Is iOS 17 compatible with itunes 12.8.2.3 under macOS Sierra 10.12.6?

There are a few posts around about this. This solution works.

Download Xcode 15 (any version or beta seems to work)

Uncompress

Right on Xcode, Show Package Contents

In folder /Contents/Resources/Packages drag MobileDevice.pkg to desktop and install

No need to restart. Now your device should show up in iTunes.

MobileDevice.pkg is only 11mb, it would be nice if someone would just share that file so we didn't have to download 3gb of Xcode, but I assume that sharing the file would be a problem.

While looking for a solution I did a fresh install of High Sierra and it downloaded the needed update fine, so we must have something installed that is blocking this update.

I have gone throught the Xcode solution, and it worked perfectly (High Sierra here, and downloaded Xcode 15.2). For those who can't download Xcode for whatever reason (but I have had no problem with that), I've uploaded the package to run (MobileDevice.pkg) on my personal server (the problem is, you have to trust me that it's the genuine file):

[Edited by Moderator]

The solution is actually so simple that it is highly irritating to see that Apple does absolutly nothing to fix the bug. I guess that all the developer are busy introducing new emojis in the next updates...

I can confirm this Xcode “hack” works for both High Sierra and El Capitan for a recent iPad updated to iOS 17.3.1.

I was so annoyed to find out that my iPad no longer worked with iTunes 12.8.2.3 which I have installed on my goldieoldie Macbookpro5,1 (late 2008) with El Capitan (10.11.6) and Macbookpro7,1 (mid 2010) with High Sierra (10.13.6). (FYI, Photos and ImageCapture continue both to work fine without any problem or hacks after the iPad iOS17 update.)

# A few weeks ago I found the Xcode trick and applied it successfully on High Sierra, it worked like a charm.

Beware: I downloaded the Xcode 15 (without beta), the Xcode 15 app icon itself shows with a sign as not installable on my High Sierra mbp, but I managed to use the MobileDevice.pkg anyway by going to “Show package contents” entering the package, and was able to installe it without issues.

# Now, a few weeks later, I tried to connect the iPad to the other macbookpro with El Capitan, without luck. I didn’t remember the trick above and spent an hour chatting with an Apple support staff member.

She only could tell me that my computer “has several years“ – which is true, but it is still working like a charm for many tasks – and that tricks found in forums are not recommended. She was not willing to even look into the trick.

Today I tried to apply the trick on the mpb with El Capitan. I copied the MobileDevice.pkg from the High Sierra mbp to the El Capitan mbp’s desktop and installed it (which took a bit longer than the ”less than a minute“ screen). I had to restart both mpb and iPad but in the end it also works on my macbookpro with El Capitan.

Sooner or later I will have to buy a newer macbookpro anyway for my current job, but it disturbs me that Apple won’t take notice of this simple trick in order to help users with older macs. Promoting sustainability, right?! :)

ddkwilson wrote:

I found this from Apple online:

If you continue to see this message, or if the installation fails:

Install the latest software updates or upgrades•  for your Mac.

If your iPhone is using iOS 17 or later, or your iPad is using iPadOS 17 or later, make sure that your Mac is using macOS High Sierra or later• .

Learn what to do if the update continues to fail for unknown other reasons• .

It does seem as though the phone should work with High Sierra...

The Technical Specifications for iPhone-15-family phones say that you can use High Sierra, although they also mention an "iTunes 12.9" that does not seem to be at iTunes - Apple – at least not yet. That would seem to hold out some hope for using High Sierra to manage other iPhones that are now running iOS 17.

It's probably pretty safe to say that Macs running El Capitan or (low) Sierra won't be able to manage an iPhone that's been upgraded to iOS 17.

It looks like Apple has updated the Technical Specifications for the iPhone-15-family phones.

If I remember correctly, when Apple first published those specifications, they said that on High Sierra or Mojave, you needed iTunes 12.9. There was no 12.9 at the https://www.apple.com/iTunes site.

Now the specifications say 12.8, suggesting that the 12.9 was an error. Perhaps that's the version that's built into Mojave, and whoever wrote the initial specifications didn't realize that the version for High Sierra was different.

In any case, now that the specifications refer to a version that is readily available, and there are reports (here) that (under some circumstances, anyway) iTunes will update itself to handle iOS-17-based phones, maybe things are starting to look up a bit.

For Sierra users, upgrading to High Sierra – and then to iTunes 12.8.3, if needed - might fix it. (I say might because of conflicting reports in this thread and others.)

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

iTunes - Apple

There is also a commercial application called iMazing that might be able to do some of the same sorts of things that iTunes did. I could be mistaken, but it looks like the latest version might run on El Capitan or later (including Sierra), and be able to manage iPhones running iOS 17.

https://imazing.com/

I opened a thread for high sierra and the solution provided worked really well. someone posted step by step with links

Same/similar issue on High Sierra, and I opened a separate thread

NOT seeing iphone SE (2020) since iOS 17 … - Apple Community

xCode is free to download

looks like censorship is quite active here...

and fast too. Very curious. It obvious why they don't want links to others' downloads here but it's such a simple solution not to offer it.

and fast too. Very curious. It obvious why they don't want links to others' downloads here but it's such a simple solution not to offer it.

Would be great if someone can give a definitive answer to this. Not just speculation about 'old software'. There is no way i would upgraded my phone to 17 if I knew it was going break my link with my iMac running itunes 12.8.2.3

I'm currently unable to change my music, create a back-up on my iMac, etc.

From what I have read, its not possible to step back from 17 now either. I really hope this is not the case. How do I get back to 16?

A quick update on this issue.

Following ddkwilson’s post suggesting iOS 17 would work with 10.13 High Sierra, I decided to risk my current old install of Adobe CS3 and upgrade to High Sierra.

I can report that having installed it, and run the required software updates from the Mac App Store including an update to iTunes, the required software update to connect an iPhone 13 running iOS 17 has now downloaded and installed, and I can again manage the phone through iTunes as before. CS3 still seems to work too which is a bonus.

I would therefore suggest upgrading to High Sierra if you can to resolve the issues with iOS 17.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help on here.