No "devices" on left side of itunes window?

I'm having the same difficulty.

I am running OS X 10.7.2 on my MacBook Pro, and iOS 5.0.1 on both my iPhone and my iPad. The devices are plugged in to their chargers and my wifi network is up and running fine.

To get the devices to show up in the iTunes left column I either have to power them down and back up, re-start my Time Capsule, or physically unplug the devices from the chargers and into the USB port on my MacBook Pro.

If I then unplug the device from my MacBook pro it disappears from the iTunes left column without clicking on the "eject" icon.

If I get a successful connection (device "mounted" in left iTunes column), and then close and re-open iTunes, the device is gone.

"Sync with this iDevice over Wi-Fi" is checked in device options in iTunes

What's the problem?

Same problem as @augiedoggy not @Crayonlight: “Devices” is not present in the left column of iTunes (only Library, Store, Genius and Playlists). When I plug a device in iTunes doesn’t recognise it, although iPhoto will show the device and download photos successfully. Additional info:

• Previously I had Devices present all the time, with three devices syncing over wifi
• iTunes > Preferences > Devices > Device Backups is empty(!!)
• Backup files are still present in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup (phew)
• I made a new account, but no Devices in iTunes or response to plugged-in device either
• Recently installed XCode 3.2.6 + Command Line Tools, but probably not related (it’s been a while since I checked iTunes)
• Basic toubleshooting: everything updated (iTunes 10.6.1(7), Mac OS X 10.6.8), I’ve restarted devices & computer, tried different USB ports & cables, unplugged other USB cables

Reinstalling iTunes worked for me:

1. Move /Applications/iTunes.app to the Trash
2. Download and install iTunes from http://www.apple.com/itunes/

HTH

iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Mac OS X