iPad iTunes will not see any iDevices

[Traxan]

Please forgive if this is the wrong place to post, but my greatest frustration right now is with my iPads .

So I have two PCs (sorry, not really) a laptop and a desktop, and neither one will see any of my iDevices. None of my iPads or my iPhone. Apple Devices, On the other hand, sees everything I connect to the PC. The iPads and the iPhone. Unfortunately, I cannot restore a backup from one iPad to another with Apple Devices. It has to be iTunes and iTunes will not see any device that I connect to the either of the PCs. I've done all the usual Fixes like checking the install and rebooting, reinstalling iTunes, nothing.

Also I have a new iPad and I'm trying to restore the backup from the old iPad onto the new device with no luck. Bluetooth is on but the iPad hangs when trying to discover the new device. so I can't make the transfer.

So yeah. I've got two problems: iTunes not seeing any device on two PCs and the iPads will not link up to transfer the old install to the new. Please help.

 

[ftaok]

Sometimes, a new Apple device requires a higher version of iTunes than a user's computer can run. In those cases, you're SOL.

I see that you've tried re-installing iTunes, but does the version of iTunes meet the requirements of your new iPad? I'm not a PC user, but could it be that the required iTunes needs to run on Win11 and your PC's are on Win10? It's worth a double check to confirm the iPad's requirements against what you have on the PC.

 

[Traxan]

These are not old devices, though. The iPads are 7th generation and the iPhone is 13. So iTunes should definitely see them

I swear iTunes is the worst software ever made

 

[ftaok]

I'm not a Windows user, so I don't know anything about the the Apple Devices app. But I have a few thoughts (prayers, really).

• Can you back up your old iPad with Apple Devices (AD)? You say that your iTunes can't see any of your Apple gear, but AD can.
• You say that you can't use a backup from the old iPad to set-up the new iPad? This sounds odd. Have you actually tried doing this? I would be surprised if Apple didn't build in this function as it's been a core function of a back-up from the beginning. It's always been a standard to be able to set-up a new device using an backup of your previous device.
• Instead of setting up your new iPad using a back-up, can't you just set it up by putting it next to the old iPad and letting them sync up to transfer the data? I think most of the important stuff gets transferred, not sure about Apple Health, but that's usually not stored on the iPad, I think.

 

[cynics]

These are not old devices, though. The iPads are 7th generation and the iPhone is 13. So iTunes should definitely see them

I swear iTunes is the worst software ever made

Why do you need iTunes? It's only used for Audiobooks or something nowadays. There is probably a work around but it won't see your devices now.

Apple replaced it with Music, Apple Devices, AppleTV apps, all the libraries stayed the same though including iOS/iPadOS backups, I think they are located at....

'/users/(name)/Apple/Mobilesync/Backup'

I pulled out my old laptop and downloaded Apple Devices and clicked manage backups and there was still a backup from 2017 in there.

As far as iPad to iPad transfer goes you'll need to select restore from back up at start up on a fresh device. Then you move them close together and it use bluetooth to negotiate an wifi connection between them. Here is some more information about that...

Restore all content to iPad from a backup

On iPad, restore content, settings, and apps from a backup.

support.apple.com

 

[sparksd]

Why do you need iTunes? It's only used for Audiobooks or something nowadays. There is probably a work around but it won't see your devices now.

Apple replaced it with Music, Apple Devices, AppleTV apps, all the libraries stayed the same though including iOS/iPadOS backups, I think they are located at....

'/users/(name)/Apple/Mobilesync/Backup'

I pulled out my old laptop and downloaded Apple Devices and clicked manage backups and there was still a backup from 2017 in there.

As far as iPad to iPad transfer goes you'll need to select restore from back up at start up on a fresh device. Then you move them close together and it use bluetooth to negotiate an wifi connection between them. Here is some more information about that...

Restore all content to iPad from a backup

On iPad, restore content, settings, and apps from a backup.

support.apple.com

One reason for iTunes (or iMazing, in my case) - loading your own music into the Music app. Only way into it for your own music files (sucks).