How to fix backup error "session could not be started"

I have been trying to sync the itouch and at the very end get a message that says itouch xxxx cannot be backed up due to session not started. How do you fix this?

Try moving the existing backup file to a save location. That file is located:
Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
Windows Vista and Windows 7: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
If you are using windows, make sure show hidden files is on.

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Can't backup: "a session could not be started" -- can't unlock escrow bag

A few days ago my iPhone 3GS running iOS 4.0.1 stopped backing up. iTunes tells me that "a session could not be started with the iPhone." Running the iPhone Configuration Utility to view the iPhone log is only slightly more enlightening:
Mon Aug 9 10:42:19 Antons-iPhone /usr/libexec/BackupAgent2[1364] <Error>: Starting service with bag=c75bee579ba88d47e8f28bc1dae594914d15bc93
Mon Aug 9 10:42:19 Antons-iPhone /usr/libexec/BackupAgent2[1364] <Error>: Can't unlock escrow bag: -3
Mon Aug 9 10:42:19 Antons-iPhone /usr/libexec/BackupAgent2[1364] <Error>: securelockdowncheckin() failed.
Mon Aug 9 10:42:19 Antons-iPhone /usr/libexec/BackupAgent2[1364] <Error>: 1364:1047541704|DeviceLinkConnection.c:DLLockdownCheckin| ERROR: Could not check in with lockdown: 10
Mon Aug 9 10:42:19 Antons-iPhone BackupAgent2[1364] <Warning>: ERROR: Error opening connection: Error Domain=com.apple.MobileBackup.ErrorDomain Code=100 "Could not check-in with lockdown" UserInfo=0x113260 {NSLocalizedDescription=Could not check-in with lockdown}
If anyone knows how to fix this (other than just wait for iOS 4.1 or later), I’d appreciate it; running without backups worries me slightly, though I don’t have tons of data on the phone. (I’d rather try to avoid reloading it, since my son would be annoyed if I lost his Doodle Jump and Angry Birds scores!)

So 4.0.2 came out and I couldn’t install it (from my laptop) because I couldn’t back up, so I got annoyed and figured out the solution.
First, delete your old backup. (You can do this manually from the ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup directory, or you can do it from iTunes, I believe.) It’s probably best to keep a copy of this, just in case.
Remove all files from the two directories ~/Library/Lockdown and /var/db/lockdown . (Quit out of iTunes first.) The next backup should (hopefully) succeed.

My itunes could not backup bacause session could not be started

my itunes could not backup bacause session could not be started

I uninstalled iTunes 10.7 and re-installed it (after trying a lot of the other things Apple recommends with no success). That seems to have backed up my iPhone OK, and iPad is chugging along now. Hmm, got an popup error message about session, although it seems to be "transferring my purchases." And completed without displaying an error indication, just the battery state indicator.
Tried again. "iTunes could not sync information to the iPad ... because a connection could not be established to the iPad. (Which is sitting there unlocked with a wired connection and happily talking to iTunes otherwise.)
Tried again. Deleted some apps in iTunes not on iPad that had updates available, downloaded the updates to the remaining one. Sync worked. So maybe the problem is around apps updated on iPad and NOT updated in the PC Apps collection, or something like that. Programmer expected updates to be downloaded into iTunes then to iPad perhaps?
I'm leaving the WiFi synch turned off and trying wired only, to see if that helps (per some of the other online speculation re iTunes not getting app info from iPad nor session to iPhone).
BTW, the only relevant changes on my PC in several months were Windows security updates (and Norton signatures in background).

Upgraded to latest 10.8.2, iTune 10.7 and IO6 and iTunes will not backup because session could not be started with my iPad3 and iPhone 4

Since the upgrade, I have been hounded by error messages that my iPad and iPhone cannot be backed up to iTunes because a session could not be started, then a following error message that iTunes could not sync inforimation to iPad/iPhone because a connection could not be established.
Now I have gone throught various discussions and have done - rebooted both Mac computer and iPad/iPhone; changed USB cables/ports; deleted iPod cache; reset settings to both iPad/iPhone; tried syncing over wifi; and removed contents of lockdown folder. And after all this, the error messages just keep rebounding back.
So apart from doing a system and/or iTune re-install, is there any assistance from Apple about this?
This is very un-Apple and reading the Windows section of this discussion, people are not happy. Oh, I'm not happy too...

I wonder if the disk being referred to is actually your iPod which is not plugged in. Maybe something has stuck thinking the iPod should be there.
Try completely removing all the iTunes related programs according to this method.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Restart you PC and see if startup improves.
If it doesn't improve you need to consider the possibility that there is something else going on.
If The problem goes away, hopefully a fresh install will be OK.

HT1386 error "session could not be started with iphone"

Get error message that states "session could not be started with iPhone"

Here.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2529

How to fix ipad error -1004 "could not connect to the server"

I am trying to access the tablet edition of Vanity Fair. I already have a subscription and when I click on the "Tap here for acces to the tablet edition" it takes me to a screen & this error message pops up:
Cannot Open Page
This page cannot be opended because of an error
This error is "Could not connect to the server."(-1004).
I have deleted, reinstalled via itunes on my mac, done a hard restart and nothing seems to be working. I can browse the web using safari and am connected to the internet via wifi.
Any suggestions?

