    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state

    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”

    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore

    8. choose desired ipsw

    9. viola!

    let me know if anyone else has the same luck

    • Lahbib says:

      I have just signed to say thank you. your method is the only one working in the whole internet. I had many errors before 1600, 3194 …… & even your device isnt elligible for this …. and now my device is working 3GS properly. Thank you again

    • galaxy says:

      now i have error 1600 help me please

  193. Jam says:

    thank you so much! worked perfectly after 2 hours of trying =)

  194. Nailscars says:

    Disconnected and reconnected after I deleted 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com it seemed to work, thanks for the help

  195. Nailscars says:

    Jailbroke my iphone with redsnow at 4.3.4 and I want to unbreak to 4.3.5. Followed the steps and it all worked ok but now it seem’s to be stuck at “verifying iphone restore with apple screen. Any ideas?

  196. Geryke says:

    hy!
    I’ve got the same problem! I JB my +GS with 4.3.3 snowbreeze, after 4 weeks it crashed with flashing white screen. I’ve tried many ideas, but nothing worked. I placed the line into the hosts file, but nothing happened. I still recieve the message with error 3149. Does anyone have any other solutions? Or shall I really throw my IPhone way (i would cry for a while…)

  197. Mark says:

    Hey there…

    well ive been trying to downgrade my iphone 4 from 4.3.5 to 4.3.3 since ever…i tried all blogs and everything but simply doesnt work for me. I have saved SHSS 4.3.3 and i tried downgrading and it worked till last step when my phone shows the usb-itunes logo mode. I tried tinyumbrella to kick/exit recovery mode but after few seconds the screen comes back to usb-itunes logo and it keeps going on for ever…. i even tried another programs called exit recovery and many other tht kick recovery mode and still didnt work… can you please help me out ?! im stuck in tht recovery mode and nothing seems to work for me at all :/

    Thanks alot

  198. EVilone says:

    Thanks for this tip! Really helped!

  199. Nady says:

    Thanks a bunch!!!! I was able to resolve 3194 error after reading your instructions.

  200. Steve says:

    Sean I’m also going down from 4.3.5 to 4.3.3 but with iPad2. Any luck yet? Anyone else? Still 3194 error.

  201. Hubs says:

    Guys, don’t put the sharp sign “#” at the beginning of the line… A “#” at the beginning of a line means to “ignore” the line.

    Correct: 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com
    Incorrect: #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

  202. cheeky says:

    i have tried all of the above… and still i get the 3194 error! i have an iphone 3gs with ios 4.3.5 trying to put ios 4.3.3 but no luck…

    can anyone pls help me??

    i have tried all different variations of the host file BUT no luck… this is driving me insane!!!

    Somone pls pls help me!

  203. adam says:

    OMG your my savoir this worked like a charm after about 8 hrs of searching the net and trying everything offered

  204. Sean S says:

    Not a single suggestion here has worked for me. I’m trying to downgrade from iOS 4.3.5 to 4.3.3.

    I’m on the latest iTunes 10.4, iOS 4.3.5(3GS). I’ve renamed the host file, removed it, added the 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com with and without the #, typed in the address instead of pasting, etc, still error 3194.

    • Ferndale says:

      Sean S: why are you downgrading to 4.3.3, I’m on 4.3.2, trying to restore to the same version 4.3.2 but keep getting 3194 error, so I was thinking of upgrade to the latest firmware (4.3.5) and re-jb again with RedSn0w. The reason I want to re-jb is because after jb (4.3.2) with Redsn0w, my SMS doesn’t work and my calendar doesn’t alert me anymore.

    • Tippy says:

      I am having the exact problem. Im tring to downgrade from 4.3.5 to 4.3.3

      Ive added the #ip address to host file, without #, removed the host file to my desk top, and typed the whole ip in host without cut paste.

      I am working on iPhone 3GS 4.3.5 and it has never been jailbroken.

      please help

  205. speed says:

    Does gevey sim work on 4.3.5?

  206. GRRRR says:

    Hey all,

    Trying to revert my Iphone 3G back from IOS 4.2 to 4.0.2, as the WiFi and GPS strength snice Upgrade just make it un-usable now.

    Have downloaded the IPSW files, but everytime i try to revert back to 4.0, 4.0.1 or 4.0.2 i get the dreaded 3194 error.

    I have tried to modify the host file, have added just the one IP addy, and or both IP addys. Have removed the file completley, and have removed all others from their (loads of adobe stuff)

    I was using Itunes 10.4, but have down graded to 9.2 to see if that helped, and still the same

    Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

    So a couple of questions?
    – What version of Itunes are you guys using?
    – Has anyone noticed a difference with the Itunes versions?
    – Any ideas……

    Cheers

    R

  207. !!! TRY THIS !!! may work says:

    Hallo guys i tried everything !!! … nothing work for me … then i tried to

    delete : 127.0.0.1 localhost
    74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com in hosts …

    and then i add 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com on end of the page so it look like this :

    # 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

    ::1 localhost
    74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

    then open up i tunes with my phone in DFU wait until it tell me the i phone need to be restored then check again HOSTS file if it’s look still same … and then restore

    FINALLY THIS WORK FOR ME AND MY I PHONE 4 BACK IN LIFE !!!

    Hope this will work for some of you …

    • georgin says:

      everytime when i change the text in hosts and try to save it it says ‘access is denied’
      i don’t know whaat to do :(

  208. Natasha says:

    I have been trying and trying to restore my iphone but I keep coming across problems. I have a verizon iphone 4, version 4.2.10. I am trying to jailbreak my phone, but first need to restore it into 4.2.6. That’s where I come across the 3194 error. I have done EVERYTHING and read all the comments and am going crazy because nothing seems to work. I kept changing the host over and over. I am wondering if it’s because my phone is verizon? I just really want this to work. I really really would appreciate anyone’s help. Thank you.

  209. Flexxx says:

    Hello all,

    I need help, let me tell you my situation.
    First I have both an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 3GS both not jail broken.
    When I purchased my iPhone 4 and connected to iTunes it said that there was an updated version and that I should update. So I went ahead and try to update my new iPhone 4 and it gave me a 3194 error, so I left it alone and didn’t update. Second here is where it get hairy, I connected my none jailbroken 3GS and tried to jailbrake it (running 4.3.4) so I downloaded the IPSW for it and ran Redsn0w RC16, and as I chose the version I needed I was distracted and chose another version and confirmed it (not noticing that it was the wrong version), and proceeded to jailbrake. It then started to jailbreak, it showed the HD picture (I then thought it all was going according to plan), the running pineapple showed…and then…I got the iTunes emblem with the USB plug showing (connect to iTunes). I then realizing something was wrong I proceeded with the steps above to restore. I followed every step showing and nothing.
    Now lets go back a little, the iPhone that was replaced by the iPhone 4 was also a 3GS and jailbroken, I was running 4.2.1 if I remember right and I when I connected the phone it told me that there was an update, I tried to update “Error 3194”, I followed the steps given here and it worked.
    Questions:
    Did I just brick my non jailbroken 3GS by using the wrong IPSW?

    How come the fix I once used not working now?

    Is it because the new version of iTunes has something to do with it?

    Please I need this fixed asap all help and input is greatly appreciated.

  210. tobi says:

    my ipod torch 4g says disabled.i have being trying to restore it in DFU mode and recovery but didnt work….tried editing the host file too…pls any help cos it is really giving problem..and this isnt the system it synced with last.

