Xcode "Device Locked" When iPhone is unlocked

Question

When I tried to build and run, Xcode said my device was locked. I looked at my iPhone, and it's not locked at all. How do I fix this?

For me, unplugging and re-plugging did the trick. No need to Clean Build Folder, restart Mac with Command+Option+P+R, leave the house and come back again, burn a Voodoo doll of Steve Jobs, etc. — Nicolas Miari, Sep 16 '16 at 03:22
@NicolasMiari For me it has not worked and I am looking for the Voodoo doll — zirinisp, Dec 20 '17 at 12:23
Four years later, I'm using Xcode 9.2 and iOS 11.2, and this issue is still live and kicking. This cr*p just doesn't get any better, does it...? — Mike Gledhill, Feb 07 '18 at 09:52
In my case (I use wireless debugging) simply opening Window > Devices & Simulators caused Xcode to automatically detect my device, fixing the issue. Note: I had already "trusted" my device and used it previously. — Codemonk, Feb 23 '18 at 20:55
worked for me in Xcode 10: step 1 : Unplug and re-plug device step 2: Go to menu > Devices and simulator > un check Connect via network: Done — Ravi, Nov 05 '18 at 06:47
If you have already trusted your device, make sure your iPhone is unlocked when you connect or plug in. This works for me!! — Anjali Kevadiya, Aug 20 '19 at 17:48

score 481 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 14 '15 at 23:26

481

My phone was set to "trust" the Mac, and I still ran into this error with Xcode 6.1.1.

This worked for me:

unplug device
quit xcode
open xcode
plug in device
build/run

answered Jan 14 '15 at 23:26

Abhi Beckert

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Unfortunately this is too often the solution for many of your weird Xcode woes. – Jarsen Dec 20 '15 at 03:58
"did you try turning it off and on again?!" - works every time! – mike james Jan 14 '19 at 15:12
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November 2019 and Xcode still has this problem! It hit me this morning. unplug device, quit Xcode, (go get more coffee), open Xcode, plug in, big time sink but seems to work. My other "favorite" is Xcode sees the device then doesn't see the device. – WholeCheese Nov 20 '19 at 19:17
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XCode 10.1 and still had to do this to get it to deploy to device. Some things never change. – CasualCoder Feb 11 '20 at 22:30
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as of the latest Xcode 11.4.1... this is till the answer – rickrvo May 11 '20 at 02:49
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If this does not work, just turn off and turn on the device again. It worked for me in Xcode 12 and Ipad with Ios 14 – Kevin Oswaldo Jan 22 '21 at 22:01

score 149 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 06 '14 at 23:58

149

Did you by chance not "trust" the device? This will prevent it from communicating with xcode even if the device is unlocked.

Update here's a support doc from Apple: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT5868

answered Nov 06 '14 at 23:58

tehprofessor

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I'm not sure what you mean by "trust"...how do i enable that? – Faisal Syed Nov 06 '14 at 23:59
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Unplug the device, close xcode, and then open xcode and plugin the device. When you plug it in (after unlocking it) it you should be prompted to "trust" the computer (in the iOS device). My guess is you may have accidentally tapped "do not trust" and so the device will refuse to connect to the computer. – tehprofessor Nov 07 '14 at 00:01
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I've updated the answer with a link to apple support page regarding the issue. – tehprofessor Nov 07 '14 at 00:02
This is really weird because in my case, I was never prompted to trust in the first place... – Nicolas Miari Jun 06 '18 at 02:57
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@NicolasMiari I've had other notifications show up at the same time I plug in my phone causing it disappear, or accidentally dismissing the prompt on my Mac... as well, if you've used mobile configurator there is a chance it's causing some weird issues as the device could be configured to only respond to one machine. Perhaps that handshake got messed up the first time you plugged it in? – tehprofessor Jun 07 '18 at 21:13
There is also an additional step to run the app on phone , you have to trust the developer profile inside your iPhone settings . – Sainath S.R Jun 23 '18 at 13:47
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Ah ... another one of those "jiggle the switch" solutions. – Zmart Sep 19 '18 at 16:09
@tehprofessor I didn't need to tap Trust again since the computer was already trusted, but your advice to "Unplug the device, close xcode, and then open xcode and plugin the device" worked. Thanks! – CasualCoder Dec 12 '18 at 17:25
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Adding for this solution: If the "Trust" popup doesn't appear, in Xcode go to "Devices & Simulator" -> Unpair your device, and then unplug and plug, the "Trust" popup should appear. – Issa Oct 26 '19 at 14:57

score 114 · Answer 3 · edited Jan 11 '19 at 13:53

114

I recently ran into this issue with XCode 8 just after updating my device from iOS 9 to 10. The exact error I received was:Development cannot be enabled while your device is locked. Please unlock your device and reattach. I received this error even when my phone was unlocked, and after unplugging and re-plugging in the device.

