Stephen Fleming

Q: Persistent disconnect is causing iPhone backups to fail

This is driving me crazy. I cannot backup my iPhone 6S (running iOS 9.2.1) to iTunes (v 12.3.2.35, on Mac OS X 10.11.2). Sooner or later -- often, very near the end, according to the blue thermometer at the top of the iTunes page -- I get "iTunes could not backup iPhone because your iPhone disconnected."

 

I've Googled ad nauseam and tried a zillion things:

 

1)  Deleting existing backup from iTunes.

2)  Deleting the lockdown folder.

3)  Backing up from a new account on my iMac.

4)  Trying a new USB cable to a new port on my iMac.

5)  Rebooting the iMac and the iPhone.

6)  Rebooting the iMac into safe mode.

7)  Increasingly aggressive resets of the iPhone. Most recently, in desperation, I erased it entirely, restored to factory configuration, and am slowly adding apps back one by one. (This is a royal pain that has consumed many many hours of my life.)

 

Other info: My phone has never been jailbroken. iTunes WiFi Sync is disabled. There is no USB hub between my Mac and my iPhone. The Console info is particularly unhelpful, consisting of:

 

1/22/16 2:07:40.528 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: WARNING: Backing up eaa70d4338aaa4b810adf76a8cb7a8d75a5978fb

1/22/16 2:08:06.375 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: 7812:2215936|SocketStreamHandler.c:_SocketLogCallback| ERROR: SocketRecv (data): return of 0 bytes

1/22/16 2:08:06.378 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: 7812:2215936|StreamHandler.c:_ReadFunc| ERROR: Error reading data: Can't read data

1/22/16 2:08:06.380 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: 7812:2215936|DeviceLinkConnection.c:_DLHandlerThreadReadMessage| ERROR: Could not receive message: '(null)'

1/22/16 2:08:06.381 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: 7812:170557440|DeviceLinkConnection.c:_DLMainThreadMessagePortCallback| ERROR: Error creating components from read data: 'NULL data returned from read'

1/22/16 2:08:06.383 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: ERROR: Connection to device lost (MBErrorDomain/200)

1/22/16 2:08:06.384 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: ERROR: Backup error: -10

1/22/16 2:08:06.386 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: 7812:2215936|SocketStreamHandler.c:_SocketLogCallback| ERROR: SocketSend (data): error 32: Broken pipe

1/22/16 2:08:06.388 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: 7812:2215936|StreamHandler.c:_WriteFunc| ERROR: Error sending data: Can't send data

1/22/16 2:08:06.390 PM AppleMobileBackup[7812]: 7812:2215936|DeviceLinkConnection.c:_DLHandlerThreadMessagePortCallback| ERROR: Could not send disconnect message: 'Error writing length of data'

 

(And why can't Apple tell me WHICH FILE is being processed when the data error occurs? Grr.)

 

And, of course, each troubleshooting step takes most of an hour while I see if that is the key to getting a backup to work. I'm tearing my hair out, and I don't have too much hair left to lose. Any suggestions, other than just living dangerously and running without a backup?

iPhone 6s, iOS 9.2

Posted on Jan 22, 2016 11:29 AM

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Q: Persistent disconnect is causing iPhone backups to fail

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  • by ZikzakCorp,Helpful

    ZikzakCorp ZikzakCorp Jan 22, 2016 1:35 PM in response to Stephen Fleming
    Level 4 (1,033 points)
    iPhone
    Jan 22, 2016 1:35 PM in response to Stephen Fleming

    (And why can't Apple tell me WHICH FILE is being processed when the data error occurs? Grr.)

    Because most people won't understand or care.

     

    Some more suggestions from here: Resolve USB-related alerts in iTunes - Apple Support

     

    Try these steps to check the connection between your device or computer. You might need to do only one of these steps to resolve the issue, so test your connection after each step.

    1. Remove any third-party battery packs or cases from the device and ensure that the USB cable is connected directly to the port on the device.
    2. Close any virtualization apps (such as Parallels or VMWare).
      These apps might interfere with your computer's ability to communicate over USB if they aren't properly configured, or up to date. If this resolves the issue, contact the developer of the app to see if an update is available.
    3. Disconnect other USB devices from your computer, except for your keyboard and mouse. Then, reconnect your iOS device. If the issue is resolved, reconnect the other USB devices one at a time. Make sure your iOS device is still recognized by the computer after adding back each device.
    4. Try a different computer

     

    If that doesn't resolve the issue, I'd contact Apple Support.

  • by Stephen Fleming,

    Stephen Fleming Stephen Fleming Jan 22, 2016 1:36 PM in response to ZikzakCorp
    Level 1 (17 points)
    Jan 22, 2016 1:36 PM in response to ZikzakCorp

    Hmm. Disconnecting my cat's cradle of USB devices is a good idea. I'll try that next. Thanks!