  211. AC says:

    its working…. kudos for ur idea!!!

  212. Matthew says:

    worked for me on ios 4.3.3 using a custom firmware from sn0wbrezze untetherd jail break. When editing the host file you do not need 2 add the # sign. just follow the directions.

  213. Shawn says:

    Great post! Thanks! Been trying to reboot from 3.1.2 to 4.3.4 for 2 days! It’s working great now! To everyone who chipped in, your experiences and inputs gave hope to 1 Msian iPhone lover!
    My experience:
    1. Download the 4.3.4 IPSW
    2. Set phone into DFU Mode
    3. Removed the Host file as suggested into desktop.
    4. Ran iTunes and restore with selected IPSW
    5. iPhone went into restoring mode but I had a scare cus it wasn’t moving for 5 mins! Just blank screen!!! Dem phone~ lol!
    6. Now the software is loading just fine!
    Thanks guys!

  214. Munne says:

    I am trying to downgrade for 4.3.4, but í am still getting the 3194 error.

    I tried adding the #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com
    i tried removing the file.

    but still getting the error.
    Anybody, any suggestiens ?!? PLZ!

  215. james says:

    I can’t downgrade,I have tried everythings.Anyone can help?

  216. Terence says:

    Hi my problem is – I could even find the host file in my computer. I only got one called as hosts.old. Is it the one? Moreover, I could not open this file. Could anyone help?? Many thanks in advance.

  217. hkhu says:

    It doesn’t work for me, i’m trying to updateto 4.3.4, then restore my device, because a ‘friend’ of mine changed my password, and i don’t have contact to him

  218. ria says:

    just moving the hosts file to your desktop like the other users said (and moving it back later after restore) worked for me!!!

  219. annoymonous1245324 says:

    THANK YOU SO MUCH I WAS LOOKING FOR HELP AT APPLE BUT THEY DIDNT HAVE IT.

  220. bob jones says:

    just move the host file out of the ect folder then do the restore and put it back after the retore it worked for me!!!

    • Alex says:

      This method of getting rid of error code 3194 I believe is the best one. Me and all my friends did try to remove temporary “host” file from system 32 and after that we did official restore on apple itune successfully !!!! It’s easiest way to make your iphone working . Also it does not require too many PC skills.
      Thank you so much for very professional suggest !!!!!!!!!!

  221. Emy says:

    THis worked for me :

    Erase the whole host file content and just simply type in this one line “# 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com”

    thats it .. it worked … the hash and space is a must

  222. kienluavang says:

    I installed iTunes 10.1 and have the 4.2.1 ipsw fie. I did the edit 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in the hosts file and active ports shows itunes accessing that IP address. The iPod is in DFU mode and confirmed in itunes. But itunes still returns a 3194 unknown error. Any ideas.
    Reply

  223. Ryan says:

    Thanks its all working, one again thanks :D
    i would recommend this to everyone.

  224. Christopher says:

    Thank you, I appreciate the help

  225. Eric says:

    Just copy and paste this whole thing to replace your host file, this is what worked for me, I was leaving out the # in front of the ip address.

    # Copyright (c) 1993-1999 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

    # local host name resolution is handled within DNS itself
    # 127.0.0.1 localhost
    # ;;1 localhost
    # 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

  226. totie says:

    whew….took me a day to figure this out…

    have a fresh ipod touch 4g with firmware 4.3…tried and tried restoring and jailbreaking it, but for no luck…after I see this link…thank God…

    add the #74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com (with the #sign)…
    edit the name to renamhosts…cut and paste it to your desktop, then run the restore…

    i restore my ipod touch from 4.3 to 4.3.3 using custom ipsw downloaded from iclarified.com and jailbreak it using redsnow 0.9.6rc16, also from iclarified.com tutorials…

    and there, now installing packages from cydia…

    try doing this, maybe it will solve your problems…
    thanks to all…without your insights, im sure im still stuck…hehehe…

  227. Rubbit says:

    ATTENTION

    i had searched the web to find all manner of fixes for my iPhone4 running 4.3, and none worked! apart from one
    To rid the tiresome 3194 error when trying to do a clean restore you must:

    1. Download iREB

    2. Download Tiny Umbrella

    3. Go to your Hosts file and Clear anything with regards to gs.apple.com

    4. save file as Hosts (with no extension)

    5. run iREB to enter your device into a pwned DFU state

    6. open tinyumbrella and “start tss server”

    7. now open itunes and shift + click restore

    8. choose desired ipsw

    9. viola!

    let me know if anyone else has the same luck

    Regards

  228. AJ says:

    Thanks a lot, your suggestion work, i can update my iphone to 4.3 now. Do you need to change the 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com back again to original form.

  229. Micke says:

    This works for me for the very first time. ManyThanks

  230. ipadlover says:

    I found the solution!

    in the hosts file, there is already an entry for the apple signing server. simply replace that one with cydia’s (74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com). It worked just fine for me!

  231. kits says:

    ooohhh.. also don’t forget to return the host file in it’s proper place.. =)

  232. kits says:

    yes!!! this worked…… make sure you update to the new version of Itunes. cut the host file and paste it on your desktop. then rename it and add extension .txt if you have another host file from umbrella cut and paste on your desktop and rename it. do DFU mode. Open Itunes and start recover and update!!! thanks guys!!! it took me 1 month to fix this issue…

  233. Sketchy says:

    Alraight, after hours of trying and trying finally got it to work.

    COMMON ISSUE;

    1; open the hosts file in wordpad
    2; once added the ip adresses in the last lines save it as a file
    3; if you still get the 3194 error copy paste your hosts file (and everything else) to your desktop
    4; if you STILL get the 3194 error; close iTunes, and open it up again.

    thats when it started working for me; restarting iTunes.

    5; dont forget to copy back everything

    ^^

  234. iarejohnsmith says:

    How exactly do I open the file to edit it?

  235. Eric says:

    omg thank you very much. I finally fixed my iphone with your help. Thanks again

  236. mobetter says:

    I also had the dreaded 3194 error installing a modified firmware from sn0wbreeze 2.1 itouch 2g 4.1, the modded hosts file failed, so I just renamed it with a bak extension, restarted itunes and it finlally processed the restore.

  237. l185 says:

    hey i got a problem … i delete the host….
    what can i do if i already deleted the host?
    can anyone e-mail me? also i try to upgrade the virson from 4.2.1 to 4.3.3 … (evreytime 3194 problem)…

  238. c2 says:

    is it only for jailbroken iphone/ipad/ipod?

  239. Hariachi says:

    Just delete the file with name host i did it and its works now.

    Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

  240. Andrew says:

    I am trying to UPGRADE my iPad from 4.3.2 to 4.3.3 and it gives me error 3194. I have the newest version of iTunes so I don’t know why it isn’t working. help please?

  241. c2 says:

    doesn’t work on me :( any other solution pls?

  242. Conner says:

    Thank you soooo much ive been searching for hours on how to restore my jailbroken iphone. This is a very helpful website!