As is mentioned in several answers, the device is locked message is actually referring to the device not trusting the MacBook. In my case, I think my phone defaulted to not trusting my computer after updating to iOS 10. Here are the steps that worked for me to reset the settings (this is the same process that is mentioned in the Apple support page in tehprofessors' answer):

Disconnect your device from your MacBook and close Xcode.
On your device go to Settings > General > Reset, then tap Reset Location & Privacy
Plug your device back into your computer, and on the device you will be prompted to trust the computer. Tap trust.
Now reopen Xcode and rebuild the project.
The device locked error should disappear.

edited Jan 11 '19 at 13:53

alex_lewis

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answered Oct 19 '16 at 16:40

Iron John Bonney

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yep unfortunately only this worked for me on from Xcode 8 on iOS 10 :( – Bishal Ghimire Oct 25 '16 at 03:41
@BishalGhimire Yeah, it's definitely not ideal. I actually just had to do this reset again as XCode started giving me the `device is locked` message again without any noticeable changes to any of my iPhone's settings or XCode's settings. Somewhere along the way my trust settings for my computer are being reset, but I'm not sure when and where. – Iron John Bonney Oct 25 '16 at 19:16
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you should wait for a while to processing symbol files – Hamed Ghadirian Nov 20 '16 at 07:22
Hmm... this fixed the "Device Locked" error ... but has replaced it with a "Could not save the pairing record." error ... – kris Dec 20 '16 at 04:22
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this worked for me after iOS 11 software update on device / Xcode 9 – Ben Oct 18 '17 at 10:22
This appeared to work for me at first as it did prompt me to trust my computer again, I had to enter my password, it paired, but now it says that my device has denied the request. It's interesting to note as well that despite it not launching a debug session it would install and launch the app from Xcode as if the device was already trusted. I really don't know what to do at this point other than try a factory reset. – David Greco Jul 19 '18 at 22:25
Thank you so much for that! In Russian, it was "geolocation" menu item. Worked for me. – Nadia Solovyeva Sep 16 '20 at 12:09
Thanks, this worked for me! – adamsfamily Feb 18 '21 at 21:09

score 70 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 15 '18 at 04:31

70

From the Window Menu in top bar of Xcode, select Devices and Simulators.

(or Press SHIFT + COMMAND + 2)

Then select your device, right click and select Unpair.
Once you do this Trust or Don't trust will appear on your device.
Trust the device again and it will begin preparing it for Development.
Wait for Xcode to pair device for development and then you are good to go!

answered Feb 15 '18 at 04:31

Asfand Shabbir

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The problem usually is not waiting for xcode to prepare iPhone to debug :) this worked – Abdelrahman Ellithy Apr 24 '18 at 04:02
detailed instructions for unpair can be found in https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/52048 – Atara May 15 '19 at 13:36
I'm having this problem in Xcode 11 beta and iOS 13 beta, and this worked to solve the issue of "Passcode Required" Xcode prompt when enabling wireless debugging. Thank you! :) – KarenAnne Sep 04 '19 at 03:55
This solution worked for me after I have tried to enable wireless. The rest of the answers did not help. – Nadia Solovyeva Sep 18 '20 at 06:45

score 42 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 08 '16 at 18:52

42

I ran in to the same issue even though i selected "Trust this computer" option first time.

This worked for me

Lock the device
Remove cable from device.
Unlock the device
Connect again to Mac

answered Jul 08 '16 at 18:52

Itzdsp

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Abhi Beckert's answer above worked for me before, this worked for me now. I spend a ridiculously large amount of my time tap-dancing around Apple's inept developers. – amergin Jun 16 '17 at 09:44
thats aApple for you! changing some value in IB's attribute inspector will make your xcode faster. lol. – Itzdsp Jun 16 '17 at 15:59
It was a great workaround, thank you! – Vasilii Muravev May 05 '21 at 15:11

score 33 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 27 '18 at 10:10

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2018

The fastest way for now i found is:

1) Go to Window -> devices (changed the hotkey in xcode to CMD+P for me)
2) Press unpair on the device.
3) Press trust in iPhone.
4) Build again or Run without building (Ctrl+CMD+R)

answered Jul 27 '18 at 10:10

Nik Kov

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It works. And now I know Cmd + Ctrl + R to run without build – Tà Truhoada Sep 17 '19 at 06:46

score 21 · Answer 7 · answered Apr 25 '18 at 13:35

21

For anyone who need a logical answer..

