[Solved] How to Fix iTunes Not Recognizing Your iPhone

My iPhone 6, when I plug it into my computer, it will charge but won’t show up in “Computer” or connect to iTunes. This has never happened before. Please help!

iTunes Not Recognizing Your iPhone

Usually, iTunes automatically detects your device when you plug the iPhone/iPad into a PC or Mac, so you can back up your applications and data, sync songs and movies for entertainment, etc. However, many users have reported that iTunes doesn’t recognize their iPhone. If you are having the same trouble with iTunes not recognizing the iPhone, read this article for solutions.

1. Check the USB Connection
2. Restart Your iPhone and Computer
3. Let iPhone Trust This Computer
4. Update iTunes to the Latest Version
5. Update the Computer Software
6. Check System Report on Mac
7. Update the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver on Windows PC
Extra Tip: iPhone Not Showing Up in Finder

1.Check the USB Connection

Disconnect your iPhone and reconnect it to the computer, making sure the cable is fully plugged into your device and computer. If the iPhone still won’t connect to iTunes, try inserting the USB cable into each USB port to see if one works. Then check if the USB cable you are using is in good condition. You can use another cable to connect the device for testing. If the cable used for testing is working, it means that you need to replace the old one. It’s highly recommended to use an Apple USB cable.

2.Restart Your iPhone and Computer

Sometimes, iTunes cannot recognize your iPhone due to some software malfunction in the iPhone or computer. Usually, these faults can be cleared by restarting the device. Turn off your iPhone and your computer, let them settle for a few minutes, and then turn them on again. Now, try to connect your iPhone to your computer again.

3.Let iPhone Trust This Computer

The first time you connect your iPhone to a computer, you will receive a Trust This Computer prompt on your Home Screen. If you tapped Don’t Trust accidentally, your computer as well as iTunes won’t recognize your iPhone. In this case, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy. Then you will see the prompt again when you connect your iPhone.

Let iPhone Trust This Computer

4.Update iTunes to the Latest Version

If the version of iTunes you are using is too old, you may well bump into issues such as “OxE” error which you might see when your computer doesn’t recognize your connected iPhone. It is not a tedious task to update iTunes.

On a Mac

Go to the App Store on your Mac.
Click Updates at the top of the App Store window.
Click Install if iTunes has a newer version.

On a PC

The way you update iTunes on your Windows PC depends on if you downloaded iTunes from the Microsoft Store or from Apple. If you downloaded iTunes from the Microsoft Store, it updates automatically when a new version is released. If you downloaded iTunes from Apple’s website, launch iTunes, click Help > Check for Updates, and then follow the prompts to install the latest version.

You may also choose to uninstall and reinstall iTunes. Your music won’t be lost by uninstalling iTunes.

5.Update the Computer Software

Certain software failures can also be removed by updating the software on your computer. Macs and PCs have two completely different operating systems, so the methods for updating them are also different. If you are using a Mac, please visit how to update the software on Mac. If you are using a Windows PC, see Windows updates.

6.Check System Report on Mac

If you are a Mac user, you can check the System Report when your iPhone is not connecting to iTunes. Here’s how to do it:

Make sure your iPhone is connected to the Mac and unlocked.
Press and hold the Option key on the keyboard, open the Apple menu, then select System Information or System Report.
Click USB in the left panel.
If you see your iPhone displayed under USB Drive Tree, the problem is probably with the software. Try to get the latest macOS or uninstall the third-party security software. If not, contact Apple Support for help.

7.Update the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver on Windows PC

The Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is designed to tell Windows what to do with Apple devices. If something goes wrong with this driver, it is likely that the computer won’t recognize your iPhone. So you can try to update it. The steps to update the Apple Mobile Device USB driver on a Windows PC depend on where you got iTunes.

If you downloaded iTunes from the Microsoft Store

Disconnect your iPhone from the computer.
Unlock your iPhone and reconnect it to the PC with USB cable. Please make sure your iPhone is on the Home screen. If iTunes is already open, close it.
Press the Window + R key on the keyboard, import “devmgmt.msc” in the Run window, and then press the Enter key to open the Device Manager window.
Expand the Portable Devices section, right-click your Apple iPhone and click Update driver.
Now select the option “Search automatically for updated driver software”.
After installing the latest driver, navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update to check if other updates are available.
Open iTunes again to see if your iPhone is showing up in iTunes or not.

If you downloaded iTunes from Apple

Disconnect your iPhone from the computer.
Unlock your iPhone and reconnect it to the PC with USB cable. Please make sure your iPhone is on the Home screen. If iTunes is already open, close it.
Press the Window + R key on the keyboard, enter “%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers” in the Run window and then press Enter.
Right-click on the usbaapl64.inf file and select Install.
Unplug your iPhone from the computer, then plug it back again in. Open iTunes to check if iTunes can recognize your iPhone.

Extra Tip: iPhone Not Showing Up in Finder

On Macs with macOS Catalina 10.15, iTunes is replaced by separate Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Books, and Apple Podcasts apps. Users can now back up and restore their iPhone via Finder. However, you may have trouble with your iPhone showing up in Finder on the Mac. When that happens, in addition to checking the USB cable connection, restarting or updating your device, you may also try the following steps:

Click Finder > Preferences.
Choose the Sidebar tab.
Check box for CD’s, DVD’s, and iOS devices. If they’re checked, uncheck them, and let them sit for a few seconds before checking them again.
Wait a few minutes and then check if your iPhone is displayed in the Finder window.

iTunes not recognizing the iPhone can cause inconvenience. For example, you are not able to back up your iPhone or restore data from iTunes backups. Here we recommend you an iTunes alternative – iTunes Backup Extractor, which helps you explore, view and extract data from iTunes backups of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. And it is constantly being upgraded and will help back up your iPhone to computer without iTunes or Finder.

Conclusion

Now you have read all possible solutions for iTunes not recognizing iPhone error. Generally, this problem occurs due to a physical failure like the USB cable or USB port and software failure. These solutions address these failures. You can try them one by one. If your iPhone still cannot connect to iTunes, contact the Apple Support. Alternatively, you can use the iTunes Backup Extractor to manage your iPhone without iTunes.