For syncing files from iPhone to iTunes or downloading music, video, TV shows, etc. from iTunes to iPhone, iPhone users need to connect their iPhone to Windows/Mac computer and launch iTunes. However, some iPhone users recently reported an issue that they couldn’t sync their iPhone because it was not recognized by their computers. The main issue is that they connect iPhone to their computer and press “Trust” button on their iPhone, expecting it to show up on “My computer”. Unluckily, their iPhone refuses to show up on iTunes, which means “Windows not recognizing iPhone.” “iPhone not recognized by Windows” has been an increasingly frustrating issue for some iPhone users. This has been an annoying problem for many users. Now, we would spend some time in discussing the exact solutions.

Method 1: Restart your iPhone and computer

If this is your first time to encounter the problem, you can try to restart your iPhone and computer for another try. Here are the detailed steps you can refer to.

1. Restart your iPhone

The first step you could do is to restart your iPhone. For many users, they have not restarted the iPhone for a long time. But if you have encounter some unfriendly issues. Most technical issues could be resolved by trying this way. So, it is easy to handle with. Also, some users would worry about whether the content data may be erased while restarting the iPhone. Actually, just relax. The content would not be erased by restarting your iPhone in this way. Here are the simple instructions to restart your iPhone.

If you are using iPhone 6/6s/6S Plus or older, you can press Home button and Power button together until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Then, you should release the buttons to wait for the startup process about 10-20 seconds. If you are using iPhone 7/7 Plus, you should press and hold Power button and Volume Down button together until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Then the startup process would begin. If you are using iPhone XR/XS Max/8/8 Plus, you should press Volume Up button and then quickly release it. Secondly, press the Volume Down button and quickly release it. Finally, press and hold Power button until the Apple logo appears on the screen, then you can wait for some time to restart your iPhone. When your iPhone has been powered off, then press the Power button for about three seconds, then your iPhone could be powered on then.

2. Restart your computer

Once you have restarted your iPhone, and now you can try to connect your iPhone to the computer again. But before that, you had better restart your computer again to make sure all the updates could be activated. Remember you should make the additional backup for the data you have updated. Then restart your computer, and furthermore try to connect your iPhone to computer for another time. Now run iTunes and the problem would be resolved.

Method 2: Reinstall your iTunes

Second of all, if you know how to reinstall your iTunes, then it would work as well. Reinstalling your iTunes is quite simple. Usually, all the apps could be automatically checked and once some new updates have been detected, then the software update would be showed on the App Store. What’s more, if some of your apps, such as iTunes, have lacked some components which would result in the failure processing on the tasks, then it would remind users to restore the app. If your computer can’t recognize your iPhone via iTunes, it would be caused by the lack of iTunes components. In such a case, if you can reinstall your iTunes to download and install the additional components, then the problem would be solved. The following steps would be referential to you.

Step 1. Open iTunes and go to Preferences panel on iTunes.

Step 2. Choose Advanced option and then you can click Reset Cache button.

Step 3. Click OK and finally you would exit from the app.

Step 4. Check My Music tab again and see whether the library on your music list has been restored or not. If the library has been updated, then it means some lacking components of iTunes would be restored.

Method 3: Try with a new USB cable

To ensure you are having this issue, you need to carry out some test to set up the fixing processes. If Windows does not recognize iPhone, it will display this way in “Device Printer”. Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers, it will show in the unspecified section as “Apple Mobile Device USB Driver” as below.

However, this is not a difficult issue to solve. Relax, as you get it solved within a blink of an eye. Before we continue, ensure you have done the necessary steps by checking out the following details:

Step 1. It is necessary to update to the latest version of iTunes that is compatible with your computer.

Step 2. Ensure you have updated your Windows version. To check if you have updated your software, go to “Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Update.”

Step 3. It is necessary to update to the latest version of iTunes that is compatible with your computer.

Step 4. On your iPhone, press the “Trust” button.

Step 5. Ensure your device is switched on.

Step 6. Make an attempt to try another USB cables as well as USB ports to see if the same problem persists.