Go to Window -> Devices & Simulators. Right click on your device & unpair it.
Disconnect from cable & reconnect.
Wait for it & let Xcode detect you device.
Run the project.
Make sure you TRUST on your iOS device and enter any passcode.

answered Apr 25 '18 at 13:35

Amber K

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This worked. Make sure your device is UNLOCKED when you initially pair it. If not then follow these instructions to repair. – Wizkid May 14 '18 at 15:29

score 18 · Answer 8 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

18

Rebooted my iPhone, and that fixed it for me.

I tried every answer on this page (7 at the time, though 2 are duplicates) and they were all unsuccessful for getting rid of this Xcode error for me.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Dec 20 '16 at 04:45

kris

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This saved my day! Thank you! – Fangming Oct 19 '17 at 01:05
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This is the best answer which save my lot of time. Thanks – Gaurav Nov 14 '17 at 11:26
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Didn't helped for me. Only setting untrusted and trust again helped. – Nik Kov Feb 17 '18 at 10:48
You don't need to reboot or restart every time..check my answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/50023756/9623144 – Amber K Jun 20 '18 at 03:43
It's a waste of time to reboot the phone every time. – Nik Kov Jul 27 '18 at 10:01
Agreed. If it is happening regularly you need a better solution. It only happened to me once and I tried a dozen other solutions before rebooting. It hasn't happened to be again. – kris Jul 28 '18 at 20:16

Starsky · Answer 9 · 2020-03-30T15:34:26.220

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I have a very simple solution which worked for me instantly. Takes some 10 sec to do:

1) Go to Window -> Devices & Simulators and untick Show as run destination

2) Unplug the cable and plug it back in.

3) Run the project.

This should be solving your problem!

edited Mar 30 '20 at 15:34

answered Jul 03 '19 at 19:48

Starsky

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Thanks, this worked for me with XCode 10.2 when the other advice didn't. May be related to having previously ticked to be available over network then being on a rather slow wifi. – Andy Dent Oct 01 '19 at 05:30
Thanks. This worked for me. Xcode 11.3. Funny because unplugging the cable and plugging it back in didn't work, when I didnt open Devices & Simulators window. – Lazy Ninja Jan 23 '20 at 05:51
Um, that seems to just make it not be available to select as the destination. What am I missing? – Dronz Feb 13 '20 at 05:57
Most probably you forgot to follow the 2nd step: ```2) Unplug the cable and plug it back in. Run the project.``` – Starsky Feb 13 '20 at 08:03

score 12 · Answer 10 · answered Oct 06 '17 at 16:47

12

For those who has this issue in Xcode 9: Simply restarting Xcode should solve the problem.

answered Oct 06 '17 at 16:47

Vlad Papko

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This is correct and especially true in the case of wifi debugging in Xcode 9. – Ben Lachman Nov 12 '17 at 00:02

score 12 · Answer 11 · answered Feb 07 '18 at 08:49

This happens at times while using Xcode 9.

There are multiple solution to this as mentioned below :

Note : Make sure that your device is not locked when Xcode is trying to install app.

Solution 1 :

i. Disconnect device and connect again

Solution 2 :

i. Restart you device

Solution 3 :

i. Disconnect device

ii. Quit Xcode (Shortcut key : cmd + Q)

iii. Open your project

iv. Clean project (Shortcut key : cmd + shift + K)

v. Now connect device

vi. Run your project

For me Solution 3 worked perfectly

Tried just about everything in the book. Restarting my phone was the only thing that worked in the end. Thanks for posting that idea here! — Brian Sachetta, Oct 22 '20 at 15:04

score 11 · Answer 12 · edited Jan 15 '18 at 08:10

11

A simple solution:

First, unplug your device.
Now, unlock your device and plug it in again. Be sure that the device is unlocked.
Now run the Xcode project by selecting the device as target.

edited Jan 15 '18 at 08:10

Pang

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answered Feb 06 '17 at 08:19

jaiswal Rajan

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The same for me. With addition that I was able to debug wireless. – Mykhailo Lysenko Dec 23 '17 at 12:29
@MykhailoLysenko Oh, It means you have to shutdown your iPhone's network for a moment thanks for Steven Jobs. : ) – Neal.Marlin Mar 18 '20 at 15:41

score 8 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 07 '14 at 04:27

8

When you plug in your iPhone, it will ask you to trust the computer. If you already trust and unlocked but still said your device was locked (bug). Just unplug and plug again then it will work

answered Nov 07 '14 at 04:27

Keeley

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score 8 · Answer 14 · edited Aug 22 '18 at 04:44

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These steps worked for me in iOS 10.

