iTunes/MacBook Pro won't recognize iPhone 4S

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Hello all-

Pretty recent Mac convert here. I've had an iPhone 4S for a while but it was synced to my old PC. When I connect it to my Mac, the following happens:

-The battery icon on the phone will charge, recognizing it is plugged in.
-Before the phone shows up on the left menu in iTunes, an error message appears saying it can't sync the phone because it has been disconnected. However, the phone keeps charging as though it were plugged into the wall. The computer doesn't recognize in any way (that I know of) that the phone is connected.
-It has worked once but displayed the "disconnected" message 3/4 of the way through the first sync. I've tried at least a dozen times since and had zero success.

Just to give as much info as possible, I have done the following:

-I have a 13" MacBook Pro that I bought this past February. The Tech Specs via "About this Mac" designate it as Mid-2012.
-OSX + IOS on the phone are 100% up to date, as is iTunes.
-I have used three separate USB cables to make sure I wasn't using a faulty one- all three had the result I described above.
- iTunes has been updated, quit, and reopened several times. I even downloaded it from apple.com to make sure I was getting it as "fresh" as possible.
- Computer and phone both powered off and restarted several times.
- One forum I saw advised the user to delete a certain file that was creating a firewall or making it impossible for the phone to be recognized. Unfortunately I can't remember what it supposedly is. However, I was unable to find it via the instructions in the thread.
-The phone still syncs to my PC although I hate digging out a computer I no longer use just to sync my phone. Also, in the phone's "Settings", both the PC and the Mac are listed as computers it syncs to.

A few questions:
-Is there something to try that I am completely unaware of?
-Should I try to restore the phone to factory settings? I've been reluctant to try that.
-Might it have something to do with the phone previously being synced to my PC?
-I've heard a lot about syncing the two via WiFi but am not savvy enough to make it happen. Is this a possibility?

Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
2012 Mac Mini: 500GB-8GH : iPad 2 64GB
Might it have something to do with the phone previously being synced to my PC?
-I would think so as it does this for the iPod, but your comment about how it did connect once kinda leads me in the other direction. I'm not sure if iPhone format themselves to the OS it first finds.

Is all the software up to date on the phone?


I guess if it works with your old PC either sync it with that, or just don't worry about syncing it at all.
 
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Re: Phone software, syncing on PC

ThatGuy,

Yes the phone software is updated. The problem is the PC's screen works only intermittently and is otherwise just a huge hassle.

I wonder if restoring the phone to factory would help?
 
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Your Mac's Specs
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Well if it only works on your PC and its dyeing for you then restores it and having it run primarily on your Mac is a good idea.

You'll end up doing that eventually so id say sooner rather than later :)

Do some research on the Apple.com/support page. It will have some useful tips on step-by step instructions
 

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