It can be really tiring when your iPhone or iPad won’t just show up in iTunes and you don’t know how exactly to fix it.
Connecting your iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod) to iTunes using a PC or Mac is pretty much a fundamental activity to most digital consumers and producers. Whether you are trying to sync your iPhone with your Mac or you are trying to transfer media files from your iPad to a Windows PC, iTunes has remained the best (and many times the singular) option.
Nonetheless, if you regularly use your iOS devices for these types of operations, you must have noticed that there are times when it just doesn’t work. For some reason, your iPhone or iPad will not just show up in iTunes.
You keep trying to connect your iOS device to your Mac using the USB cable. But, it doesn’t seem to work at all. iTunes just wouldn’t recognize your device.
Well, this article will show you how you can fix your iPhone not showing in iTunes. We will explain what to do and how to do it in such a case. You should try to bookmark this page so you wouldn’t have to worry about it the next time it happens.
The problem of your iPhone not showing up in iTunes can be fixed by doing simple things. Most times, all you need is an update. Other times, you may simply just need to purchase another USB cable or reach out to Apple Support.
Step-by-step: How to Fix iPhone Not Showing up in iTunes
1. Use a Different USB Cable or Try a Different Port
The most logical thing to do when your iPhone or iPod won’t just show in iTunes is to try another USB cable or port. There are times when the hardware is really the reason you are unable to connect to your computer.
In this manner, if your PC or Mac has another USB port, you should try using the other port. Likewise, if you have a different USB cable for your iOS devices, you should use it in case the other USB port doesn’t change anything.
Please note that you should try doing this on a different computer if both the cable and the port do not yield any result. If a different computer is able to detect your iPhone, you will know that the problem lies with some components within the computer, and not your iPhone or iPad.
2. Restart Your Computer and iPhone/iPod/iPad
In case your computer is yet to detect your phone and isn’t showing in iTunes yet, you should try to restart both devices. In cases like this, restarting both devices often work because the restart function cleans all the operations on the device and gives it a new boot.
There’s a great possibility that the data and tasks that have been previously handled by the devices might be obstructing the free flow of new data.
3. Unlock Your iPhone/iPad/iPod
You may have forgotten, but we will remind you. You need to ensure that your iPhone is on and unlocked for it to show in iTunes. Simple as 123.
4. Trust Your Computer
Another easy thing to ensure you do is tap Trust when you see a dialogue box that reads Trust This Computer?. The moment this notification pops up on your iOS device, tap Trust. Doing this ensures that your iPhone sends information to your computer.
If you do otherwise, iTunes will not have the capability to detect your iPhone since the iPhone has refused to trust6the computers.
If you have tapped Don’t Trust at any point in time, this could also be the reason why your iOS device isn’t showing up in iTunes. You can change this by going to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy.
5. Software Update
If you haven’t gotten any meaningful results so far, stay calm. There are a few steps left to ensure your iPhone not showing up in iTunes is fixed.
Now, you have to check if your software is up to date. Else, you should update your iTunes, macOS, Windows, and/or iOS.
6. Update iPhone Driver in Windows
If you use a Windows PC, you should try to update the iPhone driver software. Doing this frequently will enable iTunes to show your iPhone.
How to Update iPhone Driver in Windows
- First, you should disconnect your iOS device from your Windows computer. Unlock the iPhone and reconnect it to your Windows PC using a USB cable.
- Right-click on the Start button. Thereafter, select Device Manager. Now, you should click on Portable Devices.
- Right-click on the Apple iPhone. Next, you should click Update Driver. Then, select Search Automatically for Updated Driver Software.
When you have done this, a new driver software will be installed for the iPhone. Following installation, you should open the iTunes platform and it should detect your iPhone.
Please note that if your iTunes was downloaded from Apple’s website instead of the Microsoft Store, the process of updating your iPhone driver should go like this:
- Connect your PC and iPhone using a USB cable
- Simultaneously press the Windows + R keys. This will open the Windows Run command. Here, you should enter the following command: %ProgramFiles%Common FilesAppleMobile DeviceSupportDrivers
- You should click OK. Then, right-click on either Usbaapl.inf or Usbaapl64.inf. Then, click install.
- Now, you should disconnect and restart both your iPhone and the Windows PC.
7. Update Apple Mobile Device USB Driver in Windows PC
In case none of the aforementioned steps have been able to fix the issue, you should try updating the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver in Windows PC.
- Simultaneously press the Windows + R keys. This will open the Windows Run command. Here, you should enter the following command: Devmgmt.msc
- Next, click OK. Then, you should click on the USB controllers in order to expand the sub-menu. Thereafter, you should right-click on Apple Mobile Device USB Driver. Click Update Driver to see if there is a new version.
- If you find a more recent version, it is vital to download it. Connect your iPhone to your computer again and see what happens.
8. Apple Support
In case you have tried all these steps and are yet to get any great results to the issue, the only place to run to is Apple Support.
This is most likely a hardware fault. You can contact Apple Support to see how they can be of help. They are likely to tell you to visit their nearest store so they can help you fix it.
Hopefully, they can help you with a fix to why your iPhone isn’t showing in iTunes.
