How To Fix iTunes Error 1601 or 1602 When Restoring An iPhone / iPod

When you attempt to restore an iPhone or iPod using itunes, you may experience error 1601 or error 1602. This can occur when the installtion of itunes and the Apple Mobile Device support are corrupt. Itunes incorporates the Apple Mobile Device support when you install it. Itunes is essential for the operation of an iPod/iPhone, it allows the transfer of data to and from a PC or Mac, and also charges it.

What Causes The 1601/1602 Errors in iTunes?

When attempting to restore your iPod/iPhone, you may receive one or both of the following error messages:

The iPhone could not be restored. An unknown error occurred. (Followed by 1601 or 1602)

The iPod “[username]” could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (1602)

The device is not then restored. This error is common when the installation of iTunes is corrupt, the protocol it attempts to follow is not fully operational and so cannot complete the task. The simple solution to this would be to completely remove iTunes and install the latest version. It may also be a problem in the registry. You can use a “Registry Cleaner” to eradicate any broken or damaged entries in the registry.

How to Fix iTunes Errors 1601/1602

Step 1 – Reinstall iTunes and Apple Mobile Devices Support

Completely removing these programs and reinstalling them will remove any corrupt instances of this application that may be hindering the use of the software. To remove it completely (on a Windows PC):

1. Click Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs
2. Locate “Apple iTunes” and “Apple mobile devices support”
3. Remove both these entries
4. Locate the directory where these were installed (ie. C:\Program Files\Apple\iTunes) and remove all traces of them from there
5. Use a registry cleaner to remove any lingering registry values
6. Download the latest version of iTunes and install it

You can find the latest version of iTunes from: http://www.apple.com/itunes/

This will remove any corrupt files and will provide the latest version of iTunes, which adds extra compatibility with various other devices. This means that it is not likely to reproduce this error.

Step 2 – Clean Out The Registry

• Download this registry cleaner

The ‘registry’ is a very important part of the Windows operating system, and is frequently used to help your computer run as smoothly and effectively as possible. Unfortunately, the registry is also the cause of a lot of errors inside Windows, as it ‘s constantly being opened and read 100’s of times a day by all your software tools. This is a big problem, as it means that your computer gets confused about the files it requires to run, leading it to run slower and save many of its registry files in the wrong way. Not only does this make your PC extremely ineffective, but it also causes a lot of the errors that continually appear, such as the 1601 / 1602 error. To ensure your PC does not cause these errors again, it’s recommended you use a ‘registry cleaner’ like the tool below: