Which iPhone do you have and what iOS is it running? Have you checked to be sure it is updated? Have you used these two devices together in the past without experiencing this issue? If so, when did the problem start?
Felix, this post might solve the problem you're running in to: Can I replace Ethernet PCB on this External HD? Be sure to share back with the results. Good luck!
All - this is a follow up to my original post with the solution that worked: After installing and purchasing the Paragon Extf driver for Windows, I removed the HD from the original enclosure, removed the PCB, and connected the HD directly to my PC using the standard power/SATA ports on the HD. I had to open Device Manager and refresh the list in order to get the drive to show up as "unrecognized". As soon as it appeared in the list the Paragon Driver recognized and mounted in automatically. At that point I was able to browse through the HD folder tree and see all the files on the drive. I then simply dragged off the main folder "Shares" onto my desktop and left it alone for a few hours while it copied all the files over to my local HD. Pretty simple way to get the files off. Still couldn't find a solution for repairing the original PCB, but I'm satisfied with being able to recover the files. I hope this helps any other unfortunate Western Digital users who are searching for a solution to this issue.