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iPhone 3G will not Sync/Charge via USB???

V

vr4playa

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2008
44
0
I just got this problem a few days back and I figured it was because of a bad USB cable, so I got a new one from the Apple Store and I'm still having the issue.

First off, I tested both USB ports on my Macbook with other devices and they both work fine so the USB port is not the issue.

Secondly, the phone charges fine from the wall outlet so the USB cable is not the problem.

I went to the Apple Support page for iPhone not appearing in iTunes and did all the steps including removing and reinstalling iTunes and the issue still happens.

Worst of all, it acts like there's a "short" in the phone because sometimes when I connect it, the phone will make a noise like it is connected and then immediately after like it is not and if I wiggle the phone end of the USB cable it'll sometimes show that it is charging, however, considering I haven't had this problem with the wall charging it shouldn't be a short in the phone and sounds to be software related.

And finally, if I turn the phone off and plug it in to the computer the Apple logo appears and the phone powers on, so what is going on here and what can I do to fix this?

Thanks in advance.
 
DEE9299

DEE9299

macrumors 6502a
Oct 3, 2009
573
0
Boston Mass.
you may had a bad dock.....look inside of it makes sure there is nothing in there and also may sure there is no damage (ie water )
 
K

kixroks

macrumors newbie
Jun 27, 2009
2
0
Annapolis, MD
I'm having the exact same issue. I believe it is the new version of iTunes. My 3G is not recognized by the program. Does anyone have any ideas to correct this? I have tried all the above mentioned fix suggestions and have had the same results. HELP! I need to sync!!!!

Kix
 
V

vr4playa

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2008
44
0
I'll take a look in there, I'm just really nervous about opening it up, then again, I'm way past the 1yr mark and actually found out I'm already due for my upgrade(see sig). As far as syncing I guess it's 2-fold- 1) I need to update the songs, 2) I wanna be able to jailbreak/unlock when iOS 4.2 comes out so I can sell this one and finance my iPhone4 ;)

As far as this being iTunes related, I had this problem before I updated to v10.1, in fact, I didn't know until I went through the steps today that I didn't have the latest version of iTunes, so first step I tried to fix this was updating iTunes. With the iOS, I upgraded to 4.1 about a month ago and just started having this problem a few days ago.
 
V

vr4playa

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2008
44
0
Took a look in there and it was about as green as the Statue of Liberty ;)

Flattened a cue-tip, put alcohol on it, cleaned it up really well and blew it out with compressed air, however I could only get one side of the dock connector without taking the phone apart, it still isn't connecting to iTunes or charging off the computer :(

I guess I'll have to take it apart or take it to the Apple Store now.
 
iRepair

iRepair

macrumors newbie
Nov 17, 2010
7
0
Orange County, CA
What is damaged on your iPhone is the dock connector assembly - this single component contains your charge port, microphone and external speaker.

The first thing you should do is check to see if this component has been damaged by liquid or humidity. The green color you describe is corrosion so the iPhone most likely has been effected by some type of liquid. Shine a light in your iPhone’s dock connector and look for the small white square shaped tab located at the bottom center of your iPhone’s charge port underneath the center bar that goes into your charger. If that white tab has turned pink or solid red your iPhone has taken in some type of liquid or humidity through its dock connector port.

Replacing this component should resolve this issue although if the phone has been extensively damaged by liquid the issue might come back. I would be hesitant about doing it yourself though as you must remove the logic board in order to replace this component.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
I'm having the same issue as the Opening Poster, but with an iPhone 4.

What's crazy is that it doesn't work with my iMac, but works perfectly fine with my sisters's 4-year old Macbook Pro. Luckily I was able to get my 300+ vacation pictures from my iPhone via her computer--I was about to have a nervous breakdown.

Edit: It doesn't seem to be anything physical, as I've tried multiple cables and all USB ports on my iMac with no luck.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
Has anyone figured this out yet? I was hoping the new version of iTunes or 10.6.5 would fix it but nothing thus far.

I won't even be able to update to 4.2 when it drops.
 
V

vr4playa

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2008
44
0
iRepair- took a look and it's still white. As far as the other 2 functions: microphone and speakers they both work fine. The charging has been hot and cold, it seems like there's "hesitation" with the JuicePack in that it won't charge right when I plug it in, but it still works as does the wall charging.

Either way, it looks like a Dock Connector will be needed, I've seen them going from $8-30 on eBay, I'm guessing I should lean towards the $30 one as the last iPhone/iPod part I bought was a $5 click wheel for my old 2G Nano 4GB and it didn't work, unlike the $120 screen I got for my old Macbook that worked(and still works) like a charm :)
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
The problem persists.

I plugged it into my sister's Macbook Pro, popped right up, so I figured I'd run a "restore" thinking it'd clean out the cobwebs. Turns out that was a terrible idea because now I not only have a phone that I can't put anything onto, but it's empty as well: No music, no videos, no photos, no contacts.

I completely uninstalled iTunes and reinstalled it. Plugged the phone back in. Things were looking up because it "binged" for the first time in a while on my computer. Tried syncing some photos to it. Worked for about 30 seconds then this popped up:

screenshot20101120at104.png


Phone disappears from iTunes, though the phone itself still says "Sync in progress." Now it doesn't acknowledge a connection at all anymore.

