Fix for continuous boot loop after ios7 update
OK, here is how I managed to fix my bricked ipad - I warn you though, it takes approximately 10-20 hours to get it back depending on what level your battery is at. If it is like mine was it will take the better part of 2 days to get your ipad back.
After doing the update the ipad went into a continuous boot loop to the point where it wore the battery down to nothing. It wouldn't take a charge, or at least it's ability to charge was so diminished it was useless. ITunes could still see it in boot mode but kept dropping the connection when it would burn out the battery (thus limiting the ability to get through the recovery process). Also, once in recovery mode, the ipad itself would only stay in recovery mode for about 3-4 minutes at a time before going back to the boot loop. I played on a hunch that the ipad would take a charge while in recovery mode - which turned out to be true.
So, STEP 1 - get it into recovery mode and leave the power connected, you have to baby sit it for a whole day putting it back into recovery mode every time it tries to re-enter the boot loop - this way it's not burning out the battery and you can get the battery up to full pop
STEP 2 - make sure iTunes is fully updated to the most recent version otherwise your recovery/restore won't work
STEP 3 - after your battery is fully recharged and your iTunes is updated make sure all sync options are turned off - my goal was to get my ipad unbricked, not restore any content or save any data
STEP 4 - make sure your computer is HARDWIRED to your router/modem - do not use wireless to do this or you are introducing a variable that can corrupt the recovery process
STEP 5 - Make sure your ipad is in recovery mode and connect your ipad to iTunes and start the recovery process - don't try to backup or save any data - just wipe the sucker
STEP 6 - I don't know what it was downloading but it took more than 4 hours to download the appropriate software and go through all of the steps - just so you know, don't be surprised if your ipad goes into it's boot loop at some point during this process, iTunes will keep the connection with your ipad during this process even if it goes back into boot mode - don't try to get your ipad back into recovery mode, just leave it alone - you have enough battery life if it's full to get through the process
STEP 6 - Don't be alarmed - once this entire process finishes nothing happens in iTunes, it just finishes what it was doing and the ipad will probably still be stuck in boot mode - I got worried at this point and figured it wasn't working and disconnected it from iTunes and restarted it. I don't know if you have to restart your ipad or not at this point but this is what I did. Then I plugged it back into iTunes (not in recovery mode), iTunes saw it, then I hit the recovery button in iTunes again and it went through the next stage of the process downloading and installing firmware on the ipad, etc. This when I really knew it was working because now on the ipad there was a spinning circle, then the big apple with a progress bar underneath that was filling up! Very exciting!
STEP 7 - Leave it connected and let this complete and eventually you'll get the welcome screen for ios7 - welcome to what feels like your new ipad!
Good luck, I hope this works for you.
This was all done with no help from Apple. I tried their online chat support and was on with them for more than 3 hours and felt like I was talking to a computer for the first part of the chat and then was told to be patient - they are overloaded, ios7 seems like a big PITA for them I imagine. Anyway, I never got any help and went to bed. The above is my fix from reading the forums and taking bits and pieaces here and there and then not giving up.
Let me know if it works for you!
