Stop iTunes from Automatically Opening When iPhone, iPad, or iPod is Connected

Updated 5/31/2015: By default, iTunes will automatically launch when any compatible device is connected, be it an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Nano, whatever.

Having iTunes open itself automatically can be helpful but it can also be annoying, it really depends on your user preferences. If you don’t want this to happen, you can easily turn off the automatic open feature within iTunes with a simple settings adjustment.

How to Stop iTunes Opening Automatically When iPhone, iPad, iPod Connects to Computer

This setting is the same in iTunes for Mac OS X and iTunes for Windows, and it applies to all iOS devices and versions too.

1. Connect the iPhone, iPad, iPod device to the computer
2. Inside iTunes, click on the device and then click on the ‘Summary’ tab
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Summary tab selections until you see “Options”
4. Click on the checkbox next to ‘Open iTunes when this iPhone is connected’ – wording will be slightly different if your device is an iPad or iPod or whatever
5. Close iTunes

The setting may look slightly different in each version of iTunes, here in newer versions the setting is about device automatic syncing on connection:

For example, here the setting is labeled as: “Open iTunes when this iPhone is connected”

Now iTunes will not automatically open if you plug your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to your computer. This works the same on a Mac or a PC.

Note that disabling automatic syncing is a separate function which can be turned off elsewhere in iTunes preferences.

This works in all versions of iTunes and for both Mac OS X and Windows. You may find the interface to look slightly different and the phrase to be worded slightly differently, but the setting is always there in iTunes Summary Options for a connected device.