  243. chen says:

    thanks soo much i was crying coz i accidently pressed a button and my phone just stuck in respiring mode!! i just want to go to bed and after hours of searching i can finally go to bed.

    thanks soo much

  244. Sammy says:

    I’ve been trying to update my fiance’s 3GS from 3.1.3 to 4.3.3 for the last 4 hours and OMG going through everyone’s comments, testing out every single thing and it DID NOT WORK. I was thinking, GREAT, unlucky me. Finally when I decided okay I’m gonna give this a few more tries before I quit because I need to exhaust all my resources. Yes I tried everything, Googled the whole world wide web, added 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com to my hosts in etc folder, renamed the hosts file, removed the gs.apple.com part, typed everything out instead of copying and pasting 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com, then I tried to move hosts to desktop and moved it back to etc folder and replace the original host file, and it still did not work…I was still getting the Error 3194 thingy from iTunes.

    So anyway FINALLY, I was able to upgrade to 4.3.3
    Phone was already connected to computer via usb, I had the phone in DFU mode on iTunes. I dragged everything that was in the etc folder onto the desktop and clicked “Restore” since that was the only thing that was not grayed out for me. Apple was finally able to verify the phone and let me upgrade to a fresh new version of 4.3.3 and I was able to restore the contents on the iPhone.

    Now I guess if you’re wanting to downgrade, you can just follow all those steps, but instead of clicking on restore, you can hold shift + restore and select the .ipsw file. I have not confirmed if that worked, but upgrading to a fresh new version definitely worked for me.

  245. David says:

    i have managed to do my 3gs iphone and thatworks fine but when i try it for my iphone 4 itcomes up with error 3194

  246. David says:

    ok thats great run as administrator and it works just now get a error 1600 search on google and comes up saying it was a problem at 3.1.3 stage nothing later

  247. AgentPayne says:

    I’m one of the many that this fix didn’t work for, however – at least in my case, I figured out what the problem was. Even though the account I was logged into had administrative privileges iTunes wasn’t running in Administrator mode.

    I closed iTunes and restarted it by right-clicking the icon and choosing “Run as administrator” and was able to perform the restore, no need to edit the hosts file.

  248. David says:

    I have tried everything the above have said

    I got a iphone 4 on ios 4.3

    but still nothing woks i got an old iphone 3gs that was jailbroken at 4.2.1 i know cannot do that phone either.

    please help

  249. Joe Blow says:

    Its the best day of my life.

    I AM CRYING OF HAPPYNESS!

    ITS WORKING WITH YOUR ADVISE!

    Thank you!

  250. anoop says:

    Fix iTune Error 3194 using TinyUmbrella while updating iOS 4.3.3 firmware:

    Step 1 : At first you need to download TinyUmbrella to your Device (Download for Mac OS ,Download for Windows)
    Step 2 : Now Install TinyUmbreall in your System whether it is Mac Os or Windows.
    Step 3 : Than there shows Advance button tab on Advance for next process.
    Step 4 : Now Uncheck “Set Hosts to Cydia on Exit”
    Step 5 : You’ll see there is Apply Changes click for the changes to fix iTune Errors
    Step 6 : Now your system need to Reboot/Restart.
    Step 7 : Now you done and update easily iOS 4.3.3 Firmware on iTunes 10.2.2

  251. Jay says:

    Thank you so much. I had jailbroken with GreenApple. Tried to delete all content. It hanged at the Apple logo. The 3194 error message keeps popping up. You are a life saver. Kudos

  252. sidd says:

    awesome!!

    fixed it,thanks a tonne!!

  253. shiraz says:

    thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)))))))

  254. Larry says:

    I haven’t read all of the post so I apologize ahead of time if someone has already posted this.

    This solution didn’t work. I search for any entries beginning with 74 and deleted all of them. After I did that the restore and update worked.

    I had previously jail broke my ipod and then reverted back to apple so that may explain why the extra entry was still there.

    Hope this help you too.

  255. tru that says:

    i get error 28 ne ideas??

  256. itook says:

    didnt work for me same error >:(

  257. Left says:

    I have tried everything and I still get the same 3194 Error. I am trying to downgrade from 4.2.1 to 4.0.1. I want to use “Boss Prefs” and I heard it will not work on anything more than 4.1

  258. amanda says:

    I deleted all the lines in the host file that referred to apple and hit restore. And now it is currently restoring to factory settings.

  259. Piers says:

    Hi Everyone,

    I tried changing the host IP address and restoring in DFU mode but it didn’t work.

    I ended up removing the ‘hosts’ file from the ‘ETC’ folder entirely then just updating the normal way in iTunes, not in DFU mode.

    Obviously those whose phones are actually “bricked” will need to do DFU mode but just keep in mind that if you keep getting the error, actually REMOVE the hosts file, update and put the hosts file back when you are done :D

  260. Stopsson says:

    Removing etc helped, I friggin love You guys, I really do :D

    • toms says:

      I tried updating from 4.1 to 4.3.3 and kept having that 3194 error. Turns out I had to restore to 4.2.1 FIRST. Currently doing the update, see if I can from then on update to 4.3.3.

      • Vishal says:

        Tom,
        I had the same issue until now when I was trying to restore my jailbroken 4.3.1 to 4.3.3.
        What I just did is listed below:
        1. comment out all entries for “gs.apple.com” from my hosts file.
        2. Re-start my windows vista laptop.
        3. Connected my iphone 3gs 16gb via USB to my laptop.
        4. Start Itunes and clicked on restore button. I did not get this error “3194” again and my iphone got restored to 4.3.3.

  261. James says:

    i managed to lock my iphone 4 into recovery mode after jailbreaking and had been trying for hours to get it to restore but constantly getting the 3194 error in itunes and as a last ditch attempt tried hooking it up to a different computer hoping it would restore and thankfully it downloaded the update and restored instantly. I recommend trying this early on instead of panicking like i did as it is a very simple solution.

  262. Jenn says:

    Worked great for me as I was trying to update from 4.2.1 jailbroken to 4.3.2 to get the new jailbreak. Just copiedand pasted into hosts file.. saved… reopened iTunes and updated. No problem!!

  263. EbbE says:

    Hi, worked for me, upgraded my Ipad from 3.2 to 4.2.1. at first i did experiance the error code even after changing the host file. then i closed down Itunes and reopened it, worked like a charm. the trick here is the edit the host file, and only then open up Itunes. :)

  264. KC says:

    I have tried this and it didnt work. i found the file and typed in 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in the file and also in a fresh one but it still didnt work. i still get the error code 3194. Do you guys have any other suggestions?

    • Vlad says:

      The same to me…. I still get the same error. I have 4.1 with firmware 2.10.04 and I tried to restore it with the same version and I also tried to update it with 4.2 but is not working either. Can someone tell us what to do?

  265. Woodzie says:

    I have tried everything and nothing seems to work I am using a iPhone 4 using the latest iTunes, using legit firmware from apple 4.3.1 tried everything but nothing will work, keeps crashing with error 3194 can somebody fix this I want to unjailbreak my iphone

  266. Ferociouz_Loko says:

    Thanks alot for this tutorial!!! i was trying to downgrade my iphone 4 from 4.3.2 back to 4.2.1 cuz it was making my phone real sluggish.. but for some reason i kept getting error 3194 right at the start.. i wasnt bricked or anything.. but i really wanted 4.2.1.. this worked.. thanks.. now i just gotta do the greenp0ison move to get it off the restore picture.. thanks

  267. gonecrazy says:

    thanks a lot for u guide!!
    workerd well for me.. and once again my iphone is back to form!!! luv ya :D

  268. Dennis says:

    I tried the fix given.

    None of it worked.