I have the same issue, too. My New Yorker subscription is fine, always has been. But my Conde Nast Traveler subscription won't work. I can get to the screen where you enter your information (either with name and address or subscription number and zip code), but once I press Continue I get the error.
I emailed Conde Nast's customer service, and this is what they said:
Dear Subscriber:
Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience you have
experienced.
We have applied a fix to the app for the server error and you will need
to close and re-open your app. To do so, please double click the "home"
button to close the running app and then re-open your app.
Please let us know if you still experience any problems.
If you should need further assistance, please be sure to include all
previous e-mail correspondence.
Thank you for your interest in Conde Nast Traveler.
Sincerely,
Shar
That didn't work. I tried the restarting the iPad, as someone here suggested, but that didn't work, either. Interesting that this seems to be a Conde Nast issue - my NY Times and National Geographic subscriptions are just fine, too.
I'm afraid I'm not sure what the guidance in this knowledge base article means: "Check security software. Ensure that communication to gs.apple.com is allowed. Follow this article for assistance with security software." How does one do that on one's iPad?
I actually wonder if it's a firewall issue. Are any of you attempting to enter this information at work, for example? I am, and my company has a firewall/proxy that gives me issues sometimes. I'm going to try to find a wifi hotspot at lunch to see if it'll work there.

Iphone5 can't backup "a session could not be started with the iphone"

as title

Had this issue myself. My computer is windows, I cant say how to do this for Mac, but I'm sure its relatively similar.
Open windows explorer and in "View" I enabled "Hidden items"
Find your Program Data folder (a hidden folder), then Apple, then Lockdown.
(ex: Mine is C:\ProgramData\Apple\Lockdown )
Inside that folder there will be at least two files, maybe more depending on how many devices you've used with your iTunes.
One of the .plist files will say system configuration, ignore that one. The other(s) will look like a random assortment of letters and numbers.
There should be one for each device used with your iTunes. Look at the "date modified" to see which device it is linked to (if you recently tried backing it up, the time you attempted will be the date modified."
Delete the file that corresponds to your device. Reopen iTunes and try to sync again. It should work this time.

I want to backup my phone before upgrading to ios5 but I get an error message itunes could not back up the iphone because a session could not be started with the iphone. Please help me..

I want to backup my phone before upgrading to ios5 but I get an error message: itunes could not back up the iphone because a session could not be started with the iphone. I want to go to ios5, but I do not want to lose everything. I've gone to my device under preferences and I have no backup currently.
I have a Verizon Iphone 4 and a PC.
Please help me..

Hi Judy,
Im using windows 7 and im not a computer wizard, i've tried the method by using the instruction for Win7 but it does not work, same problem still exist.
Could uninstall itunes and reinstall it back on my pc fix my problem, please advise...... Many Thanks!
VBR,
ray

IPhone backup not working - "session could not be started" error

Ever since I upgraded my phone (3GS) to OS4, backup in iTunes has stopped working. The error message is:
"iTunes could not back up the iPhone "XXXX" because a session could not be started with the iPhone"
I have seen this error in other threads, and have tried the fixes suggested, including:
- checking permissions on the backup directory
- deleting old backups via iTunes prefs
- deleting old backups manually (by deleting the folder)
- hard reset
... but none of these work. Everything is fully updated (OSX, iTunes, iPhone) to the latest versions.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

Log in using an administrator account. See if you can manually create a backup by control clicking the phone in the device pane & selecting "backup". Make sure that auto sync when an ipod/iphone is connected, is disabled under preferences in itunes BEFORE you connect your phone. DO NOT SYNC. If the backup completes under your admin account, this will confirm a permissions problem under your user account.

How do I fix this error? "could not initialize photoshop because the preferences file was invalid"

How the hell do I fix this error? "could not initialize photoshop because the preferences file was invalid"

Try Resetting your Preferences: Hold down Ctrl Alt Shift keys while starting Photoshop. You will see the Reset dialog.

"iTunes could not backup iPad because session could not be started w/iPad"

I was in the process of backing up my iPad this evening and it was, by the bar graph progress indicator, about 95% done but was taking FOREVER to get through that last bit. Then the power went out.
Now when I plug in the iPad and run iTunes, the synch goes ultra quick and then I get an error message saying: "iTunes could not backup the iPad because a session could not be started with the iPad".
Per one suggestion I found in some user discussion groups, I went into the iTunes preferences and deleted the backups it showed for my iPad. I drilled down into the folder where the backups are usually stored and those backups were now gone.
Unfortunately, that didn't cure the problem.
Nothing I do seems to work. Anyone care to give me some things to try? This is really frustrating. As it stands I have NO backup and I have some data on the iPad (like in writing apps, journal, etc.) I dare not lose, so I'm hesitant to do anything like a hard reset.
Message was edited by: mtnmedic

