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iPhone content not available to back up

My iPhone shows up as a "drive" connected to my iMac; however, there is no content in the window, so I can't back up or sync it. It worked just fine until a few weeks ago. There is something I saw somewhere about being unable to sync to the iMac if one or more Apple services (e.g. Fitness or Arcade) were being used. I enabled both of these recently to try them out. Do I need to stop using them to be able to sync again? What gives here?

iMac 21.5″, macOS 12.2

Posted on Mar 31, 2022 8:49 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 2, 2022 6:56 AM

Hi H_J_M.


Thank you for the additional details.


Next, review the information here for a few troubleshooting steps to try: If you can't back up your iOS or iPadOS device to a computer or restore it from a backup.


You might also want to start up your Mac in safe mode to see if you're then able to view the option to back up while your Mac is in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac. This allows us to isolate the issue further.


Cheers.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 2, 2022 6:56 AM in response to H_J_M

Hi H_J_M.


Thank you for the additional details.


Next, review the information here for a few troubleshooting steps to try: If you can't back up your iOS or iPadOS device to a computer or restore it from a backup.


You might also want to start up your Mac in safe mode to see if you're then able to view the option to back up while your Mac is in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac. This allows us to isolate the issue further.


Cheers.

Apr 1, 2022 2:55 PM in response to H_J_M

Hey there H_J_M,


Thanks for contacting the Apple Support Community today. If backing up your iPhone to your iMac, you would need to use Finder or iTunes depending on the macOS version you're working with.


For steps on backing up your iPhone, check out the steps below:


Back up with the Finder
1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, open a Finder window.
2. Connect your device to your computer with a USB cable.
3. If asked for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps. Get help if you forgot your passcode.
4. Select your device on your computerLearn what to do if your device doesn't appear on your computer.
5. If you want to save Health and Activity data from your device or Apple Watch, you need to encrypt your backup. Select the "Encrypt local backup" checkbox and create a memorable password.
Save your password somewhere safe, because there's no way to recover your backups without this password.
6. Click Back Up Now.
7. When the process ends, you can see if the backup finished successfully. You'll see the date and time of your last backup.

Back up with iTunes
1. On a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes.
2. Connect your device to your computer with a USB cable.
3. If asked for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps. Get help if you forgot your passcode.
4. Select your device on your computerLearn what to do if your device doesn't appear on your computer.
5. If you want to save Health and Activity data from your device or Apple Watch, you need to encrypt your backup. Select the "Encrypt [device] backup" checkbox and create a memorable password.
Save your password somewhere safe, because there's no way to recover your backups without this password.
6. Click Back Up Now.
7. When the process ends, you can see if the backup finished successfully. You'll see the date and time of your last backup.


For more details, check out this link here: How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with your Mac - Apple Support


We hope that's able to help.


Have a great day!

Apr 1, 2022 4:21 PM in response to Chris_V89

This reply is not useful at all. I have been backing up my iPhone to my iMac for years. I have been successful until a few weeks ago using the Finder with my current configuration of macOS. My point is that the iPhone shows up in the list of connected devices, but the window is EMPTY when I select it. There is no way to backup or sync.

Apr 2, 2022 9:53 PM in response to melissa_m77

Restarting the iMac seems to have fixed the problem. I used to shut down nightly; however, I learned that it's best to let the iMac stay up and running for various reasons, so I only restart it after a macOS update or other reason forces me to do so. I see that this could be another "reason" to restart to consider going forward. Thanks for the additional link. I'm not sure why I couldn't find it while I was trying to troubleshoot the problem on my own, but your tip did the trick.

iPhone content not available to back up

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