Restore Error (3014) ipad 2 w/mavericks

Question

I originally loaded my ipad 2 with music and apps from a windows machine but that machine died.  I have a work Macbook pro that has Mavericks on it and I was trying to just restore and update my ipad to the latest software using the work mac but I keep getting "error 3014".  So I go to the apple support site and try all 6 steps listed, check my router, use terminal to check my hosts (there was no gs.apple.com tag), and was going to install a clean version of iTunes on the computer but I can't delete it because it is a part of the OS.  My iPad is currently stuck in recovery mode bricked.......what should I do next? Try another computer, or do a hard delete of iTunes using "rm" command?
Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Dear Austel91
I had the same problem, and took the following steps to resolve the issue:
1) get your iPad out of recovery mode using RecBoot 2.2:
http://jaxov.com/2011/02/download-recboot-2-2-compatible-with-mac-10-5/
2) find a different network to update your iPad. For me, I discovered that Zen Internet, my ISP, uses OpenDNS, which was blocking gs.apple.com. So, I "forgot" my Zen internet connection on the iPad, set up the Personal Hotspot on the iPhone, checked that the iPad was connected to the Personal Hotspot, and then ran the Software Update from iPad->Settings->General->Software Update. I waited for the iPad to work away and reboot a couple of times, but the update went through. Then I disconnected the iPad from the Personal Hotspot, re-entered the password for the Zen Internet network and all went back to normal.
It appears that iTunes error 3014 means that gs.apple.com has been blocked on ports 80 and 443, but I am unable to prove this. It does seem worthwhile checking what sort of filtering/content restrictions are applied by your ISP. Also, it is very important that the iPad should pick up the network you want it to, by forgetting all but the one network which you want to connect to.
Hope this helps.
JT