iPhone not loading in Finder

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14 points

iPhone not loading in Finder

I have a MacBook Air (M1, 2020) on macOS Big Sur version 11.3.1 and an iPhone XR on iOS version 14.5.1 and I have been unable to backup or sync my iPhone to my Mac. When I connect the iPhone via lighting cable the iPhone shows up in the Finder sidebar but when you select the iPhone nothing loads in the Finder. See attached screenshot.

I have checked to make sure both devices are on the latest OS version and I have attempted using different lighting cables. I have tired restarting both devices. I have made sure that the iPhone is unlocked while connected to the MacBook. I can see the iPhone in the Photo app and have been able to import photos from the device into Photos but I have not been able to advice the Finder beyond what you can see in the screenshot.

I have had this issue for a little over a week.

iPhone XR, iOS 14

Posted on May 11, 2021 8:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Flip75 Author

Level 1

14 points

May 24, 2021 9:34 PM in response to chris_g1

Finally got my iPhone to sync. I had to to export all the photo from the photo library. Then I delete the photo library and create a new photo library that was empty than I import all the photos back into the new photo library. Now I had to set the newly created library as the system library and after all of that the iPhone was able to load and sync.

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Answer 2

May 13, 2021 7:03 AM in response to Flip75

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities Flip75,

Thank you for contacting us regarding your MacBook Air not syncing with your XR iPhone. You have come to the right place and we are happy to assist in getting this resolved for you. You stated that you used different lightning cables, we want to make sure are they Apple branded cables?

To help with isolating this issue that you have been experiencing we'd like to have you create a test user on your Mac and test to see if the issue remains. The article below will guide you through creating a test user, if needed.

Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

If the issue remains in another user account, are you able to test another iPhone with your computer? Or are you able to test your iPhone on another computer? This will help with determining if the issue is with the iPhone or the MacBook Air.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Thank you for contacting Apple Support Communities.

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Answer 3

Flip75 Author

Level 1

14 points

May 15, 2021 3:25 PM in response to IndigoWinter

I am trying to repair the photo library as described here: [https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204967] so far the library has been repairing for 48 hours.... when it is done I will see if I am able to sync my iPhone.

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Answer 4

Flip75 Author

Level 1

14 points

May 13, 2021 7:20 AM in response to IndigoWinter

I have tried 1st-party (aka Apple) and 3rd party cables, all of them produce the same result.

I discovered if I unmounted the external HDD that stores my Photo library the iPhone would load, and I could backup the device. However this work around prevents me from syncing my photos between the devices.

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Answer 5

May 13, 2021 7:51 AM in response to Flip75

Flip75,

Thank you for reaching back out. I understand that if you unmount the external hard drive, the iPhone loads. Have you tried to eject the drive, let the iPhone appear in Finder, then plug the external back in to sync. Another option may be to open Photos App, upload the photos to the external hard drive, then eject the external hard drive and sync the phone.

Were you able to test this issue in another user using the previous article?

Cheers.

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Answer 6

Flip75 Author

Level 1

14 points

May 13, 2021 7:45 PM in response to IndigoWinter

I think the issue has to do with the Photo library on the external hard drive. I created a new test user account and I was iPhone loaded in the finder. On the Test user account I attempted to link the Photo app to the photo library on the external drive, but it would not connect giving me an error about the library being in use.

I have also been having problems unmounting the external drive, needing to power down the Mac inorder to dismount. When I type the sudo lsof | grep /Volumes/"External Data" in the terminal I see several 'photolibr' lines even through the Photo app has been closed for hours.

At the moment I can shut down the Mac disconnect the external drive and than start the Mac inorder to create a backup of the iPhone but if I am unable to sync my photos with the iPhone when using this work-around. Is there any sort of Photo library repair utility I can try?

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Answer 7

chris_g1

Community Specialist

May 18, 2021 7:12 AM in response to Flip75

Flip75,

Thank you for keeping us posted on the progress. Since all our troubleshooting steps have not been able to resolve this issue, we would recommend you contact Apple Support.

Get Support

Thank you for contacting Apple Support Communities.

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Answer 8

rose_10

Community Specialist

May 16, 2021 7:14 AM in response to Flip75

Flip75,

Thank you for letting us know how the process is going. We are hopeful that the repair process will resolve the issues you are having.

Thank you for contacting Apple Support Communities.

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Answer 9

Flip75 Author

Level 1

14 points

May 18, 2021 5:51 AM in response to rose_10

Well after the two days it took to repair the photo library, I attempted to connect my iPhone to the computer again, only to experience the same problem.

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Answer 10

Chris_C1

Community Specialist

May 25, 2021 7:45 AM in response to Flip75

Flip75,

That is wonderful news! Thank you for the update. We are very glad that your issue is resolved and you can sync again.

Stay Healthy.

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iPhone not loading in Finder

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