Summary: Your iPhone or iPad is not showing up in iTunes device list. You may be getting error messages while trying to access iTunes on computer. Here are 11 ways to fix iPhone unable to connect to iTunes problem.
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Is your iPhone or iPad not showing up in iTunes under device list? Or
Are you getting any of the below messages while trying to access iTunes on your PC or Mac?
Then read on this post further…here we share the 11 ways you can use to fix the problem of iPhone unable to connect to iTunes, occurring due to any reason.
Simply restart your PC or Mac, connect the iPhone and then access iTunes. This often fixes the problem of iTunes not recognizing the iOS device on computer.
Ensure continuous Internet connectivity with good data transfer speed for the computer and iPhone. If you are using cellular data, turn it on.
Use the OEM USB cable that you received with your iPhone or iPad. Use of a 3rd party USB cable may cause compatibility problems.
Also, check if the USB port is working properly. You may try using a different cable and USB port to rule out the USB cable issue.
Use the latest version of iTunes. It improves the performance of the app and fixes problems like iTunes not connecting to iPhone.
To update iTunes on Windows PC, open iTunes. Go to the menu at the top click Help > Check for Updates.
On Mac, to get the latest version of iTunes, update the macOS. Click on the Apple icon on the Mac desktop. Select and follow System Preferences > Software Update.
Update your iPhone or iPad to the latest iOS.
On your iOS device, go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for available updates. Next tap Download and Install. Your iPhone will restart and the update process will begin.
Now connect your iOS device to the computer and launch iTunes. The problem of iPhone cannot connect to iTunes on computer should be fixed now.
iPhone not recognized by iTunes or unable to connect to iTunes may indicate an OS compatibility issue. Ensure your computer has iTunes compatible OS.
In Mac, iTunes requires OSX 10.5.8 or later whereas in Windows, the latest iTunes is compatible with Windows 7 or later. iTunes 12 is not compatible with Windows Vista and XP.
Did you receive the message on iPhone, ‘Trust this Computer’ after connecting the iPhone to PC or Mac? Disconnect and reconnect your iPhone. Tap on the Trust button in the pop up box.
This should fix the problem of iPhone cannot connect to iTunes on Mac or PC.
The problem of iPhone not connecting to iTunes usually occurs when the Apple USB driver is not updated or installed on your computer.
To update Apple USB Driver on Windows PC follow the below steps (apply if you downloaded iTunes from Microsoft Store):
Now restart your computer. Connect the iPhone to it via USB cable, and check if the iPhone shows up in the iTunes device list.
Sometimes iPhone doesn’t show up on iTunes because of the restrictions settings or parental controls that you applied on your device. Remove the restrictions and then try to access iTunes.
When iTunes doesn’t recognize your iPhone or iPad and throws ‘iPhone cannot connect to iTunes’ error, reinstall iTunes to fix the problem.
This method also fixes error, iPhone cannot connect to iTunes value is missing.’
In case none of the above methods are helpful, you may opt for hard reset (factory reset) of iPhone. This obviously will delete the complete data from your device.
Ensure you back up the photos, videos, messages, contacts etc., to iCloud or iTunes before factory reset. You can later restore the data from iCloud or iTunes. Unfortunately, if you are not able to recover iPhone data from the backup, restore it with the help of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. The software can restore the lost or deleted photos, videos, contacts, messages, WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, Viber, Tango messages, Safari bookmarks, Notes etc., on your iPhone.
One of the above 11 methods is surely going to help you fix the problem – iPhone cannot connect to iTunes on computer.
Which method worked for you? Do share with our readers in the comments box below.
Harsha is a technical expert who loves Mondays, technology and is a big time Apple fan. She knows her way around the data loss problems and is always looking for ways to help out people.
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Hello, my iPhone 11’s screen was broken…so i send it in and just got it back today. I backed up the phone before I send the phone in for repair. I tried to restore the backup today and it wasn’t detecting my iPhone. I have another iPhone Pro Max and it was detected under the same circumstances.
Hi Jun
Check that you have the updated version of iTunes. Also ensure your USB port is working and you are using the Apple USB cable.
Thank you so much, this works!!
Thanks. I updated my drivers and it worked perfectly.
Great job!
I use iPhone 8 and I noticed that it was not showing up in iTunes under device list. From this blog, I gather some important information and delete the lockdown file. After deleting I uninstall iTunes and then again install iTunes. Now it is working properly.
Hi Nicholas, Thanks for sharing your valuable feedback with us!
This blog helpful for me. I had to delete the “lockdown” file, restart and I also uninstall the iTunes entirely and then installing fresh from the website. That is a lot faster than trying to go through the update process in the software. Thanks for the Information!
Glad to found it helpful Tihomir! More is on the way!