iPhone Sync with iMac running Catalina

Question

Level 1

16 points

iPhone Sync with iMac running Catalina

I have been using OS Catalina for a while now and it seems to be working fine on my old 2013 20" iMac. However for the past few months when I connect my iPhone XR it doesn't seem to connect to it saying that it cannot read the contents of my iPhone XR and do I want to restore it. The iPhone is running iOS 14.8 BTW.

Sometimes it sees the phone but most times it doesn't and it is getting really annoying… So I am not sure whether I should update my iPhones iOS to 15.3.1 or not. I cannot update to the latest OS on my iMac because it isn't supported.

It all hints at me getting a new iMac which I don't really want to do right at the moment.

iPhone XR, iOS 14

Posted on Mar 7, 2022 3:39 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

LD150

Level 10

91,269 points

Mar 7, 2022 7:29 AM in response to GazzaMataz

Settings, General,

VPN & Device management id usually third from bottom of page

Yes using Wi-Fi

Check

you are on a good Wi-Fi,
on charge with more than 50% charged,
no VPN installed
low power mode turned off.
Fully working cellular network connection via your SIM.
Check Settings, General to make sure you have no Beta profile installed.

Resources:-

Update iphone

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Iphone will not update

If your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch won’t update - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 2

Mar 7, 2022 7:34 AM in response to GazzaMataz

Do you have any antivirus or firewall app on your Mac (other than Malwarebytes)? Are you using VPN on your Mac? Or any other software product that claims to improve your Mac’s performance or security? Any of these can interfere with communicating with iOS devices.

A good first step is the ancient wisdom, “when in doubt, reboot”. So try restarting and syncing with your iPhone right after restarting. And if that doesn’t work restart in Safe mode (hold the SHIFT key when restarting).

Reply

Answer 3

LD150

Level 10

91,269 points

Mar 7, 2022 3:58 AM in response to GazzaMataz

XR and Catalina should work well together

I backup and sync iphone 7 and 12 on Catalina on 2012 macbook pro,

Update OTA in Settings, General, Software Update

Make sure you have neither a beta profile nor a VPN profile in Settings, General, VPN & Device Management

Reply

Answer 4

Mar 7, 2022 7:36 AM in response to GazzaMataz

If you are on iOS 14 look for Settings/General/Profiles, just below VPN. If it isn’t there you don’t have any. That was changed to VPN & Device Management in iOS 15, and it merged 3 functions: Profiles, Device Management, and VPN into one entry in Settings/General.

Reply

Answer 5

GazzaMataz Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 10, 2022 8:02 AM in response to LD150

I don't have any VPN installed on my iPhone or iMac. I do have Sophos installed but I really don't think that is affecting anything. When I try to sync my iPhone with my iMac in Finder I get messages like this:

'Could not check for an update to the network provider settings for your iPhone. This device is no longer connected'.

'Connect this iPhone using a USB cable in order to sync this iPhone'.

Now I have tried two USB cables, both Apple and still have the same problem... When I plug the iPhone in to charge it, it keeps bleeping and intermittently charging. So I am getting a bit annoyed since it used to owk fine and I haven't performed any OS or iOS updates in ages.

Reply

Answer 6

LD150

Level 10

91,269 points

Mar 10, 2022 8:54 AM in response to GazzaMataz

Macs and iphones and ipads do not need security apps any more than I need a penguin trap in my garden. They are notorious for blocking syncs and, updates. They can cause the same blockages on Windows PCs too where they actually have a purpose protecting against viruses and trojans.

At least do a full uninstall and try again.

Reply

Answer 7

GazzaMataz Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 10, 2022 9:09 AM in response to LD150

OK that's coming off, but get this: I disconnected my iPhone from it's USB connection, and yet in Finder it said it was still mounted. I clicked the eject button and nothing happened.

So I restarted my iMac and in Finder it was still mounted and said it was still syncing with my iPhone even though it wasn't connected. Then it timed out and said update could not be completed…

Reply

Answer 8

GazzaMataz Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 10, 2022 12:44 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

OK I updated my iPhone to iOS 15 and connected it to my iMac - still didn't sync properly… So I turned Wifi off on the iMac and syncing using Wifi when the iPhone is connected. Synced everything then except my photos!

So I restarted the iMac and tried again - no joy on the photos. Unplugged it and plugged back in again and then all of a sudden the photos appeared…

Problem seems to be with my old iMac. Which is running off an external SSD drive which probably doesn't help.

Thanks for all the help peeps - much appreciated. I will remove Sophos later :-)

Reply

Answer 9

GazzaMataz Author

Level 1

16 points

Mar 15, 2022 11:59 AM in response to GazzaMataz

So it still doesn't synce properly keeps pinging even after removing Sophos. So I tried another iPhone 6s running iOS 14 - that doesn't work ether…

Looks like the problem is with my iMac. It is running Catalina and I cannot upgrade the machine since it is now too old but there is a Security Update but I am loath to install that since the last time I did it, it wiped out my external boot drive.

New iMac?

Reply