Strider G7

Q: iOS 6 iCloud bookmarks sync stuck in limbo... any idea?

Hello,

this morning my iPad 2 with iOS 6 started preventing me from making any action on bookmarks in Safari. I noticed that my long reading list had all "downloads" pending.

 

Waited but nothing changed. Plugged in my power outlet and waited but nothing changed.

So I tried to disable bookmarks sync, iCloud altogether, delete sites data, history and cookies, disabled and re-enabled private browsing, I restored my iPad from an iCloud backup deleting data and settings from iPad itself (that took some time). I obtained always the same result: other services are disabled flawlessly (my contacts, notes and so on are deleted and reloaded without any negative effect) but bookmarks no, they are still there.

Still now that I restarted a few times also with home and power button pressed for those 15 seconds and I'm logged out of iCloud, those bookmarks are there looking at me with a distinct grin between the lines. Last thing I tried was to sync with iTunes enabling that checkbox used to replace iPad bookmarks with those on my iMac; my beloved iPad canceled the operation, every time I tried (just to be sure, you know).

 

Is there any way to hard reset just Safari? Something I didn't try? I'd really, really, really like to avoid a full restore "as new device".

 

How wonderful would be if I could turn a switch and initialize Safari just like on the desktop version... also a selective backup option wouldn't be bad or a way to export specific app backups through iTunes.

 

Thank you very much for your time and in advance for any hint you could give me.

iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G, iOS 6

Posted on Sep 22, 2012 9:06 AM

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Q: iOS 6 iCloud bookmarks sync stuck in limbo... any idea?

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  • by arjay5,

    arjay5 arjay5 Feb 2, 2013 8:44 AM in response to 5480
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPad
    Feb 2, 2013 8:44 AM in response to 5480

    I actually thought the using the iBackupBot/iTunes solution was pretty easy.

     

    5480, some of us don't have backups available on an iMac ;-). As was discussed earlier in the thread, the corrupted file is shared among devices when you are syncing through iCloud or other source.

     

    Therefore there is no backup available that is not corrupted, as SeaBeast has been attempting to make clear.

  • by 5480,

    5480 5480 Feb 2, 2013 11:50 AM in response to arjay5
    Level 1 (71 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 2, 2013 11:50 AM in response to arjay5

    If you find the iBackupBot/iTunes solution easy, I am happy. However, I found it close to impossible to follow the instructions so I was lucky that I came accross with the other solution.

  • by mrnewps,

    mrnewps mrnewps Feb 6, 2013 10:19 AM in response to Strider G7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2013 10:19 AM in response to Strider G7

    All I have to say is Shawn Lebbon is the man.  THANK YOU for solving this crazy problem.  Apple needs to fix this!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • by Gregouze,

    Gregouze Gregouze Feb 13, 2013 11:54 PM in response to Strider G7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 13, 2013 11:54 PM in response to Strider G7

    Thanks everyone for that really helpful thread.

     

    I had the very same issue on my iPad mini with iOS 6 and 6.1 but I managed to fix it thanks to iBackupBot (trial version).

     

    First, with iTunes I restored to a clean state just in order to extract the default bookmarks.db and bookmarks.db.info, then imported those into my original backup that I restored with iBackupBot.

     

    Apparently I've been lucky since only one restore did the trick, without any brick or hard reset to do.

     

    Good luck to all!

  • by Mr. Theis,

    Mr. Theis Mr. Theis Mar 3, 2013 11:19 AM in response to Strider G7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 3, 2013 11:19 AM in response to Strider G7

    Perfect post, my phone is syncing as i write this.. But just some of the things that i fought with, that might help newbies on the thread:

     

    1) drag/drop bothe the bookmark.db file AND bookmarks.info file to the desktop.. iBackUpBot can only use the info file when importing to the backup at hand. When importing the .info file, apparently the .db "takes it place"

     

    2) when exporting the new backup library.. DONT and i repeat DONT just chose desktop.. it'l dump around 4.000 files on your desktop seperatly.. so make a folder first and call it f.x "Clean Backup", and export the backup into that folder.. then drag/drop that folder into the mobilesync -> backup folder..

     

    3) when finished with step 2, copy the old corrupted backup folder onto the desktop, for security reasons and the delete it from the mobilesync -> backup folder, so the newest backup is the one from iBackUpBot.. that'll make picking the right one in iTunes much easier.. mine just showed two backups created at the same time at first, but only the right one, after deleting the older one.. well ofcourse.. but.. -.-

     

    well now my phone stopped syncing, hope that this has helped the batterylife etc:)

  • by richard247,

    richard247 richard247 Mar 24, 2013 11:03 AM in response to Strider G7
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Mar 24, 2013 11:03 AM in response to Strider G7

    THANK YOU

    THANK YOU

    THANK YOU

     

    All of you are fantastic.  This problem was bugging me for weeks.  The fix was so simple.  Never knew you could edit the iPhone back-up files. 

