# Fix ‘iTunes Can­not Read the Con­tents of the iPhone Error’ Issue

**URL:** https://www.compsmag.com/blogs/fix-itunes-cannot-read-the-contents-of-the-iphone-error-issue/
**Author:** Ayushi Chauhan
**Published:** 2021-12-29
**Updated:** 2021-12-29
**Categories:** Blogs
**Tags:** Apple Guides, Blogs Daily, Computer Guides, guiderobert, Guides and Tutorials, guiding17, How To Guide, How To Guides, ios Guides, iphones guides, Software tips and tutorials, Tips, Tricks, Windows 10
**Reading Time:** 5 min

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## Fix ‘iTunes Can­not Read the Con­tents of the iPhone Error’ Issue - Guide

iTunes is software you can use to add, organize, and play your digital media collection on your computer and sync it to a portable device.  It is a jukebox player based on Songbird and Windows Media Player, and you can use it on a Mac or Windows machine.  The main difference between iTunes and some other media players is the built-in iTunes Store (where you can also get podcasts, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch apps, music videos, movies, audiobooks and TV shows) and its integration of various levels with Apple's iPhone and its iPod portable media player.

This is a well-known Apple bug and many users do complain about this issue.  Also, those who clicked OK without reading the error message carefully would later discover that they made the wrong choice.  Remember that if you click the OK button button in this error message, your iPhone will be erased, which also means that it will completely remove all data stored on your iPhone. phone.

## Possible reasons why iTunes can't read my iPhone

So far, Apple hasn't given an exact answer why iTunes can't recognize the iPhone's content and asks the device to restore factory settings.  But some mobile experts suggest that this is a software-related issue.  Therefore, we summarize the possible reasons below.

iTunes is not installed correctly.  These components are left over from a previous installation of iTunes or fail to log into the computer as an administrator.  Because this error is often encountered after installing or updating iTunes.

Corrupted files affect recognition.  There are some corrupted files on iOS device or some files were incorrectly written by third party software.

Devices cause the error.  If your iOS device is unlocked or second-hand, it's probably because the process of rooting your device has modified the files needed for this connection.

## Possible solutions for iTunes not being able to read the content of the iPhone problem

There are 4 viable solutions that we offer below.  You can try one or more of them to solve the problem based on your occasion.

### Update or Reinstall iTunes

As mentioned, this error that iTunes cannot read the iPhone content will happen due to iTunes installed correctly.  Therefore, updating or reinstalling iTunes may solve the problem.

If your iTunes is out of date, please update iTunes to the latest version on your Windows PC / Mac first.  Check if iTunes can work with your iPhone normally after the update.  Otherwise, you can try reinstalling iTunes.  follow the guide below to do this.

#### On the Windows 10 computer:

To uninstall iTunes

Open Control Panel and go to Programs and Features.

Locate iTunes and click Uninstall.

Wait for the process to complete.

To reinstall iTunes

Open the Microsoft Store and search iTunes.

Click Download.  Follow the instructions on the screen.

Open iTunes.

On Mac:

Uninstall iTunes:

Go to the Finder and click on Apps.

Select and drag the iTunes app to the Trash.

Ctrl-click Trash and click Empty Trash.

Reinstall iTunes:

Just go to Apple's official iTunes webpage or App Store and click on download button.

Follow the onscreen instructions about how to Download iTunes.

Now that you've uninstalled and reinstalled iTunes on your computer, try reconnecting your iPhone and see if iTunes can't read your iPhone content. up.

### Rename iTunes library filename

One of the reasons iTunes can't read iPhone is that your iPhone is unlocked and some files are modified by root.  On occasion, you can rename these files and this will force your iPhone to create new versions of the database.  here they are guide you can follow.

Open iFile on your iPhone.

Go to / var /mobile/ Media / iTunes_Control / iTunes.

Rename iTunes Database, iTunes Control, and iTunes Preferences.  (iTunes DB> iTunes DB.old, iTunes control> iTunes control.old and iTunesPrefs> iTunesPrefs.old)

Reconnect iPhone to iTunes and test to see if this solution works for you.

### Use alternative iTunes tool

Instead of trying to fix the problem, iTunes can't read the iPhone content, you can use an iTunes alternative to get back up your iPhone.  You can use AOMEI MBackupper iPhone manager to back up your Windows 10 PC, which offers better user experience than iTunes.

Widely compatible:

Compatible with most iPhone models from iPhone 4 to latest iPhone 12, iPhone XS / XS Max / XR / 11.

Works with iPad / iPad mini / iPad Air / iPad Pro and iPod touch 1/2/3/4/5/6/7.

Compatible with the latest iOS 14.

Here it is how to backup iPhone to Windows 10/8/7 with AOMEI MBackupper:

Download and install AOMEI MBackupper.

Connect your iPhone with USB and tap Trust this computer on your iPhone.

Click Custom Backup.

Check all data to back up your iPhone.  Then click Start Backup to continue.

when your backup is complete.  You can easily find your backup files by clicking Placement under Backup Management to restore, browse, delete backup.

### Restore to Factory Settings

The last option and always works would be to restore your device to factory settings with iTunes.  Since all data will be removed from your iOS device, you'd better have an iCloud backup.  Otherwise, you can create a backup with alternative iTunes AOMEI MBackupper mentioned in solution 4 now, before resetting to factory defaults.

The steps to reset all settings as below:

Go to Settings and tap General.

Tap Reset and then Erase all content and settings.

After resetting, please check if the issue where iTunes cannot read the iPhone 12 content has been fixed.

## Final note

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