ilya52

Q: iBooks not syncing books between Mac and iPhone

So I have a MacBook Pro Retina and and an iPhone 5, and when I download an epub book to either the laptop or the phone, it does not sync to the other device.

 

Both devices are using the same Apple ID for iCloud and AppStore

Syncing is turned ON on both the phone and the Mac

There is enough space in iCloud

Both devices are authorized in iTunes

 

And yeah, I've tried reinstalling iBooks on my iPhone.

 

The only thing that worries me is that I am using the books from my own collection, which I didn't purchase in the iBooks store. But that shouldn't be a problem eh?

 

Anyway, many thanks to anyone who suggests a resolution!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), Boot Camp: Windows 8.1

Posted on Jul 20, 2014 11:55 PM

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Q: iBooks not syncing books between Mac and iPhone

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Jay-Ray,Helpful

    Jay-Ray Jay-Ray Jul 21, 2014 12:04 AM in response to ilya52
    Level 4 (2,692 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 21, 2014 12:04 AM in response to ilya52

    The only info that syncs via iCloud for iBooks is collection lists (not the books themselves), Bookmarks, and Notes.

     

    The Books themselves can be automatically downloaded if they are coming from the store.  On the iPhone, go to Settings > iTunes & App Stores > Turn on Automatic Downloads for Books.  Same thing can be done on the Mac in preferences.

     

    Since your Books are not from the store, the only way to get them on both devices is to download them to both devices.  This will never occur automatically.  This also goes for PDFs you add to your iBooks

     

    Hope that helps solve the mystery.

     

    iBooks: How to sync iBooks between devices

    If you buy a book on your Mac, it’s automatically available on all of your iOS devices with iOS 6 or later.

    You can even synchronize your bookmarks, notes, and collections across your devices.

  • by ilya52,

    ilya52 ilya52 Jul 21, 2014 12:05 AM in response to Jay-Ray
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 21, 2014 12:05 AM in response to Jay-Ray

    Thanks Jay!

     

    So if I download a book to both the phone and the Mac, will the progress be also syncing or not? It's so strange that the books that I already own not from the store can't be synced..

  • by picas,

    picas picas Jul 21, 2014 12:06 AM in response to ilya52
    Level 4 (2,617 points)
    Jul 21, 2014 12:06 AM in response to ilya52

    Books don't sync between devices, although there is a feature to enable automatic downloads. However, this feature is only for ibooks bought from Apple.

     

    Purchases from Apple have no bearing on space in iCloud, as purchases are not backed up – because they can always been downloaded again (if they are still available from the iBooks Store).

     

    Books in iBooks not purchased from Apple must be synced manually (and they are not backed up to iCloud).

  • by Jay-Ray,Solvedanswer

    Jay-Ray Jay-Ray Jul 21, 2014 12:07 AM in response to ilya52
    Level 4 (2,692 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 21, 2014 12:07 AM in response to ilya52

    Yes, the progress should sync if you have the same exact file on both devices regardless of origin.

  • by ilya52,

    ilya52 ilya52 Jul 21, 2014 3:21 PM in response to Jay-Ray
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 21, 2014 3:21 PM in response to Jay-Ray

    It does, indeed! Thanks!

  • by zmonster,

    zmonster zmonster Jul 23, 2014 10:49 PM in response to Jay-Ray
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Jul 23, 2014 10:49 PM in response to Jay-Ray

    THIS IS COMPLETELY USELESS THEN!  I want the PDF files IN the collection to sync, not JUST the Collection list names.  duh!  Come on Apple, fix this.