Windows does not see the iPhone. What to do if the computer does not see the iPhone through the USB port

Modern iPhones are quite independent devices, but sometimes you need to connect to a computer. And often a problem arises with this: why does the computer not see the iPhone? The most common problem when trying to work with iTunes through a computer is that it simply does not recognize a mobile device.
And the catch lies in the trusted connection system.

What to do and why the computer does not see the iPhone?

Let's look at the problem from all angles. The inscription “Trust this device” appears every time you connect your smartphone to a new computer. If you cancel this power of attorney once, then you will no longer be able to connect directly. But there are workarounds.

It’s worth starting with the native OS X ecosystem for iTunes. If the Mac stubbornly refuses to detect the phone, it’s worth trying to clean the Lockdown system directory yourself. We do a few simple steps for this: cmd + shift + G - a combination that opens a special menu in which we need to go to the /var/db/lockdown/ directory, where the certificates of synchronized devices will actually be located in the form of files. There may be several of them, or there may be only one - in any case, you need to delete the entire contents of the folder. After this simple procedure, we again try to synchronize the phone and confirm our trust in the connected computer.

In the case of Windows, the situation is the same. Only files in the directory with certificates will be hidden. We go to the control panel and look for the item “folder options” and in the “View” tab there will be an option with the same name. Select and open access to hidden files. The certificates themselves are located in different directories of different versions of Windows.

So, in XP, you will find them in the Application Data folder, which is in the Documents and Settings directory. In newer versions: seven, Windows 10 and 8, certificates are in the ProgramData directory in the system drive C. But even after deleting them, you may not be able to connect your iPhone to a Windows computer so easily. This system, even in view of its openness, is not so simple and open to the IOS ecosystem. But in both operating systems, the files have the extension . PLIST and character set in the name.

Therefore, in the event that it still did not work out to connect after deleting the files, we proceed as follows:

• We go to the Device Manager, which in the control panel is in “Sevens” and newer versions, and in XP this item is called “System”.
• We see our connected device (you should already connect the iPhone in advance) and right-click on it. We see the “Update driver” item in the context menu that appears. Then follow the direction “Search for drivers on this computer” and select “Already installed driver”.
• Click "Install from disk", which is not always active, and in such cases, choose the class "Memory device" or "Mobile phone". The “Have a disk” button will become active and you can start selecting the desired files.
• We browse the files in the dialog box that appears and move to the directory: C: Program Files Common Files Apple Mobile Device Support Drivers. (Program Files (x86)). We see that there is a file called usbaapl , and its name depends on the bitness of your operating system and the system in general. If it is 64 bit, then accordingly it will have a prefix with the number 64, etc. Click on it and click "Open".
• We are waiting for the driver update to finish, we complete the installation process. Now we can go to iTunes from our computer to Windows and start working with our smartphone.

Another easy way to resume syncing your smartphone with a computer on Windows XP. In the “Run” menu, we enter the services.msc command and the services menu will open in front of us. There we are looking for the line Apple Mobile Device - this is the running process of our device and we need to stop it by pressing the appropriate button and immediately start it. Thus, we will try to reset iTunes settings in order to reconnect the device and start using it safely.

Of course, the problem cannot be ruled out due to the hardware of the computer or the cable. Lightning may be damaged and incorrectly display information about the device. This is easy to see in the “Device Manager”, where after connecting the iPhone, an unidentified device will be displayed. Solved directly by replacing the cable itself. The USB port itself on your computer could also fail, burn out, or the drivers just crashed on it. Update them, if this does not help, then it is recommended to replace the port itself.

The fastest way to share data between your devices is, of course, iCloud. If the embarrassment happened in the most unforeseen situation, and it is very necessary to transfer a file from an iPhone to a computer or vice versa, then by all means use the iCloud storage. However, this option is suitable for small files, such as photos, and if you have a stable Internet network. Drop the file in this way, and later you will figure out what caused the problem.

Now that you know why the computer does not see the iPhone and how to solve this problem. Of course, for Mac users, there are practically no problems with synchronizing their Apple smartphones, and owners of computers with Windows may have to poke around in the system if you do something wrong.

Apple's core business is mobile devices. Millions of people use iPhone, iPad and iPod without having a macOS computer. All of them have to deal with iTunes for Windows, which is far from being called the ideal program for data synchronization. In this article, we will tell you what to do if Windows does not see the connected iOS device.

1) Open "Control Panel" > "Device Manager".

2) Unlock your iOS device and connect it to your computer.

3) Locate the Universal Serial Bus controller. Most often, the connected iOS device will be called the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver. It may be referred to as Imaging Device, Handheld Device, Other Device, or MTP Device. If you could not immediately determine under what name the connected device is displayed, then repeat the connection procedure, carefully watching the list of connected devices.