Method 4: Check your Apple drivers

If all solutions won’t work still, then here you can try to check your Apple drivers. You can go to Device Manager on your computer and check whether your Apple device USB driver has been installed or not. First, you need to open Device Manager on your computer. You can simply press the hotkeys Windows and R keys to open the command window on your computer. Then, in the Run window, what you need to do is to enter the order devmgmt.msc, finally press OK to open Device Manager. Next, locate Universal Serial Bus controllers section. Now you can check whether the Apple Mobile Device USB driver is installed or not.

1. If the Apple Mobile Device USB driver is installed, and everything seems to be all right and nothing improper happens, then you can know the cause is not falling to your Apple drivers. And you can try other methods.

2. If the Apple Mobile Device USB driver is not installed, then you should connect your device to your computer for another time, here, you can try anther new different USB cable. Furthermore, you can connect your device to another computer to check whether you may encounter the same issue or not. If this still exists, then you can contact Apple Support.

3. If the Apple Mobile Device USB driver is showed with the error symbol. If you see the driver with the error symbol, you can restart your iPhone as well as restarting your computer to make another try.

Bonus: How to transfer your iPhone data without iTunes

In addition, if you still can’t figure out the computer not recognizing iPhone problem by trying above solutions, then here is another step you can carry out. That is to transfer your iPhone data without iTunes. Then, if my iPhone is not recognized by my computer, it doesn’t matter at all. But in order to complete the task here, you should prepare an excellent program to be the helpful hand. Here, Leawo iTransfer is designed for you to transfer all your iPhone data to another device. Leawo iTransfer’s main function is to transfer data among iPod, iPad and iPhone devices. Also, it could provide exact solutions for the transfer issues among these devices, including Quick Start not working issues and so on. It also can be capable of transferring 12 kinds of files among Apple devices, including photos, music, videos, SMS, contacts and so on.

Also, as an excellent music manager, Leawo iTransfer can manage the playlists of iOS devices and iTunes easily. At the same time, it could help users to make full use and take full control of the media files on the iOS devices. By the way, iTransfer is quite fast in the running speed and could transfer all the data safely. No matter you are transferring music, videos, photos, SMS, this tool could transfer these data between computer and iOS devices seamlessly. Furthermore, Leawo iTransfer is quite excellent in other bonus features. Asides from the key functions, it is also quite splendid in its interface design and simple operation process. You don’t have to grasp more complicated skills to handle with this tool.

  • itransfer
  • Leawo iTransfer

    • Transfer files among iOS devices, iTunes and PCs with ease.
    • Transfer up to 14 kinds of data and files without iTunes.
    • Support the latest iOS devices like iPhone X, iPhone XR, etc.
    • Play back, view, and delete data and files on iOS devices.

Step 1. Download and install Leawo iTransfer on your computer.

Step 2. Prepare your iPhone and connect it to your computer with the USB cables. Here if you would like to transfer iPhone data to another new iPhone, you also need to connect the other iPhone to iTunes and computer. Then open Leawo iTransfer and run the software.

Step 3. Detect all the contents on your devices. Once your iPhones have been connected to your computer, this software would detect the data automatically and then all the libraries in these two devices would be showed. Then, select the content or the library you would like to transfer between these devices.

Step 4. Select Files to Transfer. After viewing the targeted files, then you can choose them by choosing the proper files on the list. Once confirmed, you can simply click the transfer button. Here you can right-click on the selected files and choose Transfer to > iPhone. When the transferring process have been finished, then you can view the data on the other device.

Step 5. Set more parameters related to the transferring. First, you can add a new folder to store the transferred files. When you start to transfer the files, then you can see the dialog of transfer settings pop-up on the screen. Then you would be required to select a target device where you would like to transfer these content to. Besides, you need to confirm the Save to folder. When all of them have been set, then click Transfer Now button to start transferring the files between the two devices.

Fixing your iPhone not recognized by computer issue has been clearly described by using different methods based on the different situations. However, it is advisable always to stay updated to avoid any form of issues your iPhone may have. This is important because Apple always upgrade its version as new series of iPhone are released to the market. Ensure you follow each step as stated, and you will not have any problem with “iPhone not recognized by computer.”