Can't connect to your phone. Disconnect it, Restart it, then try connecting again

Anonymous
2010-10-26T00:14:07+00:00

Hi

On my dev computer I'm getting on zune pc:

"can't connect to your phone. Disconnect it, Restart it, then try connecting again" everytime I plug my LG E900 Optimus 7 phone .

The phone is reconized by windows, I can see it on device manager (Portable devices)

When the zune app start up, it shows the "device" tab but it does not connect to the phone giving me the error.

I have reinstall Zune, Hard reset the phone etc etc.. with no luck

Just to test, I have install Vmware  on the same computer and under a virtual machine it is reconized without problems, so it's not a hardware issue.

I have check with ZuneDevices.exe and it does not show an error on setupact.log, setupapi.app.log, setupapi.dev.log

Can you help me?

Thank you

My config is

windows 7 64bit ultimate,

I have VS2010 with the RTM Phone tools

Windows for home | Other | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2014-02-19T12:05:49+00:00

The error occurs when you connect your Windows Phone 7 device to your computer with the USB cable. Zune opens and tries to connect to the device, but pops up an error message that says "Can't connect to your phone. Disconnect it, Restart it, then try connecting again".

The most common solution to this from reading the forums is as follows:

There is an issue with the Zune personal digital certificate.

To resolve this issue, create a new certificate:

1. If it is running, close the Zune software and disconnect your phone.

  1. Open the certificate Manager. To do this, click start, type certmgr.msc, and press enter.
  2. Expand Personal, and then expand Certificates.
  3. Click the heading for the Issued Bycolumn to sort the column, and then look for one or more certificates that is issued to "zune-tuner://windowsphone/..."

Right-click that certificate and then click delete. Click Yes.

  1. From the Filemenu, click Exit.
  2. Start the Zune software and connect your phone to create a new certificate.

This seems to resolve the error for some people, but it didn't work in my case. Restarting Zune didn't create a new certificate. So after a lot of digging around with process monitor I found an additional step that worked for me and triggered the Zune certificate to be recreated. 

  1. Delete the Zune certificates following the instructions above
  2. Before restarting the Zune software, locate the folder C:\Users<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA
  3. Inside that folder there should be a directory named something like s-1-5-21-123456890-1234567890-1234567890-1111
  4. Rename this folder eg. adding .bak to the end of the folder name
  5. Restart the Zune software - the folder should be recreated and a new Zune certificate should now be created in the certificate store
  6. I needed to restart Zune one more time in order for the error to clear and the phone to connect successfully.

I hope this helps anyone else out there with the same problem.

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Anonymous
2010-11-05T09:23:43+00:00

In my case, I had installed a cryptographic module for Spanish eDNI.

I uninstall it and now all is working fine. Hope this help, at least for some of you

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-12-21T18:17:54+00:00

    I'm in the middle of the same problem . .. and let me tell you that reformatting the pc ain't gonna happen. The phone is going swimming in lake michigan before that happens. 

    Connected for the first time Sunday night, got into Zune just enough to synch up some pictures. (And be thoroughly frustrated by the software and the way it "organizes" my stuff, but that's another matter.)

    Then on Monday I tried to connect again, and was hit with the 'connection error - can't connect to your phone' error.  The phone makes the blippy sound on connection, and the battery charging icon indicates charging. Sometimes after connection it will immediately come back with "synch complete."  Other times, it  just sits there at the main screen.

    Windows XP Pro, SP3

    Samsung SGH-i917

    Windows Phone 7

    Zune downloaded and installed 12/19 (since I can't seem to find an "about" to tell my exact version)

    My PC does have user profiles, one is administrator and one is not. I had to log on as the admin account to install the software, but then I set up the phone profile and picture synching under the non-admin profile.  So that's the account with which I want to make everything work, but it gives me the "connection error." I'm very certain that there were no new windows updates or software installed after putting Zune on, so to this point I have not tried a system restore.

    Here's what I have tried so far:

    -Logging on as the admin account, I connect the phone. I get the blip sound from the phone, the zune software launches, and the zune immediately locks the phone and says "Phone is Locked To synch using the Zune software, first unlock the Phone using your PIN."  If I do that, I can then get to the zune software, and it recognizes the phone as a guest. 

    -Temporarily gave the non-admin account admin privileges to see if that would make a difference, but does not.

    -Tried logging on as admin, connecing phone, leaving connected thru a log off and log back on as the second account, and still same connection error.

    -Let my fingers do some walking, and came here.

    -I don't know what "cryptographic module for Spanish eDNI" but I don't know Spanish and would have no reason to install it on the hpone or the laptop, and can't find it listed on either.

    -I am plugging directly into the laptop's USB port using the original cable.  Have tried three different ports.  No hub.

    -"Windows Media Player Networking Service" was set to manual.  (On setting up Zune I said I did not want to share. I'm selfish that way.)  But I've now enabled it, same message.  Set to Automatic and rebooted.  Same message.

    -There are four Zune services installed, and the Zune network sharing service was set to manual and therefore not started. (As I said, I'm selfish.)  But just for grins and giggles, I've automaticked it, rebooted, and same message.

    Please, can anyone help save my phone from taking a very very coooold swim this winter?!?

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-12-21T19:48:08+00:00

    Zune Version 4.7.1404.0

    To access that information, go to Settings > General > Software > About Zune

    -Tried Settings > Software > General > Reset Warning Messages ... no luck.

    -Tried Settings > software > General > Check for Updates ... no updates available.

    -Tried Signing on to Zune, no difference.

    -Going into Settings > Device, all the options tell me I can' do anything until I connect a dvice.

    And for what it's worth, in cas eit wasn't obvious, the first thing I tried was to follow the directions ... disconnected the phone, restarted it, reconnected it.    :-)  Done that several times, never any differene, so stopped doing it.

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-12-29T19:26:46+00:00

    In my case, I had installed a cryptographic module for Spanish eDNI.

    I uninstall it and now all is working fine. Hope this help, at least for some of you

    Thank you. I did the same and it works fine now

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