4) Right-click on the connected device and select "Update Driver".

5) Select "Find driver software on this computer".

7) Click "Install from disk".

8) Click "Browse".

9) Navigate to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers or C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers (If iTunes is installed in the default directory) . Select the usbaapl.inf or usbaapl64.inf file. If you do not see the desired file in Explorer, then make sure that the Explorer settings allow you to display all extensions. If the file is still missing, then you need to reinstall iTunes on your computer.

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In this article, we will analyze what to do when your computer / laptop does not see the iPhone when connected via USB or via WiFi. We will deal with operating systems Windows 10 and Mac OS.

This article applies to all iPhone 11/Xs(r)/X/8/7/6 and Plus models on iOS 13. Older versions may have different or missing menu items and hardware support listed in the article.

The main reasons why the PC does not see the iPhone

The most common sources of problems are:

• Crashes and hardware damage in the gadget.
• Software conflict on the computer.
• Old OS (on iPhone or computer).
• Installation of outdated drivers or their absence.
• Failure of the connection socket on the iPhone and the USB port.
• Mechanical damage to the USB cable.

Most of the above problems are much easier to fix than you think. Let's look at how to get your iPhone working when connected to a computer.

Ask your question to a specialist

Do not know how to solve a problem in the operation of your gadget and need expert advice?

Reinstalling USB drivers

One of the proven ways to solve this problem is to reinstall the USB drivers for the iPhone. It is necessary to remove them using the "Device Manager", and then reinstall them.

We perform the steps:

Often, if the iPhone is not visible on the computer, this method solves the problem.

Chipset driver update (USB)

All computers have a motherboard on which the chipsets are installed. These chipsets are responsible for connecting various devices to the computer. Chipsets require drivers to function properly.

In some situations, drivers become unstable. Quite often this happens due to Windows system errors.

It also happens that the computer cannot detect not only the iPhone, but also any other flash drives, phones. In this situation, you need to update the drivers for the chipset.

DevID.info

In the first option, go to the https://devid.info/ru resource and click on the green "Download" button to download the "DevID agend" utility. The program performs quick installation and updating of drivers.

During installation, uncheck the boxes so as not to install unnecessary adware.

After starting the utility, select "Start Search". The software will scan the hardware, and then offer to update the old drivers.

If there is a newer version of the driver for the chipset, it will be updated. If the issue is not resolved, then move on to the next option.

Download and install the chipset

This method consists in downloading and installing the driver yourself. Depending on the motherboard, there may be an AMD or Intel chipset. Consider an example of installing Intel chipsets:

Auto-selection of Intel drivers

Here you can make sure that Intel itself selects the necessary drivers for the system. For this, a special utility is used to scan equipment and install the necessary programs.

Follow the link https://www.intel.ru/content/www/ru/ru/support/detect.html?iid=dc_iduu, click "Download". After that, install this utility, perform a search. When the software finds the appropriate drivers, it will prompt you to install them.

Checking the USB cable

If there are any severe bends or damage on the USB cable, this may be the problem. Information is simply not transmitted because the cable is damaged. The solution is to purchase a new 30-pin cable or Lightning connector, depending on the connector on the iPhone.

Click "Trust Computer"

When you connect your iPhone to a computer, a request appears on the screen where the user needs to be allowed access to data and settings. Here you just need to click "Trust".

Connect to a different USB port

You can try replacing the USB connector. Especially when you insert the cable from the iPhone into those connectors that are in the system unit on the front panel.

Connect the cable to the connector located on the back of the system unit. These connectors are soldered directly to the motherboard, so they work as efficiently as possible.

Reinstalling iTunes

To fully manage your Apple gadget, iTunes must be installed on your Windows computer. If this software does not function well, then it should be reinstalled or updated.

iTunes official site: https://www.apple.com/ru/itunes/download/. You can download the new version and then install it over the old one. The software will be updated.

Restarting the Apple Mobile Device Service

You must disconnect your iPhone from your computer and close iTunes before performing this step. Now you need to restart the Apple services, as they may be crashing.

Instruction:

After updating iTunes and restarting the Apple service, the computer should see the iPhone. Open "Computer" and find a smartphone there. In the screenshot below, it is at the very top.

Connect iPhone to another computer

When you connect your gadget to another computer, you can immediately figure out what is the cause of the problem. If another PC sees the iPhone, then the problem may be your computer, which the smartphone does not see.

If other laptops and computers do not see the iPhone, then the problem may be related to the phone itself or the USB cable. For reliability, you need to connect the device to two different computers that have different operating systems.

The problem may occur due to glitches in iOS. By force restarting your iPhone, you can fix the failure:

• On iPhone 6 and above, press the Home button or the lower volume key.
• Press the "Power" button.
• These elements should be kept pressed for approximately 10 seconds.

