Airplane mode worked for me.
iTunes has been stuck on the ''Verifying iPad restore with Apple...'' for 20 mins now.
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What should I do?
Have a beer and watch the latest south park.
(then try again)
Instead of check for update, hit restore. When asked to make backups, make backups.
Wipe iPhone, reinstall firmware, iOS5 goes on, and your backups restored. Turn on phone, iOS5