iTunes does not recognize iPhone

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Level 1

5 points

iTunes does not recognize iPhone

Hi
I have an iPhone 3G that I've upgraded to 3.0 and a Mac Pro running iTunes that I upgraded to 8.2 and now iTunes totally ignores the iPhone.
I have tried the rebooting of both computer and iPhone and various combinations of connecting the phone while having the wi-fi disabled and more tips I found online but nothing has worked. iTunes tells me it's running the latest version of itself so I am stuck.

I know that there's nothing wrong with the cable as iPhoto still finds the iPhone and is able to download the pics from it.

I am hesitant to uninstall iTunes as I'm scared I'll lose all playlists and other stuff (which might be a misunderstanding on my part) I hear it's not a sure fix anyway so I'm hoping I'm not getting thrown into some Windows type gymnastics to get this to work.

Any remedies you can suggest?

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jun 23, 2009 9:39 AM

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Answer 1

Ingo2711

Level 9

70,155 points

Jun 23, 2009 10:09 AM in response to geimVEIRA

Can you connect in recovery mode? http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808
If still no connection in itunes, remove and reinstall Apple Mobile Device Service http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1747

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Answer 2

geimVEIRA Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 26, 2009 6:06 AM in response to Ingo2711

I do have data that still needs to be synced from the iPhone, so I'm reluctant to restore it.

I've also been reluctant to throw out iTunes and reinstall since I don't want my playlists and all that to disappear... is there a way to not lose all that stuff if I remove iTunes?

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Answer 3

Ingo2711

Level 9

70,155 points

Jun 26, 2009 6:52 AM in response to geimVEIRA

Use Time Machine to backup itunes. Then download a new copy from Apple's website and install itunes again.

Note: If you are having issues with iTunes or other applications, you should first run Disk Utility. iTunes library content such as music, videos, and iPod games are saved in your Music folder by default and are not deleted by removing iTunes or it's associated files and folders.

copied from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1224

if you can connect to another computer, you can back up manually on this one. Deselect autosync in itunes, connect your phone and right click on it in the device list and choose backup. You could restore from that backup if you need to in case someting goes wrong.

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Answer 4

geimVEIRA Author

Level 1

5 points

Jun 26, 2009 7:12 AM in response to Ingo2711

Oh I know the music and all that would be easily reintroduced to iTunes...

but will Time Machine then safekeep the playlists (I'm not talking about the music files, but the organization of them as saved in the playlists)?

If it does.. I'm totally doing this, thanks for the advice

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Answer 5

Ingo2711

Level 9

70,155 points

Jun 26, 2009 7:51 AM in response to geimVEIRA

See this article about which files to save to get your playlists back: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
Good luck

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Answer 6

geimVEIRA Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 1, 2009 4:20 PM in response to Ingo2711

Ok,
I finally removed and then reinstalled iTunes - that was the only thing I hadn't done yet, thankfully that seems to get my phone recognized now.

Thanks for the help 🙂

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