Level 1

54 points

itunes not detecting iphone 12

Hey guys, just got my iphone 12 (previous phone was iphone 8), but itunes is not detecting the iphone 12. I'm trying to transfer all the data, texts etc from the iphone 8 to 12 but whenever I connect the 12 to my windows PC it just doesn't detect in itunes. My PC detects it - I can see it in my files and it is in device manager, but itunes just doesn't recognise it. itunes is up to date with the latest version and it still detects my iphone 8 when I plug that in. I tried power cycling the phone and even uninstalling/re-installing itunes but no luck .. tried it in different USB ports as well which is the only thing which makes a slight difference. In one USB port its like it detects it for a brief moment then its gone, all other ports it never appears in itunes. But all my USB ports work perfectly fine with all other devices.

So I was hoping people may have any advice? Cheers :)

iPhone 12, iOS 14

Posted on Oct 23, 2020 9:38 AM

Top-ranking reply

ctsamurai

Level 1

14 points

Posted on Jan 6, 2021 7:44 AM

I have a few other lightning cables (mostly Apple branded) but my computer does not have a USB-C port on it. However, I was finally able to get it to work after connecting an Apple brand USB-A to Lightning cable directly to a USB 3.1 port on the back of my computer (directly connected to the motherboard). All other ports did not work, even though device manager was detecting the iPhone correctly and following the various reinstall recommendations did not work. Only the USB 3 port worked properly and I didn't have to restart everything - though of course in all my troubleshooting i did a number of restarts and reinstalls so it can't hurt if you restart your computer or iTunes as well.

Just for background, I've got an iPhone 12 Mini on iOS 14.3. The computer I'm trying to sync to is an AMD Ryzen 3 (Gigabyte B450M motherboard) running Windows 10 (with the latest Dec 2020 patches). I do not have a USB-C port on the computer anywhere, so the included cable is not particularly useful at the moment. Thanks for the discussion which helped me narrow down some things to try.

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169 replies

Nov 16, 2020 11:43 AM in response to thepokey

I had the same problem until I went to “Finder” on my MacBook Pro and scrolled to see if it recognized my IPhone 12 Pro Max which it did. I clicked on it and then it asked me if I trust this computer. Then it asked me on my phone like it’s supposed to. Worked like a charm. I’m assuming with PC’s you’d have to go to My Computer to find the USB connection and complete the same steps.

Nov 14, 2020 4:22 PM in response to n0p037

n0p037 you have solved the mystery for me.

Swapping to the USB 3.1 port finally got my 12 Pro Max to be recognized by Windows & iTunes.

Thanks!

turingtest2

Level 10

278,181 points

Nov 19, 2020 2:05 PM in response to bernyca

Have you tried another cable?

tt2

Jan 3, 2021 9:26 AM in response to jlipscomb121

This is what works it has to be original cord that came with phone!

Jan 29, 2021 1:41 PM in response to Frequency Control

Actually mine is working now since the 14.4 update.

turingtest2

Level 10

278,181 points

Dec 1, 2020 10:52 PM in response to zinman3211

For iOS 12 you need iTunes 12.8.0.150 or better running on OS X 10.11.4 or better. See How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan - Apple Support if required. iOS 13 & 14 require iTunes 12.8.2.3 or above.

Assuming a suitable version of iTunes is in place then in Finder use the menu item Go > Go to Folder..., copy the following text, paste it into the dialog box and press enter:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileDevice.framework/Versions/Current/Resources

Unlock your device and connect it to USB. Double click on MobileDeviceUpdater in the folder that has opened. It should notify you of a software update. Install it and iTunes should hopefully recognize your device.

tt2

Jan 6, 2021 7:19 AM in response to Merc225

The adapter didn't work, only original cord.

Nov 13, 2020 8:29 PM in response to Zachary Thompson

I actually took the USB C Cable and put it into an USB A adapter and the cable works fine and the phone is recognized. However if I plug the USB C directly into the computer using USB C slot I get charging only, no recognition of the phone. So it doesn't seem to be the cable.

