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You are here: Home / Not working? / iPhone Keeps Connecting and Disconnecting From Mac, Fix

iPhone Keeps Connecting and Disconnecting From Mac, Fix

Last updated on July 21, 2019 By Serhat Kurt 91 Comments

This article explains how you can troubleshoot when your iPhone (or iPad) repetitively keeps connecting and disconnecting when you plug it into your Mac. This can be frustrating because, for example, if you experience this problem, you may be unable to charge your iOS device when you plug your charging cable into a USB port on your Mac.

Please try each step until your issue is resolved.

See also: iTunes Not Recognizing Your iPhone or iPad? 

iPhone Disconnecting From Mac

1-The first thing you should check is your charging, USB cable for sings of damage. Try using a different cable. Try using a different USB port on your computer. Try unplugging and then replugging.

Also check  the charging port on the bottom of your iPhone or iPad. Remove any debris. You may want to use a can of compressed air.

If you are using a defective, damaged, or non Apple-certified cable, you may see the “Accessory Not Supported” error.

2-Restart your iOS device and restart your Mac.

3-Ensure that you have the latest version of iOS.

4-Force restart your device. Here is how:

Different iPad and iPhone models require different steps to do this:

  • Face ID iPad Models: press and release the volume up button and then press and release the volume down button and then press and hold the Top button until your iPad restarts.
  • iPhone 8 and later models: press and release the volume up button and then volume down button. Then press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo.
  • iPhone 7 models: press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons together until you see the Apple logo.
  • Home button iPad models and iPhone 6s and earlier models: press and hold the Side and Home buttons together until you see the Apple logo.

5-Disconnect your device from your Mac. And, on your iPhone or iPad, tap:

  • Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset Location & Privacy.

Reset location and privacy

And now connect your device to your Mac with your USB cable.

This will reset your location settings to the factory default. You will need to regrant permission for apps to use your location again.

6-Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac. And then open the Activity Monitor app (Applications > Utilities), or you can use Spotlight.

When you open the App, enter usbd in the search field. And the force quit the process by clicking the X sign.

Activity Monitor

You can also do the same thing via Terminal. Here is how:

  • Open the Terminal app (Applications > Utilities). And the enter the following command:
  • sudo killall -STOP -c usbd
  • Hit enter

7-Try resetting NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac. Here is how:

  • Unplug your device
  • Turn off your Mac
  • And turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Option, Command, P, and R keys together. Keep holding them for about 20 seconds. When you hear a start up sound then you can release the keys.
  • And your Mac will restart.

Please note that, as stated above, if you are having this problem with your iPad, the same tips will still help you fix this problem.

If none of the tips help you, then you may want to contact Apple. Apple offers live chat support. You may also reserve a Genius Bar appointment.

Filed Under: Not working? Tagged With: Disconnect, iPhone

Comments

  1. Carlos Ariel Tavarez says

    April 13, 2021 at 9:30 pm

    THAAAAANNNNKKSSSS that Terminal thing worked for me too.

    Reply
  2. Goldberg says

    March 26, 2021 at 12:48 pm

    thank you! terminal thing works!!!

    Reply
  3. Patrick says

    March 22, 2021 at 10:50 am

    Terminal command worked for me! thanks!

    Reply
  4. Vimal says

    March 15, 2021 at 12:29 am

    Well done!! The terminal actually worked!!!! Haha. Thank you so much. Was stuck with this since ages!

    Reply
  5. Julia says

    March 3, 2021 at 8:36 am

    Hi, I tried the terminal command but it said “command not found”, what should I do? My usb keep rejecting… Thank you

    Reply
    • josh says

      March 6, 2021 at 9:53 am

      Hey try again, didn’t work for me first time either but you need to pay attention to the punctuation, its like this:

      sudo killall -STOP -c usbd

      Reply
  6. Torongo says

    March 3, 2021 at 6:59 am

    The TERMINAL COMMAND Works for me. Thanks

    Reply
  7. LMitchell says

    February 27, 2021 at 4:44 am

    this was a long running problem for me too. Terminal suggestion worked! Thank you!

    Reply
  8. Cory says

    February 26, 2021 at 5:40 pm

    The terminal command worked for me too! This is great thank you for sharing!! This has been an issue on my 2014 Retina for so long. Was isolated to the left-side USB port only, but always happened regardless of the device or cable. I kept thinking it was the USB port. Also used a small brush and compressed air to give a mild cleaning and then did the steps in terminal. Actually works now!

    Reply
  9. A. says

    February 25, 2021 at 10:51 pm

    THE TERMINAL THING WORKS!!! ive been trying to solve this problem for ages thank you!

    Reply
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