IOS – Recovering data from a phone stuck in restore mode

I have restored plenty of iOS 5 backups onto iOS 6 devices so the problem here is almost certainly that the backup is now (and may have been all along) corrupt.

Before throwing that backup away and restoring the iTunes files from a backup of the computer where it was stored (hopefully you have that), you could try restoring the backup onto another device such as a borrowed iPad or iPod touch (or iPhone) to be sure it's not the phone you are restoring the backup to.

The article iTunes: About iOS backups will help you locate where your computer stored this backup set as well as general info to support the idea that you can back up an older OS onto a newer OS (but not the other way around).

I'm not really sure if we are in the same boat. I had been stuck in DFU mode after restoring my iPad to iOS 6.1 without activating it. I have tried using iTunes in restoring the firmware but it was stuck on the iTunes and usb logo just like you. What I did was to use redsn0w to restore my iPad. You can use it without jailbreaking your phone. Hope this helps.