After rebooting the gadget, you can try to connect it to the computer again.

Wi-Fi sync not working

Check if your iPhone is connected via Wi-Fi

If the wireless data transfer option is not activated in the iTunes settings, then no synchronization will work with the computer.

• We connect the gadget to the computer via USB.
• Open iTunes. If necessary, enter your Apple ID and account password.
• Click on the icon of your device in the iTunes window, select "Browse" in the sidebar.
• We check that in the right part of the window the section "Synchronize with this device via Wi-Fi" is marked with a checkbox. If there is no checkbox, then check it.
• Click on the "Finish" (or "Apply") button.
• We disconnect the USB cable, then we check that the iPhone and the computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

If everything is configured correctly, after following the above instructions, you can start synchronization between gadgets using the “Synchronize” option in iTunes. If the data exchange has not started, then we move on to other solutions.

Doesn't sync with Windows

An error may appear due to a problem in the service that is responsible for the functioning of iTunes. You should try restarting this service.

• Close iTunes, disconnect the gadget if it is connected via USB.
• Now you need to press "Ctrl + Alt + Delete" to restart the "Task Manager".
• Go to the "Services" section, in the list that appears, find the "Apple Mobile Device Service" section.
• Right-click on the found element, select "Restart".
• Open iTunes again, synchronize the gadget.

Doesn't sync with Mac OS

The problem may be related to an error in the process that makes iTunes work. Let's restart it.

• Open "System Monitor" along the path "Finder", then "Programs" and "Utilities".
• In the "CPU" section, we find a process that is called iTunes Helper or AppleMobileDeviceHelper.
• Select the found element with the left mouse button, then click on the cross in the upper left corner of the window, select "Finish".
• Launch iTunes, sync iPhone.

If nothing helps

• We reboot the router, reconnect the iPhone and computer to the network.
• We start wireless synchronization through iPhone. To do this, go to the "Settings" menu, select "General" and "Synchronization with iTunes via Wi-Fi". Then click on the displayed computer name.
• Update iTunes and iOS to the latest versions.
• We reboot the gadget and computer, then synchronize them again.
• Turn off data transfer over the mobile network, leave only Wi-Fi on. We try to synchronize again.

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The reasons for this problem are quite banal, usually due to the inattention of the user, who confuses iCloud cloud accounts. A common cause is a cable that often fails due to rapid wear or does not support data transfer initially. Less commonly, the problem is in the software or the phone itself.

Cable damage

Let's start with the cable. The problem may be that the cable damaged. In order to know the exact condition of the cable, try to plug phone to the computer using another cable, about which its performance is known for sure. If everything works with another cable, then the problem is definitely in it.

Most often this happens due to kinks cables around the edges. But if the bends are not visually noticeable, and the phone is still only charging through the cable, then most likely it never supported file transfer. So often wrong splitter cables with many types of connectors and just cheap non-original cables.

Therefore, to be sure that the cable works not only for charging, buy original Lightning cables in official Apple Stores. Also, in order to avoid rapid wear in the future, you can put special pads on places of frequent bending or simply wrap it with electrical tape, you can even use springs from automatic handles, a matter of taste.

Outdated version of iTunes

The problem may also lie in the computer itself. For proper functioning with the iPhone must be installed latest version iTunes and internet connection present. The latest version of iTunes can be downloaded from the official Apple website.

It is possible that something is blocking access to the Internet. It can be different antiviral programs and viruses. In the first case, you should add iTunes to the exceptions. For each antivirus, this procedure is performed differently, but in all cases you need to have administrator rights. In the second case, you must immediately begin treatment. But if you do not have time to clean from viruses, you can try starting the computer in safe mode and transfer files in it. To do this, during the download press F8 and select “” or “ safemode”, then proceed as usual.

If you use a computer with a Mac operating system, then the device itself is unlikely to be infected with viruses, but the router through which access to the network is provided is susceptible to infection. The fastest and most effective way to cure a router is reset it to factory settings. Example on a TP-Link router

But remember that in this case, Internet access will have to be configured again. Also, do not forget to update the firmware of the router to the latest one in order to prevent infection in the future.

Damaged or clogged USB connector on iPhone

The USB connector is another vulnerable link in this chain. Before blaming him, one should verify cable and computer connector, because of these three, the phone connector is the most expensive thing to repair. It can be done, by connecting the cable to another computer (which is known to be in good working order) or to another port USB, as well as changing the cable (it is also desirable to know that it is working).

If nothing works, then first you need to inspect the connector for dirt that might prevent contact with the cable. If there is no dirt, but the computer still does not see the iPhone, most likely the USB connector damaged and in this case, you should contact the service center.

