How to stop itunes from opening automatically on windows 10

iTunes launching itself, whenever you connect iPhone or iPad to the computer can be annoying. You will find below the steps to Stop iTunes Opening Automatically on computer.

Stop iTunes Opening Automatically On Computer

The default setting in iTunes is to launch itself automatically on your Windows computer or Mac, whenever it detects an Apple device being connected to the computer.

While this feature can be useful in some cases, it can be annoying when your intention most of the times is to only charge your device.

Fortunately, it is possible to stop iTunes from opening automatically on your computer by disabling the Auto Sync option in iTunes.

1. Stop iTunes From Opening Automatically On Computer

Follow the steps below to Stop iTunes opening automatically, whenever an iPhone or iPad is connected to your Windows Computer or Mac.

1. Connect iPhone to your Computer using its supplied Lightning to USB cable.

2. As expected, you will see iTunes opening automatically on your computer.

3. In iTunes, click on the iPhone icon as it appears just below the top menu bar in iTunes.

4. Next, click on the Summary tab in the left-pane. In the right-pane, scroll down to “Options” section and uncheck Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected option.

Un-checking auto-sync option will prevent your iPhone from automatically syncing to iTunes and you will no longer see iTunes opening automatically, whenever your iPhone is connected to computer for charging.

2. Stop iTunes Opening Automatically Using Preferences Tab

Another way to stop iTunes from opening automatically on computer is by going to the Device Preferences in iTunes.

1. Connect iPhone or iPad to computer using its supplied Lighting-to-USB cable.

2. You will see iTunes opening automatically as soon as you connect iPhone to the Computer.

3. In iTunes, click on Edit tab in top menu bar and click on Preferences in the drop-down menu.

4. On Devices Preferences screen, click on the Devices tab and check Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically option.

5. Click on OK to save this setting in iTunes.

This will ensure that iTunes will not open automatically on your Computer, whenever you connect your iPhone or iPad for charging and other non-iTunes related tasks.

In case you need to do something in iTunes, you can always launch iTunes by clicking on the iTunes shortcut on your Computer.

Benj Edwards
Benj Edwards
Associate Editor

Benj Edwards is an Associate Editor for How-To Geek. For over 15 years, he has written about technology and tech history for sites such as The Atlantic, Fast Company, PCMag, PCWorld, Macworld, Ars Technica, and Wired. In 2005, he created Vintage Computing and Gaming, a blog devoted to tech history. He also created The Culture of Tech podcast and regularly contributes to the Retronauts retrogaming podcast. Read more.

Have you ever wanted to charge your iPhone or iPad using a cable hooked to your Windows 10 PC, but every time you plug it in, iTunes starts up? It can get annoying pretty quickly. Here’s how to fix it.

The culprit is a small Apple program that runs in the background called “iTunes Helper.” This program gets installed when you install iTunes, and it detects when an Apple device is plugged into a USB port and opens iTunes automatically. To prevent this from happening, we need to disable iTunes Helper. Here’s how.

First, right-click the Windows 10 taskbar at the bottom of the screen, and select “Task Manager” from the menu that pops up.

In Task Manager, click “More Details” at the bottom of the window.

After the Task Manager window expands, click the “Startup” tab.

In the “Startup” tab, locate the entry called “iTunes Helper,” and click it once to select it. Then click the “Disable” button in the lower-right corner of the window.

(You will also see another entry in the list called “iTunes Mobile Device Helper,” but leave it alone. Disabling “iTunes Mobile Device Helper” will prevent iTunes from being able to sync with your Apple mobile devices.)

After that, close Task Manager and either sign out and sign back in, or restart your PC. The next time your plug in your iPhone, iTunes will not appear.

Want to skip the restart or log out? You can also just end the iTunes Helper process. Click over to the “Processes” tab, locate “iTunesHelper” in the list, right-click it, and select “End Task.”

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Benj Edwards
Benj Edwards is an Associate Editor for How-To Geek. For over 15 years, he has written about technology and tech history for sites such as The Atlantic, Fast Company, PCMag, PCWorld, Macworld, Ars Technica, and Wired. In 2005, he created Vintage Computing and Gaming, a blog devoted to tech history. He also created The Culture of Tech podcast and regularly contributes to the Retronauts retrogaming podcast.
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I’ve already gone into msconfig and disabled it there. I even used the CCleaner program to make sure it wasn’t still enabled in there, yet every time I boot up Windows, iTunes opens. Anyway to stop this aside from uninstalling it?

