The Complete Guide to Fixing ‘Restoring iPhone from Backup Estimating Time Remaining’

Jason

By Jason

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Restoring iPhone from Backup Estimating Time Remaining

Have you ever tried restoring your iPhone from a backup, only to get stuck at the “Estimating Time Remaining” screen? This frustrating error seems to freeze the restoration process indefinitely.

Don’t worry – you’re not alone. Many iPhone users have encountered this issue before. The good news is there are several effective solutions you can try to successfully restore your iPhone from a backup.

By the end, you’ll have the knowledge to troubleshoot and resolve the Estimating Time Remaining error when restoring your iPhone from a backup. Let’s get started!

What Does “Estimating Time Remaining” Mean?

The “Estimating Time Remaining” message appears when you are trying to restore your iPhone from an iCloud or iTunes backup.

During the restoration process, iOS needs to download your backup data, unpack it, and rewrite it to your iPhone’s storage.

The “Estimating Time Remaining” screen is meant to display a progress bar showing how long this process will take. However, sometimes this gets stuck due to issues interrupting the restoration.

When this message doesn’t go away and no progress bar is shown, your iPhone is essentially frozen. The restoration process cannot finish until the underlying problem is fixed.

Key Reasons for the “Estimating Time Remaining” Error

There are a few common culprits for the Estimating Time Remaining bug when restoring an iPhone backup:

1. Slow or Unstable Internet Connection

Restoring from a backup requires downloading data from iCloud or iTunes. A slow, unstable or intermittent internet connection can lead to errors or timeout issues.

This is especially true if you have a large backup (multiple GBs). It may take hours to complete on a slow connection. WiFi problems are a common cause.

2. Not Enough Storage Space on Your iPhone

Your iPhone needs enough free storage space to download the backup and unpack it during restoration.

For example, iOS 16 requires at least 1.5GB of available storage. If your iPhone is low on space, it may get stuck.

3. Outdated or Buggy iOS Version

Sometimes the Estimating Time Remaining bug is actually an iOS software bug. Apple usually fixes these in later iOS updates.

So if you’re trying to restore onto an older or buggy iOS version, you may encounter issues.

4. Corrupted Backup File

In rare cases, the backup file itself is corrupted or damaged in some way. This prevents a successful restoration since the data is compromised.

Deleting the backup and making a fresh one can resolve this issue.

5. Restoration Process Interrupted

Any interruption of the restoration process – a computer crash, power outage, cable disconnection etc. – can lead to errors.

Unexpectedly unplugging your iPhone before restoration completes often causes the Estimating Time Remaining bug.

Now that you know what’s behind this error, let’s go through the step-by-step solutions to fix it.

7 Solutions to Fix “Estimating Time Remaining” Error

Solution 1: Delete the iOS Update and Reinstall

If your iPhone is stuck while downloading the iOS update during restoration, try deleting the update file and reinstalling it:

Delete the Update and Reinstall It
  1. On your iPhone’s Home screen, tap Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
  2. Find the iOS update file (with the iOS version number). Tap on it.
  3. Tap “Delete Update” to remove it.
  4. Go back to Settings > General > Software Update and download the update again.

Deleting the corrupted or incomplete download forces it to freshly re-download, often fixing the issue.

Solution 2: Force Restart Your iPhone

If your iPhone is frozen on the Estimating Time Remaining screen, force restart it:

  • On Face ID iPhones X or later – Press and release Volume Up button. Press and release Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold Side button until you see the Apple logo.
  • On Touch ID iPhones 8 or earlier – Press and hold both the Home and Side buttons together until you see the Apple logo.

This hard resets your iPhone, interrupting the restoration process. When your iPhone reboots, you can try restoring again. Force restarting can jolt it out of being stuck.

Solution 3: Update Your iPhone to the Latest iOS Version

As mentioned before, the Estimating Time Remaining bug is sometimes caused by an iOS software bug.

Updating your iPhone to the latest iOS version (16.1 at time of writing) can fix underlying software issues:

  1. Tap Settings > General > Software Update and install any available updates.
  2. If your iPhone is still on an old iOS version, updating to the latest version will install newer bug fixes and improvements.
  3. After updating iOS, try restoring from your backup again.

Solution 4: Turn Off Find My iPhone Temporarily

Find My iPhone being enabled can sometimes interfere with the iPhone restoration process.

Temporarily turning it off may allow the restore to complete:

  1. Go to Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My iPhone.
  2. Toggle OFF Find My iPhone.
  3. Try restoring from the backup again now.
  4. Once finished, you can turn Find My iPhone back on.

Solution 5: Connect iPhone to a Different WiFi or Computer

If you are restoring your iPhone using WiFi, switch to a different WiFi connection and test if the restore succeeds:

  • Connect your iPhone to another WiFi router in your house, office, or a mobile hotspot.
  • The issue may be related to your current WiFi network congestion or firewall settings.
  • A new WiFi connection will rule out any network-related causes.

Similarly, if restoring using a computer, try connecting your iPhone to a different computer:

  • Connect your iPhone to another computer using a different USB-to-Lightning cable.
  • Attempt the restore from backup on the new computer.
  • This should isolate whether the issue is being caused by your computer or cable.

