Chatcove does not see my iPhone

If Chatcove does not show your iPhone, plug it in with a cable directly into the Mac, unlock it, and tap Trust when it asks. Most detection problems are a locked phone or a Trust prompt that was never answered.

Everything stays on your Mac. Detecting the phone happens over the USB cable and uses no network.

What Chatcove shows, and what each state means

What you see	What it means	What to do
Looking for your iPhone	Chatcove is checking for connected devices.	Wait a few seconds.
No iPhone connected	Chatcove sees no iPhone on any port.	Plug in your iPhone with a cable and unlock it. Chatcove detects it and guides you from there.
Locked (pill)	"Your iPhone is locked. Unlock it with its passcode; Chatcove will continue automatically."	Unlock the iPhone. No click needed in Chatcove.
Not trusted (pill)	The iPhone does not trust this Mac yet.	Tap Trust on the iPhone and enter its passcode. See below.
Pairing (pill)	Chatcove is asking the iPhone to trust this Mac.	Tap Trust on the iPhone and enter its passcode. Chatcove continues by itself a few seconds after you do.
Not responding (pill)	The iPhone is plugged in but does not answer.	Unplug the cable and plug it back in.
Connected (pill)	All good. Chatcove shows the model and iOS version.	Continue to the backup.
Device tools are missing	A tool Chatcove bundles is not working.	Open Settings and check Dependencies for the fix.

Step 1: cable and port

Use a cable that carries data, not a charge-only cable.
Plug the iPhone directly into the Mac. Avoid hubs and adapters when you can.
Try a different USB port and a different cable if the phone still does not appear.
Unplug the cable and plug it back in. This also makes the iPhone ask the Trust question again if you tapped Don't Trust earlier.

Step 2: unlock the iPhone

Keep the iPhone unlocked and on the home screen. A locked iPhone cannot be read, and Chatcove shows the Locked pill until you unlock it. It continues on its own once you do.

Step 3: the Trust prompt

The iPhone asks "Trust This Computer?" on first use. Tap Trust and enter the iPhone's passcode.

Chatcove warns you that the iPhone will ask you to trust this Mac and enter its passcode before the backup starts, even if you have trusted it before. That is normal.
If you tapped Don't Trust earlier, Chatcove shows "Trust was declined on the iPhone." Unplug the cable, plug it back in, then click Pair to try again.
If the iPhone did not respond in time, make sure it is unlocked, then click Pair again.
If the card says "The iPhone was disconnected", plug it back in and click Pair.

Step 4: the passcode prompt during the backup

After the iPhone is connected, the backup itself asks for the passcode on the iPhone. Keep the iPhone within reach, because nothing happens until you answer it. If the iPhone is locked at that moment, or you do not enter the passcode, the backup stops with "Your iPhone was locked" and nothing is saved. Unlock the iPhone, keep it unlocked, and click Try again.

When the iPhone does ask for its passcode, enter it on the iPhone, not on the Mac.

Step 5: when Finder sees the iPhone but Chatcove does not

If the iPhone shows in Finder but not in Chatcove, or Chatcove reaches it but the backup never starts ("Your iPhone didn't start the backup"), try these in order:

Unplug the cable and plug it back in, directly into the Mac.
Keep the iPhone unlocked on the home screen. If it asks you to trust this Mac, tap Trust and enter its passcode.
In Finder, close the iPhone window, and turn off "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected" if it is on.
Make sure the iPhone has a few GB free (Settings > General > iPhone Storage).
Restart the iPhone.
Restart the Mac.

Chatcove retries this kind of failure by itself a few times, with short waits, before it shows the card.

Still not detected

Send a problem report so we can see what the Mac sees: Send a problem report. It contains technical details only, never your messages.