I'm tempted to put the thing back in the box and try to return the whole shebang, even though I'm like a week past the return policy. Piece of Garbage.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
I'm guessing my only real option is try a full OS restore. It's not the Phone itself, obviously, it works just fine on my sister's MBP.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
Alright, wiped the hard drive last night and make a fresh install of OS X this morning and threw everything back in via a Time Machine restore.

And the same damn problem persists, which is making me think this thing is unfixable. The iPhone, when plugged in, will bing, sync maybe one or two songs, and then disappear from iTunes, though the iPhone itself still says "Sync in Progress" If I unplug it, It won't bing again when I plug it back in, but I did notice that if I left it connected it'll reconnect itself every half hour or so, sync a song or two, and then disconnect itself again.

Looks like I'll have to box up all this **** for The Apple Store sometime this week. Not a whole lot of fun dragging a 27" iMac through the parking lot into a mall.

If anyone has any last ditch ideas I'm all ears.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
I hate to keep self-bumping myself but I can't believe that I'm the only one with this issue and I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction to get it fixed.

Kind of a bummer as I was looking forward to 4.2 and I have no way to put it onto my iPhone.
 
V

vr4playa

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2008
44
0
Just purchased a new dock connector from a power seller on eBay for $10, I'll update after I've installed it, hopefully it'll work.

Otherwise- I've done not only the iTunes re-install, but also got a new computer and running Snow Leopard now, so new OS and all, it doesn't work :(
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
Well, my iPhone at least pulls a charge from my iMac now.

I actually pulled out the iPod Touch (1G, 32GB) that I was planning on selling as well to try it out. Same symptoms, even though it's a different device (obviously) and a different cable. Charges, but doesn't appear in iTunes.

Edit: This is definitely something software based. Multiple cables exhibit the same issue as do multiple devices on any USB port I try.
 
E

evandeck

macrumors newbie
Nov 12, 2010
7
0
I am having the same problem but I use XP. iTunes doesn't detect my 3G but it can charge and detect photos. It RARELY detects my phone.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
So it worked for a bit, though it complained at me to restore, so I did, and now I'm at 4.2.

Started Syncing my songs again but the phone disconnected itself and now I can't get it to reconnect, so there's absolutely no music on it...ugh.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
And on top of that I wanted to try out the fitted case I got from Apple's case program and in the process of putting it on it dinged the top right hand side of my screen protector, so now I have a permanent bubble up there.

Definitely not my night.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
You know, Apple's really making me regret this iPhone purchase. This is the first time in almost ten years of using Apple products that I can say that I'm really disappointed and almost disgusted using one of their products.
 
H

hcho3

macrumors 68030
May 13, 2010
2,783
0
kixroks said:
I'm having the exact same issue. I believe it is the new version of iTunes. My 3G is not recognized by the program. Does anyone have any ideas to correct this? I have tried all the above mentioned fix suggestions and have had the same results. HELP! I need to sync!!!!

Kix
Click to expand...

It is not itunes. I have iPhone 4 and 3G and they are both syncing. It's something else. I wouldn't rule out that it's your phone. If it's not the cable and if it is not the computer, then it's the phone.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
But it's not the phone. I had an entire night of unplugging and plugging the thing in hoping that my computer would acknowledge it.

It worked once, I was able to update to 4.2, but after a sync disconnected half-way through I was met with any number of error # messages for the rest of the night.

My phone was stuck on the iTunes activate screen. My computer would continually give me a "Error 2006" whenever I tried to restore it, so, with the iMac being my only home computer, I was essentially screwed, my phone wasn't a phone anymore.

So I went into work this morning, sat down in front of my 5+ year old PC running Windows XP, plugged in my iPhone, hit restore, and 20 minutes later I have a fully-functioning phone with no hiccups in between.

Seriously this is just goddamn pitiful. a 2010 iMac is being bested by a 5+ year old no-name PC running Windows XP with compatibility of their flagship product.

So no, it's not the phone.
 
N

neoelectronaut

Cancelled
Dec 3, 2003
3,417
2,093
With Thanksgiving & Black Friday I assume the earliest I'll be able to bring my iMac in to get looked at will be Saturday.

I think I'll just leave my iPhone plugged in to see if the computer ever feels like accepting it.
 
Last edited:
V

vr4playa

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2008
44
0
New dock connector from eBay - $9.25
iPhone that finally Syncs- Priceless :)

Now if only the unlock for 05.14.02 can finally come out so I can sell this brick and get an iPhone 4 :cool:
 
V

vr4playa

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2008
44
0
Looks like I jumped the gun on this one... I should've noticed something when it wouldn't take a screen-shot when it was syncing, however, about 5 minutes later I had to use the Home button again only to find out it's NOT working, so it looks like I solved one problem and created a new one.... worst of all, the phone atleast worked for what I needed it to do before and now it doesn't, so unlocking/jailbreaking when the solution for 05.14.02 comes out means nothing :(

The contacts are still S-shaped, so the only thing it could be would be the Dock Connector assembly itself as there's also no corrosion on the contacts.

Otherwise, has anyone had success with Restoring and Reloading the phone?

I saw this possible solution on another thread, however, doing so would mean I'd have to upgrade to 4.2 and probably make this phone un-unlockable so I can only try this if someone else has had success going this route b/c an unlockable phone > new home button
 
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