Apple Mobile Device Service failed to start

I am attempting to install iTunes on my Windows 10 machine so I can use my iPhone with my PC.

However I have been unable to complete the install due to the error "Service 'Apple Mobile Device Service' failed to start. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to start system services"


I have tried everything I can think of at this point, none of which have worked:

  • I tried manually starting the service through Services.msc, but received error code 1053 "The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion"
  • I have followed multiple guides on this forum for fully uninstalling all Apple products and then re-installing
  • I have made sure my "Common Files/Apple/Mobile Device Support" directory has full control permissions for my user account and the owner
  • I have tried installing the mobile device support to directories on drives other than C:/
  • I have tried uninstalling the iPhone device driver through the "Device Manager" menu, and then reinstalling (both before and after trying to install iTunes)
  • I have made sure my Windows is fully up to date
  • I have disabled my antivirus during install
  • I have downloaded the "Old video card" version of iTunes from here
  • I have cleaned my registry with CCleaner after fully uninstalling all Apple programs (along with deleting extra folders and files detailed on these forums)


So far nothing has worked and I am out of ideas. I was hoping the forums could provide some insight on a method I may have missed.

iPhone 8 Plus, Windows 10

Posted on Sep 23, 2018 10:49 AM

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3 replies

Sep 24, 2018 12:04 PM in response to TerabyteTim

Hey there, Tim!

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities. I understand that you're having trouble getting iTunes installed on your Windows 10 computer. When you try to, you get an error about the Apple Mobile Device Manager. I'm happy to help!

When the Apple Mobile Device Service doesn't behave as excited, it is a good step to reset it following Restart the Apple Mobile Device Service (AMDS) on Windows - Apple Support . It looks like you may have already done so, among a few other troubleshooting steps. Given that, the next thing I would recommend would be to check for conflicts between iTunes and any security software you may have installed: Resolve issues between iTunes and third-party security software - Apple Support .

I would also encourage you to make sure you uninstalled all the Apple software from your computer in the right order using Remove and reinstall iTunes and related software components for Windows 7 and later - Apple Support . If you did something out of the order listed in this article, or aren't sure if you did it in the right order, please try again. The uninstall process on Windows must be done in the exact order outlined in the article.

If you don't have security software installed, and/or the steps above don't help solve your issue, please reach out to Apple Support directly for additional assistance: Contact Apple Support .

Cheers.

Sep 24, 2018 12:23 PM in response to TerabyteTim

The "for older video card" versions of iTunes are obsolete and no longer able to connect to the iTunes Store. You should be choosing between iTunes 12.9.0.167, or 12.6.5.3 if you really want to be able to manage apps through iTunes.




For general advice see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.



The steps in the second box are a guide to removing everything related to iTunes and then rebuilding it which is often a good starting point unless the symptoms indicate a more specific approach. When reinstalling right click on the downloaded setup file and use run as administrator. It may also help to temporarily disable any non-Microsoft anti-virus.


Review the other boxes and the list of support documents further down the page in case one of them applies.


The further information area has direct links to the current and recent builds in case you have problems downloading, or want to revert to an older version if the current one won't work properly for you at the moment.



Your library and device backups should be unaffected by these steps but there are links to backup and recovery advice should it be needed.



tt2

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Apple Mobile Device Service failed to start

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