Connect your device to iMazing & pair it with your computer

Apple devices can be connected to iMazing either via USB or Wi-Fi. However, the initial connection for iPhone, iPad, and iPod needs to be made via USB. Once connected, a wizard will guide you through the required pairing process.

For devices without a USB port, like recent models of Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro, remote pairing via Wi-Fi is possible. However, this feature is only available in iMazing 3 and currently supported on macOS due to limitations with Apple mobile device drivers on Windows.

• Supported devices
• Understanding pairing
• Connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer and pair it via USB
• Pair an Apple TV or Apple Vision Pro Remotely via Wi-Fi
• Remove Pairing
• Wi-Fi connection
• Security & Privacy
• Supervision Prohibited Pairing

Supported devices

iMazing supports all models of the following devices:

• iPhone: all models
• iPad: all models, Air, Mini and Pro included
• iPod touch: all models
• iPod: all models (classic, mini, nano)
• iPod shuffle: only on the Windows version of iMazing
• Apple TV: supported, some limits inherent to tvOS (no backup for example)
• Apple Vision Pro: supported, some limits inherent to visionOS (currently backups are not restorable, we hope Apple will fix that soon)

Pairing

Pairing is a security feature that refers to the trust relationship between your Apple mobile device and your computer. iPod classic, nano, mini and shuffle do not need to be paired.

The first time you connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to a computer via USB, your device will ask you to trust that computer. Trusting a computer pairs it with your device. Since you have to enter your passcode on the device after tapping the Trust button on the prompt, this pairing process is a crucial privacy safeguard.

Once paired, your computer can access your device via USB and Wi-Fi. The device stays paired with your computer until you unpair it, or until the device's operating system necessitates a new pairing. This generally happens after an OS update, or if the device hasn't connected to iMazing for a certain period, typically 30 days.

Paired devices are listed in the sidebar, even when not connected. If they are are not connected via USB, iMazing will try to connect via the local Wi-Fi network. If a device is not connected via USB or Wi-Fi, but was previously backed up, then it will appear in the the Backups section of the sidebar.

• For more information, see our article on iMazing's User Interface.
• For more information on Apple's pairing model security for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro, and the pairing expiration policy, refer to Apple's official documentation: Pairing model security for iPhone and iPad

Connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your computer and pair it via USB

To pair your device with your computer, follow these steps:

1. Launch iMazing and connect your device using a USB cable.
   
2. If your device is locked, unlock it by entering your passcode, or using Face ID or Touch ID.
   
3. If this is the first time you're connecting your device to your computer, iMazing will ask you to respond to the Trust This Computer prompt on your device. Simply tap Trust and enter your device passcode.
   
     

4. Your device is now connected and will appear in iMazing's Devices section.
   

💡 Tip: Always unlock your device the first time you connect it to a computer via USB. You might see a message such as Accessory Connected / Unlock device to use accessories. If this happens, unlock your device to establish the connection with your computer.

Pair an Apple TV or Apple Vision Pro Remotely via Wi-Fi (macOS only)

Remote pairing is currently only available on macOS because of Apple's component and driver restrictions on Windows. We hope that Apple will soon provide similar support for Windows.

To pair your device with your computer, follow these steps:

1. Launch iMazing 3. iMazing 3 Release Candidate can be downloaded here.
   
2. Ensure that both your computer and Apple TV or Apple Vision Pro are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
3. Navigate to the remote devices section within the Settings app:
   • On your Apple TV, navigate to the Settings app:
     Remotes and Devices > Remote App and Devices
   • On your Apple Vision Pro, go to the Settings app:
     General > Remote Devices
     
4. Wait for the Pair Device dialog to appear.
5. Enter the verification code in iMazing.
6. Your device is now connected and will appear in iMazing's Devices section.
   

Wi-Fi Connection

When you pair a device, Wi-Fi connection is enabled by default. If your computer and your device are on the same Wi-Fi network, you can simply unplug your cable.

The connection indicator in iMazing changes to a Wi-Fi icon.

You can change the Wi-Fi connection option from the Device Settings section.

⚠ Important: Starting with macOS Sequoia 15, to allow Wi-Fi connections in iMazing, you must go to your Mac's System Settings in Privacy & Security > Local Network and allow the applications iMazing and iMazing Mini to find and communicate with devices on your local network.

For more information, see How to connect an iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC computer over Wi-Fi?

Security & Privacy

Anyone with access to your computer's user account can access the data you store on that computer.

To protect your privacy, we recommend that you take the following precautions:

1. Secure your computer's user account with a strong password.
2. Enable backup encryption in iMazing.

If you no longer want a computer to be able to access a device which was previously paired to it, you will need to remove pairing as described below.

• To learn more about all security and privacy aspects and which encryption technologies are used in iMazing: iMazing Security & Privacy
• For more information on iOS/iPadOS backup encryption, please refer to our detailed article: Backup Encryption in iMazing
• For more information on Apple's pairing model security for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro, and the pairing expiration policy, refer to the official documentation: Pairing model security for iPhone and iPad

Remove Pairing

To unpair a device from your computer:

1. Select your device, then navigate to the Tools section and click on Forget located at the bottom of the tools list. Alternatively, you can right-click on your device and select the Forget action from the contextual menu anywhere within the app.
   
2. In the confirmation dialog, keep Remove Pairing checked and click Forget.
   
3. Unplug your device once the dialog in iMazing confirms that the device has been removed. Doing so will prevent the device's Trust This Computer dialog from reappearing.

Your device is no longer paired with your computer. The next time you connect it, you will need to go through the pairing process again before you can access its data.

In summary, forgetting a device:

• Removes the device from the Devices section in iMazing.
• Deletes the device's cached content stored on the computer.
• Offers an option to remove the pairing.
• Provides an option to delete all backups currently associated with that device.

When you forget a device, iMazing offers the option to delete the device's backups. While it's not necessary to delete these backups to unpair your device, doing so can reclaim hard drive space and eliminate all traces of your data from your computer.

💡 Tip 1: You can remove pairing for all devices previously connected to your computer from iMazing's Preferences

💡 Tip 2: If you do not have access to a computer to which your device is paired and need to break the pairing relationship, you can remove the pairing in the device Settings app:

• For iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, from the Settings app:
  General > Transfer or Reset iPhone/iPad > Reset > Reset Network Settings

• For Apple Vision Pro, from the Settings app:
  General > Remote Devices > Clear

• For Apple TV, from the Settings app:
  Remotes And Devices > Remote App and Devices > Select a Device > Forget This Device

Supervision Prohibited Pairing

When a device is supervised by an organization, pairing it with a computer might be restricted. This happens if the option, often referred to as Allow pairing with non-Apple Configurator hosts by Apple and some MDM vendors, is set to false.

This can be set via a DEP profile with the property allow_pairing set to false, locally through iMazing Configurator (Allow pairing without supervising organization) or Apple Configurator (Allow devices to pair with other computers), or a Restriction configuration profile with the allowHostPairing option (com.apple.applicationaccess). It can also be set remotely by an MDM solution via Automated Device Enrollment / DEP.

To pair a device with iMazing that is supervised and has restricted pairing, you need to import the supervising organization (identity) in iMazing Preferences > Library by clicking Manage Organizations. For more information, please refer to: Importing an Existing Organization or Identity at section 2.8 Organization.

💡 Tip: Some MDM solutions, such as Jamf Pro, allow exporting the supervising identity so it can be imported to Apple Configurator or iMazing. However, many MDM solutions don't offer this function. Please contact your MDM vendor to learn how to export the supervising identity for pairing and supervised devices locally with Apple Configurator or iMazing.