What is iPhone error 3194
If you are one of those users failing to update or restore your IOS device due to a 3194 error, then follow this guide to fix it. The error appears when trying to install new updates or restore an iPhone device through Mac or iTunes on Windows. It says your Mac or iTunes cannot communicate with Apple’s software update servers. Apparently, these servers are responsible for running the proper execution of IOS updates or restorations. The same problem was also reported as being related to other errors like Error 17, Error 1639, Errors 3000-3020, Error 3194, Errors 3100-3999, or “This device isn’t eligible for the requested build”. As a rule, the reason for their occurrence lies in outdated software or internet issues on a computer itself. Below, we will elaborate on each of these and other reasons that could lead to 3194 and broader errors.
Download repair tool
Sometimes resolving the errors is out of our control and possibilities. This is where third-party tools can make a great impact on aiding the users. If you are facing error 10 or others, but fail to benefit from any of the manual steps, try using Tenorshare ReiBoot – a great recovery tool designed for resolving errors like that. Get to know how one can use it to address the errors and restore a device successfully:
- Download and install ReiBoot for either Mac or Windows.
- Once done, open the app and plug your device into the computer.
- The program should recognize your device and offer a couple of options.
- Choose Standard if you simply want to update your device or Deep repair if you want to fully restore it.
- Then, download the firmware found by the app for your smartphone by clicking Download.
- Once the process is finished, click Repair now to start resolving the problems.
- Wait until the app finishes its repair and restores your device. It will take about 15 minutes to end.
Standard is meant to search for basic issues and bugs to address them without wiping out your data.
Deep repair will reset your device to factory settings and delete the entire data stored on it.
1. Ensure your iTunes and macOS are up-to-date
Your macOS or iTunes on Windows may fail to establish communication with Apple servers due to some bug or internal issue. We recommend you to check either of them for available updates and install if any are found. You can do it this way:
To install updates for macOS:
- Go to Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen and choose System Preferences.
- Then, click Software update and choose Update Now to install the latest update available for your current version.
- If you don’t see this button, this means your system is already up-to-date.
Usually, other apps like iTunes get updated along with installing the latest macOS version. Even so, it is still worth checking yourself.
To install updates for iTunes:
- Open App Store from the dock on your screen.
- Move to Updates on top of the window or left pane and search for iTunes from the list.
- If there are any updates available, you will be able to click on Install to get them.
If you are using a Windows PC, do the similar steps but in Microsoft Store where iTunes was downloaded from.
2. Disable TCP/IP filtering, firewall, or security software
This method is officially suggested by Apple themselves. Since error 3194 is related to Internet problems, it is worth checking that no third-party security software blocks access to it. Some anti-malware programs may lead to certain incompatibilities preventing communication between official Apple services in some cases. Thus, let’s check it by doing the following:
- Try to disable your third-party antivirus or other security software.
- Restart the router plus computer and reconnect to your wireless network again.
- If you are using a wireless Internet connection, try to connect an Ethernet cable directly to your computer. This should also help you resolve the problem.
- You can also find another network and try to use it instead.
If this does not help or there is simply no third-party software you can disable, maybe the problem is with your Internet connection.
3. Configure your hosts file
Be it Mac or Windows, host files are meant to store information helping to link proper connection with servers. If some entry becomes modified against its default values, this can be the reason for problems with server connections. To check whether it is your case or not, do the following:
for Windows users:
Instructions for Windows may vary depending on which version is currently installed. This is why we recommend you visit this page and choose instructions dedicated to your Windows OS.
for Mac users:
sudo nano /private/etc/hosts. Press Return.gs.apple.com using arrow keys on your keyboard.Note! If there is no entry named
gs.apple.cominside of the window, this means the “hosts” file has nothing to do with the error. Simply ignore this method and skip further to others below.
# symbol and a space (“# “) to the beginning of the gs.apple.com entry.Once all of these steps are done, attempt to update or restore your iOS device again. We hope it helps.
4. Use another Mac or PC
The last thing you can probably try is using another PC or Mac to update or restore your device. If you do not have anything spare to use, ask your friend to borrow his laptop so you could give it another try. Since error 3194 is often related to problems with an Internet connection, but not iPhone itself, switching to another computer might resolve the issue potentially. Try it and let us know how it went in the comments below.
Summary
Usually, errors like 3194 are easily-fixed after changing or resetting your network. We hope you finally managed to retrieve new updates or restore your IOs device back to its default configuration without seeing various errors. If there is anything else you are willing to solve, give it a search on our website to capitalize on fast and effective solutions.
