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iPhone photos won't sync -- passcode lock

I can't sync the photos on my iPhone to iPhoto (using USB cable) due to the following error:

"Photos on the camera roll <phone name> cannot be viewed or imported because the iPhone is locked with a passcode."

I've disabled my passcode lock but the iPhoto persists with this error. I'm running MacOS 10.6.8.

I've googled the error without result.

This is the second time in 8 months of ownership that the phone has choked on iPhoto. The first time was a different error, only resolved by erasing and re-setting the phone. This is highly problematic for me because I visit many different secured wifi hotspots and re-entering all the passwords is time-consuming.

These issues render the iPhone camera nearly useless because the only other option is to email photos to yourself. There is no other way to get photos out of the phone on the Mac.

Is there a solution out there that doesn't entail blowing out the phone? (iCloud is not an option.)
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Avatar of Justin Pierce, MPS-CRM, CNDA, CEH
Justin Pierce, MPS-CRM, CNDA, CEH
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In this case #2 was the solution -- turning the passcode back on solved the problem. Well done!
I have the very same problem, since an upgrade on my iphone5s ie message saying Photos in the Camera Roll on "iPhone" cannot be imported because the device is locked with a passcode. I am not aware of any passcode for my device, this has never been a problem before the upgrade. However I cannot follow your solution as on my phone I do not have Profiles listed in General, nor can I find Passcode Lock. Can you advise where I might find them or any other solution please
problem.png
I have exactly the same problem saying I need a passcode, also I don't have profiles or passcode lock in the general settings.
What was the answer to this?
I have exactly the same problem saying I need a passcode, also I don't have profiles or passcode lock in the general settings.
What was the answer to this?

Help appreciated!
I am in the same boat.. a few days ago iPhoto uploaded my iPhone pics same at it always has. Today I get this message. Unlocked phone, tried keeping it unlocked when connecting, hard restart on phone, always hit "trust"... nothing works. Have to e-mail pictures to my computer till this gets a patch.
I have an iPhone 5 which was recently upgraded to iOS 10.0.2 . This operates in conjunction with an old Macbook running 10.6.3. Since upgrading to 10.0.2 . Since the upgrade of iOS I cannot download photo from the iPhone to iPhotos on the Macbook. On the iPhone a message comes up "Trust This Computer? Your settings and data will be accessible from this computer when connected" - with option of "Trust" and "Don't Trust". Pressing "Trust" achieves nothing. Meantime on the Macbook a message from iPhotos opens "Photos in the Camera Roll on theiPhone cannot be viewed or imported because the iPhone is locked with a passcode. You must enter your passcode on the iPhone to view and import them." Entering the passcode on the iPhone has no effect. Have tried turning off the passcode - no effect: restarting the iPhone - no effect; changing USB port - no effect; restarting the Mcbook - no effect; tried shouting too - no effect.

This has only happened after upgrading to 10.0.2. Is there a bug in the new software - or is it incompatible with the iPhone 5?
Exact same problem.
Im having the EXACT  SAME PROBLEM> like Donna Fellows. same upgrade to the 10.  but using an i phone 6.  its getting really frustrating. i cannot go to an apple store. does anyone have a solution? please help!!!! :( THANKS
HELP. ^^ sorry, DONAL*
Im having the EXACT  SAME PROBLEM> like Donna Fellows. same upgrade to the 10.  but using an i phone 6.  its getting really frustrating. i cannot go to an apple store. does anyone have a solution? please help!!!! :( THANKS
Having the same problem! Does anyone have a solution?! So frustrated!
Same issue with Iphone 6s....seriously frustrated and see that this has been an issue with many for over a year...and obviously the most recent upgrade didn't solve anything.  Apple---some help please?
Same problem. It's super annoying and nothing is fixing the problem. thousands of photos not trying to email them... storage is also full on my phone.

Really hope this gets solved soon.
Exact same issue cropped up for me today, trying to transfer photos from my iPad to my Mac desktop.
The Mac pro is running Mountain Lion. I've just updated the iPad to IOS10. Haven't had any issue transferring photos and videos before.
Now I get the passcode message from iPhoto (I didn't ever have a passcode, so I tried adding one and turning it off - no luck). I get an error message (invalid response) from iTunes, and the Trust this Computer dialogue on the iPad. I've tried rebooting both, changing USB ports. Nothing works.
It's incredibly frustrating!

I'd appreciate any solutions you might suggest.
have same problem
can't get my phones from iphone 5 to iphoto
10.6.8 operating system
Help please!!!
Same here. Just updated Iphone 5 to V 10.0.2. iPhone full and no way to transfer photos apparently. I've tried all the above but nothing seems to work.
Very frustrating
I talked to an Apple tech guy about this - I'm having the same problem with my iphone 5. Passcode error on both iPhoto and Image Capture, "invalid response, can't connect" error in iTunes. All immediately after "upgrading" to ios 10. He said it's because my Mac OS (Snow Leopard) and all my software versions (itunes, iPhoto) are too old to be compatible with ios 10. So there's nothing you can do but upgrade your computer. That would be an expensive, arduous, and months-long process for me. I did too much research on reverting the phone back to ios 9 to think that would be either possible or not problematic in some way. Apple store told me they would definitely not do that for me. Did more research that convinced me that there's no way out but upgrading your Mac desktop/laptop software. The solution I ended up finding to get my photos off my phone in the end was to connect my phone to my Windows 10 laptop and go to Windows Explorer. My phone showed up there, and I was able to right-click on it and say "get pictures." That worked and they downloaded. I then put them on a thumb drive and transferred them back to my Mac, so I could safely delete them all off my phone and regain storage. It's surprising how there's nothing already out there on the web that says that the software version incompatibility is the problem. In addition, I gave Apple the feedback that when your phone offers you an upgrade, it should tell you which versions of firmware (Mac, Windows OS), and which versions of software (iTunes, iPhoto, etc.) will still be compatible. Had I been informed of this, I never would have upgraded my phone to ios10! But not telling you helps Apple force you into buying new machines and new software.
Thanks Holly I just want to be sure, before I throw this iphone in the bin; soiphone are saying that the Mac on which I am running Version 10.7.5, and have no intention of upgrading, is now the cause of the problem that I am locked out of the photos that I have taken on my phone?!!
REALLY annoying!
To Holly Love, I have a 2010 MacBook Pro and am running the latest OS (Sierra), the last available update for iPhoto (9.6.1) and the latest iTunes (12.5.1). I still have Snow Leopard on this Mac on a separate partition so will test it with my iPhone 5s running 10.0.2 and see if I get the same problem as you are describing. However, unless you have a VERY old Mac their is nothing stopping you updating software and OS's as far as you can at no cost. I dispute that Apple forces you to do anything, it is also in your interest to update for security reasons as well. The last 3 OS's have been made available at no charge and should run (well) on all but the very oldest and least spec'd up Macs. I'm sorry to say that 2010 as far as my MacBook is concerned is now old hat in computing terms although it actually runs really well on an OS that suprsedes it by 7 years, and allows me as a pro photographer to still use bang up to date Adobe software to edit large numbers of huge 30mb RAW files without faltering.. Try doing that on a Windows machine that's 7 years old!
To all you guy's above having the same problem as Holly, OK I agree it must be very annoying. I've started up Snow Leopard (10.6.8) on the 2010 MacBook Pro, (it came with Leopard originally) and tried connecting an iPhone SE (essentially a 6s) on ios10 and got the same 'Invalid response...'  error. It wouldn't connect to iTunes nor show up in iPhoto. I also have a 5s and that asked for the passcode and also to respond to the 'Trust this computer?' message. It then showed in iTunes. In iPhoto it showed all the pics on the phone and would allow me to download them, so if you have anything below a 5s on ios10 and Snow Leopard on the Mac it should be able to connect OK, higher than a 5s looks like their is a problem. But as I said before, as OS updates are available FOC and they (for me) run well and fast what is to stop you updating? Ensure you make a backup first of everything important on the Mac (this goes without saying, if you don't back up then you are really are trusting things a bit to far!) preferably a clone so that you can go back to a previous state (look at 'Carbon Copy Cloner', cheap, reliable and an absolute lifesaver)and update. You may have an other issue though as 'photos' is now the default photo software and some people have had issues upgrading their old iPhoto software to carry on using it. Upgrading to Mountain Lion should be OK with what you have, don't go any higher unless you want the iPhoto issues. Sorry but things have to move on, iPhoto had got really bloated, Photos is really fast but not as feature rich. Not upgrading for 2, 3 or even 4 OS's will give you serious compatibility problems. Upgrade after the OS has been out for a few months and google any issues first to find out how it is with particular software. I run a partition just for testing new OS's before I switch everything over as I can't afford any glitches. Belt and braces with an extra belt and make at least 1 preferably 2 'bootable' clones of your machine.
HI again - let me first make it clear that I'm not an Apple expert, I was only repeating what the Apple tech told me, and saying what worked for me as a solution. Since then I also found another solution to download my iphone photos besides connecting to my Windows 10 netbook - backing them up to iCloud and then downloading them to my Mac from there. Also to the remark that Apple isn't forcing me into buying new hardware because I can just upgrade the OS, it's just not that simple in my case. I have a Windows virtual machine running inside my Mac, and I can't just upgrade OS because it will render that useless, unless I upgrade the virtual machine software, which would first require upgrading my Windows OS, which would first require upgrading my Office software...and so on ad infinitum. So for certain people just simply upgrading is not a quick, easy, or cheap enough option. I still stand by the suggestion that Apple should show you a message about what Mac OS's will still be compatible before you hit "yes" on upgrading the phone, so you won't be put in this position.
But Chris Whear, your point is still well-taken that ideally, for security reasons, I really *should* upgrade everything! It's just the drag of it all. But given that I'm a musician and iTunes is now disabled for me, and I don't feel like using a different app for synching music with my phone, I really should just bite the bullet and start the process. I just dread it given that I am pathologically attached to older software, out of which functionality has been stripped by programmers (I used to be one) just for the sake of change! So frustrating.
Hi Holly, I can now see your problem and I sympathise! Probably cheaper and easier in the long run to buy a capable Windows laptop! If you use Office on the Windows partition you could get Office for Mac but your probably using other Windows programmes. Regarding Apple informing people of compatibility I've been looking on their site, they obviously say what iPhones and iPads it works with and I thought it would also say OS's but doesn't seem to, ggrrrr! Good call backing up to iCloud hadn't thought of that option. So I can't help you any further I'm afraid, it sounds like the best option is to try to put the phone back to 9 but unfortunately Apple sign off older versions and you can't just download them but you say the stores wouldn't help you. Try a search just in case. One thought I've just had could you put some music into iTunes on your Windows side and see if you can sync music that way. I do have  machines that run older software and I leave them as they are for that purpose. If your able you could just get a basic Mac mini new or second hand to put an newer OS on to keep your phone up to date. Annoying though and an expense I'm sure you could do without! Chris
Due to software that I make a living on only working up to OS 10.6.8 I can't simply upgrade to fix this problem. My issue is that my 6+ worked just fine uploading pics for a few days after the latest update... why a few days after that it suddenly changes??

