My Mac only sees my iPad less than half of the time they're connected.

[Howard Brazee]

My iMac only sees my iPad less than half of the time they're connected, and hardly ever when they are just close by.

I have switched out cables, have switched which USB plugs to use (my iMac only has Thunderbird 1, not Thunderbird 3 ports). I have Catalina (my iMac is too old for Big Sur).

Today I tried shutting down my iPad and turning it on again, and when I did that, the Finder saw it.

I have to connect my iPad and iPhone to my Mac because when the finder sees them nearby, I still can't move data to them successfully.

Any ideas what the issue is?

 

[Lufbrarunner]

1. Plug your iPad into your Mac.
2. Click Finder in the Menu bar.
3. Click Preferences.
4. Click the Sidebar tab.
5. Click the checkbox next to CDs, DVDs, and iOS Devices to check it if the box is empty.

 

[Howard Brazee]

The box is not empty. I would think that if it were empty, then I wouldn't ever see the iPad or the iPhone. Right now finder has been syncing for a couple of hours. Both my iPhone and iPad get stuck every couple of days with the eject-button spinning. The solution to that is to shut them down before I can shut down my iMac.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

Possibly it's an update issue.

My iMac only sees my iPad less than half of the time they're connected, and hardly ever when they are just close by.

When this next happens do the following as a test.
A) Leave your iPad connected to your iMac and make sure that it's unlocked and on the Home screen.
B) On your Mac click the Apple menu, and choose System Information or System Report.
C) From the list on the left, select USB.
D) Do you see your iPad under USB Device Tree.

 

[Howard Brazee]

It happened today. I plugged in my iPad last night right after I shut it down. My iMac turned itself on over 2 hours ago, and my iPad shows 97% charged, indicating that it isn't plugged in right. I saw my iPhone under USB Device tree, so I switched Lightning cords. It changed the order of the USB items, but it still sees my iPhone but not my iPad. Finder still sees my iPhone but not my iPad. So I powered down my iPad and powered it up. Now both System Information and my finder show both my iPhone and my iPad.