Mac not recognizing iPhone after iOS update

Mike Harrison wrote:

One of us is not understanding the other.

In the year prior to updating iOS on my iPhone last night, my 2023 Mac mini M2 and my iPhone 16e, were happily paired, and the iPhone showed up in the Mac's Finder sidebar. AFTER updating iOS last night, that is no longer the case. And, after going through the various steps to solve the issue, and even though my iPhone says it is discoverable, and it now (finally) shows my Mac mini as available Bluetooth devices, when I attempt to pair the two devices, I am told "Pairing Unsuccessful:" my Mac mini M2 is "not supported."

NOT SUPPORTED? Everything was fine until this iOS update. As a Mac user since 1989, it would appear "Plug and Play" has died. Seriously: I am confused. Somebody please help me make sense of this.

As den.thed told you, Macs and iPhones normally do not pair with each other over Bluetooth. Some Continuity features make use of Bluetooth, but not in that way. Same goes for iPhone management using the Finder. The "not supported" message you received would thus be entirely normal and expected.

You may be mistaking syncing over Wi-Fi for Bluetooth pairing. When you connect your iPhone to your Mac, using a USB cable, you can set up things so that the two can sync over Wi-Fi later. See: Use the Finder to sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with your Mac - Apple Support .

I would suggest connecting your iPhone to your Mac with a cable, and then re-checking the setting which the Apple Support article mentioned, to see if the update somehow switched it off. If the setting is turned on, and your Finder settings say to show iOS devices in the sidebars of Finder windows, and your iPhone and Mac are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, and it still doesn't work, then you could consider calling Apple Support and/or reporting a bug using Apple's feedback page.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. 😉

Is this issue resolved or not?

Let’s try a few different methods:

First, unplug the cable and check for dirt or damage.

If every looks good, then try plugging it into another port on your Mac.

If that doesn’t work, then try the following methods on your Mac.

First, click the  menu (upper-left corner of the screen), then click Restart…

After your Mac restarts, plug your iPhone into your Mac and see if that solves the issue.

If not, from the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Finder ▷ Settings…

Under the Finder Settings dialogue box, click Sidebar, then under Locations, make sure CDs, DVDs, and iOS Devices has a checkmark. ✅

Press Command ➕ W to close the dialogue box.

If that doesn’t help, then click the  menu (upper-left corner of the screen), then click Force Quit…

From the dialogue box, click Finder ▷ Relaunch.

If that doesn’t help, then click the  menu (upper-left corner of the screen), then while holding down the option key, click System Information.

Under Hardware, click USB and check if your iPhone shows up.

If it doesn’t appear, then it could require service, however; let’s see if this issue happens in Safe Mode:

Unplug everything except the power cord from your Mac, then:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press and hold the power button on your Mac. As you continue to hold the power button, your Mac turns on and loads startup options. When you see Options, release the power button.
3. Select your startup disk. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name.
4. Press and hold the Shift key, then click the “Continue in Safe Mode” button below your startup disk.
5. Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.

If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode:

Leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then try to reproduce the issue.

If the issue doesn't return, it might have been resolved by the other things that safe mode did at startup, such as checking your disk and clearing caches.

Need more help?

• United States: 1-800-APLCARE.
• Contact Support.
• Mac Support.
• Mac User Guide.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Smiliñ 😎 Brian

Mike Harrison wrote:

I appreciate all the responses. But here's the thing: since buying the iPhone a year ago, it had always appeared in my Mac's Finder sidebar without being connected to the Mac by cable.

Yes. That would involve syncing over Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth pairing. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both wireless technologies, but they are not the same technology.

If Apple changed something, and that will no longer be the case, I'm fine with that. I just don't understand why there was no mention of a change. What did I know?

ALL of this would've been unnecessary if I'd known that iPhone will no longer appear in the Finder sidebar, but everything will still function as it had.

If the control for Wi-Fi syncing still appears when you connect the Mac and the iPhone via a cable, I would assume that Apple has not intentionally removed the feature, and that you are looking either at

• A simple change to the setting, which you can reverse, or
• A bug, which should be reported so that Apple knows to fix it

EDIT: It seems the issue is solved, but still this solution which I said often causes problems to get resolved.

If your issue is not solved, maybe it's an OS version mismatch. My Mac was on 26.4, and my iPhone was on 26.5 which caused multiple connection issues. This may work for you. However I am not sure about your bluetooth issue, I have never connected my phone to my Mac via bluetooth and still used all features.

Mike Harrison wrote:

NOT SOLVED. After updating iOS, my 2023 Mac mini no longer "sees" my iPhone 16e. I checked settings, restarted both devices, and downloaded the software allegedly needed to correct this problem. But, after disconnecting the USB cable, the iPhone disappeared from my Finder sidebar, and it does not show up in Bluetooth settings with my other Bluetooth devices.

That is normal because the iPhone and Mac do not use the bluetooth connection for user activity.

Now i’m wondering if you were using some third-party app for syncing devices that was broken by the update.

Aatiksh wrote:

I have never connected my phone to my Mac via bluetooth and still used all features.

Had you read all of the responses in the thread, you would have understood that's not possible.