Mac Os Catalina do not sync photos with iOS Devices

Good spotting Quicksilverboy!!

Earlier I had suggested using Smart Folders at the top-level to replicate existing Sub Folders in my photo library. I said "It Works" but as I added more of the Smart Folders to the top level, I got incomplete syncing of images.

After seeing your post, I tried again and added more Smart Folders too, and all seems to be working between my iMac and iPhone at the moment. I'm still using a USB cable to my iPhone, I need to try wifi sync again and see if its working - it was not earlier.

Thanks for your post

Hello Harry, Synology is a hardware & software solution. It will clearly not be for everyone, but I found that it works for me personally (as well as my business).

If you're so inclined I would check out synology.com for their home solutions and see if it might help you.

As for Apple's current solution and the amount of photos and time you've invested, I would proceed with caution as not to frustrate yourself. (I know I have been very frustrated with them and in some cases it's been a waste of time).

Best of Luck!

@fabio_patrito If you put your findings together with mine, it does not point to Catalina being the sole problem.

My iOS 12 -> Mojave worked fine

My iOS 13 -> Mojave broken

My iOS 13 -> Catalina broken

Your iOS12 -> Catalina broken

Your iOS13 -> Catalina broken

The logic suggests that syncing of Photos is broken in BOTH iOS 13 and Catalina.

CB

My recent sync tests between my iMac and iPad Pro and iPhone 11 Pro (tested in macOS Catalina 10.15.1 and the most recent update 10.15.2 (as well as prior and the most current updates to iOS and iPadOS).

1. Along with most people in this forum I have not been able to sync Albums in Folders via Finder since Catalina.
2. I recently tested a couple of smart albums placed directly under My Albums and while the album synced perfectly on my iPhone, unfortunately most of the images on my iPad are blank/black boxes - over 95% are black - and I tried multiple syncs and restarts and same result. I eventually stopped syncing that smart album and tried a different smart album with fewer pics & vids and that album has many blank black boxes where pics or vids should be on my iPad - but about 75% are visible on iPad. Not sure why my iPad Pro is having issues while my iPhone is not.
3. I did not have any syncing issues before Catalina.
4. My photo library is too large for iCloud so that is not an option, otherwise I would attempt that just to circumvent this issue and not have to wait for the software fix.

Like you, my various folders were under iPhoto Events because that is how they were originally before Apple deleted iPhoto Events. Until Catalina, I never had a problem syncing selected albums in these folders. You said you made a new folder/folders under the My Albums and they were syncing properly? Am I understanding what you did correctly or do you mean you created albums under My Albums?

In the very beginning of this thread, any albums with in folders even directly under My Albums would not sync. Only albums directly under My Albums would sync.

Thanks for this posts... it’s getting clear now that it’s the Apple engineer’s who need to make the next steps, if they do so...

This issue affects really many of us here and can imagine also many people around the world. Not to mention how many pictures this issue affect globally and can’t be shown in Apple devices anymore (around the world)...

Would it be an idea if everyone in this chat who is affected write a message to Apple on that issue and that we send therefore “a daily complain” to them? 

I don’t know the email address or where we can send this complaint. But really, I’m willing to write them daily and maybe we can reach something relatively quick in a sense: Then more involved or send a message then better....

If we are just 100 people here who decide to write daily they will get 700 messages a week or 2800 messages a month or 33600 messages a year, normally they can’t say no and fix this, right?

I mean to make this synch happening again shouldn’t be rocket science or, they should let us know the future plans so that we can adjust.

But to take away a function they had now for years without - if I understand and see that right - any comment this can’t be and also don’t speak for Apple products and software. 

I remember when they presented back in September the new Photo functions and said “how good it is”.... Also it seems that they count on Photos as a “cash cow”...

One short introduction and a general comment would be more then sufficient for such a private message everyone of us can send daily. 

You need to know about me that I’m not that computer guy but just a father and just invested in a new MacBook Pro and upgraded the components to almost the maximum when I ordered. And the reason I bought are the pictures/photos, now this situation makes me sick.

Here would be a proposal for a general introduction everyone can write followed by a technical part we all use (suggestions welcome as for sure others can write that better).

Dear Apple engineers!

Personal situation: I’m just a father who recently bought a new MacBook Pro to organize my family pictures, about 60.000 photos which is at the same time the main reason I invested about USD 5.000,00. 

Technical issue (to be solved from Apple): Since Catalina it isn’t possible anymore to synch subfolders in Photos and as I can imagine, really many people around the world do have this problem. What is your standpoint and solution on this one? Can we experience an update to make this synch again or can you let us know your future plans so that I can adopt accordingly?

Thank you for your feedback and attention...

———-

I would say that’s enough and if someone has another idea you are welcome, even to adjust the technical issue text as I’m not a professional user. At the same time I would say that we follow “KISS” principle and “Keep It Short and Simple”.

I really can’t imagine that we - our voices - don’t get heard but would like to make this test and go through. So what I would need now from anyone here:

A) the email or link where I (We) can send this text

B) A proposal in case we should change the technical text (but it’s a need that everyone makes his one intro), technical text should be the same...

C) Commitments from people like us to send Apple a daily message

Does this sounds like a plan or is that illegal? Did such a plan happened in the past and/or lead to success? Does someone have another idea how to solve this with Apple (except what we read here) and the we can have a normal life again ;-)

Let me know...

