iPhone 13 not working anymore after reset/update on computer.

A couple days ago my iPhone 13 Pro Max stopped letting me use my cellular data. It kept saying I needed to updated to IOS 27 to be able to restore it. In the process of doing so, I've had to reset my phone because it wouldn't allow me to update it normally on my phone so I had to use my Mac. After it has successfully updated, I tried to sync my backup again and now my iPhone is stuck on the activation screen. It keeps saying "Unable to Activate, an update is required" and only giving me the option to shutdown my phone. I can't even connect it to my laptop anymore because it isn't registering it. No idea how to proceed from here and have spent hours trying to figure out a solution. Any advice would be appreciated.

Posted on Oct 20, 2026 10:28 PM

2 replies

Matti Haveri

Level 7 (22,314 points)

Oct 20, 2026 11:20 PM in response to edward702

Reset to factory settings and see if it then works. If not, contact your mobile operator.

edward702 Author

Level 1 (4 points)

Oct 20, 2026 11:29 PM in response to Matti Haveri

I think I got it to work, it finally recognized my phone on the Mac and its apparently restoring my old data. Thank you for the response.