Level 1

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Why is my iPhone not available for synching?

I'm on MacOS 26.6. and iO 26.6 right now but this didn't work before either. I haven't done this for a long time, so maybe things have changed?

Here is how I used to do it:

Open a a new window in Finder, scroll the left sidebar and spot my iPhone's name, click on it and the window's content would change into the iPhone sync screen with the various options available. I could do manual backups and trigger syncs from there.

Now I can't find my iPhone in the sidebar and therefore can't access the sync window.

Wired or wireless doesn't seem to matter.

However, what does work is, I can access my iPhone photo library on my MBP even via WiFi. So somehow there seems to be a connection but my iPhone still doesn't show up in the sidebar.

I haven't fiddled with any settings that much. So I do not know what causes this.

Any help appreciated.

iPhone 17

Posted on Jul 29, 2026 4:22 PM

Top-ranking reply

steve626

Level 6

17,219 points

Posted on Aug 2, 2026 2:30 PM

Your computer is apparently struggling as Etrecheck reports "poor" performance and SSD write speeds that are about 40% what they should be. This could be due to running out of disk space or the scores of background processes you have running, including virtual machines and others mentioned below.

More details of note from the Etrecheck report:

“Configuration profiles found - This computer may have configuration profiles installed.”

Is your Mac a “managed computer,” managed by an employer or someone else? If so, that could explain some of your oddities, including the iPhone not linking properly.

“Low disk space - This computer is running low on free hard drive space.”

Low disk space (you have about 10% free, it should be at least 20% free) can cause all manner of slowness and beachballs. I’m not sure it can explain the iPhone not appearing, however.

“Unsigned Files: Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.prey.agent.plist

Executable: /usr/local/lib/prey/current/bin/prey

This “prey” software looks like your managed computer installation, a security tool. Suggest you uninstall it to troubleshoot your multiple issues and see if that eliminates one or more of them.

I would uninstall Cocktail, Little Snitch, and Malwarebytes. Cocktail and Malwarebytes should be ok, Little Snitch has caused problems like yours for other users as reported here. Any of those three can be problematic if there was a flawed installation or they are out of date. Also, programs like Cocktail sometimes “clean” out user files that cause misbehaviors in MacOS, and if that happened an OS reinstall might be needed. They can all be reinstalled if shown not to be related to your issues. I would regardless turn off all Malwarebytes background automatic scanning, that is a known drain on Mac resources.

“[Running] Proton VPN WireGuard - version 6.5.1 (ProtonVPN AG - installed 2026-05-01) Application: /Applications/ProtonVPN.app - version 6.5.1 (ProtonVPN AG - installed 2026-05-01)”

Definitely uninstall Proton Wireguard VPN. VPNs can mess up any computer.

You have ON1 tools installed for photo editing. I am not familiar with them but might it recognize your iPhone as a camera and somehow lock it up and make it unavailable for other functions?

“Performance: System Load: 10.02 (1 min ago) 17.28 (5 min ago) 11.86 (15 min ago) Nominal I/O usage: 5.43 MB/s File system: 17.03 seconds Write speed: 1338 MB/s Read speed: 3069 MB/s”

“EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.16 (68098) Report generated: 2026-08-02 09:50:33 Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com Runtime: 14:49 Performance: Poor”

Performance is “poor,” and your write speeds are less than 40% what they should be. Clearly your Mac is struggling, this could be due to the scores of background extensions you have installed, being loaded down by things like Little Snitch, or just running low of free disk space. Also you have multiple cloud syncing processes happening and programs like Little Snitch or the other security tools you have (including the VPN) can grind those processes down to a halt.

