error while connecting iphone to itunes

i get an error message when trying to connect my phone to itunes:

itunes cannot connect to iphone because an error occurred while reading from the device

ive tried restoring the phone and the phone software is up to date, itunes is the latest available for my macbook pro

late 2006 macbook pro osx 10.7.5

itunes 12.2.2.25

iphone 5s

ios 11.4

would the error be down to old itunes version?if so is there a way around this as it is the lastest my mac will support?