FIXED IT!
Before I got to my fix, here are the things I tried, none of which seemed to resolve the issue or improve the situation:
*Checked cables and connections
*Restarted iTunes
*Restarted my PC
*Checked to make sure PC date/time/time zone were all accurate
*Checked to make sure my security software (MS Security Essentials and Windows FIrewall) were up-to-date and no conflicts
*Made sure I had proper permission for the iPad backup folders. To ensure that, I selected the folders and clicked on "Take Ownership" in the context menu.
*I made sure that my user account is an Administrator account on this PC
*I logged out of my primary user account and logged in as the Computer Administrator (basically, a different user acccount that is an Administrator) and tried to do the backup to iTunes from there.
Failing with all of those things, many of which are suggested from the Apple knowledge base, I was just about to backup my iPad onto another machine, then transfer the backup to this PC and restore the iPad from here using that file, maybe even removing and re-installing iTunes, etc. Everything so far short of wiping the iPad and starting over from scratch, which I feared might end up happening.
Then, a lightbulb went off in my head. Why not do a reset on the iPad itself? Not the usual soft reset but the kind of reset that restores function to an iDevice when it isn't responding: press and hold both the Power and Home buttons at the same time and hold them until the device restarts, ignoring the "slide to turn off" prompt. After it finished booting up, I connected it with my PC, which brought up iTunes automatically, then...lo and behold, instead of seeing the rapid synch then error, it went right into backup. Took about fifteen minutes but it finished the backup without a hitch and synched the iPad.
So there you have it: one more thing to try. Maybe the FIRST thing you should try? It was so simple! I wish I'd figured that out BEFORE I did all that other stuff I mentioned above!
I'd like to read comments from anyone who has also experienced this problem and has tried my "fix" suggestion.

My ipod won't sync. keeps coming up with error message saying ' itunes could not back up ipod because a session could not be started with the ipod' help?

My ipod won't sync to my itunes. Keeps coming up with the error message 'itunes can not back up the ipod because a session could not be started with the ipod? it has been coming up with this message for the lst 2 weeks now. Will let me charge it but won't let me sync anything. Really not sure what to do or where to start or anything!

Follow these instructions to completely remove Apple software
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Then use free Ccleaner to repeatly repair your registry until it's fixed.
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/standard
download iTunes again from Apple.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
If you have 64bit Vista or Windows 7, look for the seperate download of iTunes for that further down the page.
Once installed, use the Apple Software Update under your Start Menu to fully update all Apple components.
Your content will remain on the drive in the Music > iTunes Folder, nothing is deleted.
You should be making backups of your content regularly, either through iTunes or via copying the iTunesFolder in your Music folder to a external drive.
Windows is notorious for having "other" issues that make it unstable, we as volunteers helping others can't always resolve those issues.

When synching my 4th gen ipod touch I get error msg saying ipod could not be backed up because session could not be started with the ipod. It only does synch steps 2-5. Do I have to restore it?

When synching by 4th gen ipod touch it skips the first step - backup-, does steps 2 through 5, then I get a message the ipod could not be backed up because a session could not be started with the ipod. How do I fix this? Do I have to restore my ipod? Will all my apps be erased?

You have to have an internet connection, either wireless or through a computer with iTunes. When you choose Software Update you can only update to the latest version for your iPod Touch, iOS 6.1.6

Can't backup because a session could not be started

I backed up my iPod today (2nd generation, running 4.1). I left to go to work when I came home I saw it was still backing up and obviously stuck. I tried to stop it - didn't work. I tried to start the sync again - didn't work. Finally, had no choice but to eject it. Quit iTunes - started back up again. Reattached iPod - said verifying iPod, then started syncing - after 5th step (seems to sync ok), it says "iTunes could not back up the iPod "iPod Touch" because a session could not be started with the iPod. I said OK to that and it finished and I was able to eject. I tried rebooting - didn't help. I went in to Disk Utility and repaired permissions. Still no luck. Any way to get this to back up again? I haven't drug the backup file to the desktop yet in an attempt to get it to start a new one - thought I'd get some thoughts here first. No idea why this happened, but see other posts about it. Someone suggested backing it up to a different computer, but I don't have one to back it up to.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Mark

Well, problem resolved. I rebooted my iPod Touch and then synced again. This time it said could not backup because an error occurred. Didn't say what that error was. So I decided to try and backup manually by right clicking on my Touch in the left sidebar and backing up that way. Don't ask me why, but it backed up just fine then. Problem solved.
You know I switched to a Mac just recently because I was tired of the Windows headaches, but I'm not so sure things are all that much better on this side of the fence. Probably too early to say that for sure, but with some of these gadgets like the iPods, sometimes enough to make you tear your hair out.
Mark

HT1414 I restored my iPhone and when sync is in progress I receivee the error message "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because a session could not be started with the iPhone." Any suggestions?

I restored my iPhone and when sync with iTunes is in progress I receive the error message "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because a session could not be started with the iPhone." Any suggestions on what to do?

Hi Judy,
Im using windows 7 and im not a computer wizard, i've tried the method by using the instruction for Win7 but it does not work, same problem still exist.
Could uninstall itunes and reinstall it back on my pc fix my problem, please advise...... Many Thanks!
VBR,
ray

How to fix backup error "session could not be started"

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