error message "this iphone cannot be read"

[pax-eterna]

Finally got around to connecting the iPhone 12 to the Mac mini (Monterey) big surprise when it reported that it could not read the contents of the phone?

I've read that Monterey has some issues, but this ones a bit of a doozy!

I am hoping there is a fix and not the Apple suggested restore the iPhone....

It is not "jail-breaker" and is all as is factory.

 

[HDFan]

Does it show in the finder?

Have you tried another cable?

 

[pax-eterna]

Does it show in the finder?

Have you tried another cable?

yes I have tried three....a bit of a sad indictment for Apple when (using a 3rd party app) on Windows I can fully access it and swap files, move data around etc etc, but on Apple I can do nothing...

 

[DeltaMac]

You didn't really answer the question about showing in the finder. (?)
Does the iPhone either appear on the desktop, or appear as a device in Locations on a finder window sidebar?
Be sure to check in Finder Preferences/Sidebar tab for a checkmark: "CDs, DVDs, and iOS Devices" ?

What is the exact text of that message that you see on your Mac? (It does make a difference with how you proceed from there)

Is your iPhone unlocked, with the home screen visible?
Does your iPhone appear in the USB tree in your System Information?
Some other info here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204095

Other related stuff here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201263

 

[pax-eterna]

Sorry...it shows briefly in the Finder then disappears then re-appears (in Finder) with that message appearing on the screen...THe only action that works is unmounting. And yes phone is unlocked and Trust this Computer has been checked
Exact message is:
"The contents of the iPhone "iPhone" could not be read. Click Restore to restore this iPhone to factory settings"

Interestingly when I clicked that yesterday (after deciding that with a full backup available elsewhere) I would do exactly that....but when I did and it went to the next screen with the option to Check for Update (greyed out) and Restore iPhone, when I clicked on the Restore, it do absolutely nothing...I waited about 15 minutes and nothing.

Apple support suggested running the Mac in safe mode and seeing if it connected then...but I have not done that as yet as I am considering creating a full backup and fully resetting the MAC....that was their last resort solution.

 

[DeltaMac]

I see several reports of that "could not be read", and it seems to be an issue more on the Mac, with a restart often fixing the issue. I guess you have tried that already (?)
(I would not do a simple restart, but do a complete shutdown, so your Mac powers off, then start up again.)

What version of Monterey are you running?

 

[pax-eterna]

Thanks again. Yeah, haha, I've done that several times ...also did the reset option on the phone (Location and Privacy) hard shutdown and reboot as well.

Latest version afaik 12.3.1 and latest on phone as well...15.4.1

 

[DeltaMac]

If your iPhone doesn't mount, or has mounting problems, then a reasonable next step would be a restore using recovery mode. You should do a backup while in that recovery mode, just to make sure you have a viable backup.
The recovery process wipes the drive, downloads current iOS, wipes the drive, restores current iOS system, then offers to restore from your backup - or, you can certainly choose to setup as new. You may also discover that you might need to do that restore from DFU mode.

 

[pax-eterna]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. At this stage, as I still have the NUC, I'll just do anything that requires hard transfers etc on it using iMazing...I'll cross the bridge of needing to restore stuff if/when.