Syncing Books

I just updated my OS to Catalina. I have a number of ePUB files in the Books app on my MacBook Pro (not bought in Apple's store), and they are no longer syncing with my iPad or iPhone when I plug them in to the computer. I have an iPhone 6S with iOS13.2, and an iPad Air with iOS 12.4.3 (the most up to date software for both). Prior to the Catalina update, I had no problem with this. The finder shows that I have storage available, and the option to sync all books is checked. I have even tried to sync just one book, and the problem persists.

Please advise.

Thank you.

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 30, 2019 1:11 AM

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28 replies

tjlunder

Level 1

4 points

Nov 23, 2019 4:04 PM in response to VERIT

I have spent over 3 hours on the phone with Apple, the only outcome they could come up with was that my ipad was too old....

Then to find this discussion thread indicates the service agent was scraping the bottom of the barrel for excuses.

tjlunder

Level 1

4 points

Dec 12, 2019 5:33 PM in response to tjlunder

so the first sync after the 10.15.2 update didn't yield any positive news, hence my above post.....

another attempt this morning, and all DRM-free EPUB's are now back loaded on my iPad and working as expected.

Jan 4, 2020 3:20 PM in response to Robert Burrowes

After 10.15.2, the books looked to have sync'd through icloud. All the books now show up in books on the ipad and iphone, but with the cloud icon, so I need to click on them to get them to download them from icloud.

Unfortunately 10.15.2 has broken my password manager, which injects the passwords into the keyboard buffer (not the clipboard). The fix for 10.15.1 was to give the app permissions in the Security and Privacy control panel, but this isn't working with 10.15.2, so I'm going through the long process of reverting to 10.15.1. That's one app I can't work without.

marco123

Level 1

12 points

Nov 13, 2019 10:09 PM in response to Mac-City

Hey Mac-City,

Thanks for letting us know; I’m struggling with very much the same issue.

Cheers,

Marco

Mac-City

Level 1

15 points

Nov 15, 2019 11:11 AM in response to techis

agreed, I forgot to mention that detail. my experience is the same as yours. no problems syncing pdfs, only DRM-free EPUBs.

Nov 23, 2019 11:54 AM in response to VERIT

This worked for me! Thank you!

tjlunder

Level 1

4 points

Nov 23, 2019 3:55 PM in response to timetraveler1

Yes, the workaround works but has anyone had luck with the normal process being functional again ?

Mac-City

Level 1

15 points

Nov 23, 2019 4:07 PM in response to tjlunder

tjlunder what iOS and what iPad model do you have?

tjlunder

Level 1

4 points

Nov 23, 2019 4:19 PM in response to Mac-City

3rd gen ipad using 9.3.6 (the last update available) Catalina on my iMac using 10.15.1

I also cannot add .epub files to my iphone 7 using the latest software update.

tjlunder

Level 1

4 points

Nov 25, 2019 10:05 PM in response to preaction

Negative preaction..... Apple has confirmed that my ipad will function as required despite its age. Having done more research, this glitch is affecting current and older models of ipad/iphone.

Nov 29, 2019 9:07 AM in response to timetraveler1

I have the same problem. Can not sync them from computer. Can not even open them in Books on iPad from iCloud Drive. They all also DRM free books.

mpegman

Level 1

8 points

Dec 11, 2019 12:57 PM in response to techis

strange;.. I got a similar issue, however PDF's are not syncing either!

I have the impression when you drop a PDF in ibooks that it doesnt upload to icloud

tjlunder

Level 1

4 points

Dec 11, 2019 11:27 PM in response to mpegman

it seems that the recent Catalina update (10.15.2) didnt resolve the issue.....

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Syncing Books