     

    5480 - I did exactly what they said to do on this thread and it worked perfectly.  Unfortunately I am not good at making You Tube videos - someone should make one - you will kick yourself if you see how easy it is.

     

    Here's what I did if this helps - just repeating everyone else but spelling it out in detail.

     

    1. Make sure your iPhone is set to back up with your MAC.  On your iPhone, go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup and make sure Backup is set to “off”.  This turns off the cloud backup.

    2.  Turn off Safari Bookmark sync. To do this, on your iPhone, go into Settings > iCloud and turn Safari to "off".  When it asks if you should delete all previously synced bookmarks, just say “yes”.

     

    3. On your MAC, delete all previous back-ups of your iPhone to minimize confusion later on.  To do this when in iTunes select iTunes > Preferences > Devices. Delete all back-ups with your iPhone’s name.

     

    4. Make a new back up your iPhone:  connect your iPhone to iTunes and on the Summary tab, under Backups, select “Backup Now”.  Wait until this is completely done. This creates a latest and greatest back up file from which you can restore your iPhone.  But first you must edit the back up file to fix the corrupt bookmarks.

     

    5.  You can skip steps (5-7) but to be safe, make a back up for your iphone's Back-Up library.  Reason for this is that if your screw something up in the process, you can always go back and restore the back-up files on your MAC.   

     

    6.  To do this, open Finder and go to the menu on top and click "Go".  Then scroll down and select "Go to Folder".  Then cut and past this location: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

     

    (the reason you will need to do this is because the MobileSync folder is hidden on most Macs - I couldn't find it on mine with normal means)

     

    7.  Once you do this, it will open a folder called "Backup" with a bunch of very ugly looking folders underneath - don't worry about this.  Copy the main folder called "Backup" to your desk top.  Easy way to do this is drag the "Backup" folder to your desktop while holding down the Alt/Option key - you will see a plus sign indicating it will be copied vs. moved.  Mine was about 2.5GB so it took aout 5 minutes to copy.

     

    8.  Next go to this site and download a copy of the software called ibackupbot: 

     

    http://www.icopybot.com/itunes-backup-manager.htm

     

    BE SURE TO GET MAC VERSION / download and install.  Don't launch yet.

     

    9.  Next, go to this dropbox location which will give you clean bookmark files that you will need in step 13 below.

     

    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/o8nueh3s5kwkjq8/MkOM4s1QaF

     

    10.  When you click on this drop box link, it will show you two files.  Each one will be a link. Click on each one and select download.  This will place these files into your user folder called "Downloads".  Go find both files and to make this easy, drag both files to your desktop.  You need to have both files on your desktop called:

     

    Library_Safari_Bookmarks.db

    Library_Safari_Bookmarks.db.info

     

    (I know you probably know how to do this so don't be insulted)

     

    11.  Launch ibackupbot and it will load up all of your iPhone, iPads, iPods back-up files including the most recent backup you made in step 4.  It will take a good 20 seconds to load up all this data.

     

    12.  Click on the folder with the same name of your iPhone.  Don't worry about all the garble that appears to the right.

     

    13.  Click on "File" then "Import".  Select the Desktop for your location to find the files and then select the one file called:

     

    Library_Safari_Bookmarks.db.info

     

    Then click Open

     

    (I know there are two files on your desktop but you only need to select this one - everything elese will take care of itself)

     

    14.  What just happened is that within your iPhone back-up files, you just replaced all of your corrupt Safari bookmarks with an empty, clean bookmark folder.  So all that is left to do is to restore the files on your iPhone and you are done. 

     

    15.  To restore your iPhone, simple connect to iTunes, and under the section called "Backups", select "Restore Backup" and select the back-up set with your name on it.

     

    16.  Your iPhone will go through the normal steps and after about 3 minutes will restart and everything will be the same except now your Safari bookmarks are clean.

     

    17. You can now turn on iCloud Safari Bookmark Sync and everything should work fine.

     

    18.  You can delete the very large Backup file you dragged to your desktop in step 7 once everything is working OK.

     

    Good Luck.

  • by Doppelgangr,

    Doppelgangr Doppelgangr Mar 25, 2013 3:39 PM in response to richard247
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 25, 2013 3:39 PM in response to richard247

    @richard247 and everybody here, thanks for your effort and fantastic help - I was able to solve my iPad Mini bookmark problem with your step by step guide.

     

    Having said that, it's a shame Apple doesn't use its profits to avoid having us customers hacking backup files to fix bugs like this. That was exactly the reason I left the Windows camp a few years ago...