Remove the cable from device.
Plug in the device.
Clean and build the Xcode project.

edited Aug 22 '18 at 04:44

Pang

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answered Sep 15 '16 at 15:00

Jhansi M

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score 6 · Answer 15 · answered Nov 12 '16 at 13:47

Recently I have met the Xcode shows "development cannot be enabled while your device is locked, Please unlock your device and reattach. (0xE80000E2).

If your iOS device is already unlocked and connected to mac and still get the error from Xcode 8.1 after upgrading to iOS 10.1.1, then the mac is not trusted by the device.

To fix it, first disconnect device to mac and then go to iOS settings app, and open general->reset->Reset Location & Privacy.

Then connect device to mac and when prompted, set select trust the mac.

Then wait the processing symbol files within your device and mac. After it finished, you can run the project to your device. It will be working.

score 6 · Answer 16 · edited Aug 22 '18 at 04:44

6

This issue is not about "Trust" or not. It's a bug in Xcode.

Just follow these steps.

When Xcode is running and your device is connected:

Lock your device.
Unplug your device from Mac.
Unlock your device.
Plug your device back to Mac.

edited Aug 22 '18 at 04:44

Pang

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answered Nov 13 '17 at 15:05

Tom

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score 6 · Answer 17 · answered Sep 13 '18 at 20:09

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I run into this problem quite often (at least like 5 times a week). Almost every time this happens, a Xcode restart fixes it. But this time nothing seemed to work including:

Restarting Xcode;
Unplugging and re-plugging the iPhone;
Cleaning the project (cmd+shift+k);
Cleaning derived data (cmd+option+shift+k)

Done dozens of times in all sorts of different orders.

What fixed the issue for me this time was simply:

✅ Rebooting the Mac.

answered Sep 13 '18 at 20:09

Roger Oba

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This one worked for me, Though, I killed the Xcode too. – Yash Bedi Apr 29 '19 at 09:59

Petr Lazarev · Answer 18 · 2017-10-08T07:49:14.207

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Solution: Switch target device to some other (e.g. Generic iOS Device),

then unlock you physical device and switch back to it again.

edited Oct 08 '17 at 07:49

answered Apr 01 '17 at 20:41

Petr Lazarev

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score 4 · Answer 19 · answered Aug 28 '18 at 15:24

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There is a simple way to resolve that. At least it works for me. In your iPhone Device Go to Setting > Developer > click in “Clear Trusted Computer” Type the passcode required And done!!!

The simplest way that I found.

answered Aug 28 '18 at 15:24

Cleiton Domingues

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What if there is no Settings > Developer visible? – Dronz Feb 13 '20 at 06:09

score 3 · Answer 20 · answered Jul 12 '18 at 22:28

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Generally just unplugging/replugging seems to work for me. But today it didn't and something else seems to have worked: I have enabled network debugging on the device in question and it almost looked like it remembered an old network "lock" setting, while not seeing that the device was actually connected via USB. After (temporarily) de-selecting "Connect via Network" and replugging, it got things working again.

answered Jul 12 '18 at 22:28

LZM

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Yeah- disabling and re-enabling network debugging often fixes it for me, when even restarts failed. – Peter Johnson Jul 09 '19 at 23:16
So wifi debugging is the problem. – Neal.Marlin Mar 18 '20 at 15:48

score 3 · Answer 21 · answered Feb 05 '19 at 08:19

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there are two solution worked for me. 1) disconnect your device from the mac and reattach it. 2) disconnect your device from the mac and restart it and then connect it with mac it'll work

answered Feb 05 '19 at 08:19

Ahsan

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score 1 · Answer 22 · answered May 31 '17 at 20:57

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Lots of answers, but the one that worked for me (El Capitan, Xcode 8.2) was to close iTunes. If that has a connection to the IOS device then although Xcode can load the app components it will still fail to run it.

answered May 31 '17 at 20:57

brianlmerritt

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score 1 · Answer 23 · edited Dec 26 '17 at 03:35

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On your device (iPhone/iPad) goto: Settings -> Developer -> Clear Trusted Computers worked for me.

edited Dec 26 '17 at 03:35

Chaudhry Talha

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answered Dec 22 '17 at 13:36

Mateusz Kaflowski

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this is what I had to do as well to get the 'trust this computer?' prompt to appear when I connected to my computer – Nunchucks Jun 26 '18 at 20:31

score 1 · Answer 24 · answered Jan 20 '18 at 17:18

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I found that by shutting down a Console and a running Simulator allowed XCode to see my iPhone again. I'd make sure other related programs aren't running if you don't need them.

answered Jan 20 '18 at 17:18

Paul K.

