2018 iPad Pro sync over Wi-Fi

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Level 1

14 points

2018 iPad Pro sync over Wi-Fi

On the iPad, I go to Settings, General, iTunes Wi-Fi Sync and I get a screen with the usb cable coming up from the bottom with an arrow pointing to the iTunes logo. Across the top is says "To enable Wi-Fi syncing with iTunes, connect to iTunes on your computer using a cable and click "Sync with this iPad over Wi-Fi". ...

Which I've done. and I've undone it and redone it. I've done a hard reset on the iPad, I stopped and restarted iTunes. When I "undo" it, I sync and make a backup (via the cable). Likewise, when I "redo" it I sync and make a backup. The backup times change.

Curiously, it will sync over Wi-Fi if I go to iTunes and hit Sync and iTunes sees my iPad via Wi-Fi. But, I can't get the normal "Sync Now" display on the iPad. The sync via Wi-Fi works fine for my other iPad and my iPhone.

iPad Pro 12.9-inch, 3rd Gen, Wi-Fi, Cell

Posted on Dec 25, 2018 10:15 AM

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Answer 1

pedz Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 27, 2018 7:19 AM in response to Moozito

Hi,

Thank you for replying. The "hard reset" is where you hit the volume up button, then volume down, then press and hold the top button until the Apple logo appears.

I rebooted my Mac just now. I also noticed this text on the "Sync your iPhone" page: "If you use iCloud or other services like Apple Music to keep your content up to date across all of your devices, syncing through iTunes might be turned off."

So, I enabled various things to sync such as books, podcasts, etc. The iPad was connected wirelessly. I hit sync and it synchronized all the new items I had picked (books, voice memos, etc). But, the screen on the iPad is the same: the USB cable with the same instructions.

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Answer 2

pedz Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 27, 2018 7:28 AM in response to pedz

TL;DR -- failed backup of the device in iCloud needed to be deleted.

Things have changed so... from memory:

On my Mac, I went to Apple => System Preferences => iCloud => iCloud Drive Options. I had an entry for Backups with 0KB consumed. I clicked it and had an entry for my iPad (by its name) with 0KB and some message such as "Incomplete" or something like that. This is what got my attention in the first place. I got a message that I did not have enough iCloud space for my backup in the cloud. I don't want backups in the cloud because my internet connection is so slow that it would take days to restore. So I do encrypted backups on my Mac.

My guess is that it wasn't the fact that there was a backup in iCloud but rather the fact that the backup had failed.

Getting back on course: I picked the incomplete backup and deleted it. I checked my iPad and it still showed the same USB cable image. I did a restart (Settings => General => Shutdown) and when it came back up, the Wi-Fi sync screen is now like it should be and allows me to sync via Wi-Fi from the iPad.

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Answer 3

Dec 27, 2018 7:46 AM in response to pedz

Hi pedz,

Thanks for following up and posting that solution. We greatly appreciate it.

Have a great day!

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Answer 4

Moozito

Community Specialist

Dec 26, 2018 9:25 AM in response to pedz

Hello pedz,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities. From your post, it sounds like you're unable to sync your iPad via Wi-Fi.

It sounds like you've been able to set this up before and use Wi-Fi syncing with the steps from the "Sync your content using Wi-Fi" section of this link: Sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod using iTunes on your computer, and the same function is working with other devices.

You mentioned you've done a hard reset on the iPhone; do you mean that you restarted it, or did you do a restore to factory settings?

A good starting point is to make sure your iOS device and iTunes are both updated. First, here's how to Update to the latest version of iTunes.

On the iOS end, it sounds like you may already have a backup. If needed, here's How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

If you verify all of the software is up-to-date, you might try to restart your Mac or PC as the next step and make sure the computer is updated as well.

I hope this helps.

Take care.

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2018 iPad Pro sync over Wi-Fi

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