Level 1

15 points

iPhone XS photos: album says syncing at bottom of screen but never stops and photos are missing.

I am having problems syncing between my iPhone XS (with iOS 13.3) and iTunes (v12.8.2) on my Mac (2009 Mac Pro).

The sync between iTunes and my phone will complete but when I check my phone some of the photo albums do not contain all the photos that are present in that folder when I open it in Finder on my Mac.

Further, at the bottom of the screen on my phone it says "Syncing...". According to iTunes on my Mac the sync is over. Also, this "Syncing..." never goes away no matter how long I leave the phone connected to the Mac or wait (e.g. until the next day).

Attached is a screen shot of an album on my phone that is missing photos. On my Mac this folder has 21 photos in it. On my iPhone there are 10. Note the text indicating that it is "Syncing...".

Repeated syncing via iTunes does not resolve the problem.

How do I fix this?

iPhone XS

Posted on Dec 19, 2019 6:59 PM

Similar questions

49 replies

May 28, 2020 2:39 PM in response to kdfoswald

Update:

Mac TOTAL photo count in albums I created = 4801

iPhone TOTAL photo count in albums I created = 4801

Mac TOTAL photo count = 4801

iPhone TOTAL photo count = 4777

All numbers match up except for TOTAL photos on iPhone. How is it possible that I have more photos in albums on my iPhone (4801) then actual photos on my iPhone (4777)?

May 29, 2020 7:20 AM in response to kdfoswald

Welcome to iOS13. Apple has a complicated system to create Apple-customized visalisations on Mac Mobile devices....something that the user doesn't need or what the user should be able to disable or customize. This eads to a lack of precision in Syncing the Pictures. The problem is well known since at least one year, but Apple simply doesen't care. They omly care optimizing their profit. It's Tim Cooks Apple vs. Steve Job's Apple.

May 29, 2020 7:28 AM in response to architetti2

iTunes and Photos just are not able to properly Sync images....and the bad news is....Apple just don't care about. Sometimes pictures are missing, sometimes you ave duplicates of plenty of pictures, like in the example of my iPad Pro 12.8":

May 29, 2020 10:10 AM in response to kdfoswald

My statistics in this #ApplePhotosSyncBugContest:

Mac TOTAL photo count in Photos.app in Albums I created = 34'010 (correct number)

iPhone TOTAL photo count in Photos.app albums synced with iTunes = 31'477

iPad Pro TOTAL photo count in Photos.app albums synced with iTunes =38'606 (still increasing, 15 min after iTunes Sync concluded)

HF_NYC Author

Level 1

15 points

Jun 1, 2020 9:02 AM in response to movery

Thank you Movery for your diligent follow up on this issue. I did try the synch again once the iOS 13.5 release was out and as I noted in my prior post I still have the issue as well.

What is concerning for me is that their comment to you about updating your operating system to the latest version (Mac OS 10.15.5) suggests that Apple does not intend to make the bug fix backward compatible. I am still on 10.11.6 (El Capitan) and since I have a late 2009 Mac Pro I am not able to upgrade to more recent versions.

Feb 11, 2020 12:31 PM in response to movery

Have same issue; did you by chance ever get any guidance from Apple. Thank you.

movery

Level 1

24 points

Mar 9, 2020 12:06 AM in response to U2GT

I'm still waiting for Apple to report back on my case..... Going to call them again today.

Mar 11, 2020 6:09 AM in response to movery

Thank you for keeping everyone up to date! It’s greatly appreciated!

AdrenaCo

Level 1

9 points

Mar 11, 2020 9:11 AM in response to movery

Thanks, much appreciated!

volksdub

Level 1

15 points

May 16, 2020 10:16 AM in response to HF_NYC

Has anyone found a solution to this problem yet, I'm also getting the continuous syncing message on my iPhone and iPad.

volksdub

Level 1

15 points

May 16, 2020 11:17 AM in response to louj71

Never had this issue before upgrading to a new MacBook Pro, my old MacBook Pro prior to Catalina never experienced issues like this. Takes the shine off spending the best part of 2.6k on it!

louj71

Level 1

9 points

May 16, 2020 12:59 PM in response to volksdub

I’m also having issues with Facebook Messenger - I’m reading my messages but they are still showing as unread!!! 😡

HF_NYC Author

Level 1

15 points

Jun 1, 2020 8:50 AM in response to Tf_tinker

I have 3,100 photos in 61 folders. I am also on iOS 13.5 and unfortunately still have this issue.

delpidg

Level 1

4 points

Dec 26, 2019 3:43 AM in response to MichelleT18

I have the same issue with a album on my iPhone 11 pro max. Synced folder of photos to my iPhone but 9 of the 13 photos are there and says syncing.... Syncing with iTunes has completed however. On version 12.10.3.1 itunes.

HF_NYC Author

Level 1

15 points

Jan 23, 2020 10:57 AM in response to markfromlandolakes

Unfortunately, I am using the version of Finder (v 10.11.4) associated with OS X El Capitan (v 10.11.6). My iPhone does not show up in this version of Finder so there are no synch options. I can only use iTunes which as you noted is gone so I suspect there is no solution to my problem.

Kind of unfortunate since everything else on my Mac is working great, not bad for a ten year old machine.

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iPhone XS photos: album says syncing at bottom of screen but never stops and photos are missing.