    My iPhone running on IOS 4.3.

    I tried Greenpoison, snowbreeze and TinyUmbrella. It didn’t work.

    Can any1 help ? Any better step by step guide which worked ? I think some people here having same issue as well. I read from somewhere that apple sorta invalidates old IPSW validation. Is this true ?

  269. Breck says:

    After trying to do this for months, i finally figured it out and it worked awesome. Thank you soooo much

  270. zulfiqar says:

    At first i get error 3194 during update of my jailbroken iphone 4. When i solve the error by adding that line in host file. It gives later another error 1013. When i solve this error by deleting the line from host file. I again receive error 3194. If someone could help i would be glad. Thanks i am waiting for your replies

  271. Joe says:

    I deleted all entries in the host file. Worked fine for me.

  272. […] you encounter issues upgrading to iOS 4.3.2 using sauriks’ server, you can follow instructions from the Error 3194 fix for iTunes to remove gs.apple.com from your hosts […]

  273. zulfiqar says:

    i did it but another error came later 1013 what should i do with this

  274. zulfiqar says:

    thank you very much. it worked thank you million times

  275. Ahmed says:

    OMG!!! it worked for me… but now how it said.
    i changed the host file and added that thing but it didn’t work. i kept getting the 3194 error. then i moved the host file to the desktop and it still didn’t work. finally i decided to move the entire etc folder to the desktop and it worked completely!!!

    i’m running custom firmware 4.3.1 with 1.59.00 baseband. :-)

    then i put everything back to where it was and removed the“74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com”.

    thank you all. i got this idea just from reading the comments. if nothing else works, try it. You have nothing to lose. i’ve been doing this for the last 5 hours. lol

    • boony says:

      Thanks for help!!!
      it works for me too. i try move the etc folder to the desktop with the 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in the host file. At first it doesn’t work when i try restore and update. But when i move back the folder to where it was and it works without even removing 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in the host file.

  276. Heyber says:

    I had the 3194 error and tried all the things I knew before MetalMania’s solution.

    Whoever you want, thank you so much, you save my day!!!

  277. haran says:

    removing gs.apple.com worked for me
    thanks alot

  278. […] updating to iOS 4.3.2 using Cydia and sauriks’ server, you may have recently used the Error 3194 fix for iTunes, which means you just need to remove gs.apple.com from your hosts […]

  279. faded says:

    so sad, me too running at iphone 4 but when i did what metalmania say i get white screen and itunes logo appear and it was progress, but >> i get 1601 erorr! AGAIN

  280. Prontot says:

    Agree with MetalMania. I also rename the hosts file into renamhosts and suddenly it could restore in DFU mode. Thanks for the tip dude :)

  281. MetalMania says:

    Renaming the hosts file worked for me! (when adding the IP addresses did not).
    Running windows 7, itunes 10.2.1 and iphone 3gs 4.3.1

    Close itunes.
    Right click on hosts file (in \windows\system32\drivers\etc) and rename to something like “renamhosts”.
    Open itunes

    restore (shift and restore) in DFU mode.

    • Mohit says:

      Hey man u are a savior the renaming of hosts file really works

    • Barber Gang says:

      MetalMania you are “THE MAN” (or woman)
      1st I added IP as directed…nothing…got 1013
      2nd I “RENAMED HOST FILE”…and bingo
      >>>RESTORED ON 4.3.2<<<
      better than nothing now waiting on JB & unlock for it

      Running Windows 7 64-bit, iTunes 10.2.1, iPhone4
      phone was disabled 1,232,223 min. (too many tries)

    • Fonyo says:

      I tried absolutely everything.
      This was the only one wich worked…

      THX A LOT MetalMania!!

    • NGUYEN says:

      YES, IT”S AMAZING???!!! I renamed the “hosts” file in etc folder… such as “renamhosts” and I also added the 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in that file.
      It didn’t worked on 4.3.1 so i tried 4.3.3 and it took that 4.3.3 FIRMWARE. and now my iphone 4 has been restored to factory setting!!!
      Don’t give up. I spent 4 hours trying to figure this thing out. and this method works for me.!!!!!!!!

  282. nic says:

    I can’t seem to be able to restore. The error 3194 still exist. Is it because my itunes is the 10.2.1? I am a window7 user. Any other easy method to restore? Thanks

  283. theONE says:

    works like a charm, i’ve downloaded firmware 4.2.1 (not the newest firmware but the original one i was using) held shift and chose it to restore. Typically i would get the error but it worked due to the method mentioned above, its restored and now reloading one of my backups to get all my apps and saved settings :)

    you should know if your the admin or not

  284. graham says:

    I don’t seem to be able to save it once opened in notepad, it keeps telling me to contact administration i cant find the option to run as in the list to run as administrator please help i’m using windows 7

    • Tony says:

      Right click the hosts file and select properties>security.

      give your account full permissions and try saving now.

      i hope this helps (even though this is 3 years old)

  285. Ndayisa says:

    Thanks a lot

  286. Jake says:

    I tried this on my computer (xp) and it didn’t work, but it worked on my sisters macbook. If you have access to a different computer, try using that one.

  287. Yves says:

    This worked for me… Thanks!!!

  288. Rahul says:

    Great .. worked first time .. exactly follow all the steps..

  289. randolph17 says:

    Thank you for the help! I’ve just updated may ipod touch 4g from 4.1 to 4.2.1!! thanks allot!!!!

  290. zinkscott says:

    SO I tried everything listed above. no dice. I am on an iPod Touch 4G, iOS 4.2.1, trying to restore with 4.2.1. I just got this yesterday and jailbroke it with GreenPois0n Yestrerday to. The problem for many above to is if you have Cydia and you clicked on “Make My Life Easier”, if it Says “This device has a pending TSS request” You have to wait for it to say SHSH 4.2.1.

  291. Xtine says:

    Worked like a charm! Thank you so so so much.

  292. RonBo says:

    at this point, i have just given false hope to anyone reading my post.

  293. RonBo says:

    well, it doesn’t work on my 3GS either! I wish I wouldn’t have opened my mouth! Sorry if I caused any grief to anyone! I am trying to figure it out, but don’t hold your breath.

  294. Mindy says:

    I had a 3gs phone with firmware 3.1.3. I didn’t save my firmware with tiny umbrella. I tried to upgrade to firmware 4.0.2, but i have error 3194 when I tried to restore firmware 4.0.2. I had tried all the methods above, but it didn’t work for me. Now I am stucked with DFU mode. Can anyone help me how to upgrade to firmware 4.0.2 with my 3gs phone?
    Thanks

  295. Ali says:

    Thanks ( RonBo ) for Zilb1.dll
    It help me to make boot for 4.3 in DFU mode

    ANyway I still want a practical method to downgrade from ios 4.3 to 4.2 without A SHSH SAFE

    • RonBo says:

      I can’t help you any further. As far as I know, it is not possible to downgrade unless you have backed up your SHSH on Cydia.