One work around is to partition your HD and put the latest OS on the other side. This is the only way I can get iTunes to talk to my new phone on my older iMac.
I have a similar problem, phone is Iphone 5s running IOS 10.0.02 and Mac is running OSX 10.7.5 Lion, says it's all up to date.

Every time I plug the phone into the computer I get the 'Trust this computer' message' - I didn't used to get it every time.
Itunes is not 'seeing' the phone at all, and Iphoto says can't connect as it's locked with a passcode, even when it isn't,

This is ridiculous - what can I do?
This situation is really beyond pathetic. I have a iphone 6,  a brand new mac air which I use of work and - fully system upgraded and a 2nd old mac air - 5 years old running on 10.6.8, which I use specifically for my photos. I have tried all of the above and and a few more tricks I managed nothing. I decided then to try and get my photos in the new Mac. That was even worse. It can sync everything else, but photos do not even open so that I import them. If you there is any new trick I would appreciate it, as talking to Apple Genius has not solved anything. Thank you.
To Ron Hardy. A separate partition, although I use mine for testing new OS's for compatibility with Adobe CC apps is exactly the best thing to do.

I make a complete clone of my current system (with my user folder and a small amount of music and photos, not all as I haven't got the space) using 'Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC)' onto the separate partition, start up from that and then upgrade the new/latest OS first. When that works with everything I update critical or work related apps (I am a pro photographer) as needed and when all runs smoothly I can update my main partition with confidence.

