When you suddenly see the phrase “error 3194” while restoring or updating your apple equipment while it’s connected to your PC or Mac computer, you may think you’ve been transported into a science fiction movie, and that a cyborg warrior will soon burst through your door, armed with a laser gun built into his arm and proposing that you accept assimilation into his collective.
But you actually don’t need to be so daunted by the incomprehensible poetic mystery of “error 3194.” It’s an issue that can be fixed with a minimal amount of troubleshooting.
Error 3194 could be caused by a poor quality internet connection, invalid or illegal programs on your computer or devices, overly sensitive security software, and a number of other things under the sun.
Because of the variety of causes, you may have to test the waters of a few different solutions in order to discover how to deal with the Error 31984 message that’s showing up cramping your style.
If you feel that you might actually be experiencing an error specifically because of iTunes 17, click here.
Here are a few solutions regarding how to fix iTunes Error 3194.
Solution One: Force Quit and Restart
The first solution you might want to explore is to force quit iTunes, close all programs, shut down and restart your computer.
- Right click on the iTunes icon, and then select Force iTunes.
- Click on the Apple menu at the top right corner and then select Restart.
- Restart your computer, launch iTunes again, and re-attempt your update
Solution Two: Update iTunes
Do you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your computer? If not, your antiquated software needs to get with the times, because it may be creating trouble and holding up your entire updating process. Try out updating your iTunes first, and then resume restoring or updating your device.
Solution Three: Check out what’s going on in the “hosts’ file
If you are on a Mac, follow the following instructions to try out this solution.
- Open the Finder and select Applications.
- Select Utilities.
- Open the Terminal.
- Next, you need to type the following command: sudo nano /private/etc/hosts
- Once you’ve typed in those magic words, press return.
- Enter the password which you use to sign into your computer.
- Press return again.
- The “Hosts” file will be displayed in Terminal.
- Navigate with the arrow keys and check for an entry containing “gs.apple.com.”
- Add the # symbol and space (“# “) at the starting of the gs.apple.com entry.
- Press Control-O to save the file.
- Press Return when prompted for the filename.
- Press Control-X to exit the editor.
- Restart your Mac and try again to restore or update your device.
Please note regarding step eight: If you don’t see a window similar to the one pictured [picture needed], you need to make sure that you are utilizing a nonblank administrator password.
Please note regarding step nine: If you don’t find any entry with the words gs.apple.com, then the error 3194 issue is not related to the host file, so you can explore a different solution.
If you are on Windows PC
- Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
- Type run and tap the Run icon.
- Now, type %WinDir%\System32\Drivers\Etc in the Open box.
- Tap or click OK.
- The etc folder will open. Double click on the Hosts file to edit it.
- If you find any entries labeled “gs.apple.com”, then remove them and save the Hosts file.
- Restart your computer, and reattempt to restore or update your device.
Please note regarding steps one and two: if you are using a mouse, just point it to the upper right hand corner of the screen and move the pointer down, which will allow you to click Search. Then you can follow the steps outlined above (typing run and clicking the run icon).
Solution Four: Disable TCP/IP filtering, firewall, or security software
If you’re still encountering the error 3194 message, and you cannot find an entry in the hosts file labeled “gs.apple.com,” you may need to disable your firewall or anti-virus software, since it could be interfering with the updating and restoration of your device, like a well meaning security guard that won’t let a recognizable celebrity up into this club.
The security measures you have on your computer might be the culprit preventing iTunes from connecting to Apple’s servers in order to update and/or restore your device, so try any of the following to see if that helps:
-
Temporarily uninstall your security software. If you’re unsure of how to do that, can contact your internet service provider for more help with this process.
-
Try bypassing your Internet router, because it may be blocking iTunes from accessing the update server at Apple.
-
Disconnect from your router, and try using an Ethernet cable to link directly to your modem; then restart your modem and your computer.
Solution Five: Restore or Upgrade Your Device from another Computer
If you continue to face this error 3194 message while working on your computer, utilize the logic of the phrase “if you can’t beat them, join them,” and use another computer to upgrade or restore your Apple device (actually, that phrase doesn’t fit so well here, but you get the point). You could also try using a different Wi-Fi network, which gives you a good excuse to head down to the coffee shop.
Conclusion
I hope these different options for potential solutions regarding how to solve the problem posed by the error 3194 message have been helpful. Please leave your thoughts, comments, and other suggestions about how to resolve this issue below. Also feel free to check out the following additional resources:
