Finder sync of Photos not working

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Level 1

9 points

Finder sync of Photos not working

Good Evening:

When I connect iPhone 12 to Mac mini M1, the device appears in the Finder sidebar.
Selecting it, a message "Loading..." is displayed for about 20 minutes
- during this time, the Activity monitor shows: Com.apple.amp.devicesui (Finder) (Not Responding)
until the device details are presented with the menu items for music, photos etc.
At this point the message "Software: Loading ...." is displayed beneath the menu items
- once again, the Activity monitor shows: Com.apple.amp.devicesui (Finder) (Not Responding)
- This went on for about 40 minutes so I gave up!

Interestingly, if I open up Photos on the Mac mini, the device is available on the Photos app & I can select the photos I have taken with the iPhone and add them to the Photos library.

I have had numerous lengthy calls with Apple Support who have all tried to help but to no avail.

I was finally put through to Tech support by phone, they were able to have a look at the mini & he guided me on re-installing MacOS. Despite that, the problem persists:

Devices:

Mac mini (M1, 2020)

macOS BigSur 11.4

iPhone 12

iOS 14.5.1

Notes: Photo library is on external USB drive. Too large to fit on internal mini drive.

Any insights, advice, recommendations, suggestions gratefully received.

Thank you.

iPhone 12, iOS 14

Posted on May 30, 2021 3:53 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Old Toad

Level 10

207,132 points

May 31, 2021 10:35 AM in response to SamdaniRa

Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to nearly twice as long as a normal boot as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

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Answer 2

May 31, 2021 12:19 AM in response to SamdaniRa

First question:

Is the external drive correctly formatted (APFS Or MacOS extened, with ignore ownership checked)

(Important, but I don't think this being wrong would prevent the phone being recognised)

Then I'd leave the process to run overnight (Mac connected to power). I've heard reports of it taking a very long time for a first connection, especially if the library is large.

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Answer 3

SamdaniRa Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 1, 2021 9:30 AM in response to TonyCollinet

Thank you Tony, appreciate your response. My Filesystem journaled HFS+. Your advice is spot on. I had a call with Apple Support & the technical analyst took control of my mini. He guided me through a sequence of troubleshooting steps to isolate the problem and it landed on the USB drive. Essentially, no external drives or devices were connected - just the Mac mini & iPhone. Finder sync worked, we could sync photos.

Adding my usb drive with the photo library caused it to hang.

So my next step is to get an SSD drive & move my photo library to that.

Thank you again.

Rafique

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Answer 4

SamdaniRa Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 1, 2021 9:33 AM in response to Old Toad

Good Evening & thank you for this guidance, I tried that but still had the same problem. The excellent gentlemen at Apple Support phoned and isolated the problem to my USB drive!

I am glad that all the software and apple devices are functioning as required.

So I will replace the older USB drive with an SSD drive.

thank you again.

Rafique

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

207,132 points

Jun 1, 2021 2:57 PM in response to SamdaniRa

I suggest you consider the SSDs from OWC (MacSales.com):

Envoy Pro EX with USB-C or USB 3 - best from a speed vs price standpoint

OWC Envoy Pro EX with Thunderbolt 3 - fastest if you have a Thunderbolt 3 port but more expensive

These are very high quality and dependable drives with very good warranties and excellent customer support. Speaking of which, contact them to see what they would recommend as the best drive for your particular setup.

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Finder sync of Photos not working

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