Fix for iTunes Error Code 1013 on Apple iPhone, iPad, iPad 2, and iPod

If you are getting iTunes Error Code 1013 on Apple iTunes when attempting to update your iOS device, just follow the steps below to prevent this iTunes error.

You will usually get the iTunes Error Code 1013 message when you have previously used TinyUmbrella and similar 3rd party utilities.

After completing the steps outlined below, you should be able to update your Apple iPod, iPhone, iPad, or iPad 2, without getting the annoying iTunes Error Code 1013 problems.

How to Fix iTunes Error Code 1013

Steps For Mac OS X

1. Navigate to your “Applications” folder.
2. Open “Utilities” folder.
3. Launch “Terminal”.
4. Type “sudo nano /etc/hosts” (without the double quotes) and hit return.
5. Enter your password
6. Find the lines with “xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx gs.apple.com” entries, where “xxx” are numbers of an IP address.

   Delete the whole line including the numbers.

   There can be more than one. You have to find and remove all lines with “gs.apple.com” on them.

   Example content of hosts file before editing:
   # ...
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
127.0.0.1 localhost
74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
93.104.215.155 www.otafu.com
66.33.66.55 gs.apple.com

   After deleting the gs.apple.com lines in the example case above, the resulting hosts file will be:
   # ...
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
127.0.0.1 localhost
93.104.215.155 www.otafu.com

   Note: The contents of hosts file given above are purely for example purposes only. Your actual hosts file contents may vary and contain other entries. Do not simply copy the contents given in the examples above into your hosts file!

7. Press CONTROL+O to save the file.
8. Press CONTROL+X to exit from nano editor.
9. Reboot computer
10. Restore your device through iTunes.

Steps For Microsoft Windows Operating Systems

1. Hold down Windows key and press “R” key.

   The Windows key is the key with Windows Logo on it and normally found in between the left Ctrl and left Alt keys on your keyboard.

   If you do not have Windows key on your keyboard, press Ctrl+Alt+Del together and launch Windows Task Manager. Open “File” menu on Windows Task Manager and select “New Task(Run…).”

2. Type the command below on the Run/Open input box: (including the double quotation marks)

   
notepad "%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts"


   Note: If you are running on Windows Vista and above, you will need Administrator privileges to edit the hosts file. Either elevate the privileges appropriately or temporarily disable UAC. See “Turn User Account Control on or off” for instructions on how to do it.

3. Find the lines with “xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx gs.apple.com” entries, where “xxx” are numbers of an IP address.

   Delete the whole line, including the numbers.

   There can be more than one. You have to find and remove all lines with “gs.apple.com” on them.

   Example content of hosts file before editing:
   # ...
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
127.0.0.1 localhost
74.208.10.249 gs.apple.com
93.104.215.155 www.otafu.com
66.33.66.55 gs.apple.com

   After deleting the gs.apple.com lines in the example case above, the resulting hosts file will be:
   # ...
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
127.0.0.1 localhost
93.104.215.155 www.otafu.com

   Note: The contents of hosts file given above are purely for example purposes only. Your actual hosts file contents may vary and contain other entries. Do not simply copy the contents given in the examples above into your hosts file!

4. Go to File menu and Save.
5. Reboot computer.
6. Restore your device through iTunes.

Update: When saving host files, do not use any character encoding such as UTF-8 or Unicode. While the contents of an encoded hosts file appear perfectly fine to you, your operating system might silently refuse to read and use the file when it’s encoded. For example, Microsoft Windows XP is confirmed not to read hosts file encoded in Unicode or any character encoding other than ANSI.

If character encoding is asked/required by your text editor, always choose to save the hosts file using ANSI or the system default character encoding that your operating system internally supports.

It is also best to use plain text like nano (on MacOSX) and notepad (on Windows) that do not format or style text to prevent other problems.

Hope this helps!

If you’re still getting iTunes 1013 errors, please don’t hesitate to ask for additional help and assistance on our comment system.

For the related iTunes error 3194, please see How to Fix iTunes Error 3194 “An Unknown Error Occurred.”