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score 1 · Answer 25 · answered Apr 02 '18 at 16:46

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This can also happen due to pending update on your device. This also means you need to update your phone, connect to the MacBook (trust it if needed). This how I found my problem and solution.

answered Apr 02 '18 at 16:46

Atarang

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I had the same problem (update was waiting on device) but I didn't have time to update it. Asfand Shabbir's answer worked. (in case readers don't have time to update) – Can Poyrazoğlu May 06 '18 at 10:55

score 1 · Answer 26 · answered May 09 '18 at 16:00

One possibility worth checking, if none of these other solutions work, is that there is no space left on the device. Xcode will not give you a helpful "device full" error to tell you that your device has no storage space left, but it will also not be able to deploy an app build to a device whose storage is full. The only solution in that situation is to delete media or other apps/data to free up enough space.

score 0 · Answer 27 · answered Jan 17 '17 at 15:24

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sometimes your device stops trusting your PC for no reseaon. go to your settings then general > reset > reset location and privacy. and replug your device to your PC again and press "trust this device" prompt that shows up in your phone.

answered Jan 17 '17 at 15:24

user3745290

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score 0 · Answer 28 · answered Jan 31 '17 at 23:33

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Another fix to this problem is to connect your iPhone with your Xcode open while your iPhone is in the homescreen, not in lockscreen or with an app opened.

answered Jan 31 '17 at 23:33

yannisalexiou

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score 0 · Answer 29 · answered Oct 08 '17 at 04:03

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All the previous solutions didn't work.

Finlay, changing the iPhone's cable solved the problem.

answered Oct 08 '17 at 04:03

AL3MS

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score 0 · Answer 30 · answered Dec 29 '17 at 17:53

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I had to re-add device to xcode.

In XCode open Devices and Simulators (CMD+Shift+2), in left list press + button and re-add the same device.

answered Dec 29 '17 at 17:53

Martin Janeček

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score 0 · Answer 31 · answered Jan 15 '18 at 20:02

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Check the "Low Power Mode" in disabled. In my case I just disable this check and the deploy works immediately,

answered Jan 15 '18 at 20:02

Carlos Gabriel Gonzalez P

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score 0 · Answer 32 · answered Jul 12 '18 at 20:18

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Bizare, but I hope it helps someone. I was connected to a VPN (Pro XPN) and that was causing the issue! Disconnected and it worked.

answered Jul 12 '18 at 20:18

Karl Gjertsen

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score 0 · Answer 33 · answered Oct 18 '18 at 07:12

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For me, when I was about to unpair my device from xcode, I noticed it was just Preparing debugger support for my iPhone and it told me that "Xcode will continue when iPhone is finished." Similar to this issue

answered Oct 18 '18 at 07:12

salouri

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score 0 · Answer 34 · answered Dec 19 '19 at 12:08

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Check that on the "Runner" option is selected the correct device. Although you have one device physically plugged in with a cable, Xcode could have connected via WiFi to any other device that has the "Connect via network" option enabled.

answered Dec 19 '19 at 12:08

Mengrolek

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score 0 · Answer 35 · answered Sep 24 '20 at 01:08

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My problem was I was trying to install on an unsupported (new) iOS version which produced the same errors. Specifically Xcode 11.7 to iOS 14

answered Sep 24 '20 at 01:08

user139816

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score 0 · Answer 36 · answered May 22 '21 at 00:49

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For me my iPhone 12 has a connected Apple Watch, I had to trust my computer on my Apple Watch as well.

answered May 22 '21 at 00:49

wz366

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score -1 · Answer 37 · answered Nov 01 '18 at 01:01

I haven't seen this in any of the answers here, but the only thing that worked for me is an option on the device itself called Enable UI Automation. Supposedly it will turn itself off after an update. Go to Settings, Developer, then find Enable UI Automation.

This worked on my iPad 6th generation.

Xcode "Device Locked" When iPhone is unlocked

37 Answers37

2018

Rebooted my iPhone, and that fixed it for me.

Linked