Many iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Windows users are reporting that they have been receiving an error message saying “A device attached to the system is not functioning” (see the image below).
This error message occurs because your computer is not properly communicating with your iOS device. This could be because of many reasons, for example:
- Your iPhone or iPad is not connected to your computer properly
- Your computer’s USB port may not be working
- Your USB cable may not be working
You may see this error when you attempt to copy and transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Windows PC. This short article explains what you can do to fix this problem.
See also: Easiest Way To Open / Edit a .Pages File On a Windows PC
- Reconnect your iPhone to iPad to your computer. Try a different USB port. Try a different USB cable.
- Restart your computer and your iOS device. You can turn off your iOS device by going to Settings > General > Shut Down. Then you can restart. Restart your PC also.
- On your iOS device, go to Settings > Photos and scroll down, find the “transfer to Mac or pc” section. And select “Keep Originals”.
- On your computer, switch between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports.
- Update iTunes to the latest version on your PC. There are two ways to do this depending on your initial installation. If you downloaded iTunes from Apple’s web site, in iTunes, choose Help > Check for Updates. If you downloaded iTunes from Microsoft Store, on your computer, go to Start > Microsoft Store > More… > Download and Updates.
See also: How To Transfer Photos & Videos From iPhone & iPad To Computer (Mac or Windows)
iphone user since 2007 says
January 4, 2019 at 7:13 am1 hour of troubleshooting.. I had some SnapChat Spectacles with a ton of videos in my Camera Roll. I previously used My Computer -> and Copy & Paste the photos over to my external hard drive off the iPhone, and then delete them in windows explorer. However, ever since getting these SnapChat sunglasses w/ camera taking movies, I kept getting the device not functioning when trying to backup my camera roll — very annoying. After updating every IOS and installing iTunes for PC (which I never have used!) – it still did not fix it.
Thankfully the below solution solved my issue:
On your iOS device, go to Settings > Photos and scroll down, find the “transfer to Mac or pc” section. And select “Keep Originals”.
Then you can copy the photos & vids as you use to do with no issue.
Hope this helps someone
Sean says
February 2, 2019 at 12:43 pmthanks buddy, I will try this out and report back – “keep originals”
Sue Auerbach says
March 4, 2019 at 6:49 pmThank you so much to the first commenter! This has been driving me nuts and you finally solved it for me!
Jeff says
March 30, 2019 at 11:48 pmYou are the best! This worked perfectly. Thank you!
Chuck says
May 6, 2019 at 8:46 pmThe problem I have had when using :keep originals” is that it transfers everything into
my PC with HEIC format. The thumbnails won’t display without freeware, and the pictures look terrible unless I convert them to .jpg. Pretty tough to do with over 700 pics at a time.
raharja says
February 1, 2019 at 1:44 pmBRU!!! thank you for the solution. so appreciated it!
thank you!
Vika says
February 27, 2019 at 6:44 amThank you! It helped 🙂
Anna says
February 28, 2019 at 6:53 pmI did this but I’m trying to copy the video and the it seems to be slow motion…. I have a large video worth 14gb
Why is it like that when the file is set to automatic… the video files are bigger?
Ellen says
March 9, 2019 at 3:44 amohhh thank you!!! this is really help!!!!!!! i finally can move my video and photos out & clear my storage!! million thanks!
Ankita Ganguly says
March 15, 2019 at 2:24 pmThank you! It helped
Josh says
March 21, 2019 at 12:46 amIphoneX/Windows 7;
Changing this setting may only work on windows 10… the setting turns off the file conversion from Apples new HEIC file format to JPG. Windows 7 doesn’t support HEIC file format so the contents ends up useless with this “keep originals” settings. So…. What else ya got?
Scott says
March 28, 2019 at 5:53 pmI have been dealing with this problem for months, only able to move a few videos and photos at a time. It has really driven me crazy. I have an iPhone X transferring to a Microsoft Surface Book 2.
I am very pleased to say that “Keep Originals” has COMPLETELY solved the problem! So damn happy, you cannot believe. Thank you!
Chris says
March 29, 2019 at 5:16 amIf your iPhone is background downloading an update and your iPhone is nearly out of space you will see this error. Eventually you’ll get the “need to free up some space” error on your iPhone. Only fix is to clean up your phone by removing/backing up files..the very thing you can’t do when you get this error. So damn frustrating.
Marc A Healy says
April 3, 2019 at 2:30 amThank you! That worked! A very frustrating problem with an an infuriatingly quick and easy fix.
ChrisW says
April 21, 2019 at 3:16 amThis solution does not work for any OS below 10. The format isn’t compatible, and therefore the only part of the file that transfers is the audio, no video. Any other (reasonable) solutions to this ridiculous, hair-pulling issue? I’ve tried just about everything short of upgrading the OS, which isn’t an option. Thank you!
Lulu says
April 27, 2019 at 7:23 pmThis fixed my problem!! Thank you so much!!