  • by JezzaG,

    JezzaG JezzaG Apr 1, 2013 3:04 PM in response to richard247
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Apr 1, 2013 3:04 PM in response to richard247

    @richard247. This has been bugging me for months and months. Appreciate the clear and concise instructions. Bookmarks now restored to non-frustration level.

  • by glenntwo,

    glenntwo glenntwo Apr 11, 2013 7:34 PM in response to richard247
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 11, 2013 7:34 PM in response to richard247

    Thanks to everyone being very helpful on this. However, I got stuck at a certain point in richard247's otherwise extremely clear directions, perhaps because of something odd in the version of ibackupbot I downloaded? When I got to steps 12 & 13, first of all, I wasn't sure which of the things in the left column were "the folder with the same name of my iphone. I assume it's the folder under "backups," but my iphone name also appears under "devices." More importantly, under "File" in ibackupbot there is no "import" option. All I see is Refresh, Open, Duplicate, Duplicate, Delete, and Restore. So I can't figure out how to do snything with the Library_Safari_Bookmarks.db.info file. Can anyone help?  I must be missing something obvious here...

  • by richard247,

    richard247 richard247 Apr 15, 2013 4:58 AM in response to glenntwo
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Apr 15, 2013 4:58 AM in response to glenntwo

    Glenntwo:

     

    I just checked - I am using version iBackupBot 3.6.4.  On the left hand side there is a dropdown folder that is automatically open to show all the iTunes Backups.  It lists a folder with the name of your iDevice and the date of your last backup in parentheses.  Just click on the folder with the name which matches your iPhone that you seek to fix.  Make sure you are clicked on the iBackupBot application so that the top menu bar is the one for this application.  When you click on file you should see the following options:  Reload / Open / Export / Import / Restore / Check All / Check None.  I assume you are doing this on a MAC vs. PC, correct?   Good luck.  -Rich

  • by mauriciofromjal,

    mauriciofromjal mauriciofromjal Apr 19, 2013 11:19 AM in response to Strider G7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 19, 2013 11:19 AM in response to Strider G7

    I have the same problem, since my iphone5 update to version 6.1.3, the battery is drained and heated. On average, the battery lasts me 6 hours

     

    The location of the phone is working in the background, so the phone being standby, the battery is drained and heated terribly

     

    *****************FIX****************:

    Disable the location in the app's in which it has been used the last 24 hours (Setup\Privacy\location), to the bottom of the same screen, at the option of system services, also disable the "location"

     

    In my case, this worked; now, with 12 hours of standby and 3 hours of use, I have 70% battery!!!!.

     

    I pass another link with other solutions, I hope they serve:

     

    http://bkbeachlabs.com/blog/ios-6-1-2-battery-issue-solved/

     

    P.D. excuse my English

  • by Adam F,

    Adam F Adam F May 6, 2013 12:53 PM in response to richard247
    Level 2 (426 points)
    May 6, 2013 12:53 PM in response to richard247

    Under the current version, clicking on the file containing the backup doesn't give you the ability to import.  You can manually navigate to the Safari folder, but importing to there (or even renaming the .db file bookmark.db and uploading) results in a corrupted file that can't be restored to the phone.

     

    Anyone know how to use the .info file under the current version of iBackupBot without messing things up?

  • by Rometsch,

    Rometsch Rometsch Jul 19, 2013 5:06 PM in response to Adam F
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 19, 2013 5:06 PM in response to Adam F

    HI Adam,

    I had the same result as you using the free version of iBackupBot. This is what I did to fix my phone - if you have another apple device it may work for you. Because I have another iPhone for work, I was able to restore the bookmark file from that phone into my personal phone that was corrupted. In iBackupBot, when clicking on my corrupted phone, on the right panel at bottom I saw this message:

     

    This device can be restore from below backups (click to restore):

     

    iPad

    iPhone Work

    etc

     

    I then selected my work phone as the one to restore from, and then selected only the Safari data files to restore.

     

    It took about only 20 seconds, then my corrupted phone rebooted and synced and all seems well. Hope this helps

  • by Adam F,

    Adam F Adam F Jul 22, 2013 2:14 AM in response to Rometsch
    Level 2 (426 points)
    Jul 22, 2013 2:14 AM in response to Rometsch

    Thank you for replyig!  I can't remember if that's what I did, but I did something back in May to get the phone working again. 

  • by sweetbee52,

    sweetbee52 sweetbee52 Aug 8, 2013 1:54 PM in response to Strider G7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 8, 2013 1:54 PM in response to Strider G7

    I stumbled on this by accident.  You now have to click on the box with the arrow, it drops down third row shows a  bookmark icon click that and it takes you the save page.  Didn't have to restart or clear anything.  They just moved it to a different place.  ;-((. kind of dumb if you ask me.

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