Fixed “The Device Has Either Stopped Responding or Is Disconnected” iPhone

When you're attempting to copy files between iPhone/iPad/USB drive/SD card and your computer, you may receive a typical error message saying Cannot copy item with detailed note on “The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected.” on your Windows 7/8/10/11 PC, which make your iPhone won’t connect to PC.

This message often pops up when the computer cannot communicate with your device. Here in this guide, we will dive into the error message, as well as effective solutions when you connect iPhone to PC but are told the device has either stopped responding or is disconnected.

Why it says “this device has either stopped responding or is disconnected”?

The first step to finding a solution is figuring out the problem, get a quick overview of the issue, and then use the solutions below to fix it. You will find that the error message “the device has either stopped responding or is disconnected” keeps popping up when you attempt to copy your PC data to any external storage device, such as iPhone, iPad, USB flash drive, etc.

And if you are wondering why you receive such error message, the followings might answer you:
• Too many files copied at once. Most of the time, this error message appears because you try to copy too many files at once. And your iPhone is being used for a variety of functions.
• Physical connection problem. It can also occur due to poor connection problems.
• Hardware issue. It not always happens, but is also possible that your computer hardware or driver doesn’t work properly, which prevent you from performing the task successfully.

Fixes: The Device has either stopped responding or is disconnected

With the general troubleshooting advice listed below, hope your issue can be solved. Try them one after another to check if your mistake still exists.

1# Check the USB port

The first thing you can do is to check the USB port since it sometimes can be vulnerable. Simply put some different cables or USB in the same port or use the same cable or USB in any other USB port of your computer. This might solve your problem.

2# Check your iPhone settings

Sometimes everything is OK except for your iPhone’s settings. Since iOS 11.4, iPhone/iPad has included a new security feature called USB Restricted Mode, which can block your iPhone from connecting to computers and other devices if they haven’t been unlocked for more than an hour.

It is suggested to disable the feature when you transfer files from PC to iPhone by going to iPhone Settings > Tap Face ID & Passcode > Enter your device passcode to continue > Scroll down to locate and toggle off USB Accessories.

Now, you can re-connect your iPhone to computer to have a check. Please remember to tap Trust on your iPhone when asked, so that your PC can get access to your iPhone.

3# Restart iPhone and computer

Make sure the connection is all right. Then, you can try to force your iPhone and computer when your iPhone cannot copy items, the device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected shown on your computer.

● Force restart iPhone 8 and later with Face ID:
Quickly press and release the Volume Up button > Quickly press and release the Volume Down button > Press and hold the Side/Power button until the Apple logo appears.

● Force restart iPhone 7/7 Plus:
Press and hold the Top button and Volume Down button together > Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

● Force restart iPhone 6s, SE and earlier with Home button:
Hold down the Home button and the Top (or Side) button at the same time > Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

4# Troubleshoot the hardware

If none of the solutions above works, you may need to check the hardware on your computer, since anything wrong with the hardware can cause your iPhone to stop responding and disconnect. Follow the steps below to troubleshoot it.

Step 1. Press Win and I key to open Windows Settings panel > Go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.

Step 2. Locate and click Hardware and Devices option from the right pane > Click Run the troubleshooter button to let Windows scan for any possible errors in its hardware.

5# Reinstall the USB controller

When the error “the device has either stopped or is disconnected” occur, you can also try to reinstall the USB controller to fix any internal issue with it.

Step 1. Press Win and R keys to open the Run dialog box > Type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.

Step 2. From the opening Device Manager window, expand the menu named Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Step 3. Locate and right-click your Apple Mobile Device USB Driver or any other current USB device that is creating the problem > From the pop-up menu, choose Uninstall device.

Step 4. Back to Device Manager > Right-click Action > Select scan for hardware changes to let your computer automatically install the driver again.

Bonus: Easily Transfer Files from PC to iPhone

It's better to rely on a professional data transfer software than copy files from computer to iPhone directly. In this case, you can largely avoid issue like “the device has either stopped responding or is disconnected iPhone”. Here in this guide, we’d like to recommend you to try FoneTool, an expert for data transfer among iOS devices and computer.

The user-friendly design and easy-to-use UI enables you to transfer files from PC to iPhone in one-click without any technical knowledge. What’s more, just within 3 second, 100 photos can be transferred.

Now, free download FoneTool on your computer, connect your iPhone to computer with USB, and follow the simple steps below to copy computer files to iPhone with it.

Step 1. Launch FoneTool, choose Phone Transfer from the left pane > Mouse over to PC to iPhone and click Get Started.

Step 2. Click the folder icon to preview and select the files like photos, videos, music, contacts you’d like to transfer. You can also directly drag and drop them to FoneTool.

Step 3. Make sure you have added all wanted files > Click Start Transfer to begin the transfer task.

💡 FoneTool also provides iOS system repair functions to assist you troubleshoot common system issues on your iPhone. If you suspect that unknown system issues cause the error message, you can go to Toolbox > iOS System Repair to fix your iPhone.

 

Conclusion

Hope your connection issue - “the device has either stopped responding or is disconnected” for iPhone has been solved with one of the solutions introduced in this guide.

If needed, you can try the professional data transfer tool - FoneTool to copy computer files to your iPhone. For more queries, feedback or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.