Cannot sync photos from mac to iPhone

it is possible, yes. There are several steps

1. in Finder, locate your Photos library, examine package contents
2. Locate and delete the folder iPod Photo Cache. Ignore the fact that you do not have an iPod. They had to call it something
3. On your phone, when connected to Finder, tell it no longer to sync photos
4. Do not panic when a message appears suggesting you want to delete all photos on your phone. It refers only to the synched ones
5. Synchronise in that temporary state
6. Check that iPod Photo Cache is still absent. If it has returned, delete it again
7. With your phone still connected, in Finder, choose the albums you wish to synchronise, and sync
8. WAIT for a ridiculously long period while iPod Photo Cache is rebuilt, and then, after that, while your chosen pictures are synchronised.
9. Check that it has worked correctly

I have had, in the past to repeat this rigmarole more than once to achieve the desired effect

Hey there flemminggitte,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. I understand you’re having some issues syncing photos from your Mac to your iPhone. I’ll be happy to help.

In macOS Catalina, you’ll want to use Finder to sync your photos to your iPhone. Take a look at this article for more info:

Use the Finder to sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod with your computer

Also, if you use iCloud Photos, that will automatically sync your photos between your devices for you and you won’t use Finder to do this. You can read more about this here:

Set up and use iCloud Photos

Let me know if this helps.

Hi flemminggitte,

Thanks for reviewing those links. If you’re having issues syncing photos, make sure both your iPhone and Mac are completely up to date. This link can help with updating your Mac:

How to update the software on your Mac

These links can help update your iPhone:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Also, make sure you’re using an Apple branded cable to use for this. Test with different folders from Photos and see if all albums are affected. If that doesn’t help, see if this occurs in safe boot or with a new computer as well to isolate and possibly resolve this issue:

Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac

I hope this resolves the issue.

"....Can APPLE support please help? Thanks....."

You can contact Apple Support in a link at the top of your page or there is a good Apple support app for trhe phone.

Apple support are not here.

But for the rare occasions the sync does not work...

Sync photos

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mchl4af095d3/mac

but if the computer does not recognise your iPhone etc

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204095

Are you syncing photos by individual album? And are they organised into subfolders?

If so, you may have to organise them so that they are on one level under My Albums. Move a few there and test.

.

Apple support replies when you contact them. They reply privately. Contact Support

This is a user to user help forum

Hi,

I'm having the same problem since update to Catalina. I hoped that the update 10.15.2 would have solved the issues, but unfortunately there is no way to sync from Mac to iPhone.

after selecting the albums to sync, i click on Sync button, the sync-arrows begin to rotate (in Finder and on iPhone) endlessly (without syncing!).

...and my photos are not in subfolders.

i tried a solution posted here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250712544?answerId=251609353022#251609353022

but it run well only one time.

and even that, it cannot be the right way for syncing!

other solutions?

thanks

andrea

Hi,

you're a lucky one... :-)

I never had sub-folders in albums.

all my albums are directly under "My albums"... but no way so sync.

is there a way to "initialize" the syncing process in order to restart a complete syncing session, without "initializing my iPhone"?

It was an old iTunes remedy and I have had to use it with Catalina and Finder. It is not intuitive, is a huge faff, and takes a while.

There are fewer steps with the Catalina version. the iTunes version was even more of a fundamental pain

I'm glad you have had success. Remember those steps, because I will give you a written guarantee that you will need them again

By the way, albums are simply pointers to the actual pictures. All you really need is an album "For Phone" that you add pictures to. The storage cost is tiny

I have exactly the same problem. I am running macOS 10.15.2 and Photos Version 5.0 (121.17.170). My albums are NOT in any folder but they won't sync with my iPhone with iOS13.3. I am amazed there is no APPLE official response offering any solutions. Can APPLE support please help? Thanks.

Interesting! I've never come across that.