Running: Windows 10 with iTunes 12.2.2.25 (This happened on my Windows 7 as well)

Posted on Aug 15, 2015 8:34 AM

Are you running Plex or Python by chance?

I also was having the same issue and it was driving me bonkers. T urning on the option Share iTunes Library XML with other applications fixed the issue on my end.

“The generation of the XML is now optional in iTunes 12.2 – check Preferences > Advanced and set the option Share iTunes Library XML with other applications. In order to fix it, simply turn the option Share iTunes Library XML with other applications on.”

Posted on Aug 23, 2015 9:52 AM

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On Win 10, you should be able to access the list from Task Manager, Startup tab. It is OK if “iTunes Helper” is in that list, but “iTunes” itself should be removed if it is there. Does that work for you?

Aug 15, 2015 9:07 AM

I see iTunesHelper on that list, but not iTunes. I restarted my PC, and iTunes still starts up automatically.

Aug 15, 2015 9:11 AM

vinothr wrote:

I see iTunesHelper on that list, but not iTunes. I restarted my PC, and iTunes still starts up automatically.

OK, sorry I cannot reproduce that problem, but maybe somebody else here has some ideas.

Aug 15, 2015 2:49 PM

I am having the same issues. iTunes keeps opening up when windows starts. I have disabled everything I have found and still nothing. Please if anyone can help us that would be appreciated.

Aug 16, 2015 12:44 PM

Same issue here. Very annoying!

Aug 20, 2015 9:59 AM

Are you running Plex or Python by chance?

I also was having the same issue and it was driving me bonkers. T urning on the option Share iTunes Library XML with other applications fixed the issue on my end.

“The generation of the XML is now optional in iTunes 12.2 – check Preferences > Advanced and set the option Share iTunes Library XML with other applications. In order to fix it, simply turn the option Share iTunes Library XML with other applications on.”

Aug 23, 2015 9:52 AM

Yes, I have Plex installed.

And your advice of turning on the Library XML worked! Wow. Thanks for help =)

P.S. What exactly does that option do anyway?

Aug 23, 2015 10:31 AM

I wonder the same, ultimately glad it’s fixed as it was very annoying . Figured apple would be smarter and just have the box checked as a default right?

iTunes is a super store which provides the largest number of online entertainment media in the world, including movies, TV shows, music, apps, audiobooks, etc. that all users can easily access through their iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC.

Other than an online store, iTunes also works as a smart manager of your media content. If you use iTunes a lot, you must have noticed that whenever you plug iOS devices to your computer, iTunes will always launch itself automatically. This can apparently make the progress more convenient if you are going to sync your iPhone data to iTunes for backup.

But it can be quite annoying if you are just trying to charge your iPhone or do other tasks that have nothing to do with iTunes at all. Thankfully, there is an easy solution to stop iTunes from opening automatically on Mac or Windows. In this post, we will show you how to disable iTunes auto launch when you plug in your iOS device to the computer.

Part 1. How to Disable iTunes Helper on Windows 10

To stop iTunes from opening automatically on Windows 10/8/7, basically you need to disable iTunes Helper and remove iTunesHelper.exe from startup programs. iTunes Helper is an app to launch iTunes when you plug any Apple device to a PC. So disabling it can instantly resolve the iTunes auto launching annoyance.

Step 1. Go to Task Manager and switch to Startup tab. Find iTunes Helper.exe.

Step 2. Right-click iTunes Helper.exe and click Disable. Then you’ll find the Disable option is grayed out. The last step is logging in as an Administrator.

Part 2. How to Stop iTunes Auto Open on Mac

Step 1. Plug in your iPhone or iPad to your Mac.

Step 2. Click on the iPhone icon on the top left corner to open device settings.

Step 3. Click on the Summary tab in iTunes Settings menu.

Step 4. Go to the Options menu and uncheck the "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected" box.

Step 5. Click Apply to save this change. Then you will no longer see iTunes opening automatically each time when you connect your iPhone to your computer.

Part 3. How to Close iTunes Launch in Preferences

Yes, you can also change the settings in iTunes Preferences tab to stop iTunes opening automatically.

Step 1. Plug in iPhone or iPad to your computer.

Step 2. Once iTunes is launched, click Edit > Preferences in the menu bar.

Step 3. Click Devices panel and enable the option "Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically.".