  296. RonBo says:

    I think that “dover” may be onto something. I have been able to restore to 4.3.1 (stock), and then downgrade to 4.2.1 (stock) and jailbreak again using greenpois0n. I have had no luck trying to downgrade to any version of firmware in a jailbroken state. I am going to go with his theory, and restore to 4.3.1 (stock), then try downgrading to ?.?.? firmware. If it works I will post the results, and maybe this will clear things up for many people. “iPhone 3GS old bootrom with SHSH all the way back to 3.0”

  297. Ali says:

    my Iphone running 4.3 and I uses tinyumbrella to downgrade it to 4.2.1 ios but it stuck on when I shift click on restore and show 3194. I ad tried all stepd you have suggested. even changing host ( not working with me )
    I am waiting for practical advise me friend ^^

    I am searchinf for fixrecovery 43 doesn’t have this error
    zllib1.dll
    if anyone have it. write the line

  298. anFey says:

    I had my Iphone4 4.21 jailbroken with greenpois0n, but unfortunately out of my ignorance I initiated “erase all content and settings”. All I get know is the phone freezing in the poison logo. I tried to update to 4.3 yet i get the error 3194 even after the given saurik’s server mod. The tiny umbrella app just sees the device as a number, and finally after trying the fixrecovery i am back to the poison logo that just freezes. Any insights would be greatly appreciated…

    • RonBo says:

      I think you will have to restore to stock 4.3.1, then downgrade to 4.2.1. That is if you have SHSH saved on Cydia which I’m sure you do. Oh, the reason I say upgrade to 4.3.1 is because I believe 4.3 is not longer being signed.

      • anFey says:

        Thank you for help.
        Right now that is exactly what I am having trouble at, whenever I try to upgrade to stock 4.3.1 i get the 3194 error even though I have done the simple replacement in the hosts file.

        • RonBo says:

          I see. Well, if you are restoring to stock firmware 4.3.1 do not point to Saurik’s server. Change the host file back to its original settings and try it again.

  299. Izzy says:

    I spoke too soon — there is an update (#2) at the bottom of that page. Download the windows fix and you’re all set.

    http://cache.firmwareumbrella.com/downloads/fixrecovery-win.zip

    Something that tripped me up: If you’re stuck with your phone at the iTunes logo with USB cable image and can’t seem to get it into DFU mode, plug usb cable into your computer. Wait for the connect sound. Hold down power and home. When you hear the USB disconnect, release the power button and continue holding home. When you hear the USB connect sound you can release the home button — should be in DFU at that point.

    Once you’re back in DFU mode, the app (link above) can work its magic to get you out of the loop. When it completed, I saw the iTunes USB image again, but with the emergency slider at the bottom. Eventually, the iTunes/USB image went away and the phone was back to factory 4.2.1.(8C148) (whew!)

  300. Lewy says:

    Ok.. this is not working for me either. I had 4.2.1 jb with greenpois0n.. I need to restore but do not want to update to 4.3. I got the same error as many of you (3194) during the verification phase. I did was this states, by editing the hosts file in notepad, running as admin, and manually typing in 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com and saving the file. Then I open itunes, shift+clicked restore, selected the 4.2.1 firmware, and hit restore.

    It went much further in the restore process than whhen I received the (3194) error. However, it still stopped in the last verification phase and said unable to restore due to (1013) error.

    Dover, this is not about being whiny babies.. It is simply not working. I believe Apple has a new verification process that is preventing this from working. I’m not sure what to do?? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

    • Izzy says:

      Same issue here Lewy. The 1013 error can be ignored. Your phone has been restored, it is just stuck in restore mode.

      “Apple introduced a new baseband requirement check in iOS 4.2.1 which puts all those iDevices into infinite recovery mode loop who try to restore iOS 4.2.1 using Saurik’s server or TinyUmbrella.”

      Unfortunately, the only fix right now is for Mac. They’re working on the fix for windows. (As of 4/1/2011)

      • RonBo says:

        You can use iReb4 to kick your iDevice out of recovery mode on a Windows system. I just used it last night.

  301. edwin says:

    yeah i tried it all too.

    this does not work.

    I think apple has a new verification method or something…

  302. Luis says:

    Yep! worked for me as well! Thanks! (4.2.1 iPod touch 3G)

  303. William stark says:

    it’s working but after fireware restoring i have error 1013 from itunes and my iphone 4 still in restore mode it’s didn’t boot.. how can fix it? plz help me..

  304. lakser says:

    I have resolved this problem by building a custom ipsw in sn0wbreeze 2.2.1. Then booting into pwned dfu mode and restoring from that custom firmware.

  305. Truman says:

    Have 3gs 4.2.1 w/ BB 5.15.04, jailbroke with GreenpoisOn and unlocked but did not work because Ultrasnow is not compatible with my BB. Want to restore back to original but have error 3194 although I tried all those comments. Please give me some suggestion? For your info. SHSH blobs not yet appeared in Cydia.

  306. XxXIPHONE4XxX says:

    save host files onto documents

  307. vinc says:

    works. thanks.

  308. muhammad aleem says:

    This worked for me after 4 hours of trying recover my iphone, thank you all

  309. matt says:

    I had my iPhone 3GS jailbroken with redsn0w 0.9.6b4 and wanted to do a clean restore back to 4.2.1 instead of 4.3, I typed in 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com into
    c:windowssystem32driversetchosts without using the # sign before the ip address, put my phone into pwned dfu mode, hit restore & shift to select 4.2.1 firmware instead of the automatic 4.3 update and it worked wonderfully! thanks for the help!!!!

  310. Wayne78 says:

    Hi all I also encounter this error 3194, I jb with greenpoison ios 4.2.1 and try to restore back 4.2.1 but keep getting error 3194… About hundred times I tried but still fail, dfu mode or recovery mode also fail… Pls help

  311. Kartikey says:

    Okay I tried this and my Iphone was restoring but it an error 1013 came again and for in order for that to work I need to remove the host source which contains “gs.apple”.
    And if I remove that I would be stuck at error 3194.
    What to do?
    Please help me!

  312. eangly says:

    hello sir.
    my iphone4 (4.2.1) basband 03.10.01 was erase all in setting .then i can’t restore 4.2.1 . i try to change hosts but it can’t restore.how can i do????
    note: my iphone4 not save shsh!!!

  313. Bobcat says:

    Totally WORKS!!!! The KEY is to type it into the hosts file like Adrian said above. I tried copy paste and got the 3194 error, deleted it and manually typed it in……. BINGO! Thanks Adrian!!!

  314. Romeo says:

    Well, it might work for most people – but not for all!

    I tried both IP addresses that are advertised.
    It’s easy to prove that the host file is working correctly – open a browser, and type in “gs.apple.com” – if you see the Cydia website, it obviously worked. I did that, works fine with both IP addresses.

    I restarted iTunes… I even restarted my computer… but once I pointed iTunes at the clean .ipsw file and it unpacked it… it sits there for a while, claiming to verify the package with Apple – and then throws the 3194 error.

    Two questions – could it be that saurik’s great service is down?
    Or could it be that Apple got wise and has built in some more verifications? According to Apple, it also uses verisign to authenticate packages. Any ideas?

    Thanks!
    R.

  315. zuber says:

    Thanks! worked! great! keep up and again a big thanks!

  316. Kap_89 says:

    Yea . It worked For Me =]]

  317. iPodGuy says:

    I could NOT get this to work with an iPod 4G. I’m trying to upgrade from iOS 4.1 to 4.2.1.

    I installed iTunes 10.1 and have the 4.2.1 ipsw fie. I did the edit 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in the hosts file and active ports shows itunes accessing that IP address. The iPod is in DFU mode and confirmed in itunes. But itunes still returns a 3194 unknown error. Any ideas.