Given that you have other problems, like not being able to see your iPhone on the desktop and Safe Mode not working, part of me wonders if it would make sense to back up (make two backups, maybe one with Time Machine and one with SuperDuper), then erase/format your Mac following Apple's instructions at

What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support

then on first boot your Mac will look like a new empty Mac and you can migrate from one of the backups ONLY USER ACCOUNTS AND FILES (NOTHING ELSE) but install nothing. Then test. If all is well, you can reinstall apps one or two at a time, testing after each. By the way, this is the standard Apple solution for Macs that are misbehaving but have no hardware issues that can be identified. Before doing this, you might want to have someone at the Apple Genius bar or at an Apple Authorized Service Provider run diagnostics to make sure there are no hardware issues as this is an older Mac.

It's up to you, you can also try running uninstallers for all the above to see if the problems then go away. But you do need to free up a lot more disk space for this Mac to run smoothly.

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31 replies

Aug 1, 2026 12:06 PM in response to uemit

Sounds like you may have more significant problems.

For what it's worth, connecting a phone works normally on macOS 26.6 for me, as it always has. I rarely connect my phone with a cable, so when I do so the first thing that I see is the allow accessories prompt (this is an M4 Pro MacBook Pro).

After allowing it, it shows up in the Sidebar as expected (though I do need to apply the iOS update for 26.6).

uemit Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 1, 2026 12:17 PM in response to neuroanatomist

But that’s exactly how it used to be for me. Open a Finder window - boom, iPhone appears in the sidebar.

I’ve done the Etre report and nothing points towards a hardware issue.

It shows a few software issue but definitely nothing physically wrong with my MBP.

I’ve just tried safe-boot and even with MacOS 26.6 the same sluggish behaviour is happening. I’m going to force restart now.

uemit Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 3, 2026 11:43 AM in response to uemit

I have 500 GB and 180 are free. Is that not enough? It's my personal MBP. That it says it's managed, that's because of Prey which I would hate to remove in case the laptop gets stolen. I wouldn't want to remove Little Snitch either because it's legit paid for software, approved by Apple. I don't care about Cocktail which I don't think I've ever used and also get rid of Malwarebytes. Proton VPN is already switched off I don't need it. Is it better to completely get rid of it even though it's disabled?

Many Thanks for your reply.

A clean re-install would make sense, but it also kind of scares me a bit.

Aug 3, 2026 12:10 PM in response to uemit

uemit wrote:

I have 500 GB and 180 are free. Is that not enough? It's my personal MBP. That it says it's managed, that's because of Prey which I would hate to remove in case the laptop gets stolen.

What does Prey do that the built in Find My doesn't do?

I wouldn't want to remove Little Snitch either because it's legit paid for software, approved by Apple.

The fact that an app is available in the App Store doesn't mean Apple endorses it. It just means that it doesn't break any of Apple's rules. Software that's available in the App Store can still cause problems. And Little Snitch is a know culprit in a lot of issues. Why do you think you need Little Snitch?

Proton VPN is already switched off I don't need it. Is it better to completely get rid of it even though it's disabled?

A VPN, even if turned off, can still cause problems. Remove it.

You seem to be installing a lot of stuff you don't really need, possibly out of a desire to keep your Mac secure. However, installing all that stuff can either make it less secure (many VPNs fall into that category) or just cause problems without really improving your security.

Review this article:

Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community

uemit Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 3, 2026 12:12 PM in response to uemit

I've just run Etre-check again and it still points out storage shortages. What am I supposed to think of a software that believes I have not enough disk space when almost half of it is free? How reliable is the rest of the information this app provides?

Thanks.

uemit Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 3, 2026 12:23 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

I have now deleted all the apps you guys mentioned. Apart from Little Snitch. I always had this even back when my iPhone showed up in the sidebar. Everyone I know has it. It shows who's trying to connect and call back home. I want to know when chatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Kimi and Claude are calling submitting data.

Can I not just temporarily disable it to check if it makes a difference? Do I really have to remove it?

Aug 3, 2026 12:35 PM in response to uemit

Available space is not the same as free space. If you delete files, the space is available but not immediately free. Also, if you use Time Machine then those 'deleted' files remain in local TM snapshots.

