Unable to uninstall Apple mobile device support

Others might find this process useful for issues with iTunes 11.1.4.62....

Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (Win XP) or Programs and Features (later)

Remove all of these items in the following order:

• iTunes
• Apple Software Update
• Apple Mobile Device Support (if this won't uninstall move on to the next item)
• Bonjour
• Apple Application Support

Reboot, download iTunes, then reinstall, either using an account with administrative rights, or right-clicking the downloaded installer and selecting Run as Administrator.

The uninstall and reinstall process will preserve your iTunes library and settings, but ideally you would back up the library and your other important personal documents and data on a regular basis. See this user tip for a suggested technique.

Please note:

Some users may need to follow all the steps in whichever of the following support documents applies to their system. These include some additional manual file and folder deletions not mentioned above.

HT1925: Removing and Reinstalling iTunes for Windows XP

HT1923: Removing and reinstalling iTunes for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8

tt2

I've had the same issue on Windows 7 64-bit. iTunes wanted to upgrade itself but couldn't because it failed to start the Apple Mobile Device service and it ended up trashing the original installation. I uninstalled all Apple software but still theApple Mobile Device service was present in Add/Remove programs and attempts to uninstall it just ended up with the progress bar going backwards.

I eventually chose to "Repair" the install (right click on it and choose this option in Add/Remove programs). It still came up with the error (twice) saying it couldn't start the Apple Mobile Device service but I clicked Ignore both times. When this was complete I could then uninstall it and finally I was able to re-install iTunes.

Use the free Revo Uninstaller(download from link beow) to completely remove AMDS and all iTunes related programs.

http://download.cnet.com/Revo-Uninstaller/3000-2096_4-10687648.html?tag=mncol;1

Download iTunes from here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ and install

Try again, working through all the steps listed in HT1923: Removing and reinstalling iTunes for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8. Try to ignore any error messages that crop up along the way, and if a particular uninstall rolls back just move on to the next one. You should be able to get to the point that you've uninstalled all that you can. Reboot. Ignore any error on reboot. Then attempt to install iTunes from the current download page. It ought to work. Good luck...

tt2

Thanks. This helped me in combination with removing Quicktime (even though it is not mentioned in the KB article Remove and reinstall iTunes and related software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 - Apple Support).

Just to say I had the same problem pop up today when I tried updating to the newest iTunes, following turingtest2's advice here worked perfectly for me. So thank you to turingtest2!

Also saw this advice which just added a step to turingtest2's advice for if using Programs & Files through the Control Panel isn't uninstalling any of the Apple items.

A proper iTunes uninstall, which you did in the first bullet point above, should have removed all Apple related software (not music, etc.) from your PC. However, if you suspect it didn't for some reason, like if you got some sort of error, you can finish the job yourself.

To do so, manually delete the following four folders if they exist after Windows starts back up. Skip this if things seem to be going fine so far:

• C:\Program Files\Bonjour
• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple (just the Apple folder)
• C:\Program Files\iPod
• C:\Program Files\iTunes

Note: In 64-bit versions of Windows, all of these folders will be inside a Program Files (x86) folder instead.

I had trouble getting rid of Apple Mobile Device through the Control Panel so manually deleted it from C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple. Then continued on with the reboot & reinstall itunes using Run As Administrator & it finally all worked & itunes was back running properly & updated.

I couldn't do the above list in order because the Apple Mobile Device Support would not uninstall until I had unistalled every other Apple related program. After 2 hours of figuring out what to do (Quicktime was the last one - I had forgotton about it), THEN I was able to do an unistall of AMDS.

If you are having trouble getting rid of AMDS, unistall all Apple related software first, including:

• iTunes
• Apple Software Update
• Bonjour
• Apple Application Support
• Safari
• Quicktime
• then, Apple Mobile Device Support

I can garantee, this will solve your issue.

i have the same problem and when i try to uninstall AMDS the green bar with the progress loads and then for some random reason, goes backwards and undoes the uninstallation

i have tried very hard to remove all appl applications from the laptop so i can reinstall itunes but nothing will work, i have tried downloading the revo uninstaller but the uninstaller also had an error when i tried to use it to uninstall AMDS

i tried using revo uninstaller to remove it but to no effect so used pro uninstaller 11 - removed traces from registry as well as uninstalling AMDS . Also helps if you remove all traces of apple progs/files from pc/laptop inc registry files before re installing i tunes ,i did this and all is well.

Hi

I had the same problem as everyone on this post in that I would try to uninstall the Apple Mobile Device Support over and over and it wouldn't go away. I finally got rid of it.

I uninstalled all the apple products, including iTunes, Bonjour, and Quicktime. After I uninstalled them, the Apple Mobile Device Support was no longer in the Programs and Features list.

I've just had this problem with apple mobile device support, refused to repair or uninstall, Although i was able to uninstall all the other components with success. I managed to re-install itunes and resolve all problems by using compatitbility mode to grant admin rights on the installer. Windows 64bit version.

Also had this problem. Apple mobile device support would not uninstall when I clicked on uninstall. But when I clicked on "change" in the bar on the top, a new window came up that gave me the option of "repairing" or "removing". I clicked on "remove" and the program was finally removed.

I had to use a combination of pabramley's and mapdpt's ideas before I was able to get rid of the AMDS but it is finally gone. Now hopefully after a reboot I will be able to get the new version setup. 😟 This is not a good experience Apple (and well Microsoft; cause who knows who's issue this really was).

After a reboot and downloading/installing a fresh copy of both iTunes and iCloud Control Panel I seem to be working correctly again.

Thank you so much for the thread and the various suggestions.

I finally used the repair button on AMDS after trying remove 4 times (and removing all other Apple software). Worked like a charm and I didn't lose any of my music files (or anything else).

Why is it nearly always a problem updating ITunes? It's a good program, but at the same time a royal pain in the ***.

Thanx to pabramley for the tip!