macOS Monterey: "The selected device could not be found" when connecting iPhone

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macOS Monterey: "The selected device could not be found" when connecting iPhone

Ever since updating to macOS 12.0.1, my M1 Mac mini is unable to connect to my iPhone 12 Mini in order to sync my iTunes playlists. Photos and Final Cut both recognize the device and are able to import photos and videos, but Finder and Music.app see the phone but after about 5 minutes they time out with the message "The selected device could not be found." As a result I cannot sync my playlists anymore, nor is my iPhone backed up.

I've rebooted both devices repeatedly, and both have been kept completely up-to-date with the available OS updates. The Mac is running macOS 12.0.1 (21A559) and the iPhone is running iOS 15.1.1 (19B81).

How can I get my dang iPhone to sync music again?

Posted on Nov 20, 2021 9:46 AM

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Answer 1

fluffy Author

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69 points

Dec 16, 2021 5:27 PM in response to fluffy

The macOS 12.1 update seems to have fixed this... for now, anyway.

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Answer 2

Nov 21, 2021 10:08 AM in response to fluffy

Hi fluffy,

Thanks for reaching out to us here in Apple Support Communities! We understand you're having some problems with your iPhone staying connected to Finder, and we're here to help. When you have a chance, please check out the steps in the article below, and let us know if they resolve the issue.

If your computer doesn't recognize your iPhone, iPad, or iPod

If you continue to run into problems, please let us know if your Mac has either a VPN network profile or third-party security software installed, and we'll take it from there.

Have a great day.

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Answer 3

Nov 22, 2021 4:34 PM in response to fluffy

Hi fluffy,

We appreciate you working through those steps with us. What exactly happens when you connect the iPhone to another computer? Also, does the iPhone appear under the USB tree? These details will help us isolate the problem a bit more.

Best regards.

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Answer 4

fluffy Author

Level 1

69 points

Nov 21, 2021 2:16 PM in response to Amanda239_91

I've performed all those steps. To clarify, my Mac does see and recognize the phone, but when it tries to connect in order to sync, it spends about 5 minutes trying to connect and then it gives the above error.

As I said in my initial post, I'm able to retrieve photos from it, but I'm unable to do any other connected activities (namely syncing playlists or backing my device up to my computer).

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Answer 5

fluffy Author

Level 1

69 points

Dec 1, 2021 9:55 PM in response to Amanda239_91

Hi, have you had a chance to see if there's anything I can do? Like is there a way to make my user account completely forget about the iPhone or something so that I can reestablish the connection fresh?

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Answer 6

fluffy Author

Level 1

69 points

Nov 23, 2021 9:05 PM in response to Amanda239_91

When I connect the iPhone to my MacBook Pro it's able to fully connect just fine. I haven't tried syncing anything as I don't keep a music library on this computer and i don't want to lose my playlists (I'm traveling at the moment) but a manual device backup completes successfully. So the problem is with my Mac Mini, it seems.

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macOS Monterey: "The selected device could not be found" when connecting iPhone

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