More Useful iTunes Tips

As a complete media solution, iTunes plays an important role in making our digital life more easier. No matter if you are new to iTunes or use it often, you are suggested to read on this post: Top 10 iTunes Tips & Tricks to find more hidden features of iTunes that you may not know yet.

iTunes launching itself, whenever you connect iPhone or iPad to the computer can be annoying. You will find below the steps to Stop iTunes Opening Automatically on computer.

Stop iTunes Opening Automatically On Computer

The default setting in iTunes is to launch itself automatically on your Windows computer or Mac, whenever it detects an Apple device being connected to the computer.

While this feature can be useful in some cases, it can be annoying when your intention most of the times is to only charge your device.

Fortunately, it is possible to stop iTunes from opening automatically on your computer by disabling the Auto Sync option in iTunes.

1. Stop iTunes From Opening Automatically On Computer

Follow the steps below to Stop iTunes opening automatically, whenever an iPhone or iPad is connected to your Windows Computer or Mac.

1. Connect iPhone to your Computer using its supplied Lightning to USB cable.

2. As expected, you will see iTunes opening automatically on your computer.

3. In iTunes, click on the iPhone icon as it appears just below the top menu bar in iTunes.

4. Next, click on the Summary tab in the left-pane. In the right-pane, scroll down to “Options” section and uncheck Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected option.

Un-checking auto-sync option will prevent your iPhone from automatically syncing to iTunes and you will no longer see iTunes opening automatically, whenever your iPhone is connected to computer for charging.

2. Stop iTunes Opening Automatically Using Preferences Tab

Another way to stop iTunes from opening automatically on computer is by going to the Device Preferences in iTunes.

1. Connect iPhone or iPad to computer using its supplied Lighting-to-USB cable.

2. You will see iTunes opening automatically as soon as you connect iPhone to the Computer.

3. In iTunes, click on Edit tab in top menu bar and click on Preferences in the drop-down menu.

4. On Devices Preferences screen, click on the Devices tab and check Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically option.

5. Click on OK to save this setting in iTunes.

This will ensure that iTunes will not open automatically on your Computer, whenever you connect your iPhone or iPad for charging and other non-iTunes related tasks.

In case you need to do something in iTunes, you can always launch iTunes by clicking on the iTunes shortcut on your Computer.

Computer users are annoyed when they see constant popups. They are a major turnoff when you open a website and popup appears from the corner you lose your patience and temper to be on that site. This is the reason why many websites are losing and cannot attract new visitors even they have a high rank on the search engines. Similarly, by default on Pc and Mac, iTunes starts automatically when you plug your device into the computer. But there is a solution to this annoying situation and in this how-to article, we will show you How to Stop iTunes from Opening Automatically When Your iPhone Is Connected to Your Mac or PC.

Method #1. Disable Automatically Sync Device.

1. Connect your iPhone to the Computer. Use the original USB cable from your iPhone, iTunes will open automatically.
2. Click on the iPhone It is located under the menu bar. This will open the iTunes settings.
3. Open the Summary You will see the options in the right panel.
4. Find and uncheck the Automatically Sync when iPhone is connected option and save the settings.
5. Click Done.
   

Method #2. Disable Automatically Sync from Preferences.

1. Connect your iPhone to the Computer. Use the original USB cable from your iPhone, iTunes will open automatically.
2. Open iTunes menu. It is on the upper menu of the iTunes.
3. Click on Preferences A dialog box will appear. Open the Preferences menu
4. Click on the Devices icon.
5. Uncheck the Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically box.Open Devices and Unheck the Box
6. Click Ok.

Method #3. Disable iTunesHelper service. This method works on Windows.

As we mentioned this method works only if you are using a Windows operating system. This service is always working in the background and detects all devices that are connected to the computer and automatically opens the iTunes.

I try to avoid iTunes as much as possible. I keep my iPhone synced and updated wirelessly so that I don’t need to touch Apple’s bloated music-and-everything-else app. I usually charge my iPhone overnight by plugging it into the wall outlet next to my bed, but occasionally I want to charge it while I’m working at my PC or Mac.

Thankfully, there is a way to prevent iTunes from opening automatically when you connect your iPhone to your laptop or computer. And as a bonus, I’ll show you how to stop the MacOS Photos app from opening automatically, too, when you just want to charge your iPhone from your Mac.

MacOS

To stop iTunes from opening automatically when you connect your iPhone, open iTunes and then go to Preferences by using keyboard shortcut Command-comma or by going to iTunes > Preferences. Next, click the Devices tab and then check the box for Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically.

