11 Ways to Fix ‘iPhone Cannot Connect to iTunes’

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.

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.

Methods to fixiPhone cannot connect to iTunes’

1. Restart your computer

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.

2. Use a good speed Internet connection

Ensure continuous Internet connectivity with good data transfer speed for the computer and iPhone. If you are using cellular data, turn it on.

3. Use Apple USB cable

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.

4. Update iTunes

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.

5. Update to the latest iOS

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.

6. Use iTunes compatible OS

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.

7. Trust the computer when prompted

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.

8. Update Apple USB Driver

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.

9. Disable Restrictions (Parental Controls)

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.

To disable restrictions on iPhone follow the below steps:

10. Uninstall and reinstall 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.’

Steps to reinstall iTunes on computer

11. Hard Reset iPhone

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.

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