We remind you that it is better to use the services of official services in order to avoid loss of warranty and low-quality repairs (which happens many times more often than with other brands of phones, due to Apple's policy prohibiting self-repair and the design features of the iPhone).

Why the computer does not see the iPhone as a USB flash drive

If the computer does not see the iPhone as a USB flash drive, the cable is most likely the problem. The fact is that cheap charging cables most often do not support other functions, except for recharging the phone. Try to plug iPhone with original cable Lightning.

If the problem persists, plug the cable into another USB port on your computer. To make sure exactly recommend also connect your phone to another computer. If none of the above helped, it seems that you will have to contact the service. We remind you that when using the services of unofficial services, you lose the warranty and there is a chance that the repair will be of poor quality.

Other causes and their elimination

If all of the above works as it should, but still something does not work, here are a few other reasons for this problem. Using media librariesiCloud try to view the photos through the application for the computer, they may already be there. If not, then check your account, which you are logged into and re-login if necessary, if still not visible, connect through the iCloud site. If you have created several libraries, run the program " A photo”, with the key pressed Option. In the menu that opens, select the desired media library.

In this article, we will figure out why the computer does not see the iPhone 4th, 5th model or any other. This phone is known to everyone. Many cannot afford it, but this does not negate the great desire to purchase a smartphone.

At the moment, the device from the American "apple" is widely known in the Russian Federation, and even despite the fact that it is much more expensive than competitors' products, it is in great demand. Indeed, in our time, having an iPhone is prestigious and solid. But, unfortunately, there are also problems with this device.

The main reasons why the computer does not see the iPhone

Many are faced with the fact that they connect a smartphone to a computer, but it does not respond in any way. Before looking for reasons in a smartphone / computer / software, you need to check the cable for cracks or cuts. This issue is especially relevant for those who have animals at home. In the event that everything is fine, then you need to try inserting the cable into another USB port. Sometimes it happens that the problem lies specifically in the equipment.

In addition, you should check the connector of the smartphone itself. If its contacts are oxidized, then you need to use an eraser that can easily clean them.

Problems with the communicator

If after the examination it was found that everything is in order with the port, cable and connector, then most likely there is a breakdown in the smartphone itself. Most often, "apples" have problems with the lower train. Especially if the phone has already been dropped at least once. When this situation is the cause, the part should be replaced. For an iPhone 5, it will cost 1 thousand rubles.

Some owners change the cable themselves. If a person does not have the necessary skills and knowledge, then he should abandon this undertaking. There is a huge possibility that the owner simply will not assemble the smartphone back after such a procedure, and, most likely, several more parts will fail.

Moisture ingress

Often the described problem manifests itself when moisture enters the device. It is not necessary to lower the phone into water or swim with it. Problems can begin even if the device has lain in a damp and damp room for some time.

If this is the problem, then you should immediately contact the service center. Some are able to independently disassemble the device and dry it. However, this requires special skills.

Possible Solutions

If the problem is with the cable, then just replace it with a proven one. You can buy one at any service store. But in the event that the problem lies in the internal device, then you should contact the specialists. Of course, if you have impressive experience, you can replace the part yourself, but the manufacturer strongly does not recommend doing this.

Issues with the official app

Very often there is a problem in which 5 in official applications. Most often, this problem occurs with iTunes. To begin with, the software must be reinstalled and make sure that the latest version of the utility is downloaded. If this method did not help, then you need to tinker with the settings of the operating system itself:

• In the event that Windows XP is installed on the computer, it is necessary to close the problematic software and turn off the smartphone itself.
• Next, go to the Start menu and enter the following command: services.msc.
• In the menu that opens, you should find the item that is responsible for the operation of the Apple device.
• In the properties window, you need to “stop” its work and immediately “start” it again.
• After the switching process is completed, you need to try to connect your phone.

In the event that the equipment is running Windows 7 / Vista, and the question of why the computer does not see the iPhone is quite relevant, it recommends that you perform the following steps:

• You need to go to the "Device Manager", find the item there that is responsible for the functionality of the functionality with the "apple" and update its driver.
• The latter should be sought in the computer itself.
• To do this, on the “C” drive, you should find the “Program Files” folder, then “General” and “Apple”.
• In "Support for a mobile device" there will be a "Driver" directory. We are interested in the usbaapl.
• It remains only to wait for its installation.
• Next, you need to reconnect the device to the computer.

If the problem occurs with a device that runs Mac OS X:

Results

The article describes the most common causes of the problem, why the computer does not see the iPhone, as well as their solutions. Only with the help of small steps can you easily eliminate all problems. At the same time, you need to understand that if the proposed methods did not help, then you should contact the service center for a more thorough examination of your device.