Why is my iPhone 11 not trusting my Mac mini after connecting via USB?

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Level 1

17 points

Why is my iPhone 11 not trusting my Mac mini after connecting via USB?

Recently my iPhone 11 stopped "trusting" my Mac Mini with this error message. I see this error message in my finder on my Mac after plugging the iPhone into the USB. I never see this trust question on my iPhone I used to get all the time.

I've attempted every fix documented here and on the internet at large. Resetting location/privacy, resetting network, rebooting, etc. None makes a diff.

I've even contacted Apple support and got no answer other than they think the MacOS 10.15.7 no longer likes my iPhone 11 17.5.1. We stopped there. I think he was suggesting my Apple computer is too old to exist.

I've been able to connect my iPhone to my Linux computer to share music. The trust message works just fine when I do that.

But I can no longer backup my iPhone nor share my music on my Mac.

I'm 99% sure this is some software issue Apple created that they haven't figured out yet between iOS 17 and MacOS 10.15.

I guess my question to you is, am I the only one or do people just buy another computer and move on?

For the life of me, I cannot understand why Apple would design a trust interface that a user cannot connect his iPhone to his Mac computer. It's disturbing and baffling at the same time. I am losing trust myself.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone SE, iOS 15

Posted on Jun 1, 2024 10:46 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

w00die Author

Level 1

17 points

Jun 3, 2024 8:56 PM in response to w00die

I figured out a work around. I never did get any help from Apple Support or the Geniuses at the Apple Genius Bar. Not being able to share Music, Photos, or do Backups is simply not acceptable to me. I'm really struggling with Apple these days.

I reloaded the OS by booting with command-r and selecting the option to reload the OS. In my case Catalina 10.15.7. Takes about 45 minutes. It is non-destructive to your data or apps which is a great thing. This was my hail Mary attempt to solve the problem. There is a troubleshooting technique called "shotgunning" that I learned long ago. That's where you do everything you know to solve the problem properly. When that doesn't work, you just try replacing stuff until it works. It's not pretty but it's effective.

Once the OS was reloaded and the system rebooted and before I touched anything else, I plugged in the iPhone. Immediately the "Trust this computer?" prompt showed on my iPhone. That's what was broken. Now it works!

Next the computer asked me if I wanted to update the system to use the iPhone. I answered yes and let it update the computer. Then I performed a backup of my iPhone because I still didn't know what broke it and I figured since it was working, I would do the backup first thing.

Then the computer asked me if I wanted to update the OS. I said yes and it updated. Took 30 minutes to do that and another reboot. Then it asked me again if I wanted to download an update to use the iPhone. I answered that same question again. So far it's still working. I have access to photos, music, and can do backups again.

The fix is not elegant and it doesn't explain why it broke to begin with, but it's a workaround that works. Maybe it will help someone else with the same issue.

Here is my speculation about what went wrong. After the update to the OS, you have to reload the application that syncs with the iPhone. If you don't do that, I have no idea what will happen. Maybe it will break the interface like it did in my case. So make sure you do that update promptly, otherwise your system and iPhone are forever locked out from each other.

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Answer 2

hcsitas

Level 6

13,970 points

Jun 1, 2024 11:13 AM in response to w00die

It’s true, your Mac is no longer supported. You can move on by backing up your phone to iCloud and doing similarly for other stuff. It’s not a big deal, really, shrug it off and work around it. All the best.

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