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cng1990 Author

Level 1

61 points

iCloud tabs not syncing/working

iCloud Tabs has stopped working on all of my devices

iCloud Tabs isn't working on any of my devices. I can't see them from my MacBook Pro (macOS Catalina), nor from my iPhone X (running 14.2). I have quadruple checked and iCloud is on and Safari is checked and everything is correct on each device. It was working fine up until I noticed the issued several days ago. I haven't changed any settings or behaviors or changed any features, but for whatever reason it isn't working anymore. And if it does, my computer shows iPhone tabs from the day before and not current tabs and my phone doesn't show my computer tabs at all anymore. Although it's small, it's a feature of iCloud that I use quite often and it's a nuisance to have it not working properly.

I followed all suggestions on forums and articles to turn off iCloud, turn off Safari, etc. on each device and turn it back on but still nothing. I've restarted and rebooted a plethora of times and it's still the same issue. Does anyone have any insights on what could be causing this issue and how to fix it?

Posted on Nov 13, 2020 7:09 AM

Best reply

thauxley

Level 1

65 points

Posted on Nov 20, 2020 6:35 AM

goaway7 wrote:

Also having the same issue. Started happening when I got iphone 12. All software up to date. Tried turning safari on and off on icloud. Restarted everything. Please fix this vital feature!!

I did the same thing. Also having trouble with iCloud tabs.

I noticed the issue too when I purchased the iPhone 12 Pro. However, at the same time when I got this new phone, macOS was moving away from Catalina into Big Sur (I haven't upgraded to Big Sur yet). I don't know if this is a result of having a new phone or Big Sur.

I'm leaning towards this might have something to do with the mix of Big Sur and iCloud.

I have an iPad Pro which also isn't seeing iCloud tabs either from my phone or Mac.

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229 replies

zecanard

Level 1

37 points

Dec 15, 2020 12:34 PM in response to cng1990

This started happening right after installing iOS 14.2 for me. I updated the day it was released.

iOS 14.3 and macOS Big Sur 11.1 did not fix the issue. iCloud Tabs still take several hours/days to sync up, and sometimes disappear entirely.

Contacting Apple Support is a complete waste of time, as always, since they’re are unaware of the issue and therefore deny that it exists in the first place.

Dec 16, 2020 8:12 PM in response to cng1990

My tabs also have stopped syncing. I have an iPad Gen 6, iPad Air 2020, iPhone XR All with the latest 14.3 iOS, and Late 2012 iMac Running Catalina 10.15.7. I believe that because I pay for the iCloud service that I should get more support that none whatsoever. This problem needs to be resolved.

Dec 17, 2020 1:39 AM in response to tygb

What we are experiencing will not be helped by Apple’s page telling us what to do if tabs are not syncing. We have all tried the steps recommended by Apple.

further back in this thread many fixes have been suggested, but none work.

Dec 17, 2020 2:04 AM in response to emecha

Indeed, this is becoming quite annoying after more than a month. I was told that the issue would be solved with "the next update". There has just been an update, and the problem is still there. Hopefully, someone in Cupertino is reading this thread.

Dec 17, 2020 5:08 AM in response to Bernard Desgagné

And I have tried all of the steps. I’ve even restored my iPhone recently for another issue and that didn’t help. Most of the time my devices don’t show any tabs open on other devices. Or if they do show some, they are from a few days before.

I tried calling Apple on this issue yesterday and was put on hold. After about 10 minutes I was disconnected and they never bothered to cal me back 😡

Dec 19, 2020 5:26 AM in response to DimloDodge

For me, the iPhone 12 is the device that doesn’t work at all. ‘20 16” MacBook Pro and iPad Pro seem to works, albeit with delayed tab lists. iPhone shows nothing. What’s interesting is the MacBook and iPad both show iPhone tabs. IPhone shows nothing....

Dec 20, 2020 2:45 AM in response to cng1990

I think my problem is due to the fact that on the safari blank page down at the bottom right options menu I do not get to select iClouds Tabs. it does not appear in the list. How do I get that inserted there. If I can and select it I am sure the problem will be fixed. can any one tell me how?

Dec 20, 2020 2:18 PM in response to DimloDodge

That’s the strage thing. The toggle is on is on but no joy. I installed the update to 11.1. It worked iCloud taps appeared and connected to my other device. But when i quit Safari and reopened it stoped working again

Nigel W

Level 1

13 points

Dec 20, 2020 3:17 PM in response to cng1990

I've had this issue too, and am not sure if it's related to upgrading to a new iPhone, or a completely independent iCloud problem.

Today I had the most stark example that this is some sort of bug. I was using my laptop and iCloud tabs were working fine. I had a bunch of tabs open on my phone, and they showed up on my laptop. Then at one point I tried closing one of my iPhone's tabs from my laptop, and iCloud tabs disappeared. (I still had a bunch of tabs open on my phone, but my laptop simply stopped showing them.)

Maybe iCloud tabs will randomly start showing up again at some point. It's totally unreliable right now, and impossible to diagnose what's causing the problem.

nny1001

Level 4

1,392 points

Dec 20, 2020 3:19 PM in response to ShamrockD

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you guys do know this is a User to User forum? Apple has a limited, next to non-existent presence here. This is a place for User to help other Users. If you have an issue, you can contact support directly or go to apple.com/feedback and let them know something is broken.

Dec 20, 2020 7:18 PM in response to cng1990

Switching to Chrome here. Really annoying since I like tab syncing on Safari, but it is completely broken.

Chrome is a breeze, even faster syncing tabs and that is without any iCloud integration.

Apple needs to step up, no privacy mumbo jumbo can compensate such an important feature.

I left feedback as others suggested, hope it gets addressed soon.

Dec 21, 2020 1:26 AM in response to cng1990

iOS 14.4 is currently out for developer testing, so hopefully that may resolve it when fully released.

Having said that, when iOS 13 got released it affected the ringer tone level in AirPods, we sent bug reports in the hundreds via this forum, but it took Apple a whole iOS cycle to fix it. Yep 1 whole year, fixed with iOS 14. Lets hope this does not drag on that long.

Dec 26, 2020 10:12 AM in response to cng1990

Any news on broken iCloud tabs sync?

If you read another big apple forums you can find a 'lot' of entries... It's simply not working and broken!

Looks like apple knows about it, because they're not commenting this issue. so sad.

JBrown79

Level 1

82 points

Dec 26, 2020 2:09 PM in response to cng1990

Like everyone else, exact same problem. Since Big Sur none of the tabs from my other devices will show up in iCloud any longer. They work between the Phone and iPads but nothing shows up on my MacBook Pro, I have to resort to Air Dropping each tab one by one to my MacBook and vice versa. This is a huge inconvenience and drain on productivity. I can't believe Apple has not addressed this bug yet.

Dec 27, 2020 6:23 AM in response to cng1990

I have the same issue. I have been playing around with iPhone, iPad and Mac (Big Sur).

After turning off and then on iCloud few times it is now working on iPhone and iPad. On Mac I don't even see the iCloud option under Safari settings. Will try Apple support but I have little hope they can fix it.

iCloud tabs not syncing/working