It is not a software problem. It is a hardware short inside the phone that crashes the restore every time. Here is how to find it and fix it.
You put your iPhone into recovery mode, plug it into iTunes or 3uTools, and just when it looks like the restore is about to finish you get hit with error 4013. The phone goes right back into the boot loop and you are back to square one. Most people spend hours trying different cables, different computers, reinstalling iTunes. None of it works because none of that is the actual problem.
Error 4013 is not a software error. It is a hardware error that shows up as a software error because that is where you see it. What is actually happening is that one of the components inside the phone is causing a short circuit, and the phone keeps crashing before the restore can finish. The restore does not need to happen at all. The phone just needs the short to be fixed.
If your phone has other issues beyond the boot loop, like a cracked screen or bad battery, check our iPhone repair page to see everything we fix.
On these models the most common cause is the ear speaker assembly or the front camera flex cable. One of those components is pulling the phone down and causing it to crash every time it tries to boot. The phone is not actually stuck. It is just refusing to get past the boot sequence because something inside is telling it not to.
Here is what the fix looks like in practice. Open the phone and disconnect the ear speaker or the front camera flex. Then try to boot. In the majority of cases the phone comes right up the moment that connection is broken.
On an iPhone 12 specifically disconnecting the ear speaker is usually all it takes. The phone boots straight to the setup screen like nothing was ever wrong.
The ear speaker assembly on iPhone 8 through 13 sits at the top of the phone and contains the proximity sensor, the ambient light sensor, and the ear speaker itself all in one unit. If any part of that assembly is shorting, whether from liquid damage, a previous drop, or a repair that disturbed it, the phone will not boot. It will just loop.
Disconnecting it tells you right away if that is the cause. If the phone boots with it disconnected, replace the assembly and you are done.
Sometimes customers bring in a phone that just started doing this on its own with no prior repair. In that case the ear speaker or front camera flex may have failed from liquid damage or age. The troubleshooting is the same. Open it up, disconnect one component at a time, and see what lets the phone boot. You can learn more about our screen repair and battery replacement services if there are other issues to address at the same time.
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Opening an iPhone without the right tools and experience can turn a fixable problem into a much bigger one. If you want it done right bring it to us.
At iMobile Repair Center in Detroit we deal with error 4013 and boot loops regularly. We will open the phone, find the component causing the short, and get it booting again. Most of the time same day. Check our iPhone repair page to see everything else we take care of.
If the phone is too far gone or the repair does not make financial sense, we also buy iPhones for cash on the spot. Broken, stuck in a boot loop, not turning on at all, we will make you an offer.
Walk in to 20503 Dequindre St Detroit, MI 48234. No appointment needed. Call or text (313) 900-1032.
Bring it in. We fix error 4013 same day at 20503 Dequindre St, Detroit.
Or call (313) 900-1032