IOS mount point in macOS – Is there any way to access the iOS files in macOS directly

high sierraiositunesmacosmount

In the past I was able to use iOS devices as USB drives.

(It may have been on Windows only, and/or the devices may have had iOS < 9)

At present my iPods / iPads / iPhones do not appear in my Mac's:

  • Desktop
  • /Volumes

The complicated guides to trick-mount iOS devices, such as this one from lifewire, that mounted devices on desktop do not work. (with iTunes 12 on macOS High Sierra)

Similarly, the devices do not appear in the /Volumes folder anymore, neither in Finder nor Terminal. (The only volume I see there is my SSD – the system drive volume)

I have set my system volume to show all files – using a Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Is there any way to access the iOS files in macOS directly?

Best Answer

In the past I was able to use iOS devices as USB drives.

You appear to be mistaken. This has never been possible without third-party software and/or jailbreaking.

It was possible to use older iPods in "disk mode" as storage devices. However, this feature was never available for the iPod Touch, nor for any version of the iPhone.

Some iOS applications support file transfer, and can have files transferred to them using iTunes. However, this feature is limited to specific file types, and does not appear as a USB storage device.

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