The other partition stays in it's updated state until the next major changes come along and then I can do the same thing all over again. With 'CCC' backups of everything it also means I can start up from another partition and have a working 'emergency' system to get me out of trouble until I can sort the issues.
To Annette. It sounds like you have a Mac that won’t update beyond 10.7 Lion, I have a MacPro tower that is like that. So that could be the issue, Lion is now 5 OS’s and 6 years behind the current one, It went 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.11 El Capitan and 10.12 Sierra.

Sorry but the hard truth is iOS 10 it may be incompatible with a 5s on Lion. I have tried to find on Apple’s site compatibility with older OS’s for iOS 10.02 but can’t. It tells you which devices are compatible with it but not which Mac OS’s are compatible with iOS10. I have a 5s running with Sierra and everything is all fine. As for the ‘Trust this computer?’ message it will keep saying this until you do trust it, but obviously if iTunes isn’t seeing the phone you can’t do that!

You have to appreciate with so much sensitive data carried now on devices Apple has to tighten down on security hard, although Apple are by no means perfect I’d much rather have the integrated system they offer than work with other companies for this reason alone. As for not locking your phone with a passcode you really should, do you have ‘Find my iPhone’ turned on, as a lost iPhone can be wiped via that if stolen or misplaced.

Anyway back to your issue, although you say it say’s it is all up to date, make sure your iTunes is the latest version as Lion will not run with the very latest version and once again that could be the problem. You could wipe your phone and restore it manually as a new iPhone, (if you have an Apple ID and it is backed up to iCloud all your info will get put back on when you log in again) and see if that cures it otherwise I can only suggest an appointment with a genius at an Apple store.

I have just discovered an app called iExplorer which is third party to manage transfer of photos and music with older OS’s, go here

https://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/

it may be the way to go if you want to try to solve it yourself.
I've just been in contact with Bryce cameron who runs 'Roaring Apps' a website that list app compatibility with mac OS's and iOS's.

He say's that from what he understands iOS 10 requires iTunes 12.5.1, which only goes back to Mavericks (OS X 10.9). So if you want to sync with an OS X earlier than that, you’d probably have to look at third party apps to transfer content to/from your iOS device, like iExplorer.

Hope that's of use to all posters. Issues with up to date Macs running later OS's are separate problems and he suggests Apple support.
Oh my gosh, thank you Chris for all your comments and Ron especially for the partitioning idea! Since I do have plenty of space on my Mac, that might be an option for me.
Hi All,

I was having exactly the same problem between my iPhone 6s (10.0.2) and my iMac (mac OS Sierra 10.12). I applied this change and it seems to have fixed the problem

http://www.mactricksandtips.com/2016/01/fixing-itunes-cannot-sync-to-iphone-because-photos-library-is-unavailable.html

Hope it helps

Cheers
I'm having the SAME PROBLEM, presumably because I'm still on Mavericks on my MacBook Pro, after reading these comments.  Thanks, Apple, for forcing me to take the last step toward GETTING RID OF YOUR F'ING PHONES.  I used to be a Mac acolyte.  You push too far, Apple.
Rebecca, writing a rant doesn't help. If you've thoroughly read previous posts the latest itunes should be fine with Mavericks. You don't say what MB Pro you have or what phone, Follow all the above advice, if none of that works and you are within travelling distance of an Apple Store book an appointment and take your (backed up and up to date) hardware to them. If they see enough similar issues it gets recorded on to the systems, your rant doesn't. Finally go Android if you want, do you think they have any less problems with more versions of the software all connecting to different brands of computer and apps.
Found a solution. Open iTunes and then connect your phone. It will ask if you "trust this computer" and you can connect your device to your computer.
After you "trust the computer" in iTunes then you'll be able to use iPhoto.
GOT IT, I solved my  problem and I hope this will solve yours also.

I had the very same problem, read all your posted solutions... nothing worked for me. I went on the web, search for a transfer software of some kind. SO I found « I transfer » from ISkySoft. They have a free trial version that will allow you to transfer just 10 pictures to test it out! I installed it and ran it... OMG what do you know, I saw the full content of my Iphone appear in my other window of the Image transfer App that was still opened in the background. YEP... just by launching the I transfer App, it unlocked my phone, got rid of that anoying message once and for all. You don’t have to buy the software, just the free trial will do that for you. Oh I am soooo happy! Let me know if it works for you too!

