iPad not seen by Win 10 PC

Win 10 22H2 (19045.4123), iPad Mini 5, iOS 17.3.1 -- Puzzling problem: My PC is not seeing the iPad, either in a file manager or by showing the iPad device icon in iTunes, even though the iPad will ask me to "Trust this Computer." The two are linked via an Apple USB cable to a USB port on the PC. I've tried two Apple cables that otherwise work fine and three USB ports on the PC that recognize flash drives, etc., without luck. I've tried rebooting (after doing that it seen once a couple of weeks ago, but not since). Any idea how I can get to the bottom of this?

I'm going to guess that the multiple Apple device drivers have got their collective knickers (USB ports) in a twist...

I get that occasionally... but it's easy to fix.

I suggest you:

1. Disconnect your iPad from your Win 10 device.

2. Download, unblock and run Nir Sofir's USBDeview.

3. Sort on the Description tab then select all the Apple entries.


4. Choose Uninstall Selected Devices from the File menu.

5. Accept the Uninstall query dialog.


6. Restart your device and re-connect your iPad.

It'll be slow - Apple device drivers are notorious for being slow to install - but that should fix your issue.

Note: If this doesn't work then you may have hit a long-standing Windows bug about USB enumeration, in which case the fix is to use USBDeview to uninstall all non-connected entries then reboot.

Hope this helps...

Thanks! I followed the instructions, rebooted and this is what it looks like in USBDview. Does the "still imaging" mean the Apple drivers are still installing? In the meantime, I've gotten the same error as previous. See screenshots.

Berton said:

Last year I was tasked to remove photos from an older iPad G before it could be given away. The solution was to download and install latest iTunes on Win10 so as to get a file manager that could work with the iPad and Windows, mission accomplished.

I have the latest: 12.13.1, as with the others mentioned.

highstream said:

I'm stuck. The iPad is now seen in the Windows file manager, but not in iTunes. That is, iTunes loads but the process to let in the iPad runs on and on until it gives the unknown error attached above. USBDview still shows the iPad and Mobile USB Device "still imaging," if that has any relation to this.

- - - Updated - - -

I uninstalled, rebooted and reinstalled iTunes. The good news so far is no error message and the PC recognizes the iPad. The bad is that iTunes is still not recognizing the iPad. What's next?

- - - Updated - - -

Fixed with iOS 17.4. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with the problem.
Btw, found this helpful in checking before I realized iOS had been updated today:
8 Fixes to iPad Not Showing Up in iTunes on Windows 11/10.

One thing to be aware of... although iTunes from the Microsoft Store is supposed to be identical to iTunes downloaded directly from Apple, they aren't.

There's enough examples of iTunes issues fixed by uninstalling the Store version and installing the direct download version from Apple to suggest there's a subtle difference between the two. I only ever use the Apple direct download as a result.

Maybe your latest screenshot is truncated but I cannot see the Apple USB drivers for Recovery (iBoot) installed. This means you won't be able to use Recovery mode to restore a previous backup to fix a borked iPad (or iPhone).

However, it it's now all working with the install of iPadOS 17.4 then I assume all's now good?

RickC said:

One thing to be aware of... although iTunes from the Microsoft Store is supposed to be identical to iTunes downloaded directly from Apple, they aren't.

There's enough examples of iTunes issues fixed by uninstalling the Store version and installing the direct download version from Apple to suggest there's a subtle difference between the two. I only ever use the Apple direct download as a result.

Maybe your latest screenshot is truncated but I cannot see the Apple USB drivers for Recovery (iBoot) installed. This means you won't be able to use Recovery mode to restore a previous backup to fix a borked iPad (or iPhone).

However, it it's now all working with the install of iPadOS 17.4 then I assume all's now good?

Thanks. As a matter of practice with my PC and iPad/iPhone, I opt for websites over apps and developer/company websites over third party ones for programs whenever possible. 17.4 came from Apple via the iPad settings' Software Update.

I don't recall seeing Recovery (iBoot) through any of this process. Here's a screenshot.

iTunes for Windows is notorious for the slow loading of its included drivers. You should see multiple drivers for 'Still Imaging', 'Mobile Device' (both USB and Ethernet) and 'Apple Recovery (iBoot)' install. Your screenshot shows only a subset.

iPadOS 17.4 is an OTA update direct from Apple, not the issue you are having... which is with iTunes and its USB drivers.

Whilst they are co-dependendent, iTunes for Windows has long been problematic... so you have to be careful. (iTunes on the MacOS platform has no such issues IME... it just works.)

If you are happy all is now sorted having installed iPadOS 17.4 then great.