Is iOS 10 compatible with iTunes 12.2.2?

My MacBook is ancient and the latest Mac OS I can run 10.7, which means the latest iTunes I can run is 12.2.2. This used to work with my iPad Air no problem, but has never worked with my iPhone SE that originally came with iOS 9.

I don't often sync the iPad with my MacBook as it backs up to iCloud, but I wanted to put some audio tracks onto it. I tried today and it isn't working. I'm receiving an error message, "iTunes could not connect to the iPad “******'s iPad” because an invalid response was received from the device."

I get the same messages with my iPhone SE. My guess is now the iOS 10 update has made my MacBook even more obsolete by not being able to sync with my iPad. I've searched around and can't find any system requirements for iTunes concerning iOS 10, so I'm not 100% this is the case.

Is there a fix for this? Or is my guess correct, that iOS 10 is not compatible with iTunes 12.2.2?

Also, if it's not compatible, if anyone has any workaround of how to get music from my MacBook onto my iPad (I've noticed Amazon Music allows me to upload tracks and then download them onto my iPad, but with a limit) then I'd appreciate it if you could share!

Thanks

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7.5), null

Posted on Sep 23, 2016 4:52 AM

39 replies

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Sep 23, 2016 8:05 AM in response to Limnos

Limnos wrote:

I also did the update over WiFi but that doesn't seemed to have helped.

Did you do it directly from Apple or did you do it using wireless syncing with iTunes?

You can not update OTA via wireless syncing with iTunes. The only way that you can update OTA is Settings>General>Software Update directly on the device that you want to update.

Sep 23, 2016 8:13 AM in response to Limnos

This doesn't make a whole lot of sense but thanks for the reply regardless.

THanks everyone for the replies, you've been really helpful. I only wanted to transfer some audio tracks for a language course so I'll resort to using VLC which I can transfer via WiFi from Safari, I use Spotify/QQ music for my music anyway.

perhaps one day this almost 9 year old MacBook will be updating, but not today!

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Sep 23, 2016 8:29 AM in response to Ashley Bennett

Ashley Bennett wrote:

perhaps one day this almost 9 year old MacBook will be updating, but not today!

My wife uses my 8 year old unibody MacBook and it still works like a charm. It is running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and it certainly has limitations, but it still works great and it runs a version of MS office that my wife and daughter still prefer to use.

Sep 25, 2016 10:21 PM in response to Ashley Bennett

I've found my iPhone 5 is now "locked out of" iTunes/iPhoto after updating it to iOS 10. I have Mac OS X 10.7.5 therefore have iTunes version 12.2.x & no matter how many tutorials I try that write that it WILL restore my iPhone to iOS 9.3.x, none of them work. iTunes won't recognise the ipsw due to a Firmware problem & iTunes won't sync with the iPhone due to a device error. Dropbox desktop client won't work with the phone either.

Anyway, regarding your question about getting music from your MacBook to the iPad, this is a bit clunky but it works ... if you have a Dropbox account (free) then using Dropbox on the MacBook to upload to Dropbox.com then using Documents (free) app from the App Store you can achieve your goal.

Documents by Readdle

Documents app can connect to your Dropbox account & download music & it has it's own media player so you can create a folder & play whatever music is in it one after another.

As I said, clunky, but hey ... at least there is a way! Most other media player options require you upgrade your Mac OS X version beyond Lion so if that is possible (not on my 2006 iMac) then you should consider this.

Sep 26, 2016 9:04 PM in response to Ashley Bennett

that why im moving to one plus 3.....never been so frustrated with apple....there marketing strategy and their products are getting worse day by day.....ugh!!!!!!!!

Sep 26, 2016 11:43 PM in response to Chez Marto

Thanks for the reply to this.

That's an interesting workaround. It's a shame music can't be uploaded to Dropbox and then saved into the Music app on the iPad.

IVe I've found the best way around it, that doesn't require any uploading to the internet, is with VLC media player. From VLC you can enable wireless transfer and it will give you an IP address to visit on your Mac. You can then drag and drop audio files and they will appear in the VLC app which automatically sorts files from metadata, or they can be put into folders.