The place to check how much Free space you have is in Disk Utility (in Applications > Utilities), by selecting the main container disk below the drive itself (you may need to select View menu > Show all devices to see it). For example, on my M4 MacBook Pro, the Storage settings pane and Get Info on the internal drive show 1.24 TB of Available space, whereas Disk Utility shows there is 1.15 TB of actual Free space, 90 GB less than ‘available’.

Note that you can also see the Free space in the System Report (System Settings > General > About > System Report button, at the bottom > Storage).

Aug 3, 2026 1:07 PM in response to uemit

uemit wrote:

I have now deleted all the apps you guys mentioned. Apart from Little Snitch. I always had this even back when my iPhone showed up in the sidebar. Everyone I know has it. It shows who's trying to connect and call back home. I want to know when chatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Kimi and Claude are calling submitting data.

You know those apps are sending and receiving data. I'm not sure why the specifics of when matter that much. You still need to exercise care in your use of them. What actionable information does Little Snitch give you?

uemit Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 3, 2026 3:15 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

I guess the answer is... nothing. I've uninstalled every app this thread has told me to. I might not even need Little Snitch because I click on Allow anyway. I do not need Virtual Box. I don't need it either. I don't need anything apart from Design Software because I'm a Diploma Designer.

Somehow I'm think a fresh install is probably the best but I'm always worried about the data and my saved passwords. I can't go through all this setup again.

steve626

Level 6

17,219 points

Aug 3, 2026 4:18 PM in response to uemit

uemit wrote:

I've just run Etre-check again and it still points out storage shortages. What am I supposed to think of a software that believes I have not enough disk space when almost half of it is free? How reliable is the rest of the information this app provides?

This is why it reported running low on disk space:

Mounted Volumes:

disk1s1s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /

Read-only: Yes

Size: 499.96 GB

Free: 58.41 GB

That's barely 10% free space. If you have since freed up some space, that's good.

steve626

Level 6

17,219 points

Aug 3, 2026 7:56 PM in response to uemit

Please see neuroanatomist's response a short time ago about using Disk Utility to determine free space.

You can delete snapshots in Disk Utility. That may free up some space but they will be recreated so it will be temporary.

There are several issues, I suspect with your Mac. Ultimately you can free up space by long-term moving of files off to other storage media. However the original problem of the iPhone not connecting for syncing to your Mac remains and will still remain even after you resolve your disk space shortage until the root cause is found and mitigated. I still believe that it has to do with one or more of the non-Apple security enhancements that had been installed, but don't have enough insight into your Mac's setup to discern it. There is also a possibility that somehow your iPhone has been configured in some way that is causing this, e.g. something installed on the iPhone, maybe to make it more "secure" but impeding normal operation.

uemit Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 3, 2026 8:11 PM in response to steve626

Which storage shortage? Internally, I don't have any issues. Half of my internal storage is free. Plus, I have 1 SSD for TimeMachine and 1 for general safety backups. Technically, that's 3 SSDs that I have.

What exactly am I doing wrong?

I literally have terra bytes of storage.

But me iPhone still doesn't show up.

steve626

Level 6

17,219 points

Aug 3, 2026 8:36 PM in response to uemit

uemit wrote:

Which storage shortage? Internally, I don't have any issues. Half of my internal storage is free. Plus, I have 1 SSD for TimeMachine and 1 for general safety backups. Technically, that's 3 SSDs that I have.

No one reading here has access to your Mac other than you. You posted this in your Etrecheck report:

Mounted Volumes:

disk1s1s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /

Read-only: Yes

Size: 499.96 GB

Free: 58.41 GB

I literally have terra bytes of storage.

Not on your internal drive, according to the Etrecheck report. But you should start a separate thread regarding storage, unless you have already resolved that and indeed have TB of free space, in which case it is not an issue. Your Mac's storage is really a separate situation from the iPhone sync problem and is not causing it, in my opinion.