    • jeanniton says:

      i have the same problem ! and still keep trying but nothing get done yet so my friend” Iod guy” i finally you have figure it out please share it with me !

      • Lee says:

        As suggested above try moving your host file out of the etc folder and put it somewhere like your desktop (cut and paste it). Then try restoring and make sure you put the host file back where it was after you restored.

  318. DaRealistShogun69 says:

    Thanx alot! I wiped out my iphone then tried to restore to 4.2.1 with the bk-up i have of the firmware and i got that problem… Man your a life saver now I can re-jailbreak again :) Thanx -Da Realist

  319. aakashzxv1 says:

    oh my god !!!!! it worked flawlessly!Q!!!

    i didnt had the hosts file in etc folder…i created a blank txt file, added the ip address and saved it as hosts and removed the txt extension…and VOILA IT WORKED!!!!

  320. dan says:

    it works for me the very first time

  321. Banamaa says:

    well, this didn’t work. It gave me this idea however, which I tried and it worked, remove the hosts file.
    keep a copy of it somewhere else before removing, just in case.

    • shunia says:

      Awesome!!!
      The way you provide really works!

      But remember to paste it back.

    • Scott says:

      Wow, that really worked, forget editing your host file, just rename it something else, restore it and then rename it back.

      Thanks for the tip!

    • Lee says:

      THIS WORKED!

      I’m using a non jailbroken 3G 16GB on Windows 7 64bit, tried to add the address to the host file but assumed it didn’t work because of the new itunes version (10.22), this however simple, worked for me and saved me heaps of trouble!

      You’re a legend mate!

  322. Jack says:

    Worked like a charm.

    4.2.1 update, iphone 4.

  323. AJ says:

    this worked perfectly, thank you very much

  324. Rogeliob says:

    It works, I tried everything but I could not get Apple to validate I change the hosts and added 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com worked great. Thanks for the tip.

    • SRP says:

      Hi I still have this problem..

      i tried with host change but not sucessfull..

      Do we need a original sim card (which came along with the mobile or i can use any Micro Sim card for itunes installtion)..
      please suggest.

      regards

  325. adrian says:

    you need to open with notepad if ur on windows dunno about mac; and then scroll down to last row on host file and type in….. don’t copy paste that will copy at first row. then just save and follow instructions as required above. from connect iphone and start itunes and put iphone in dfu mode. i’m doing it right now n it works

    • Joshie says:

      Also adding onto the advice provided above (using Windows Xp), in C:>WINDOWS>Drivers>etc.. Before you open “host” right click, click on properties, and un-tick the “Read-only” attribute.

      Click apply, then right click, open with notepad.. Add in
      74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com
      74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com

      Hit “X” in the top right corner, it will prompt you to save, select yes. It should have successfully saved, now do as instructed in the text at the top of the page, when you remove the information, do the same thing, right click, open with notepad.. delete the text you put in before, “X” save, on prompt click yes.. Now right click the “host” file again, go to properties and re-tick “Read-only” Hit apply and your done.

  326. vedprakash jogpal says:

    it not works for me 3194 error coming after edit host file so please suggust anyone how can i downgrade my iphone4 4.2.1 to 4.0.x

  327. Johnny says:

    Works like a charm thanks!!!!

  328. dover says:

    Hmm, thanks for sauricks ip. Huge help. Too all you whiny babies who are complaining that it doesn’t work, firstly, respectfully I say shutup.

    Be thankful that these people like saurick offer it for free in the first place.

    Secondly. Host files don’t save using Ctl + S typically. You need to save it to your desktop then move it back to the etc folder (make sure you choose replace). Make sure there is no extension on the file. It is just called “hosts”. Not “hosts.txt”

    If you’re getting the same error. It’s a different problem. Sauricks will sign it off typically (unless you have the latest itunes, see below). If you are getting a different error, you probably had the same problem I had; you’re restoring a jailbroken device with the latest iTunes.

    Possible simple fix, try it apples way first (to get the latest firmware), then this way (to get you into the recovery screen on your iphone), then apples way once more (once you’re in recovery mode – the connect to itunes screen – it should work fine. don’t forget to change your host file back before the second apple attempt)

    Anyway, good luck and thanks!

    • craig says:

      hi my iphone 4 has been stuck like this for ages. ive tried a few things, but when trying to open the hosts file in etc folder i get a list of programes to open it with what should i use??? notpad or wordpad i wod of guessed but not sure so wanted to check

      thk u

    • chrisk says:

      Dover,
      I am running Windows XP. Sorry for dumb question but in host folder (notepad) shows this:

      127.0.0.1 localhost
      74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

      I save this in the etc folder. When I go back to HOST folder, all this is still there. BUT you said I need to “replace” this as it does not save.
      Here is the dumb question: If I do save on desktop it is a .txt document. HOW do I get rid of .txt and REPLACE back into etc folder? Just cut and paste?
      Summary, I do not know how to replace old HOST file with NEW host file OR do I even need to do that as each time I change the host file and I go back in my changes are indeed saved.
      As of APRIL 7, still having 3194 error trying to jailbreak 3Gs iPhone 4.3 firmware with 05.16.01 baseband
      Thanks to anyone that can help

    • Iryna says:

      Thank you, were a great help with the resaving it manualy, but not all ppl know what to do exactly so thank you for step by step

    • Patrick GH says:

      That was the problem….I was updating to iOS 5 from a jailbroken device…. Doing it from DFU mode was the only success I had after about 10hrs of trying…..!!

    • Nic says:

      THANKS! my iphone 4 was bricked due to H1siri, only thing I had to do differently is take “hosts” out of ect and temp. place it on my desktop, and then I dragged in the modified “hosts” via notepad which i saved to desktop. It wouldn’t let me just replace it. so any of you having the authorization problem that is your key around error 3194. thanks again.

      p.s.DONT INSTALL H1siri, you will regret it, jailbreaking is fine if you know what your doing.

    • superDen says:

      Thanks a bunch for your explanation! I couldn’t understand why it’s not working. Now iTunes finally swallowed it after copy/replacing the original file!

  329. estaminet says:

    works for me in the first try, thank you!

  330. Glauber says:

    Thank’s, worked to me too.
    Very helpful!!!

  331. kennerve says:

    It worked for me! thank you!

  332. Ipodbob says:

    This worked for me thanks very much, restoring 4.2.1 iphone 4. I put into DFU mode before i did anything and it worked perfectly. Many thanks

  333. kumar says:

    WOrked on my iphone 4…will work with all devices..!

  334. kumar says:

    hey guys worked for me restoring to 4.2.1 …..it will work add the line 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in hosts file using notepad using as an administrator(other wise notepad won’t be ale to make changes in hosts file) and then restore by putting in DFU or recovery mode….worked for me in Recovery mode…thnxx

  335. Syd says:

    This will not work on new firmware. For new firmware you need to have saved you SHSHs blobs with Cydia or tinyumbrella.

  336. Parhat says:

    Thanks alot. This worked for me.
    You need to put your idevice in DFU Mode and your idevice must be contected to your computer.

  337. heylo says:

    This works for me for the very first time. ManyThanks

  338. bob says:

    thanks, this worked for me!!!!!!!

  339. Bikorchi says:

    Doesn’t work. Tried to restore back, get the same error. Any idea?

  340. Jay says:

    This does not work, i have tried to do this going back from Version 4.2.1 to 4.1, even with the Host Infomation Added i still get this error.