THe only thing missing as a shuffle option!

PSM61

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2016 12:19 PM in response to Ashley Bennett

Confirm, does not work with this itunes. did you try to send music via bluetooth ?

I did not try but ... I am in the same situation. Hopefully my business mac is more recent (less old ...) and mountain lion and itunes up than 12.2 so

It is a shame Apple does not say any thing about that we will be still on IOS 9 on our Ipad ...

Bon courage

Sorry for my english

Sep 28, 2016 3:30 AM in response to Ashley Bennett

I have this problem too, with my iPhone 5. I will downgrade my iPhone to iOS 9.3.5 to be safe (syncing with iTunes).

AcerStan

Level 1

4 points

Oct 8, 2016 7:14 AM in response to Ashley Bennett

In the same boat as you are. OS X Lion with iTunes 12.2.2 and it doesn't recognise iPhone SE. The funny part is that even Windows XP is still supported for the new iTunes 12.5.1 *** Apple?

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Oct 8, 2016 7:42 AM in response to AcerStan

Windows XP and Vista max out at iTunes 12.1.3.6.

tt2

Oct 8, 2016 1:43 PM in response to Ashley Bennett

Hi Ashely, a few weeks have passed but I just found the thread from your post. I have an iphone 5 that recently upgraded to ios 10, and now won't work with my 6 year old MacBook (runnig ios 10.7.5 and itunes 12.2.2).

I wondered if you had been able to resolve your problem.

I am unable to sync my photos. So, I wondered if VLP Media PLayer could be used for photos.

Many thanks for sharing your learning,

Jennifer

Oct 8, 2016 1:45 PM in response to stephan71

Hi Stephan, did you have any success downgrading to 9.3.5? I have an iphone 5 with the same problems. Can't sync with my MacBook because it only has itunes 12.2.2. Would love to hear your learning before going through the downgrade ordeal.

THanks, Jennifer

Oct 8, 2016 4:09 PM in response to D Jennifer M

D Jennifer M, hopefully this will help you as well as anyone else coming across this discussion.

For my music and any movies I want to transfer I use VLC Player. You can transfer content wirelessly through any web browser from any computer that is connected to the same WiFi network, so is really easy. The app is mainly aimed at playing videos so things like shuffle don't exist, but it is a means to an end. I currently live in Shanghai, China, so I use an app called QQ Music, which is similar to Spotify, that I play most of my music through anyway.

As for photos, I admitted defeat! Because I couldn't backup to my computer anymore I started backing up to iCloud. But because of the limited space (5GB for free) I had to start paying the 79p (£0.79, not sure of the $ price) each month for 50GB of space. It's fantastic! Now all my photos can be viewed and downloaded from a web browser. When I eventually get a new Mac they will sync with the Photos app (that replaced iPhoto that I currently have).

Anothing else I want to transfer (books, PDFs, etc) I use an app called DropCopy. You download the app on your iPhone/iPad and the companion application on your Mac. Then you can simply copy files across from you device. Dropbox would work well for this too, but it is blocked in China so it is a pain to get working and DropCopy just requires that both devices are connected to the same WiFi network so large files don't need to be uploaded then downloaded.

Hope this helps! I can't think of any other media I use that can't be synced using the above methods.

Oct 8, 2016 5:59 PM in response to Ashley Bennett

I tried VLC but it didn't work, can't recall why but I was desperately trying everything so maybe it was easier for me just to stick to Documents.app for media than switch to VLC, but for photos I also use Flickr which has a 1TB free storage which is insane. For some weird reason Dropbox desktop app doesn't sync with my phone anymore due to the device apparently being "locked" which it isn't so have to go via their cloud service which is clunky. Sad China band Dropbox.

Oct 9, 2016 8:36 AM in response to D Jennifer M

Hi Jennifer,

I was able to downgrade to iOS 9 by a *-ipsw file. It is just possible to restore in iTunes by a signed version, may be You have to hurry up, it won't be signed endless. Just search after "restore ipsw". You will loose Your data, except you have made a backup when your device was running iOS 9.

Good luck!

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Is iOS 10 compatible with iTunes 12.2.2?