"The iPhone "//////" cannot be synced. The device timed out."

Well, here's what I've come up with so far. I tried the contacts thing to no avail. It seemed that mine only synced just after a startup. I spoke with one of the Geniuses at the Apple Store in SoHo and he confirmed that when using USB 1, that the information is bottle necking and that it makes sense that it could work after a restart, because all of the memory is cleared.

Now, I set my iPhone to Auto Sync (in iTunes), plug it in to the line (omitting the dock), and then restart the eMac. So far success has been repeated several times.


...hope this helps

I'm sorry to hear the contact solution didn't work for you. Good luck with the hub--that didn't work for me.

I had this exact same problem, and making a change to my address book did not solve the problem. The answer that solved my problem was actually very simple, but it took me a while to figure it all out. Even though iPhoto was not actually syncing with my iPhone, it would launch or make the application active every time I plugged in my iPhone. This is what seemed to prohibit iTunes from being able to manage a successful sync process. All I did was go into the preferences in iPhoto and turn off launching the program when a camera is plugged in. Funny, iPhoto says nothing about the iPhone in this area, but it actually falls in the same category.... think about it, it is a camera and it recognizes all your iPhone images and makes ready for an import. Turning this feature off solved my problem.

I have tried the following:

(1) Disabling the opening of iPhoto.

(2) Deleting the iTunes playlist.

(3) An internally-powered USB 2.0 hub.

(4) An externally-powered USB 2.0 hub.

(5) Clicking the "Reset Warnings" option on the iPhone.

(6) Disabling automatic syncing.

(7) Changing an entry in my address book (both on the iPhone and on my Mac).

(8) Quitting and restarting iTunes.

(9) Restarting my computer (with the iPhone plugged in and without).

(10) Letting iTunes start up by plugging in my iPhone.

(11) Restoring the iPhone.

(12) Several combinations of the above.

Absolutely nothing has come even close to working even slightly. It syncs fine with my MacBook Pro; it cannot sync with my iMac. I haven't the slightest idea what to do.

Which iMac are you running?

I'm using the eMac with the 800mhz processor, 1gb ram and things are going ok with me. Like I said, when it won't sync (and I need it to) I restart the comp and it almost always syncs fine (if not, another restart will do the trick).

Just for the record:

iPhoto is not disabled and opens when the iPhone is plugged in
iTunes is set to auto sync
I do not use the dock (only because the phone won't fit in with the skin on it)
I don't need to change a contact for it to work
I can restart with the phone plugged in before I restart or plug it in after the comp is restarted

...I don't imagine so, but I hope this helps someone

When I just bought mine nobody mentioned needing USB 2. My eMac doesn't have it >and if it needed it, the phone should be provided with it. Or, just put out an >update and make the fix.

I'm a big Mac fan but there's just no excuse when stuff like this happens.

The system requirements, as clearly posted on the iPhone section of Apple's website, and in the online Apple store, clearly state.

* Mac computer with USB 2.0 port

* PC with USB 2.0 port

The system requirements, as posted in the bold type on the bottom of every iPhone box, clearly state,

* Mac or PC with USB 2.0

Do you buy software without reading the system requirements?

Do you buy other peripherals without reading system requirements?

So....who has "no excuse when stuff like this happens"?

Computers change. Port protocols and speeds change. You cannot make every device compatible with everything past, present, and future.

I have numerous Macs. Some meet the system requirements for the iPhone, some don't. I knew the score when I bought our (3) iPhones. I've been lucky in that, so far, my kids have had no issue syncing their iPhones to their eMac. If they did, I'd be resigned to the fact that it's certainly not Apple's fault. I'd have to move their iTunes accounts to one of my more recent, compatible machines.

As your G4 does not have USB 2 ports you will have to sync with your Macbook, or replace the G4 with a newer iMac. The iPhone was designed specifically for USB 2. The few who get it to work with USB 1.1 are just lucky.

That's what I was afraid of. 😟 Thanks.