How to Properly Eject an iPhone from a Mac

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Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 10, 2025 Tested

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• Using the Dock Icon
|
• Using the iTunes Panel

|Show more |Show less

This wikiHow teaches you how to eject your iPhone from iTunes before you unplug the USB cable from your Mac.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using the Dock Icon

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1. 
   1
   Open iTunes on your Mac. The iTunes app looks like a musical note icon inside a circle. You can find it on your Dock or in your Applications folder.
2. 
   2
   Right-click the iTunes icon on the Dock. A pop-up menu will appear.
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3. 
   3
   Click Eject "Your iPhone". You will see your iPhone's name next to Eject on the pop-up menu. Click on this option to eject your iPhone.

   • You will not see this option on the menu unless you open iTunes first.
4. 4
   Unplug your iPhone from your computer. Pull out the USB cable to unplug your iPhone.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using the iTunes Panel

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1. 
   1
   Open iTunes on your Mac. The iTunes app looks like a musical note icon inside a circle. You can find it on your Dock or in your Applications folder.
2. 
   2
   Click the iPhone icon. This button is located below the Play button and the Volume slider in the upper-left corner of iTunes. It will open the Summary screen for your iPhone.
3. 
   3
   Find your iPhone's name on the left panel. You will see a navigation panel to the left of the Summary screen. Your iPhone's name will be at the top of the menu.

   • If there are multiple Apple devices connected to your Mac at the same time, your iPhone's name might be further down on the left-panel menu.
4. 
   4
   Click the Eject button next to your iPhone's name. The Eject button looks like an upwards-pointing arrow next to your iPhone's name on the left panel. Clicking on it will eject your iPhone.
5. 5
   Unplug your iPhone from your computer. Pull out the USB cable to unplug your iPhone.
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