itunes 12.8 doesnt see my iphone xs max

Question

itunes 12.8 doesnt see my iphone xs max

Hi all,

I got my MAX today and tried to restore it from an iTunes backup, but iTunes (12.8) doesn't even recognize it. I've tried resetting the trust issue incase I hit "don't trust"on accident, and still nothing worked. I even plugged it into another mac here at work and noticed that iTunes saw my phone on the other mac. My laptop doesn't recognize it plugged in. I've also tried all 3 cords in my office. And it doesn't matter which of the 3 USB ports I try. FWIW, I have a mid 2010 17" MPB i5.

So much for the hype of having a new toy on day 1, LOL.

Thanks in advance.

-M

iPhone Xs Max, iOS 12

Posted on Sep 21, 2018 5:58 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Sommer86clothing Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 2, 2018 2:32 PM in response to Sommer86clothing

so what I had to do was re-download iTunes. I had the newest version of it, but it wouldn't recognize my phone, just my older tech. After 2 days of surfing the web for answers, 1 site said to just go to apple.com and download iTunes again. I thought it wouldn't work and that my computer would recognize that I already had the newest version and not let me do anything.

This guy site mentioned that it would absolutely do it, and to try. I tried it, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It downloaded the newest version again (which I had) and I installed it. It said I was about to replace an existing version, and I said it was fine.

As soon as I had the install completed, iTunes noticed all my older tech AND my new iPhone 10s Max.

Thanks folks.

Reply

Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

272,737 points

Oct 2, 2018 2:28 PM in response to Sommer86clothing

Download the current 12.8 installer for iTunes from https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/.

Unlock your iOS device and connect it to USB.

Install iTunes from the .dmg that you've downloaded.

Near the end of the installation it should announce that a further software update is required.

Install that and iTunes should see your devices.

Or wait for Apple to release iTunes 12.9 for Mac. 😕

tt2

Reply

Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

272,737 points

Nov 8, 2018 4:31 PM in response to Drummerville

Try again like this:

Download the current 12.8 installer for iTunes from https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/.

Unlock your iOS device and connect it to USB.

Install iTunes from the .dmg that you've downloaded.

Near the end of the installation it should announce that a further software update is required.

Install that and iTunes should see your device.

If it still doesn't work put your Mac in safe mode and try once more.

tt2

Reply

Answer 4

mesa man

Level 1

16 points

Oct 2, 2018 2:27 PM in response to Sommer86clothing

Hey,

iTunes 12.8 won't recognize your iPhone xs. You need the newest iTunes which is only available on Mac OS Mojave. But your laptop can not download Mojave because Apple decided it is too old to support Mojave.

So you can't use your backup to restore your brand new iPhone.

I spent n hour on the phone with Apple support last night to learn this.

Would have been nice to know before using iTunes and erasing my old iPhone.

OK you can get your new phone running.

First re-activate your old phone.

Then restore it using your iTunes backup. It will be recognized.

Then backup using iCloud. Yes you have to buy the 200 GB for a month.

Then re-activate your new phone.

Back up/restore from iCloud.

Thanks for nothing Apple.

Good luck

Reply

Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

272,737 points

Dec 19, 2018 12:34 PM in response to turingtest2

An alternative approach, which also works on Mojave

In Finder use the menu item Go > Go to Folder..., copy the following text, paste it into the dialog box and press enter:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileDevice.framework/Versions/Current/Resources

Unlock your device and connect it to USB. Double click on MobileDeviceUpdater in the folder that has opened. It should notify you of a software update. Install it and iTunes should hopefully recognize your device.

tt2

Reply