Syncing between Mac and iPhone stuck at "Reading Photos library"

I found another fix to this problem that showed up sometime around Big Sur 11.4 to 11.2.

My problem was isolated to having referenced files in my iPhoto library.

At some point a Big Sur update caused sync to hand on reading photos library because it could no longer read referenced files.

This solved it for me:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252836906?login=true&page=1

This worked for me

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252836906

Problem turned out to be a Big Sur update at some point broke capacity to sync iPad with referenced photos in Mac desktop photos library.

Same issue.

Tried

• Deleting iPod Photo Cache
• iCloud sync on iPhone on - off
• Making new libraries

Apple Support's last suggestion was to reinstall Big Sur. Didn't do this as it doesn't seem to help others.

Help appreciated!

I had the same problem and for quite a while I could not figure out what caused the problem. After reading up on a lot of possible solutions and trying several of them I finally found a solution which solved the problem for me.

For me the problem was caused by photos which still appeared in my photos library but weren't referenced to an actual file on my iMac. Not sure how that can happen but that's another story.

To solve it:

1. Open photos on my iMac, went to the library and selected all the photos (edit ->select all)
2. choose the option consolidate (file -> consolidate)
3. When asked click on copy
4. The process will then tell you which photos it found in your library for which it can't find an actual file
5. Note down the file names
6. Use the smart album option to find the photos in question
7. Delete them from your library
8. Repeat the consolidate photos until no problems are reported by the process
9. Once you have deleted all the problem photos you can connect your iPhone, start the sync process and it should complete within a few minutes (depending on the size of your library)

If you don't want to delete the problem photos from your library then you'll have to figure out where the actual files are on your computer and link them again. For me the problem photos weren't important so I simply deleted them.

Hi,

I have been having the same issue since May:

• before that, my entire photo library was synced between my Mac and my iPhone
• I have approx. 45000 photos, many in Raw format, most of them referenced
• Apple was of no help in May when I contacted them (they proposed me to move manually all my photos from the current library to a new one, which would make me lose either my originals or all the modifications made to the photos ; or they suggested I activate iCloud, which would cost me the 2 To formula)

Thanks to this thread, I suspected that the referenced photos could play a role in the problem.

I bought a new SSD 2 To hard drive to make sure I had enough room to copy my entire library...

I consolidated all the referenced photos and videos (it took a lot of time).

At the end, I still had approx 500 photos that I was not able to consolidate; I exported them before deleting them.

Then I was able again to sync my photos from my Mac with both my iPad and my iPhone !

Of course, I cannot guarantee that the issue lied with the referenced photos; but it did the trick !

Best regards,

Nicolas

I am having the exact same issue. Syncing stuck at 5 of 6 "reading the photos library.

So, I can't backup music, books, apps... to-from iPhone-iMac.

However, transferring photos from the iPhone to the photos library works fine.

I have an iPhone 12 pro and a 2017 iMac with all the latest OS and IOS updates. 11.4 and 14.6

The problem persists even after erasing the ipod photos cache as suggested above, reinstalling the Big Sur, easing iMac cache, and resetting my iPhone.

The problem started after about 3-4 weeks ago after one of the last OS or IOS updates, not sure which one.

I have an open (Case #) with Apple for technical assistance.

So far no solution.

I wonder how many people are having the same problem.

I am having the exact same issue on my iPhone 12 and Mini iPad. Syncing stuck at 5 of 6 "Reading Photos Library." Will not let me skip photos. I have to force quit or just unplug it.

I have an iPhone 12, Mini iPad and a MacBook Pro with all the latest OS and IOS updates.

This problem started when I did the Big Sur update on 4/27/2021.

I worked with Apple for technical assistance.....I have erased the ipod photos cache, reinstalled Big Sur, restored my iPhone and Mini iPad...even restored my MacBook Pro to prior to 4/20/21 (before the Big Sur update but the problem remains.

If anyone finds a solution, kindly post to help the rest of us. Thank you.

Same issue for me. Applying latest iOS (14.6) and macOS (11.4) updates appears to have caused this (not sure which). Deleted iPod Photo Caches - no change. Still stuck on step 5. I even changed it to only sync 1 photo album with a limited number of photos. Still never finishes. "Skip Photos" does nothing. Cannot eject iPhone. And Finder refuses to allow a restart/shutdown since it is syncing an iOS device.

Interesting that removing all iPhone photos solved the problem.

I was under the impression that the syncing error is because of trying to read the photos library in my iMac, not my iPhone.

Have you tried reloading your pictures back to your iPhone and syncing again?

The underlaying problem still remains, however.

I hope Apple Tech Dept. comes through with a solution soon.

iPhone 12

I deleted the iPod Photo Cache folder. (My Library is on an external drive)

The phone was not connected when I did it.

PHOTOS was closed.

The phone was able to complete the synch without hanging on photos synch..

BUT I had to put the iPod Photo Cache folder back because PHOTOS did not recognize new photos that had already been imported.

(The iPod Photo Cache folder was not re-created when re attaching the phone)

So each time I re-connect the phone it would re-import every photo taken after the Cache Folder was removed.

So I'm Back to square one.

Me too. It's been about a month since I asked for Apple Tech. Assistance. After dumping a bunch of data from my iMac to Apple tech support, the solution is not forthcoming.

I contacted Apple support again last week, no answer yet.

Not clear why it takes so long.

It is because there are only a handful of users with this problem, given the limited # of users in this community.

Or because many iPhone users seldom bother to sync the iPhones and the problem is still under reported.

Or Apple may will quietly fix this problem in new IOS, OS updates.

Has anyone tried to fully reset their iPhones and done a clean install re-syncing from an old backup?

I am afraid to do this because I may not be able to install any thing in the iPhone if syncing continues to be disabled.

Been on the phone with them this morning. No One seems to know what's going on I was transferred to 3 different supervisors Finally the fourth did a few things, but now I'm Awaiting a call back from them- he was able to get things to delete from my phone without hold up but now I can't get anything on my phone - AGAIN it's just stuck in "reading the photo library". One rep actually told me they were planning to do away with the "Sync" feature to your Mac altogether. Which Is totally untrue from what the other rep told me. This is a problem that really needs to be addressed ASAP