Solution 6: Erase Your iPhone and Set Up as New

As a last resort, you can perform a clean install of iOS by erasing your iPhone and setting it up as new:

  1. Backup your iPhone data to iCloud or iTunes so you have a copy.
  2. On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. This will erase your device and install a clean version of iOS.
  3. Setup your iPhone again from scratch without using your backup. Download apps individually and sync data back from iCloud.

This completely resets your iPhone to factory conditions, eliminating any software bugs corrupting the backup restoration process.

Solution 7: Use ReiBoot iOS System Repair to Fix It

Mentioned below is a professional method to fix Restoring iPhone from Backup Estimating Time Remaining. If you are troubled by this error, just go ahead and learn this professional method. That will save you plenty of time and effort.

In fact, restoring iPhone from a backup and estimating the time remaining is not a new error. It’s among the most frequently asked issues on the official forum of Apple following the release of their upgrades.

We recommend that you attempt the previous three options to resolve the respective issue. However, if those options do not help, we have another remedy that is 100 percent effective.

You may use the tool called ReiBoot iOS Systems Repair Tool to repair your iOS device. It’s a professional system repair application for iOS.

Also, it’s been particularly created to deal with a broad range of iOS issues, including but not limited to. ReiBoot System Repair can assist you in resolving any issues you are experiencing with your iPhone or iPad.

No matter if they are in recovery mode or experiencing a white screen problem. To put it another way, ReiBoot is a fully-featured solution for resolving a wide range of errors.

Here are a few of the important characteristics that distinguish ReiBoot as a dependable iOS repair tool:

  • Enter or exit the recovery mode of the device using a single-click operation.
  • It is capable of fixing more than 150 errors, including frozen or black screens.
  • It allows you to bypass iTunes issues with no data loss.

Steps on How to Fix Restoring iPhone from Backup Estimating Time Remaining

  • Install & launch the program on your computer, and then press the “Start” option to begin the process. Connect the iPhone to the same computer.
Tenorshare ReiBoot
  • Select “Standard Repair” and wait for the program to detect your device on its own.
ReiBoot - Standard Repair
  • Once the device is recognized, the firmware package should be downloaded. Select the destination folder by clicking “Browse” and then tapping on “Download.”
ReiBoot - Download Firmware
  • Just wait for a while so the firmware package will be downloaded in its entirety before continuing. To begin the repair, select “Start Standard Repair” from the drop-down menu on the next screen.
ReiBoot - Start Repair
  • The program will immediately begin fixing the iOS systems. Then, it will show a message after the repair procedure has been successfully completed.
Fix restoring iphone from backup estimating time remaining Using ReiBoot
  • That’s all there is to it. Your device will continue to function normally. After that, you can install the latest iOS version without difficulty.

Tips to Prevent “Estimating Time Remaining” Error

Here are some tips to avoid the Estimating Time Remaining error when restoring your iPhone from a backup:

  • Update to the latest iOS version – Install iOS updates promptly to get bug fixes.
  • Backup regularly – Create regular iCloud and iTunes backups so they are up-to-date.
  • Delete old backups – Remove backups you no longer need to save storage space.
  • Free up iPhone storage – Offload unused apps and media to maintain adequate free space on your iPhone.
  • Use a stable internet connection – For large backups, use an Ethernet connection instead of WiFi which may be slower or intermittent.
  • Don’t interrupt the restore process – Don’t disconnect your iPhone or computer during restoration.
  • Use a healthy Lightning cable – Damaged iPhone cables can disruptrestores. Replace old cables.

FAQs About iPhone Backup and Restoration

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about backing up and restoring your iPhone:

Why is my iPhone restoration taking so long?

Restoration can take hours if you have a large backup or slow internet connection. Also, older iPhones have slower processors which lengthens the restoration.

Can I use my iPhone while it is restoring from a backup?

No, you should not use your iPhone while it is restoring as this can disrupt the process and cause errors. Just leave it alone until the restoration has finished.

What happens if my iPhone restoration fails or gets stuck?

First, force restart your iPhone and try restoring again. If that doesn’t work, update your iOS version or try a different WiFi/computer. Erase your iPhone as a last resort.

How often should I backup my iPhone?

You should backup your iPhone regularly – ideally every day or every few days. That way you always have a recent backup if you need to restore your data.

Can I speed up iPhone restoration from a backup?

Use a fast internet connection, close other apps, and disable Find My iPhone to speed up restoration. Newer iPhone models also restore quicker than older ones.

Key Takeaways

  • The “Estimating Time Remaining” error occurs when restoring iPhone from a backup gets stuck at the estimation screen.
  • Slow internet, insufficient storage, iOS bugs, corrupted backup or interrupted restoration can cause this issue.
  • Fixes include deleting and reinstalling the iOS update, force restarting your iPhone, updating iOS, using different WiFi/computer, or erasing iPhone.
  • Prevent this error by regular backups, freeing iPhone storage, using stable internet, installing iOS updates promptly and not interrupting the restoration process.
  • Restoring from backup can take time depending on your internet speed and iPhone model. Don’t use your device during restoration.
  • If you run into this issue, don’t panic. Just work through the potential solutions until you successfully restore your iPhone from the backup.

Restoring your iPhone from a backup is a safe way to set up a new or replacement iPhone while keeping your data intact. With the fixes in this guide, you can troubleshoot and overcome the frustrating Estimating Time Remaining error.

Jason
Jason

Skilled software testing specialist with expertise in comparisons and research, passionate about blogging, reviews, and creating video tutorials.

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