The iPhone "xx" cannot be synced. An unknown error occurred (-50).

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Level 1

10 points

The iPhone "xx" cannot be synced. An unknown error occurred (-50).

IOS 7.1.2

iTunes 11.3 (54)

iPhone 4S

For the first time an error message (also called an "alert" for some reason which is not clear) saying that iTunes will not sync my iPhone.

Does anyone know why this might happen?

Info: the phone is not new, it belongs to me including a subscription with a phone operator (no jailbreak), I've synced it in excess of 50 times successfully I would estimate. I'm not aware of anything unusual occurring to the phone and it synced correctly last time when I downloaded the current version of the IOS.

Thanks for your help.

Posted on Jul 13, 2014 4:13 PM

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Answer 1

Welshm8y

Level 1

0 points

Jul 16, 2014 1:54 PM in response to Iain Hart

The same thing has happened to me and started with my text alerts becoming silent. I read if you back up you iphone 4s and then restore it to factory settings then re-install your software the problem would be solved. I followed the instructions to the letter and now I have text alerts but cannot synch my iphone to itunes and I do not have a single track on my phone. When synching it goes through the 4 stages but then nothing and from time to time i get the (-54) alert and have tried all the various solution I have found via Google but to no avail.

I have owned iphones since day one and have an ipad air and was just about to buy a mac, but after this and no assistance from Apple, I am very disappointed and now lack trust in the brand.

Any solutions would be welcomed.

Thank you.

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Answer 2

Iain Hart Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 18, 2014 5:41 AM in response to Welshm8y

In my case I tried syncing the next day and it worked. Nothing was changed by me on my Mac or on my iPhone, but obviously something happened in the background. Who knows what? It's frustrating when this happens but it doesn't happen that often to me so far.

My suggestion for you would be to contact Apple directly. Apple Store, or phone them, or use the Support website. They deal with these issues all the time. My experience so far with Support was mainly very positive.

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/contact/

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