Nov 16, 2020 12:31 PM in response to Brian Kushner

If you are running WIN 10, the only solution for me has been to use a USB 3.1 connection. Something that I haven't seen advertised by Apple or any of the telecom services. I spoke to an Apple rep a few days ago and he didn't have a clue about it.

Nov 28, 2020 4:50 AM in response to thepokey

Found the solution. You need to make sure computer up to date. (Windows 10 and up) or the latest IOS. Download the latest iTunes. Might have to remove iTunes and re download iTunes. I was running Windows 7, I just reset my phone computer, downloaded windows 7 and that’s it. I also was able to use the regular lightning cable on my iphone 12 pro max.

MrDet

Level 1

4 points

Dec 8, 2020 11:32 PM in response to thepokey

I just bought iPhone 12 mini and I faced issue where iTunes couldn`t detect my iPhone 12 mini. What I did to solve the problem is, I used USB adapter (Targus) connected to my Macbook, and lightning cable connected to the USB adapter. It worked!!!

Dec 10, 2020 12:31 AM in response to thepokey

I just got a brand new iPhone 12 Pro today, and my Macbook Pro is quite a few years old, so it only has USB-A ports on it, and it wasn't showing the new phone as an option at all. I was able to talk to Apple Support this afternoon and get a decent workaround for it though, by finding the phone through Finder.

I was able to verify in System Information that the iPhone was recognized by the computer, but it wasn't popping up any sync screens once I connected it to the computer. It was just charging.

I went into spotlight and opened Finder.

From there, I was able to see the phone shown under the Locations tab on the sidebar on the left side of the screen, just like normal. It was actually still waiting for me to choose to "Trust this computer" with the new phone, but for some reason wasn't automatically prompting me to do so through Music like it normally would with previous phones.

As soon as I did that, it started working immediately. I suspect that if I had a USB-C port on this computer, it would probably do this automatically with the newer lightning cable provided, but this workaround got me going.

It's a bit tedious, but it worked without issue.

I'm not sure what the proper workaround like this would be on a PC however, so I apologize to those this won't help.

t0r

Level 1

8 points

Dec 21, 2020 5:13 PM in response to thepokey

Everyone having trouble syncing, or having luck in having the iPhone 12 being recognized by iTunes, please try the following:

Plug in your iPhone
If recognized, try to restore it from iTunes
If not recognized, restore it from iPhone
Try recovery mode too if iTunes still can't see your iPhone 12.
If you see error 2003 or 2009 while iTunes is updating/restoring your iPhone 12, or it gets stuck, it's an hardware issue related to most of the iPhone 12 Pro Max out there, so take it to an Apple Store for a replacement.
Don't waste your time trying to restore it from DFU mode. It won't work.

All tests were extensively made with a Ryzen CPU, original cable from iPhone X, iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Same result.

ALSO PLEASE REPORT YOUR PROBLEM TO https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

turingtest2

Level 10

278,181 points

Nov 19, 2020 12:34 AM in response to Brian Kushner

Brian Kushner wrote:

But how do you get it to work with Windows?

Try iOS device not showing in iTunes for Windows - Apple Community.

tt2

thepokey Author

Level 1

54 points

Oct 25, 2020 3:08 AM in response to prosteak

Weird that it would be a hardware issue ... I'm also running a Ryzen 5 3600. But, my own little update to this is that it does seem to detect it now ... for .. no real reason? It just started detecting it .. but it seems to just take connecting/reconnecting the USB cord multiple times and eventually it just detects it.

However, theres still a few issues. I keep getting random errors in itunes when its connected ... sometimes its just an "unknown error" other times it says syncing error, although it does seem to sync. I can transfer MP3s across etc. What I am having trouble with is transferring the backup of my old phone across to the new phone and I THINK I know why. My old phone I was on the ios beta so it is technically ios 14.2, and the new phone is 14.1 ... so i think I need to wait till the new phone is on 14.2 and then it will allow it?

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itunes not detecting iphone 12