  341. richard says:

    I thought Saurik’s signing service was located at:

    nslookup 74.208.10.249 name = nginx.saurik.com

    Where nslookup shows the following for the IP specified in the article:

    nslookup 74.208.105.171 name = telesphoreo.org.

    • Manish says:

      74.208.105.171 is apptapp.saurik.com

      telesphoreo.org must be a mirror for this purpose but it is maintained by Saurik just the same. Here is the description of Telesphoreo:

      “Telesphoreo is an APT-based distribution of Unix software for modern smartphones started by Jay Freeman (saurik). Initially, the only supported target is Apple’s iPhone (and iPod Touch), but soon we anticipate porting our repository to other Unix-y environments such as Android.”

      I had never heard of it either

      • Jay says:

        Tried with Both Custom and Standard -> This Does Not Work

        • Humrazz says:

          Read this post does any of this work

          74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com
          OR
          74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com.
          I was doing jailbreak using redsn0w but it is stucked @ apple logo tried to do tethered reboot but it is not helping. I am dying to see the home screen on my Iphone. Please please help.

          • Ben says:

            Got the exact same problem. any suggestions?

          • russ says:

            im having the same problem. I dont know what to do???

          • kevin says:

            hello guys today im here to help you with ur idevice problems if ur stuck with jailbreak download tinyumbrella connect ur device press Exit recovery or if that doesnt work put it in dfu mode im forsure they will work

      • Piyush says:

        I am trying to restore my iphone 4 from 4.3.3 to 4.1 or 4.3.2 but it is still giving error 3194, even after adding 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com in hosts file.

        I just got gevy sim to unlock it, but i had accidentally upgraded it to 4.3.3 and gevysim is not working with it.

        Need your help. You can PM m3.

        Please help

        • Jumper13.50 says:

          Just delete the host file with admin previlegies!

          • Piyush says:

            I tried deleting the host file.Then I also tried using Tiny-umbrella to save SHSH file. after all that my Iphone 4 is in recovery mode and is not coming out.

            I do not know what to do. Now phone is as good as useless. Any help to bring it back to atleast ipod level will be some consolation for me to save some of my cost in it. :<

            Thanks in advance for all help.

          • connor says:

            i would suggest that you try to restore it to current ios version

          • israel says:

            THATS AN EASY FIX JUST HOLD THE POWER AND HOME BUTTON FOR 30 SECONDS AND WAIT FOR THE APPLE LOGO TO RE POP UP

        • nobuhdy says:

          You cannot just downgrade to an earlier version, it isn’t as simple as one, two, three mate. You had to have saved the shsh “while” apple was still signing it. You cannot save anything after apple is no longer signing the firmware.

          Thus the only thing you “can” do is “restore” to whatever version apple is currently saying, alas you’ll be upgrading to iOS 5.whatevertheversionisrightnow ;)

          So first you have to “#” out any references you have that refer to saurik’s servers in your host file (found in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\ if you use windows 7) eg. if you have 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com in your host file then you have to put a “#” in front of it and change it to #74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com.

          Why do you have to do this? simple, because the new itunes (and you do need the latest version of itunes to make this work) won’t let you connect to saurik’s servers anyway… alas you’ll have to be happy with a tethered jailbreak of iOS 5 then… but at least your iphone will no longer be just a paper weight right? so put your iphone into dfu mode (connect to computer, switch off iphone, hold power button for 3 seconds, then hold home button for 10 seconds, then let go of power button while still holding home button for another 5 seconds or so…) itunes will say that the iphone is in recovery mode, then hold shift click restore, point to the downloaded iOS 5.whatevertheversionisrightnow that you should have downloaded earlier. This should work… really you have no other option than to upgrade… good luck mate!

          • entwane says:

            Thanks a lot!
            Updating iTunes, using # in host file with the latest firmware available worked for me.

          • skiaxtro says:

            well done friend……….

          • matt says:

            thanx so much i was trying to restore for 3 days but thanx to u i didn’t have to add on to those days now i n add on to using it again!!!!! again thanx u save my life!!!

          • Xenon says:

            thank you so much mate i looked everywhere for this my i thought my ipod was stuffed for shore thank you so much!!!

          • Dave says:

            Been working on this for a couple of hours now and came across your solution. . .works like a charm, thanks!

          • nath says:

            this worked for me. however its stuck in restore mode. itunes tells me that my iphone is up to date so that means it worked. now how do i get it out of restore mode. please Heeeeeelp

          • Josh says:

            Dude thanks so much, I needed to restore so I could unlock my iphone. just typed the # and it restored from apples server and in the end it said “Congratulations, your iphone is unlocked”
            great success

          • iPhonePro says:

            Thanks alot! I wanted to restore my iPhone cause jailbreaking messed it up and now thanks to you I got pass the 3194 error! You are a genius! Thanks very, very, much!

          • NoName says:

            Man please help i have updated to ios 5.1 and jailbeoken my iphone 4 but now i want to downgrade my iphone to ios 5.0.1 i have downloaded it and every time i try to restore it tells me 3194 error i added the “#”in hosts but it didn’t work now i can’t restore it please help

          • gktssm says:

            hi guys, I have 3gs 4.3.3 and wanna update to 5.0.1. i tried everything edit host file, ireb etc, but still i get 3194 error and itunes just stuck with signing and at the end it gives me 1602 errror. plz help

          • ravi.t.n says:

            Thanks a lot dude, it worked. i was banging my head on it all nite, and then ur line “whatevertheversionisrightnow” sparked the bulb.

          • NewSpender says:

            The only instruction that actually works. Thanks a lot, kind sir. You’re a hero.

          • Geoff Ydriz says:

            Your the man! :) Thank you so much,.

          • Ricashea says:

            woooo thanks … this helped me sooo much :D

          • In2Deep says:

            Woohaa, worked!…. # it out and it just works ^_^

          • Courtney says:

            Ive tried to do this 3 times and it hasnt worked… and Att says they cant help with any of this… and I have a 3gs that is using 4.1 and I am not able to download and use any apps.. any suggestings??

          • Sharky says:

            Wow I can’t believe this worked. For me I also had #127.0.0.1 gs.apple.com at the bottom with the #74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com above it and I was still getting the 3194 error. I deleted the bottom entry so that the #74… was on the very bottom…restarted itunes and exited and re-entered DFU mode and VOILA!! Success!! Life saver!

          • Omar Rojo says:

            hey my iphone 4 is in dfu mode and the msg 3194 keeps popping up.. i updated itunes and used the # in host file still keeps showing up.. can u HELP!!!plz

          • tina says:

            How exactly do I add 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com to the host file?

          • Chris says:

            Will this procedures work with Windows 7 64-Bit. I have tried adding the string without “#” sign before I read this and it did not work. I’m suspecting, it has something to do with my OS, and I plan to reformat my PC and install Windows 7 32-Bit.

            Please let me know if I should do that or try doing the procedure again with “#” this time.

            Thanks.

          • doctordoctor says:

            wow man! it worked on iphone4 ios6! Thank u so much! just added # and it connected to server.
            One advice if its not working after adding # than restart your pc n phone. than try it again.

