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My wife's 4S iPhone not recognized by my Macbook Pro, OS X 10.6.8, at all, the device does not show up, while my 4S is recognized. Have restarted both devices to no effect.

When connected via USB2, her phone will not show up in the Finder, iPhoto or iTune, nor does Image Capture find it.


I assume the Apple Mobile Device Service is working if my 4S is recognized by all the above, and am loath to reinstall it, fearing digging myself deeper in the hole.

Posted on Aug 22, 2012 5:17 AM

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10 replies

Aug 22, 2012 5:35 AM in response to 3pin

Apple Mobile Device is working if one of your iOS devices is recognized.


Run through this troubleshooting here & let us know what you find:

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/assistant/itunes/


Failing that you can do general h/w troubleshooting here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2802


And as a last-ditch effort perform a reset via the "Erase All Content and Settings" option, just be sure to backup to iCloud first.


Info on iCloud backup here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2584


Actual backup & restore procedure here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4859


If you do end up resetting the device be sure to test it before restoring from the iCloud backup (that is, Setup as new iPhone - you can then still restore data later). This will eliminate any software variables that might be causing a conflict.


Also look at trying different USB cables & USB ports on your Mac.

Aug 22, 2012 4:03 PM in response to 3pin

Just read this:

Failing that you can do general h/w troubleshooting here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2802


All it does is to refer the problem back to the first suggested solution. They both mention this problem as the device not appearing in iTunes. Yes, that is true, but it doesn't appear anywhere when connected to the MacBook Pro.


The last suggested solution appears a bit too drastic for me: "Erase All Content and Settings"/backup/restore.

Aug 22, 2012 6:30 PM in response to 3pin

Alright we can come back to the reset later.


Does the iPhone get power at all when plugged into a USB port? That is, does the iPhone register as charging?

What about plugged into a wall adapter?


Check to see if your wife's iPhone is recognized in System Profiler:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049


Scrolling down to "Confirming power usage in System Profiler" will give you an idea of what to look for in System Profiler. (Apple Menu > About this Mac > More Info)


Also, do you have another computer you can connect your wife's iPhone to in order to see if it's recognized there?

Aug 24, 2012 12:15 AM in response to mac.heretic

Hi mac.heretic, and thanks for helping with my issue.


Yes, I had her iPhone plugged into the MacBook Pro yesterday and its battery showed it had increased its charge a few percentage points over a few minutes. The ports do work.


I just plugged it into my old iBook G4 running 10.11.4; the device does not show up.


Following instructions, the iPhone does not appear in the USB section of System Profiler.


3pin

Aug 24, 2012 5:51 AM in response to 3pin

No problem 3pin, glad to try & help out.


Well it doesn't sound like it's hardware unless the pins that transmit data inside the dock connector are defective. Or unless something on the logicboard is possibly having a failure.


Check for any corrosion in the dock connector. Check to see if the liquid indicator is tripped in the dock connector or headphone jack; you'll need a flash light to see. You're looking for a red or pink indicator.


Did you wife install any new apps? Did she change any settings just before it lost it's connectivity? Does she remember anything happening out of the ordinary?

Aug 25, 2012 1:45 AM in response to mac.heretic

I believe she has never tried to download anything on her iPhone. My hunch is that it never had been detected by this or any laptop. I'm thinking this problem came with the phone.


As to connections, my phone works on both ports with the same cables.


I see no corrosion or red or pink in the dock connector but cannot tell what color the end of the headphone jack is.


As to apps, she had downloaded a few.

Aug 25, 2012 8:45 AM in response to 3pin

Well 3pin you're in a bad way for sure. At this point I'm back to suggesting backing up the data via iCloud then resetting the iPhone to see if that fixes it after the iPhone is reset.


You can try removing the apps she installed but I doubt that'll change anything, honestly.


Otherwise make a reservation at a Genius Bar:

www.apple.com/retail


Not much else we can try over the forums, someone who knows the hardware needs to get their hands on the device. Knowing Apple's SOP regarding these kind of things I'd still encourage you to do that Erase All Content and Settings after doing an iCloud backup (make sure you set it up as a new iPhone once reset, if you do) - Apple like any other computer company wants to elimnate software issues. If you don't do it then the Geniuses will do it before they look at servicing the hardware of the iPhone.


Sorry 3pin. Wish there was more I could do. Unless someone else drops by with advice then that's all I've got. I've done some searches online & am not seeing anything different than what we've tried.

Good luck! And when you get it solved let us know.

My wife's 4S iPhone not recognized by my Macbook Pro, OS X 10.6.8, at all, the device does not show up, while my 4S is recognized. Have restarted both devices to no effect.

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