iOS 13 Photos sync through iTunes causes duplicate photos on iOS devices

I've the same problem. Everything ok on Photos. 80% duplication in iPAD. Not Only 50% photos are sync to iPAD.

I rebuilt the photos database and it solved the problem temporarily.

It turn the same problem after Photos done the work of "Curating Photos", "detecting Duplicates", "Composing Layout".

Apple puppeteering at its finest.

I spent many hours and days on the phone with an Apple Advisor troubleshooting this issue over the last number of MONTHS. Screen sharing, emails back and forth, uploaded files. I submitted system data, records, recorded sync data and sent all these logs back to Apple, and was told to keep updating to the newest software.

lo and behold the newest software update is here on both MacOS and iOS and the problem of duplicating photos mysteriously remains.

the photos are duplicated in such a silly way, one or more than one are missing GPS data compared to the original photo. The sync recognizes this as a unique file because it is not identical to the file WITH GPS data and creates a duplicate or DUPLICATES. Makes no sense whatsoever except to push us out of a hardwired sync and into the mystery of constant updating, wireless data gobbling and file misownership that is the iCloud.

Ive has iCloud for years and I got rid of it and do not want to use it. I just bought a new MacBook Pro 16 a few months ago And it may very well be my last unfortunately. I suggest we write to any and all of the litigators probing Apple for consumer protection issues.

I’m sad to say I have Apple stock.

Apple doesn’t listen nor care about their ‘fringe’ customers anymore. So much for Its just works’

******** and moaning aside there isn’t any more any of us can do unless you get the chance to speak to an Apple executive, in that case give them a piece of our minds.

I synced by putting phone(on ios 14 public beta) on airplane mode, and sync went well with no duplicates. Its too early to say if issue is fixed.

if any one has installed ios 14 beta, please try syncing by putting it in airplane mode and update this thread with results.

I discovered a while back and posted here that GPS data is the issue with the photo duplication. I also told my Apple Advisor on multiple correspondences where I was sending system logs and syncs logs to Apple that I believe the issue to be GPS data related. Still, no resolution despite two iOS updates since I began my complaint with Apple and many hours and days on the phone and email corresponding with the Advisor over a period of many months, with log after log, syncs, logs, more logs....

Excellent idea of yours to remove the GPS location all together and keep a copy of original files separately in case you want this information, or if Apple ever fixes the issue. Occasionally I use the map to find a photo but it is rare so this is an option I will consider doing myself. That is, if I can summon the mental fortitude to accomplish something as a non techie that Apple can not seem to acknowledge nor fix themselves because flawless local Mac/iPhone sync no longer fits the paradigm shift that is happening with subscription cloud service b.s.

Thanks for your workaround, I hope others find it helpful as well! You might consider contacting Apple too and giving this information to an Advisor and your workaround so maybe Apple might address and fix the issue.

Or maybe Apple would use that information to make it impossible to remove GPS data from photo files in future macOS updates :/ here’s to hoping for the best!

Cheers!

Okay. I have contributed many posts to this thread about the photo duplication issue. My workout to date has been to periodically ensure all my photos are on Mac Photos, then to delete all the photos from iPhone and resync once. This removes the dupes and lets me enjoy some level of satisfaction with a broken system.

I just discovered that the process I use to delete all photos no longer functions with iOS 13.6.1. Previously you could go to SETTINGS > GENERAL > iPhone Storage > PHOTOS and swipe left on Photos to remove all files within the Photos app, including videos. THEN you could resync with Mac and all your photos would display just like on Mac.

Now this doesn’t work anymore. There is now NO easy way to delete all photos from the iPhone, short of a total reset.

Selecting hundreds of photos as a group to delete also doesn’t work, as the delete button doesn’t appear, instead only offering to ‘remove from album’ but this button does nothing.

This is infuriating, given the headache Apples software has given me this workaround was my one solace. Am I alone in this?

Anyone else having this issue?

I have downloaded ios14 and on the first sync it looks fine with no duplicates and no continual syncing but I am missing about 300 ..... I will take that right now if it prevents duplicates and continual syncing

Please be sure to submit a direct bug report to Apple:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/photos-ios-ipados.html

After reset my iPhone and installed it again, I didn't had duplicated pictures anymore.

Not working for my, because no duplicates found on my Mac. For me, the problems starts with IOS 13. The first sync was ok. After adding photos in the photo-app on the Mac, I started an new sync. At first, all photos were removed on my iPhone, than all photos were added there. After the sync, the photo-app on my iPhone started to restore photos, after this, I found the duplicates on my phone. After every sync, the photo app begun to restore and duplicates more photos on my phone, not on my Mac.

With IOS 12, the sync only added new photos or removed deleted photos.

I started a thread on this too. Syncing is completely busted even on the latest macOS 10.15.1 and iOS 13.2.0.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250731717

I've done everything you have too. It seems to work the first time, but on the second sync, I get duplicates and missing photos. Something is seriously wrong.

I found the first picture synced to the iOS device has location, and the rest duplicated just don't have. Probably this is the cause of the bug.

"Things just work" era in Apple has already came to an end.... we can just pray that everything that works fine keeps working after each "upgrade"...

I also found the Photos imported to Catalina Photo app if you don't copy the photos to the library instead of just linking them to their original location, location are not displayed in "Places". The location of the photos are correctly displayed when you copy the photos to the library. However, either you import and copy the photos to the Mac Photo library or not, duplicate sync files are created.

The hope is that v13.2.4 or 13.3 solves it.

I’m somewhat concerned this issue doesn’t seem universal amongst all users. Perhaps it only affects some of us or it only happens with larger photo libraries, which is what I suspect.

I’ve noticed if I remove all photos from the phone and then re-sync only the last month of them I don’t see the duplicates problem. But if I then change that to the last year, the duplicates bug will reappear.

DrKens, what size is the photo library you have?

I found a solution for this after many hours of testing!!!!!

You have to hide geotags from all photos. Select all images, go “Image” menu and then go to “Location” and choose “Remove Location”

Dont be afraid you will not lose your geotags !

:)

In my experience, the first, fresh sync (when there are no photos on my iPhone or iPad) always works fine. Subsequent syncs I do after that, however, are what start the location-based duplication problem.

Yes, same issue, ever since iOS13, just had another iteration over this with the latest betas of Catalina 10.15.3 (19D49f) and iOS 13.3.1 (18D5026c). I have 19439 pictures in Photos on my Mac (none of them marked as favorite, and no, there are no duplicates on my Mac) and so far I used the "only favourites" option during sync to "reset" my iPhone. So I just did and after three syncs (yes, three) there were indeed no more photos on my iPhone. Syncing again I now have 19299 Photos on my iPhone, so 140 are missing somewhere. I have no idea though, how to identify the missing pictures. Having to go through that also means that the "People" feature on iOS is essentially worthless as my phone now has to scan all those pictures (again and again).

And yes, same symptoms as others reported: after some time pictures show up twice, or even three or four times when looking at "all photos", typically one picture with location information, one without. I don't quite remember how that extends to pictures that show up three or four times. Some pictures are duplicated, some are not and I can't recognise some pattern in that. "Delete after import" also has no effect.

I still try to avoid resetting my phone as I have some banking apps on it that require reactivation afterwards.