          • drew says:

            were do i find the host i have widows 7

          • mickiyas says:

            hey guys please i need help its been a week since in faced apple logo stuck after i downloaded sbrotator from cydia n it nfront of stuck i’ve tried alot of ways but none worked i also tried this method listed above i tried to put ‘#’74.208.10.249.gs.apple.com but it couldnt save it pleese help i miss my iphone

          • mickiyas says:

            Guys i need help its been a week since my iphone got stuck while downloading sbrotator from cydia n i’ve tried this method but it says you cant overwrite the file so i cant save it can any1 help me

          • Adam says:

            On behalf of my 12-year-old son, THANK YOU KINDLY!

          • MOTS says:

            Thank you, this worked perfectly for me and fixed my problem. I love you!

          • Abheet says:

            I’m on iOS 7.0.3 and i dont like it at all. It is the latest iOS version available. I want to downgrade to iOS 6.0.X. How do i do it ? Any suggestions bro ?

          • bonr says:

            You can not downgrade from iOS 7 to iOS 6

          • Matt says:

            Thanks so much!

    • XxXIPHONE4XxX says:

      OMGGG thanks my iphone was dead and it couldnt be restored cuz i was jailbreaking it then it died the steps told me to do the jailbreak snowbreeze then restore my iphone but it wouldn get restored cuz of error 3194 THANKS

      • David says:

        Dude, you have no choice but to restore from apple official server.
        It happened to me as well. I restored my phone, it failed the first time and then it worked the second.
        Unfortunately it’s no longer jailbroken, but it’s something i have to live with i guess -_-

        • Shawn says:

          Lex, i’m guessing your using windows 7.
          i’m also guessing you’ve found the file called ‘hosts’ (with no file extention.

          Double click on that file, windows will ask you what program you want to open it with, choose notepad.

          it will open and there will be a few lines of text with # at the start, (I also have a heap of lines that spybot put there),
          at the end, add:

          74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

          save and exit.
          continue as the post says.

        • Massi says:

          Hi, I have update my iphone 4, to ios 5, I have tried to downgrade with itunes 10.2, and have changed the “host” with note and added the “#” , iphone in DFU, but I still get 3194 error!
          I need to downgrade because all my datas are backup in 4.3.3

          Thanks for your help

          Massi

        • Jeannie says:

          Thank you for all your wonderful, helpful information. I haven’t seen this one come up and it’s what I’m experiencing in this frustrating battle to restore my sons ipod. When I go into the notepad and then go to save the file here is the messagethat I get:

          C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hots.txt
          You don’t have permission to save in this location.
          Please contact the admionistrator to obtain permission.
          Would you like to save in MY Documents folder instead?

          I did save in My Documents, but it did not work when I tried to restore. I am the administrator on my computer. Any suggestions to this dilema?
          Thanks again,
          Jeannie

        • ed says:

          Lex. Its a no. Been trying to go into a run as an administrator option for windows 7 for a minute and this damn thing aint having it. Wont let me save in the directory either. Forced me to save in the my documents sections. What in the world am I doing wrong, why cant I run or save as an administrator when I am logged in as an administrator?!!! Crazy!

        • marilu says:

          omg i have found the hosts file went to notepad put everything in went to hit save and it is telling me i dont have access to save when i am the owner of the computer is there somewhere else i have to go to get to this hosts file wheres the administrative at i am lost i have windows 7 as well

        • marilu says:

          ok so i manage to go through everything saved it all did everything it says as soon as i was in recovery mode the same error came up error 3194 how can i get rid of this error need to kno asap Please someone respond

    • slammedbora says:

      iPad os 4.2.1 was hung on apple screen. Took several days but the following process worked out great for me.

      1. Add the following entries into your Windows hosts file:
      74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com
      74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com

      2. Download your ipsw file. (Mine was iPad 1 4.2.1)

      3. Go to Tinyumbrella and download their Fixrecovery file. (2 are provided 4.2.1 and 4.3 – use according to the OS you downloaded from IPSW step 2)

      4. Run the device in DFU mode and run the Fixrecovery.

      5. Open iTunes and place your device in restore mode (Hold Home buton and power together for abou 20 to 30 seconds)

      6. Hold Shift key and click on Restore. Search for your ipsw file you downloaded and sit back and wait till it finishes.

      Total time it took me for all these steps was under an hour.

      • Sameer says:

        great post. Solved my problem. Thanks a bunch and much appreciated.

      • JC says:

        Thanks to you I solved my problem too :)

      • abhi says:

        thanks a lot..

      • nick says:

        i downloaded the ios 4.3 and i saved it as IPSw, when i am trying to restore my ipad it still give me the error 3194, i am trying the steps listed above but when i open the host and i need to add the above files do i add the sign # ? and what do i save under cause i have been to ask to open it in a program which one do i choose? any help

      • apacho says:

        This didnt work for me coz I tried to jailbreak it and I think TinyUmbrella changed this file. Removing the host-file solved my problem than I was able to restore my Iphone4 at least after 5h of trying. No jailbreak for me anymore :)

      • gusano says:

        OMG ! Thanks so much these steps worked after a couple of times but then… AFTER trying for 2 days a bunch of steps

        Thank you sooo much !!

      • bp says:

        Make sure itunes is running while you run fixrecovery.

      • kadhim says:

        i dont have a hosts file. i go to windows/system32 blah blah blah but when i get to etc there is no hosts file!

      • Tore679 says:

        Thanks very much……it worked out for me..

      • Babur says:

        What if your OS is 4.1 ipod touch 4?

      • gilbert says:

        ..i dont know wht actually u cant get done..but there is one trick u shld know remove the ‘#’ before the 74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com or 74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com.

        i tried several times until it worked for me after removing it.
        hope it works for u too. gudluck

      • pestkr says:

        nice it works !

      • dan says:

        Works great. Make sure to follow instructions guys.

        • bogdan says:

          i have an iphone 4 with os 4.1 , i want to upgrade without changing baseband..i have make it with redsnow and when i try to restore with itunes gave me this error 3194 or 11..what should i do?10x

      • karlo says:

        Omg, i follow your instruction.
        First i said about my iphone. Hes jailbraked on 4.3.4 and i follow this instruction and i idiot install 2 fixrecovery file 4.2.1 and 4.3. And now what. i cant do nothing, coming again trying just boot and i get again pinaple and its loading but it shows me when i should get my screen, shows usb drive and picture of iphone. i tried to instal cidya again and nothing i am without any sullution.
        Please help me

      • Lex says:

        how do you add that code. do you add it to the host file name thats all i can edit in properties or do you add it to the file type?? if so how??? can someone help??

      • edwin says:

        Thank you so much! you saved my iphone!

      • keshan says:

        WOW! i punched in those sources, saved my host file and i worked! THANkS!!!

    • brad says:

      this may sound stupid but what do i open host file in? notepad?

    • mohamed nour says:

      it’s so simple … i tired to find a solutions !!!!
      the best solutios it’s simply download “ultrasurf” and reunistale itunes
      and turn it on then make that’s simple stips :
      1 – turn off your iphone
      2 – launch itunes
      3- keep holding on home bottom on your iphone and plugin the cable
      4- chose restore
      5- enjoy
      6 pray for chilrenes in syria
      thanks

Leave a Reply

 

Shop on Amazon.com and help support OSXDaily!

Subscribe to OSXDaily

Subscribe to RSS Subscribe to Twitter Feed Follow on Facebook Subscribe to eMail Updates

Tips & Tricks

News

iPhone / iPad

Mac

Troubleshooting

Shop on Amazon to help support this site