Q: Service "Apple Mobile Device Service"  failed to start.  ***?

For general advice see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.

The steps in the second box are a guide to removing everything related to iTunes and then rebuilding it which is often a good starting point unless the symptoms indicate a more specific approach. Review the other boxes and the list of support documents further down the page in case one of them applies.

Your library should be unaffected by these steps but there is backup and recovery advice elsewhere in the user tip.

If the advice above doesn't resolve things you could try this alternate version:

• iTunes 12.1.0.71 for Windows (64-bit - for older video cards) - itunes64setup.exe (2015-01-28)

which is a 64-bit installer for the 32-bit version of the core application, similar to previous 64-bit releases.

Or roll back to the previous build:

• iTunes 12.0.1.26 for Windows (32-bit) - iTunesSetup.exe (2014-10-16)
• iTunes 12.0.1.26 for Windows (64-bit) - iTunes64Setup.exe (2014-10-16)

tt2

I am have been getting the same error message as millenniumman. It started when Apple Software Update started installing the most recent ITunes for Windows.  I tried stopping and restarting the Apple Device Mobile Service multiple times with no luck.  I also ran Windows Update twice because another Apple help page said that I must have all the Windows updates so I made sure that I was current.  I also followed the advise on another Apple help page that suggested using Apple Update to "download only" and install manually.

I then followed Turingtest's detailed instructions on removing all ITunes programs and reinstalling.  It did not work the first time, so the second time I deleted every Apple program including Airport and Safari.  I was still getting the error message about not being able to start the service, but at least this time it would allow me to ignore it and continue installing, but in the end I get an error message 7, ITunesHelper did not install properly.  I tried it again using Turingtest's link for ITunes 12.0.1.26, but no luck.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

You must strip everything out cleanly before attempting to install an older build. If that won't go through turn off AV, run the installer as the Administrator, or try the technique in Install missing components.

tt2

I am having the same problem as everyone else. Does Itunes support know about this issue and what can be done about it? I have tried everything that was suggested and I am still getting the Microsoft error message of the Apple Mobile Device. I have an Ipod Classic and it really doesn't makes sense for me to upgrade to a newer model, when it's a 120G device, and I have plenty of space left. Is Itunes 12.1 not compatible with the Ipod Classic or do I have to downgrade back to Itunes 11?    

You're welcome.

tt2

chopp3160 wrote:

 

I am having the same problem as everyone else. Does Itunes support know about this issue and what can be done about it? I have tried everything that was suggested and I am still getting the Microsoft error message of the Apple Mobile Device. I have an Ipod Classic and it really doesn't makes sense for me to upgrade to a newer model, when it's a 120G device, and I have plenty of space left. Is Itunes 12.1 not compatible with the Ipod Classic or do I have to downgrade back to Itunes 11?   

iTunes should work fine with your classic. There is a problem with your installation. A full tear down and then install of the current or recent build should fix things.

tt2

After many hours and many complete uninstalls and re-installs, ITunes is still not loading properly.

I have done multiple Windows Updates to ensure that everything is up to date.

As recommended under another Apple discussion thread, I have run "sfc /scannow" and then installed and run in safe mode a malware program.

I have uninstalled every Apple program from my computer and any associated program files as detailed in turingtest2's notes.

I have run Microsoft's "fixit" program to ensure that there are no issues.

I have tried installing an older version of ITunes.

My user already has administrative privileges, but I have also right-clicked the installer program and "run as administrator"

To try something different, I uninstalled ITunes only, re-booted, launched Apple Software Update, chose "download only" and then tried to install manually.

Here is what happens:

Install runs normally to a point and then I get an error message "Service 'Apple Mobile Device Service' (Apple Mobile Device Service) failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services." and I given the choices "Abort" "Retry" "Ignore"  I have tried multiple things at this point multiple times. I have opened Services and started the service manually; Abort ends the install and it rolls back; Retry returns with the same error message; originally Ignore would bring up the same error message,but later attempts choosing Ignore continues the install and I would get the message "Congratulations. ITunes has been successfully installed on your computer." I left the box checked next to "Open ITunes after the installer exits" and clicked "Finish.'  When it tries to launch ITunes, I get two dialog boxes. The one in front says "ITunesHelper was not installed correctly. Please reinstall ITunes. Error 7"  I click OK to close the box and behind it is a dialog box stating "ITunes was not installed correctly. Please reinstall ITunes. error 7 (Windows error 193)"

Amy ideas?

Have you tried the steps in Install missing components?

Have you looked at HT203188: How to restart the Apple Mobile Device Service (AMDS) on Windows?

tt2

I tried installing missing components, it was similar to using apple Software Update's "download only" option and doing a manual install.  I didn't do it from a clean install, so I am in the process of uninstalling everything again and will try again.  My question is in what order should I install the individual components?

I tried starting the AMDS manually, or stopping it and restarting it, or simply stoppling it, no change.  As I do this current uninstall, it appears that the AMDS never installed last time.

I plan to next try a complete clean install of the individual components opened with 7-zip, but would like some advice on the install order.  I really do appreciate all your help with this.

As given, alphabetical order should be OK, and has worked for me when I've tested it, although I suppose strictly it should be the reverse of the order given in Remove and reinstall iTunes and related software components so Bonjour should go in before AMDS.

tt2

OK, after spending hours on this over the past week (and most of yesterday while snowed in), I have been typing out details notes of every step of what I did so it would be clear what worked and what didn't. After trying one more thing and one more thing, etc. before posting it, I finally was able to successfully load and run ITunes.  Rather than get in to what didn't work; what worked was a complete uninstall followed by an install of the version that is for "older video cards"  12.1.0.71x64 (not 6464)

This version still has some annoyances, like when my taskbar won't come out of "autohide" when ITunes is on top. Thankfully, my biggest frustrations with the last versions i had are gone; In that last versions I had installed (which could in fact be updates) if I wanted to find "Mother's Little Helper" by the Rolling Stones and I typed "mother stone" in the search box it would say no results found because it did not look at multiple fields.  When I altered the search to "mother helper," it would find the song but would not let me select it for playing or for adding to a playlist; instead I would have to scroll through my music and right-click it once found.

Bottom line for me is that my Itunes is back so I can sync my devices and back up my data; to Apple's lament, the past week of no ITunes has forced me to find non-Apple alternatives.  For me, what started many years ago as a download of free software grew in to my entire music/information/news/email/contact/calendar being stored on many expensive devices that all connect through one "free" piece of software.  As a techie friend said to me when I made a conversion to a new technology because it was free, "Your first hit of heroin is free too."  Is this a step towards making us all pay for the ITunes fix that so many of us are completely dependent?

Many, many thanks to those that have helped, especially tt2; I would have thought that Apple's people would have more of a recognizable presence here.

Glad to hear you got there.

I find I prefer the old "filter my library/playlist" approach to search rather than the new "make a pop-up overlay with a limited selection of results that are then difficult to do something with" version. Click the magnifying glass in the search box and untick Search entire library for the older search behaviour.

tt2