Windows 11 pc Apple devices does not detect iPhone 15

The resolution for me - after several days of frustration - was to uninstall iPod Support from Windows 11 Programs and Apps. Didn't even have to restart; Apple Devices found my iPhone immediately :)

Kollstrom, you might just be a genius. I too had the iPod Support app installed and when I uninstalled it, the Apple Devices did indeed recognize my devices. Thank you for the help.

This is what worked for me. I had to turn off all of the windows firewalls and anti-virus programs. Plugged in my iphone and opened the apple devices app and it finally recognized that I had my iphone plugged into my hp laptop. Make sure to turn all the Windows antivirus and firewalls back on when you're done updating your iphone. I suffered very long without updating my playlists/music and this was a great discovery for me. I almost switched to an android cell phone.

I am having the exact same issue on my Samsung Galaxy TabPro S. When I first installed the Apple Devices, Apple Music, and Apple TV apps I was running Windows 11 23H2, and everything seemed to work well. I upgraded to 24H2 a month or so ago, and now, although I can view the photos and other files on my iPhone and iPod in File Explorer, Apple Devices doesn't detect any devices that are connected to the computer. I've tried different cables, a different data hub, I've uninstalled and re-installed the apps from the Microsoft Store...I am all out of ideas. In addition, I use my laptop to play movies from my Apple TV library, displaying them on the Flat-screen TV in my 5th-wheel. Now, the movies won't play. About the only thing that still works is that I can still listen to music via the Apple Music app, although I can no longer sync my iPod to update the library. I'm extremely frustrated and am quite certain that the issue lies within the 24H2 upgrade, but I can no longer down-grade to 23H2.

My thought was that it wasn’t the operating system update so much as possibly a security update or something similar. I have been reading that the Apple devices app does not play well with Windows 11 in general, so perhaps you are correct in that the app itself is the issue. The fact that it doesn’t matter what type of Apple device I connect to my computer and it not being recognized, tells me that it likely is the app.

If you don't see it under Apps/Installed Apps in Windows, you probably don't have it installed, so my post is not applicable to you.

However, chances are you have a different Apple-related app installed which is causing similar problems. Just sort alphabetically and look for anything with "Apple", "Bonjour" or "i[whatever]". Uninstall at own risk, of course.

I had the iPod Support App installed because I still have a 15-year-old iPod Touch 4, which is still alive and kicking :)

Kollstrom,

Thanks for the idea, but sorry but this didn't work for me - I'm using an iPod shuffle, which was working fine until the recent update to Apple Devices in mid-December. I have tried your suggestion, and after removing iPod support, when I go into Apple devices, it asks to re-install the software (i guess because it is an iPod rather than iPhone), but then doesn't do anything - and says that the software required is not installed.

Someone posted on the Microsoft Forum today that Apple fixed the problem. I reinstalled Apple Devices, and was able to sync my iPhone, iPad, and iPod easily, just like I could a few months ago. Thank you Apple for fixing the problem.

Update. (This worked for me.) I found out what specific program needs to be disabled to have the Apple Devices app recognize my iPhone. It is the "Private Network Microsoft Defender Firewall." Just disable that and now the Apple Devices app should recognize that your iPhone is connected to your Windows computer.

Open the Bluetooth Settings in Windows while your iphone is plugged in. If you see it on the list of devices, Remove Device. Then unplug your phone and plug it in again. That fixed it for me, weirdly.

I propose a new term for that behaviour: logrolling.

My reply would be: "It’s not my job to sort out incompatibilities between Apple and Microsoft for a product that Apple produces and that Microsoft endorses by putting it on the Microsoft store. Fixing that is Apple's job, so I'm referring YOU and Apple’s developers to Microsoft. Let me know how it goes. By the way… has anyone there even *heard* of social media?"