MacOS catalina not showing iOS device in Finder

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greenlynx Author

Level 1

15 points

MacOS catalina not showing iOS device in Finder

How to sync mac with iPhone thru wifi?

iPhone 7 Plus, 14.01

Mac mini (2018), macOS Catalina ver. 10.15.6

Connected iPhone to mac via USB-C cable

Checked checkbox for “Show this [device] when on Wi-Fi.” and "Apply"

Synced iPhone via cable

clicked the Eject button in the Finder sidebar, disconnected iPhone

iPhone disappeared from Finder, Finder already set to show iOS Devices in Finder, closed Finder

Re-started Finder

Expected to see iPhone in the Finder because Mac and iPhone are both on the same wifi network.

No iPhone in Finder sidebar

Did a general re-set of my network on the iPhone, turned Mac wifi off then on

After re-launching the Finder, still no iPhone in the sidebar

Activity Monitor shows no iPhone activity

Shut down Mac, Re-started, went through all of the above again.

No iPhone in sidebar of Finder.

Any ideas?

Posted on Sep 30, 2020 5:11 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 30, 2020 6:11 AM in response to greenlynx

Did you EVER see the iPhone in a Finder window sidebar when not physically connected? AFAICT it doesn’t work that way. If there are any support documents that say it does, I’d really appreciate you posting a link to them.

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Answer 2

Sep 30, 2020 9:48 AM in response to greenlynx

Thank you for the link. I am wiser now :-)

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Answer 3

greenlynx Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 30, 2020 6:11 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you for your suggestion. I will give it a try. However, this is contrary to Apple's written procedure to link via wifi. See the link I posted above in Luis' comment.

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

124,218 points

Sep 30, 2020 7:27 PM in response to greenlynx

No idea why it says that. How would you sync it?

It stays for me as long as I don't eject it.

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Answer 5

greenlynx Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 30, 2020 7:49 PM in response to Barney-15E

As soon as I tried to sync after I unplugged the phone, the phone disappeared from the Finder. Oh well, glad I’ve got a cable 🤔.

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Answer 6

greenlynx Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 30, 2020 9:45 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

No, I've never seen iPhone in Finder without cable connection but never tried to connect via wifi.

Here is the Apple link for the information:

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/wi-fi-syncing-mchlada1d602/mac

If you have more info., I'd appreciate your help.

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Answer 7

Barney-15E

Level 10

124,218 points

Sep 30, 2020 9:58 AM in response to greenlynx

clicked the Eject button

That will remove it from the sidebar.

Just unplug the iPhone from the Mac.

I've noticed that it will eventually drop off if I don't connect to it in a few weeks, necessitating connection with a cable to get it back.

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Answer 8

greenlynx Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 30, 2020 6:21 PM in response to Barney-15E

I connected the iPhone via cable, synced it, then unplugged it without clicking the eject button. It did not take long for the iPhone to disappear from the finder. As soon as I tried to sync a new album, it popped off. For me at least, this did not solve my issue.

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MacOS catalina not showing iOS device in Finder

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