Is iOS 17 compatible with itunes 12.8.2.3 under macOS Sierra 10.12.6?

Good news! I am still having issues connecting my phone with High Sierra and the latest possible ITunes update. I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro and iPhone 11. My error message claims it won’t download due to a “network problem”. I hate to admit an emotional relationship to technology, but I really love my 2011MBP with the cd drive and the variety of ports. I have changed the battery twice and the hard drive once. I know there must be a simple solution out there somewhere.

My impression is that iOS 17 raised the bar. If you look at the Technical Specifications for any of the iPhone-15-family phones that shipped with iOS 17, this suggests that

• You can't manage an iPhone that is running iOS 17 using a Mac running El Capitan or Sierra
• You should be able to manage an iPhone that is running iOS 17 using a Mac running High Sierra or Mojave, or a PC running Windows, but you may need a newer version of iTunes

It doesn't look to me like the iTunes downloads at

iTunes - Apple

have been updated … but maybe the link in the iPhone 15 Technical Specifications lead to the right version.

Thanks for your response. I already have the last and latest version of iTunes - 12.8.3.1 (tried reinstalling too) and I'm not prepared to try re-installing High Sierra as some folks are doing. It's a software thing for sure since Photos app does recognize the phone.

Solved for me - I followed the instructions from this thread: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/461301/mac-os-10-13-6-and-newer-mobile-devices-not-working-with-itunes-12-8-3-1-mobiled

I just did as the OP describes and now it works. Itunes recognizes my Iphone 11pro IOS 17.

The process seems a bit intimidating but is actually very simple, I'm not familiar with computer language like this but its very easy. I had to restart Itunes after the process

Imac mid 2010 - High Sierra 10.13.6 - Itunes 12.8.3.1

Iphone 11 Pro - IOS 17.0.1

Hope it can help others.

I have gone throught the Xcode solution, and it worked perfectly (High Sierra here, and downloaded Xcode 15.2). For those who can't download Xcode for whatever reason (but I have had no problem with that), I've uploaded the package to run (MobileDevice.pkg) on my personal server (the problem is, you have to trust me that it's the genuine file):

[Edited by Moderator]

The solution is actually so simple that it is highly irritating to see that Apple does absolutly nothing to fix the bug. I guess that all the developer are busy introducing new emojis in the next updates...

Apple support is incorrect. I have High Sierra on my MacBook and my iPhone is on iOS 17 and connects to my iTunes.

I spent 4 hours in the Apple Store earlier this year and all they were able to do was get my old MacBook to High Sierra.

Another commenter in this thread pointed me to Xcode 15 and after downloading and installing this, my iTunes/MacBook can see my phone.

Apple “genius” bar folks aren’t computer engineers and are completely out of their element with this specific issue. Or, they’re aware and they don’t tell users so customers are forced to upgrade their MacBooks when they don’t need to.

ddkwilson wrote:

I found this from Apple online:

If you continue to see this message, or if the installation fails:

Install the latest software updates or upgrades•  for your Mac.

If your iPhone is using iOS 17 or later, or your iPad is using iPadOS 17 or later, make sure that your Mac is using macOS High Sierra or later• .

Learn what to do if the update continues to fail for unknown other reasons• .

It does seem as though the phone should work with High Sierra...

The Technical Specifications for iPhone-15-family phones say that you can use High Sierra, although they also mention an "iTunes 12.9" that does not seem to be at iTunes - Apple – at least not yet. That would seem to hold out some hope for using High Sierra to manage other iPhones that are now running iOS 17.

It's probably pretty safe to say that Macs running El Capitan or (low) Sierra won't be able to manage an iPhone that's been upgraded to iOS 17.

It looks like Apple has updated the Technical Specifications for the iPhone-15-family phones.

If I remember correctly, when Apple first published those specifications, they said that on High Sierra or Mojave, you needed iTunes 12.9. There was no 12.9 at the https://www.apple.com/iTunes site.

Now the specifications say 12.8, suggesting that the 12.9 was an error. Perhaps that's the version that's built into Mojave, and whoever wrote the initial specifications didn't realize that the version for High Sierra was different.

In any case, now that the specifications refer to a version that is readily available, and there are reports (here) that (under some circumstances, anyway) iTunes will update itself to handle iOS-17-based phones, maybe things are starting to look up a bit.

For Sierra users, upgrading to High Sierra – and then to iTunes 12.8.3, if needed - might fix it. (I say might because of conflicting reports in this thread and others.)

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

iTunes - Apple

There is also a commercial application called iMazing that might be able to do some of the same sorts of things that iTunes did. I could be mistaken, but it looks like the latest version might run on El Capitan or later (including Sierra), and be able to manage iPhones running iOS 17.

https://imazing.com/

I opened a thread for high sierra and the solution provided worked really well. someone posted step by step with links

Same/similar issue on High Sierra, and I opened a separate thread

NOT seeing iphone SE (2020) since iOS 17 … - Apple Community

xCode is free to download

looks like censorship is quite active here...

and fast too. Very curious. It obvious why they don't want links to others' downloads here but it's such a simple solution not to offer it.