I am on Mac OS X 10.7.5 and I-phone 6

Good luck
Thank you Al
I went to the site and was wondering what software did you download? Didn't see << i Transfer >>
http://www.iskysoft.us/download.html
Hi Kato Wake

Here’s a link for you for the english version
http://www.iskysoft.us/lp/itransfer/music.html?gclid=CJ2yxZy3lNACFRYGhgod3bcJFw

Here is the link I have used to download the software on the french version of their site

http://www.iskysoft.us/fr/itransfer-for-mac.html
(just press téléchargez, it means download) Event if its in french, you don’t need to use it. Just by launching it, it will unlock your phone and let you use your own photo transfer software like you use to.
Good luck!
Al Nodan - I have no idea how to specifically respond to a  particular user without using a private message - I just tried what you said and the exact same thing was the case for me! When I had iSkySoft app open, THEN I could actually get the app I usually use, Image Capture, to work again with my phone, show me the photos on it, and let me download them. Without iSkySoft I would just get an error message from Image Capture after using it successfully for years until I downloaded the most recent OS upgrade. You're right, it's like iSkySoft "unlocks" that error. So I can go back to using Image Capture if I just run iSkySoft in the background. Unfortunately Image Capture used to also let me then do a sweeping delete of the photos it showed me after I downloaded ("imported") them, but that feature is greyed out now. I'm too afraid to check the box that says "delete after import" in case something goes wrong with the import but then the delete proceeds. In any event thanks for sharing this solution!
Hi Holly Love

Once downloaded, I personally always delete all my pictures directly on my phone. I find it quick, easy and less risky.

I would never delete pictures in the same operation as a download. One of my friends learned it the hard way once, as his originals got deleted on his card while transfering - all the downloaded files on his computer ended-up being save as small picts because of a previous transfer setting he had made in the past and forgot to change back to full size. So before deleting, I always go back and check my transfered files, make a back-up of them and then, only then, I go on my phone and delete them.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful in any way.
Al Nodan - yes that's exactly what I was also saying when I said I was afraid to check the "delete after import" button. I would never let it delete anything without checking first that the download worked. It's just now I can't use Image Capture's sweeping delete. I have to choose every photo group on my phone and do it that way, so it's not just one click. But, it's not that big of a deal. I'm just so glad you shared your iSkySoft solution!
Thank you Al !!!!
Your iSkysoft solution has just worked for me too, ie having downloaded, put it in applications and run the free trial, I was then able to download my pictures from my phone again with iphoto which had previously told me my device was locked with a passcode. Even with ISkysoft quit I am still able to,

This is a big relief, e mailing endless pics to my computer was driving me nuts,  you sir are a true gent and a genius scholar. ONE LOVE
I feel I have to add, I have just connected the iphone again and yes you have to launch the iSkysoft iTransfer as well as iPhoto for the unlock to work BUT for me this is nothing compared to my troubles uploading photos to the MAC before the upgrade on my iPhone,
Before the upgrade, when I plugged  my phone into my MAC it would automatically open iTunes on the computer and start to  sync ALL the music files on my MAC onto my phone, a total pain, endlessly having to delete endless GBs of music from the phone. THIS no longer happens now!!!!!
I'm not sure if this is thanks to  the upgrade or to the fantastic iSkysoft iTransfer either way another bonus, HUGE relief, thanks again Al.
Hi everyone, I'm a complete dunce, but followed all the above steps - my iphoto is now saying "loading photos" when I select my iphone device - but its been loading for the last hour and so so far nothing has come up. I do have 4000 photos on my iphone though. Any advice for me? Keep waiting?
Hi Kez-Zy

Are you still waiting ? LOL!

First off, this is what I would do.
A) start over and instead of trying to download 4000 pictures at once, specially through IPhoto which is already extremely slow as an importing app, try to just select 1 picture to see if it works first. If it does, great, you know it’s because 4000 pictures will take forever!
Now I am certainly not a programming expert but, I suspect that with such a high amount of pictures, you might be running into a RAM limit problem of some kind, so to avoid that, I would make folders in my phone photo library and split my pictures in bunches of 200 to 400 which works perfectly for me. Transfer 1 folder at a time, should take a lot less memory and time.

B)  If that doesn’t work or appear to still take too much time, I would do without IPhoto for the original transfer. I would transfer all my images on my computer using image transfer or any transferring image app and once all on my computer, I would import them into Iphoto. I find Iphoto to be extremely slow when it deals with High resolution files, a large amount of pictures at once or when dealing with an external device.

Hope that helps