iTunes won't recognize my iPhone or iPad.

For iOS 14 you need iTunes 12.8.2.3 or better running on OS X 10.11.6 or better. See How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan - Apple Support if required.

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.

If these steps haven't worked you can also try reinstalling iTunes 12.8.2.3 while your device is connected and unlocked.

tt2

I suggest going into Finder > Finder Preferences, look under “Locations” and make sure (CDs, DVDs, and iOS devices) is selected. Hopefully it will show in the sidebar of your finder window where you can then proceed to transfer what you need.

I'm into this same issue on my old Mac Pro (El Capitan 10.11.6, itunes 12.8.2.3), I've been following similar threads responses and so far I think the problem is with MobileDeviceUpdater as well.

I'm seeing the msg "BootedOS device needs updated MobileDevice.framework; ignoring device" when launching iTunes from term.

If i go to `BootedOS device needs updated MobileDevice.framework; ignoring device` and try to execute it from term i get the following:

dyld: warning, LC_RPATH @executable_path/../Frameworks in /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileDevice.framework/Versions/A/Resources/MobileDeviceUpdater.app/Contents/MacOS/./MobileDeviceUpdater being ignored in restricted program because of @executable_path

I really don't know how to move forward from here but i've spent a couple of months without being able to sync my phone with ios 14 to this mac.

Thanks.

Sadly the niceties of terminal and Mac logs are lost on me. Do you have third party security software that could be getting in the way? Have you tried reinstalling iTunes 12.8.2.3? My understanding is that MobileDeviceUpdater should run automatically when you connect a device that iTunes isn't ready for. Running it manually seems to have helped a lot of people when it doesn't launch by itself.

tt2

Thanks for the Response tt2, yes I have tried reinstalling iTunes 12.8.2.3. I've seen that running MobileDeviceUpdate manually helped many people that's why I tried to figure out why it is not working in my case and the only clue I could get so far was by running it through terminal and get the errors I mentioned above.

I don't think any third party security software could be interfering since this mac I mostly use it for syncing and I keep it lightweight but I will double check.

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2