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Safari sync

My iPad, iPhone and iMac safari reading list do not synce, and yes they are all on the same Apple ID, there is no problem with internet etc etc

iPad Pro, iPadOS 15

Posted on Jul 16, 2022 3:31 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 19, 2022 6:19 AM

Hello Tony Rees,


That is great information about the other items syncing as expected. With that in mind, let's check the following on the Mac:


  1. Click the Apple in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
  2. Choose System Preferences
  3. Choose Apple ID
  4. Scroll down that list until you see Safari, there should be a checkmark there if we want bookmarks and reading lists to sync across multiple devices.


If a check mark is present there and it's not syncing as expected, the next step in the process would be to see if the issue persist in a test user account on the Mac. A test user account can be created by doing the following:

  1. Choose Apple menu () > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.
  2. Click the lock icon, then enter an administrator name and password.
  3. Click the Add button (+) below the list of users.
  4. Complete the fields shown for a Standard or Administrator account, then click Create Account (or OK).


Setup the Apple ID in the newly created user account and let us know if the issue persist there or not and we can take it from there!


Best!

12 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 19, 2022 6:19 AM in response to Tony Rees

Hello Tony Rees,


That is great information about the other items syncing as expected. With that in mind, let's check the following on the Mac:


  1. Click the Apple in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
  2. Choose System Preferences
  3. Choose Apple ID
  4. Scroll down that list until you see Safari, there should be a checkmark there if we want bookmarks and reading lists to sync across multiple devices.


If a check mark is present there and it's not syncing as expected, the next step in the process would be to see if the issue persist in a test user account on the Mac. A test user account can be created by doing the following:

  1. Choose Apple menu () > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.
  2. Click the lock icon, then enter an administrator name and password.
  3. Click the Add button (+) below the list of users.
  4. Complete the fields shown for a Standard or Administrator account, then click Create Account (or OK).


Setup the Apple ID in the newly created user account and let us know if the issue persist there or not and we can take it from there!


Best!

Jul 17, 2022 8:41 AM in response to Tony Rees

Hello Tony Rees,


It looks like you have come in from an excellent resource: If your iCloud or Safari bookmarks aren’t syncing - Apple Support.


We're glad to see you have verified all your Apple devices are linked to the same Apple ID. Did you have a chance to verify the time and date settings on all your Apple devices?


Is it possible that you deleted the bookmarks?

If you need to access a bookmark that you deleted within the last 30 days, you can recover it from iCloud.com. Click Settings, and under Advanced, click Restore Bookmarks.


From what device are you able to see all the bookmarks? Are they all on one device in particular? If so, is that device connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data?


Also, have you tried powering off and restarting all your Apple devices to see if this corrects the problem? We know this sounds like a simple step, but sometimes a fresh restart can correct unusual behavior that pops up.


Kind regards!

Jul 19, 2022 9:22 AM in response to Tony Rees

Tony Rees,


Since that behavior didn't persist in a new user account, that would indicate this is an account specific conflict.


If you sign into your initial account via safe mode, does that still persist from there? How about after restarting to leave safe mode? How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


It can take a few extra minutes to boot into safe mode. Your screen may flash or flicker while in safe mode. Those behaviors are expected. Testing in safe mode runs a check on your disk, removes some cached files, and can help isolate conflicts with startup items.


Should that still persist under your primary account after testing in safe mode, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support so they can look into this behavior further: Contact - Official Apple Support


Take care.

Jul 18, 2022 1:44 AM in response to genieen16

Appreciate your reply but .. here’s what I just did. I stopped safari iCloud connection on my iPhone 7. It asked do you want to delete what’s on iPhone. I said yes. Opened safari. No reading list or bookmarks(?) Restarted iPhone then reconnected Safari to iCloud - it downloaded all the old reading list, not the one on my iPad - where did it get that from?

as to my m1 iMac, unfortunately it has never sync any kind of reading list since I bought it. Everything else, mail, reminders etc are fine.

Jul 19, 2022 3:08 AM in response to ryane77

Many thanks. Been around this many times. The main thing that causes problems is the inability for theMonterey iMac to sync bookmarks and reading list as I do a lot on the iPad but nothing transfers. Prior to buying the m1 iMac seven months ago the old iMac never had problems. As I said, it is strange is that it syncs Notes, Reminders and calendar??

Jul 21, 2022 1:07 AM in response to chuckbl

Thanks again. Didn’t make any difference after starting in safe mode, so I’ll “bear with” as you say maybe account. I transferred all to the new iMac from my old one, so maybe something happened there. Interesting when I changed the admin everything had to be redone which I didn’t do before, so when I have the time I might just do that. Thanks again for advice.

Aug 2, 2022 3:02 PM in response to CMac33

Why is this marked as "Solved" when it hasn't been solved? I've been reading the responses, as I have not been able to sync Safari, between my iMac & Macbook Pro, and no one's been able to offer up a solution.

As for verifying that both computers are signed in with the same Apple ID, the directions only show how to ensure that I'm signed into iCould with the same ID. I think it may have more to do with my somehow not being signed in with the same ID to Safari, since other items in my iCloud sync OK, so obviously the same ID is being used, but Safari just won't sync, and I can't figure out why that might be...

Aug 3, 2022 12:34 AM in response to Saxman

Yes indeed. I’m just learning to live with it! I did as the earlier post said - created new authorised login etc, but it meant literally starting over with my account which I didn’t have time for, so as I said I’m living with it as my iPad and iPhone are fine. Maybe do change later. But, as you say, it doesn’t answer the question. Surely someone at Apple (hello) would know???

Safari sync

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