Solved: iTunes Wi-Fi Sync Not Working/Missing on iOS 17/16

iTunes is a brilliant companion for iOS devices. With iTunes, you can back up iPhone 15 to PC over Wi-Fi, or transfer/sync your iPhone and iPad. To sync iPhone with iTunes, you just need to set up Wi-Fi sync when you connect iPhone to iTunes with USB cable. After that, you don’t need wired connection but you can still sync your iPhone to iTunes over the air.

But sometimes you may find the Wifi sync does not working in iTunes. For example, your iPhone does not show or indicate Wi-Fi sync. iTunes can't detect your iPhone. Don't worry, no matter what conditions, if you failed to use iTunes to sync over Wifi, you can try the following solutions to sovle this problem. 

Section 1. How to fix iTunes Wi-Fi sync not working/missing issue

If you still can’t use Wi-Fi to connect iPhone and computer or iTunes cannot work, here are the fixes.

Solution 1. Check the Steps and Wifi

As is mentioned in the beginning, you need to enable iTunes Wi-Fi sync via wired connection at least once. If you have updated iTunes or iOS, you could connect iPhone to iTunes and check Sync this iPhone over Wi-Fi and click Apply.

Check the Wi-Fi you are using on iPhone. If you have more than one Wi-Fi in your house, your iPhone might not connect the specific Wi-Fi every time so you need to connect iPhone to the right Wi-Fi by yourself.

Method 2. Make IP address fixed

Even when your two devices are connected to the same network, the connection might still fail to build because of different IP addresses.

The steps to fix your IP address are a little complicated. If you want to check whether you are using a fixed IP and fix the IP issue, you may refer to this guide: How to Set Up DHCP Reservations.

Solution 3. Allow Bonjour through firewall

Except for close antivirus when you connect iPhone to iTunes over Wi-Fi, you need to allow Apple’s Bonjour Service through Windows firewall. You need to follow the steps:

1. Press and hold Windows Key and then press E to open Run box. Type control and press Enter to open Control Panel.

2. Click System and Security.

3. Click Allow an app through Windows Firewall.

4. Click Change Settings, check all the Bonjour Service and click OK.

Now you can connect iPhone to iTunes over Wi-Fi to sync the device.

Solution 4. Force restart Apple’s service

Apple Mobile Device Service is the driver which helps to connect iOS device to computer. You could restart the driver to fix Wi-Fi connection issue. Follow the steps:

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del at the same time and then select Task Manager.

2. Select Services, locate and right-click Apple Mobile Device Service, and click Restart.

If you use Mac computer, you could restart the driver in Activity Monitor.

Solution 5. Reinstall iTunes from Apple Support

Some users reported that iTunes installed from Microsoft Store would cause iTunes Wi-Fi sync problem. You would find the sync option is greyed out or other problems. It could be solved by reinstalling iTunes from Apple Support.

You need to follow the steps to completely uninstall iTunes and then download iTunes from Apple Support to reinstall it.

1. Press Windows Key + R and type Control to open Control Panel.

2. Select Programs and Features.

3. Double click iTunes Apple Software Update > Apple Mobile Device Support > Bonjour > Apple Application Support in order to completely uninstall iTunes from your computer.

4. Download iTunes from Apple Support and install it.

5. Connect iPhone to iTunes with USB cable, click the device icon, check Sync this iPhone over Wi-Fi and click Apply.

6. Disconnect iPhone from computer, connect computer and iPhone with the same Wi-Fi, and then you could still find your device in iTunes.

Section 2. iTunes alternative to sync/transfer iPhone media easily

If your iTunes wifi sync is still not working, you can try iTunes alternative tool named FoneTool. It is the best iPhone data transfer to help you easily sync data like photos, videos, and music between iPhone and computer.

When you sync music, photos, and other data into iPhone, your library on iPhone would be totally rewritten, so you might need to check the local iTunes library every time. But FoneTool will not delete or overwrite your data on your iDevice and PC. 

FoneTool has plenty of advantages and features to meet different needs of data transferring, such as,

Now you can get FoneTool by clicking the button below and install it on your computer. After that, connect iPhone to FoneTool with USB cable. We will guide you on how to import data from PC to iPhone to show you how to use it.

--> Steps to sync iPhone your iPhone:

Step 1. Run FoneTool, click Phone Transfer and select PC to iPhone > Click Get Started.

Tip: To sync data from iPhone to computer, you can click iPhone to PC to transfer photos, videos, messages, music to your Windows computer.

Step 2. Click any area in the box to add photos, videos, or music from your computer.

Step 3. Click the Start Transfer to safely sync your iPhone.

Conclusion

If you find iTunes Wi-Fi sync not working/missing on iOS 17/16 because the connection failed to be built or iTunes doesn’t work, you can follow the advice in the passage to solve the problem.

Besides, you could also choose an easier way to sync your iPhone, using FoneTool. This method would be more friendly and flexible than using iTunes.

Don’t forget to share this guide to help more people.