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If the Photos app also springs forth when you connect your iPhone, then you can quickly put an end to this behavior. Connect your iPhone and when Photos opens, make the sidebar visible by going to View > Show Sidebar. Next, select your iPhone under the Import heading in the sidebar and uncheck the box at the top for Open Photos for this device.

Enlarge Image

Windows

When you install iTunes, a small app called iTunesHelper gets installed along with it. iTunesHelper monitors things in the background and tells iTunes to hop to it when it detects an iOS device. If you disable iTunesHelper, then iTunes remains dormant until you launch it yourself.

To disable iTunesHelper, open the Task Manager and click the Startup tab. Find iTunesHelper on the list, right-click it and then click Disable. After a restart of your computer, iTunes will no longer open automatically when you connect your iPhone.

Enlarge Image

If you want to return iTunes to its auto-launching ways, just head back to the Task Manager, locate and right-click iTunesHelper and choose Enable.

iTunes is the headquarters of Apple Music. This entertainment superstore allows users to buy music online via their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. It even runs on a Windows PC that provides a backup for iTunes libraries. When you start iTunes in Windows 10/8/7, an – iTunes Helper application starts in the background. While the application is only there to start iTunes when you connect an Apple device to a PC, it becomes part of a big nuisance when you see it again and again or when you connect your iOS device to your PC.

In this post, we’ll see how you can prevent iTunes from automatically booting when you connect your iPhone. Basically, you should remove iTunes Helper & iTunesHelper.exe from startup programs.

Disable iTunes Helper on Windows 10

If iTunes is installed on your system, you can also find iTunesHelper.exe – a boot process that is already enabled on your system and runs in the background. Windows Task Manager starts iTunesHelper as High/Medium-Impact. As such, it can slow down the performance of your system.

Prevent iTunes from opening automatically

Disabling it can immediately improve speed. It does you no harm, because we no longer need to synchronize content on the lines (between the computer and the phone), but we prefer to store all the data in the cloud. This makes iTunes irrelevant for some tasks.

To disable iTunesHelper.exe, go to the Task Manager and go to the Home tab.

Then find iTunesHelper.

If found, right-click and select Disable.

Disable option grayed out in Task Manager

If you notice the Disable option grayed out, you must log in as an administrator. If you are running an administrator account and still experience the problem, enable and try the built-in administrator account. Remember to deactivate the Super Admin account after troubleshooting.

As soon as you connect your iPhone or iPad to Mac or PC, iTunes and/or Photos will open up instantly. This is a default feature but can have negative effects such as causing your computer to freeze or hang. Thankfully, there is a method to stop iTunes from opening automatically on Mac or Windows PC.

How to Stop iTunes from Opening Automatically When iPhone is Connected to Mac or PC

Before we start make sure you have your computer ready because the settings we want to change are accessed from there. Also, keep a USB cable and your Apple devices close by.

To stop iTunes from opening automatically on Mac or Windows PC just follow these basic steps for each iOS device you have:

1. Plug in your iPhone or iPad, which will cause iTunes to launch.
2. Click on the iPhone icon on the top left corner to open device settings.
3. Access the ‘Summary’ menu from the left panel.
4. Go to the ‘Options’ menu and uncheck the ‘Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected’ box.
5. Click ‘Apply’ in the bottom right corner to save this change.

You can repeat this method with your iPad or other Apple device to stop iTunes from opening automatically on PC or Mac.

How to Prevent iPhone from Syncing Automatically with iTunes

To prevent your iPhones, iPads or iPods from syncing automatically with iTunes when connected – you need to go to iTunes -> Preferences -> Devices, select the device from the list and check the Prevent iPods, iPhones or iPads from syncing automatically option.

After that, your iDevices will not be synced automatically when they are connected to your Computer. You can sync them manually by clicking on the Sync button.

How to Stop Photos from Opening Automatically on your Mac

It is also possible to prevent Photos app from launching automatically in a manner similar to what we did above. To do so:

1. Launch Photos from your laptop/desktop.
2. Connect your Apple device to your computer.
3. When Photos starts, click ‘Import’ from the top right.
4. Now you will see an ‘Open Photos for this device’ option next to the name of your iPhone or iPad. Uncheck this box.
5. Close the app and try again to reconnect your device. The Photos app will not be opened automatically.

That’s all there was to stop iTunes from opening automatically on Windows PC or Mac. You won’t be having problems with it any longer. Feel free to like, comment and share!