Why does my iPad keeps connecting and disconnecting from the new late 2013 iMac

Same problem here, with iMac 2.7 GHz late 2013 and iPad 3. The iPad keep getting disconnected and getting a message that it can't sync to iTunes because it is not connected. Sometimes it works fine. I have changed USB slot from the one closest to the memory card slot to the one furthest away and it seems to be stable now. I have had the same problem with connecting the iPhone when needing to use it as a hotspot, which might have been due to the USB slot as well then. Will try to only use this one and see if that makes any difference.

Had the same problem with an 2013 iPad Air and late 2013 iMac 27".

I had no luck trying the different USB ports on the iMac itself.

What solved it for me was connecting the iPad to one of the USB-ports on my wired Apple Keyboard. The connection is stable now.

Yep, the same for me, in the end the issue turned out to be USB ports on the back of the monitor. Or perhaps some problem which rises from the fact that it's aluminium. BTW, also dropping signal under Windows.

I have the same issue. Ipad Air keeps disconnecting from Macbook Air in both ports. I cant do nothing and some of my Ipad apps are now in waiting mode, unusable because don't let me install them. Right Now, I cant use Safari because it dissapear and Chrome is in waiting status. 😟

I just purchased a brand new 13" Macbook Pro with Retina Display and had the same issue. My iPad Air was constantly connecting and then disconnecting from iTunes when connected to USB. I went into iTunes Preferences > Devices and "checked" the checkbox to "Prevent iPods, iPhones and iPads from syncing automatically" and the problem instantly went away and has not come back. This is obviously a software issue with iTunes. Hopefully this simple fix will help others in this thread with the same issue. Good luck!

Ran into this and figured out that pretty much all OEM cables are missing a protection circuit that's built into official apple products. I had bought a portable battery backup awhile ago that had a strange looking adapter that looked like it was just a usb male-to-female pass through, though in reality it had one of those protection circuits built in, and when I use it to connect to my computer this behavior stopped immediately and didn't continue.

I am having issues getting iTunes to see the ipad with this thing plugged in, so that might only be a solution to charge your ipad and not to sync. Also couldn't find anybody selling just one of the pass-throughs, so really you're probably better of just using an official apple cable (and, of course, spending more money...) to solve this problem.

Same problem here - my combination is my (brand new) MBA 2015 and an older Ipad 3rd gen (2012). Original USB (30 pin) cable, updated software. Tried all the workarounds suggested here above without results. Interestingly enough 1) I never had any problems in USB-connecting the Ipad to an older (2011) MBA, and 2) it looks like the USB connection between the same MBA and my Iphone 6 works fine. It's a shame that Apple didn't fix that - as far as I know.

i think its because of the cable problem. i tried with many cables with my iPad2, all are working fine with Mac mini. when i used those cable with iMac its keep on (connecting/disconnecting). only genuine cable worked for me.

As others have mentioned, what worked for me was moving the cable to a different port. I took an extra step and ejected-disconnected my external hard drive. So I have nothing else plugged in. Before I tried that I tested with my iPhone, it had no problem, but my iPad was having the issues. So, with nothing else plugged into the iMac, and trying different ports, I now have a stable connection. This is not a fix obviously, but a band-aid. Everyone please do their part to get this fixed by submitting a ticket to Apple Support so they are more aware of the issue. I see many different computers and devices, so this is not an isolated incident.

I had the same issue with an iPad 2 and Retina Macbook Pro (2014). I got around it by plugging my iPad into a usb hub and then into the usb port on the macbook. No charging came through for the iPad but the connection was steady.

I just had a problem where it was connecting and disconnecting and reconnecting every second. Earlier this morning, I had a wifi problem and had re-started my router. While my computer had re-connected and was working fine, the ipad was connected but had bad IP information. The second I turned off wifi on my iPad, it resolved the issue. It looks like the sync logic is breaking down trying to decide if it should be syncing over wifi or the USB cable.

Hope that helps!

My iPad1 has the same problem w/ iMac (2014), but not MBP (2013). I only use original mac cables to connect. All USB-ports on the back of iMac have this problems. Then I put the cable in the usb-port of my keyboard (yes mine still has that port 😉) and the problem was over!

I have the same problem with my Macbook Air 2013 model. There seems to be some compatibility issue with USB3.0 port of mac with the ipad cable.

Easiest solution that worked for me is to connect is USB HUB(Splitter) that is usually USB 2.0. Now connect the ipad cable in USB hub slot and then connect the HUB to Mac.Worked for me@

SOLVED!!!!

For me this was also a USB-power issue: if I connect my ipad to my 2015 macbook pro then it keeps disconnecting every half second. If instead I connect it to my cinema display then it connects and charges fine.

Thanks, I connected the iPad to external USB hub and it works, it is funny that Apple has this problem since 2014 and not resolved this issue, it is more funny that when you connect to external USB hub which is not Apple hardware the issue resolved!!