iOS 9.0.1 Message: The iPhone cannot be used because it requires a newer version of iTunes

I have the same problem, having updated my iPhone 6 to iOS 9.0.1 yesterday.

When I connect my iPhone to iTunes on my iMac, to try and sync it, a message comes up on the iMac saying "The iPhone (my name) cannot be used because it requires a newer version of iTunes. Go to www.itunes.com to download the latest version of iTunes."

However, iTunes tells me I am using the newest version available (11.4) for my Mac OS, which is 10.6.8. So I would need to upgrade to a newer Mac OS in order to get a newer version of iTunes, but I don't wish to do this is the design software I use all the time wouldn't be compatible with the newer OS so I would have to purchase a new version of that as well, costing several £100's!

The iMac is an Intel Core i5, 2.7 GHz.

Can anyone help?!!

I have the same problem as well, any help would be appreciated!

Yes, updated here to 9.0.1 and now i cant sync my iPad, "ipad needs newer version of iTunes. Sigh.

Yes, we can all help, but there is nothing else you can do except update your Mac to Yosemite and you will then be able to update your iTunes to version 12 which you need.

Unfortunately, this is what you have to do because Snow Leopard OS 10.6.8 is outdated now, so cannot support iTunes 12.

It shows that you have an intel iMac which is capable of being updated to Yosemite, which is free to download from the App Store.

You do have 2 other options, though. What you could do is partition your hard drive and install Yosemite on one part and then Snow Leopard on the other part - you would need a Snow Leopard disc though - partition your hard drive 50/50 and then you can boot into whichever OS you want to use, os if you want to sync your phone or do anything else, then boot into Yosemite or for older software boot into Snow Leopard.

Your other alternative is to update your Mac to Yosemite and keep a bootable hard drive that you can attach to your iMac and boot up Snow Leopard - just get a Snow Leopard disc and load it onto that hard drive and you can then attach it to your Mac and have a bootable drive for Snow Leopard whenever you need to use it.

These are your only alternatives, but unfortunately Snow Leopard is old now and technology moves froward quickly and iTunes 11.4 is the highest that Snow Leopard can support, so if you want a new phone and want to use then latest version of iTunes, then you need to update - no other option.

Your only answer is to update your Mac to Yosemite - this is the only solution as Snow Leopard and below will not support anything higher than iTunes 11.4.

Bottom Line: Update your Mac or don't use your phone.

Just tried that but apparently Yosemite is not available as an upgrade in the US any longer. "The item you've requested is not currently available in the U.S. store."

I have this problem as well. Unfortunately, while the alternatives described by Ethmoid are well laid out, the statement "there is nothing else you can do but…" implies that 1) this problem is a result of our use of "old" technology and that 2) it was unavoidable.

First of all, saying Snow Leopard is outdated is insufficient and irrelevant - many of us on the forum were all using it and willing to make sacrifices to do so - i.e., we could make choices to decline updates etc so we could still keep our software/devices/workflow compatible with Snow Leopard - if something requires iTunes 12.2 or OS X 10.11 we choose not to use it. Everyone's happy. The fact that it is "too old" just means "don't do the update".

Second, and more importantly, the manner by which the problem occurred resulted directly from Apple, not us, and I would like an explanation. We were invited to update iOS to 9.0.X. That there was no strong warning about needing a particular minimum version of iTunes is distinct from there being no warning that "the current version of iTunes you are using will render this Phone not useable on this computer". Every other software update I can think of I have ever done on any platform will have you update the prerequisites (i.e. iTunes 12.2/12.3) FIRST if they are required for the main update (i.e. iOS 9.0.X) to function. (And of course at this point we could have stopped, and still used our iPhone and computer happily.) In fact, allowing a device-software (iPhone) to update to a state in which it is no longer useable by the application-software (ITunes) that CONTROLS THE UPDATING would seem to disastrously fail basic, good programing or procedural practices. I was honestly highly surprised when I got that error message realizing that this is what just happened.

As mentioned in the first point, I and others make choices to maintain the computing environment that best suits us. In this case, the choice was taken away. In essence I feel like I've been tricked and/or that Apple did not sufficiently think through a very basic principle of not updating a device out of usability by the current system (without first requesting update of that system). Over the 22 years I've had Apple products, I never thought I'd question their software design capability or approach to customer, but this has done both, not to mention eliminating any reason for me to get an iPhone over another phone based on compatibility with my computer/files/etc.

Could someone please provide any insight of why the update was so (apparently) bizarrely and carelessly carried out in this manner (or if I missed the warnings?), and if it will be in the future, so we can make our choice on what computer/software to use in the future?

Thank you very much.

As Ethmoid correctly summarizes: Update your Mac or don't use your phone.

Now that the update to iOS 9.1 is done, I probably will be getting rid of my iPhone (I'll see how feasible it is using without iTunes).

But the deeper problem is that I never would have gotten into this problem if the update hadn't been disallowed because it would make the phone unusable (unusable = incompatible with the very Mac that updated it). It sounds completely ridiculous, but that's what happened. Usually those kind of updates are not allowed to happen. If you didn't want to update your Mac, who in the world would knowingly go through with a process at the end of which your only two options were "Update your Mac or don't use your phone"?! This isn't an issue about using "old" software - it's about being warned that an update will make your device incompatible.

Has anyone heard any more from Apple? Or, is there an alternative to using iTunes to backup etc your phone?

I have to agree with pr314159. I can't believe an update would be allowed that would render the phone unusable by the application updating it. I went to the Genius bar once my phone was no longer able to sync just to be sure that they could not revert the iOS to 8, and they said that was not possible. I asked them why iTunes 11.4 would suggest I update to an iOS that it would no longer be able to sync to. They said iTunes would have no way of knowing that the version of iOS was incompatible. If that is actually true, that seems some pretty poor programming on Apple's part. I've been a loyal Apple user for 20 years, and I have to say this particular move is enough to make me rethink that. They are completely unapologetic about this. They have to be aware that they still have a large user base running 10.8.6. If they are not aware of that, then they should spend a little more time on these boards. And yet their only solution is that we all upgrade our OS. I'm still on 10.8.6 for some very good reasons and I feel like I've been swindled onto an upgrade path I don't want to be on.

Ethmoid, your insensitivity to this issue is appalling. Telling people to upgrade in the tone you used assuming they can even afford a new computer should make you rethink your purpose for, and whether you should even be on this forum. You offered no help whatsoever and sounded condescending and uncaring to the problem that has arisen due to Apple's lack of warning. I came to this forum to find a solution for this problem that I too have and finding you posting makes me want to contact Apple to get a solution from them directly making you irrelevant to me just like an older Mac and OS 10.6 is to you. Unbelievable.