Ditto I can’t complete transfer of photos to either my iPad Pro or iPhone XR. I wiped my iPad Pro to see if a clean system might work no joy. I wondered which was at fault. iOS since there have been so many updates to the current iOS or Catalina on my mac retina. I set up an external hdd with Mojave on it, photos loaded fine so I assume its Catalina at fault.

it seems a bit retrograde to go back to Mojave but as it’s on my back up I may well do that.

any thoughts on why my mac can’t complete transfers.

I would tend to agree that this isn't Apple trying to shake us down for more money. My original post to this board misunderstood the original problem...but I was also seeing syncing issues. I believe I started syncing my entire photo library to my iPhone and iPad Pro only in the past year because I was able to afford the space to do so. But from the very beginning, pre-Catalina, my folders disappeared. To be clear, all my photo albums copied over, but the enclosing folder hierarchy evaporated.

Since I was an Aperture migrant, all my folders were inside the iPhoto Albums folder (or something like that). And then they were broken down my year (e.g. 2017), and then in each year's folder were albums. In rare cases did I go one more level deep in folders. When they sync, they'e loaded onto the iDevice in the order they appear in the left-hand nav bar in Photos. Fortunately for me, I prefaced the name of each of my albums with the year (e.g. 2017 | Barcelona). But with up to 15 albums in each year going back to 1967, I have a lot of scrolling to do on my iDevice to get to those early years.

In retrospect, this is a bug, right? But it happened this way before Catalina. I know smart albums have never copied over, though I must say with the computing power on our iDevices these days I don't understand why not.

If turning on iCloud Photo sync brings me that folder structure to my iDevices, I just may do that. But that makes it even more apparent that losing that structure syncing over a wire has got to be a bug...one that goes back at least to the previous macOS/iOS versions if not further back.

Glad to hear that the second sync went well. I decided to wait until next week to try as my 2019 photos will be added to the appropriate albums. What I found I needed to remember, when adding new photos to their albums, I was to add them to the original album & the duplicate. Eventually, if Apple ever gets their act together, I will be able to delete the duplicate albums and go back to my albums in folders.

Correct and consistent with my issue - it’s finder that is the new variable causing all of the problems. Everything in Photos on Mac is fine. The sync to phone via finder is where everything breaks down.

You're having the EXACT issue I am... duplicates.. .and triplicates... with subsequent syncs... and then the only way to get a 1-1 match between my mac and phone is two uncheck everything... resync... then check the folders back on again. Takes HOURS with a 35,000 photo library.

I'm also noticing issues with my shared albums. The content will not update on my Mac but will on all my other devices. It's all so broken.

Glad to know it's not just me - I've let Apple know about all of these issues on their Feedback website - in macOS Photos section and in the iOS Photos section and macOS section : https://www.apple.com/feedback/photos.html https://www.apple.com/feedback/photos-ios-ipados.html https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html

Does this workaround increase the storage size, as I understand it. If so then you may as well set up your photos on Mojave as I have done. No issues other than two OS X on my Mac. But no duplication. Works a treat , but what a clat. I sync photos from Mojave’s but everything else from Catalina. It does keep photos up to date on both systems, in case Apple do ever sort it, so then I can remove Mojave. I tried this on an external hdd. Not an ssd, it was rubbish too slow. But on my 1 TB MacBook I can cope.

Hi, I have previously used flash memory To run OS X alongside my mac system, but had a spare 250gb hdd, I then downloaded Mojave to my mac. Restarted pressing command then r for recovery mode . Choosing the ext hdd, I suspect that it would have been ok if I had an ssd . The result worked but was too slow I transferred pictures from my LaCie back up system from a date before Catalina was released.

once I was comfortable with the idea I partioned my MacBook using the internal software. I choose 230 gb for the new partition which was a bit tight but I did not intend to use iTunes music which was 30gb, so deleted most of the music once set up.

I restarted my mac pressing command & r with my LaCie connected then followed the instructions choosing to restore from my LaCie latest Mojave’s backup-to the new partition of 230gb. it rebooted once completed then I set the new partition up as per my usual Apple ID. Deleting music & surplus stuff.

I am not particularly technical so excuse my descriptions.

The downside so far are-

Each time I change between the systems I have to renew the Apple log in as in effect there are two of the same which confuses Apple but they need confusing for their inaction on the problems

I transferred pictures that I have loaded onto Catalina between when I swapped & now, in my case as I have been ill with a stroke perhaps 10gb.

My iPhone XR & iPad Pro are quite happy downloading pictures to which ever system I am on. I loaded pictures from Mojave to both but my music & other data are kept on Catalina as I still hope Apple will sort things !

its not an elegant answer but it works, I don’t have problems with blank pictures or random files. The iPhone & iPad are working as normal so far.

I might revert to Mojave completely if no solution.

I hope that helps. Incidentally my mac is 1tb 2014 model, not touchbar so all the original connections to play with.

good luck if you try this, just ensure you have an up to date back up before you start. Incidentally I have windows 10 on my mac via parallels software. I just works, much better than Apples software, but I bought parallels whereas apple’s is free.

I spent hours with a really impressive Tech. Uploaded from old library to the cloud and download to the new library. All the bloat gone and loading pretty quick for 70k photos.

The only problem is it doesn’t sync with iOS. Spent hours on the phone and finally gone back to Mojave and everything perfect again. I need to re-download from the Cloud as the Catalina library isn’t compatible but they are downloading so quickly compared to Catalina.

The simple problem is Catalina, the new photos app is not fit for purpose.