Level 1

8 points

An iPhone has been detected, but it could not be identified properly

HI everyone.
Plugged my phone in when i got home yesterday and got really excited as it said i could update and text to multiple recipients (you folks at Apple got peed off at New Year's like the rest of us! Yea).

So accepted and also the ITunes update, went had tea, came back to a "unable to restore your phone" error which was odd. Checked the phone which appeared to have updated, but then when I plugged it back in ITunes kept coming up with the "AN iPhone has been detecetd, but it could not be identified properly. Please disconnect and reconnect the iPhone, then try again" message.
Tried that - didn't work

Tried disconnecting everything, rebooting, reconnecting - same message

Stopped and started the Apple mobile service - same error

uninstalled apple mobile and update services and itunes, disconnected phone, rebooted, reinstalled, reconnected - same error

Tried the poweroff, reboot to restore function, the phone got to a point (emergency connection only) and same error in itunes

Tried deleting the sync history - same error
tried the powe-off one more time - same error and now no working phone!

Gave up took phone back to the shop who have sent it off. They were graet gave me another one with my SIM card in it to try, got home and yep same error on itunes.

Have just uninstalled it again. Before I do anything else, what do i do next to get itunes to recognise an iphone? Help I'm going bonkers!

iPhone, Windows XP

Posted on Jan 17, 2008 5:46 AM

38 replies

Feb 17, 2008 4:40 PM in response to Dawn Roberts

An iPhone has been detected, but it could not be identified properly.

Thanks, had the same problem removed all of the USB connections except mouse then plugged in my iPhone USB connector and iTunes found my iPhone again. Afterwards I replugged USB connections one by one and found the culprit my USB keyboard.

This all happened after I install a Windows Update that updated my Video Card ATI. Hmmm... thats when all the problems came. Glad to see you guys teaming up and trying to help the rest of us.

GenghisX

Level 1

0 points

Mar 5, 2008 6:57 PM in response to Dawn Roberts

I just ran into this problem and fixed it fairly quickly.

I'm running XP Media Center Edition, iTunes 7.6.1, and my iPhone firmware is 1.1.4.

I kept getting the error from the subject line no matter how many times I disconnected the iPhone, restarted iTunes, rebooted the computer, etc. Eventually, with the iPhone connected, I repaired iTunes via Add/Remove Programs > iTunes > Change, and when the repair finished, my iPhone started syncing right away.

Mar 13, 2008 11:03 PM in response to Richard Stenson

I have an iPod Touch, a Dell desktop, and an IBM T42 Laptop. The desktop synched right away. The T42 had the same problem as you describe with the Dell laptop.

I did all the disconnecting of other USB connections, trying different USB connections - none of them worked.

BUT - TURNING OFF THE WIFI CARD ON THE LAPTOP WORKED! I disconnected the iPod, turned off the WIFI card, and reconnected the iPod. The device was recognized immediately by iTunes.

After the iPod was recognized in iTunes, I was able to power on the WIFI card and the device continued to be recognized.

Mar 15, 2008 11:59 AM in response to dubdad626

Must be the Dell Wireless card. Anytime I turn off the WiFi, I can sync up fine and then turn the WiFi back on. However, I get the error anytime I plug the ipod Touch in with the wireless on.

I couldn't get it to sync at work with the WiFi off and a network cable plugged in at work either, though. So perhaps it's a Dell network issue?

Mar 16, 2008 10:54 PM in response to Dawn Roberts

count one more here with wifi card conflict. Just turned off my wifi card connection (on a Dell Latitude D630) and itunes recognized the faulty iphone (1.1.3).

now, is this a bug on the (already buggy) D630 wifi utility/card, or is it itunes-related?

Mar 29, 2008 11:36 AM in response to Dawn Roberts

The quickest, drop dead, and ultimately easiest workaround for this issue is to use another computer to restore your phone to original factory settings. Once done, you can come back to your own computer and restore the phone again and sync it with your own data. It's a hassle, yes. The issue is with your current computer not recognizing the phone after the update. Deleting all of the Apple software and backups does not always work due to registry identifiers on your current machine. I speak from my own "iTunes plug of death" experience and the ultimate recommendation of iPhone telephone support. It worked.

May 21, 2008 10:12 AM in response to Nathan C

I have found that disabling my firewall temporarily allows the iPhone to connect to the internet to do whatever business it is that it needs to do online and then sync up properly.

Why does the iPhone need to connect to the INTERNET to verify firmware versions every time it syncs? This makes no sense.

Which Apple program should I configure my firewall to allow to have internet access so I don't have to keep turning my firewall off to sync my phone?

cupic

Level 1

0 points

May 24, 2008 8:55 PM in response to joverB

i'm another one with success by *_disabling wireless*_. I just turn it off with the on/off switch on the side of my Dell. Then start iTunes. Then plug in the phone. Works every time now. I d*ed around with this for 6 hours today, about 2 of which was on the phone with iTunes support. I'm going to call and report to them what finally worked for me, which was NEVER suggested by the Helpdesk. Everything else was, tho, including all the other things you guys have mentioned!?!

Jun 26, 2008 7:54 AM in response to cdegrenier

some observations about my specific problem. It seemed to be precipitated by changing the sync source for contacts in the info tab. I changed from none to Yahoo and this problem occurred...fixed it by changing USB port...then changed from Yahoo to Windows Address book and it happened again...switched to a third USB port and I'm back in business. It seems like once you get one of the USB ports to sync successfully, the others start working again as well.

Jul 4, 2008 6:07 AM in response to bfos7215

This works!!

I have an iTouch which was having this problem and the above solution fixes it! My iTouch would ONLY sync when I was at work connected to our network (with Win 03 domain). I am stunned this is all it took! I have tried a lot of things!

Thanks bfos7215 !

Dawn Roberts Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 17, 2008 6:15 AM in response to Dawn Roberts

Going to try removing quicktime aswell then reinstalling.

romad

Level 3

933 points

Jan 17, 2008 7:06 AM in response to Dawn Roberts

Yes. There was an iTunes update (7.6) and a QuickTime update (7.4) that need to be installed before the iPhone 1.1.3 update is installed.

sfadam

Level 1

0 points

Jan 17, 2008 7:20 AM in response to romad

I had the same problem..I updated my iTunes to 7.6 and it recognized my iPhone, i clicked "restore" and it works perfect now..

Dawn Roberts Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 17, 2008 7:25 AM in response to sfadam

Uninstalled quicktime. Also put windows to a retore point a couple of days ago when everything was ok. Just reinstalled itunes again. Same error again.

RandyDug

Level 1

0 points

Jan 17, 2008 10:48 PM in response to Dawn Roberts

Try using a different USB port. That worked for me without having to do a de-install/install.

Randy

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An iPhone has been detected, but it could not be identified properly