Level 1

95 points

iPhone - Stuck "Preparing to sync" when trying to sync with iTunes via USB cable

I've seen this be an issue for some for many versions of iPhones back (old threads), and from that I've been able to identify the culprit and a work-around to the problem (as Apple isn't fixing the underlying issue).

The problem is, when I plug in my iPhone (currently an 15 ) via USB cable to my computer running iTunes, iTunes sees the phone and starts with the "Preparing to sync..." message and then just sits there for a loooonngg time.

The issue appears to be the Apple program MDCrashReporter.exe which is found at the following location on an MS Windows PC (Windows 10 in my case):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\MDCrashReportTool.exe

You can find it in the list of running processes when the sync is hanging.

You can unstick the sync by killing that process: Task Manager->Details->find it in the list->End Task

A more usefull solution is to disable it. What I did, that seems to work is:

Rename the executable: I renamed it to

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\MDCrashReportTool.exe-orig

So the extension now is .exe-orig (note: you must have admin rights to the machine to rename the file)

That keeps it from running and hanging up the sync process. Works great so far.

All I use iTunes for is to sync my work exchange calendar with my iPhone calendar - that's it. Now that I've disabled the ability for running MDCrashReporterTool, that sync takes a few seconds and done.

If Apple ever fixes its crash reporter tool then this won't be necessary. Or if Apple ever produces an application for managing and syncing the devices and ONLY that, maybe better still.

For completeness - the problem isn't the cable (its Apples own USB-C cable), its not the phone needing a reboot - it is bugs in iTunes and its support applications via-a-vis its drivers.

Posted on Nov 9, 2023 1:06 PM

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dkentley

Level 1

24 points

Posted on Dec 8, 2023 1:47 PM

I did a very similar thing on macOS 17.2 (RC), except it didn't show up under launchctl, I found it via:

ps aux|grep Crash

and I got the process:

/<long path>/MDCCrashReportTool

So I issued:

sudo kill -9 <pid>

-9 was required, regular kill did not have enough oomph. Immediate sync after issuing kill. Good lord this has happened on and off for YEARS for me (and every time for the last many months; if I sync again after it's synced once it was always fast, but the first one after plugging in was always sloooooooow), thank you for the tip!

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161 replies

Prytz333

Level 1

20 points

Feb 24, 2024 12:09 AM in response to ainsley001

Thanks! This may be like iMazing iMazing | iPhone, iPad & iPod Manager for Mac & PC. I will test soon.

b-gee

Level 1

24 points

Mar 3, 2024 6:15 PM in response to Minok

Resolved for me by updating MacOS to 14.3.1 and iOS to 17.3.1.

XRayLexx

Level 1

62 points

Apr 3, 2024 3:53 AM in response to ainsley001

This! Playcounts are synced on the first sync. Then on the 2nd sync the play counts are synced again, along with transferring the music!

XRayLexx

Level 1

62 points

Apr 3, 2024 3:54 AM in response to ainsley001

This! Playcounts are synced on the first sync. Then on the 2nd sync the play counts are synced again, along with transferring the music!

dkentley

Level 1

24 points

Apr 3, 2024 5:11 AM in response to XRayLexx

Interesting, I’m curious what OS you and the others who see this are using. I definitely don’t see this behavior. I’m on latest macOS.

XRayLexx

Level 1

62 points

Apr 3, 2024 5:20 AM in response to dkentley

Latest version of the iOS on my iPhone (weirdly this doesn't happen when I sync my iPad, also upto to date), and using the Windows app iTunes on my PC.

dkentley

Level 1

24 points

Apr 3, 2024 5:34 AM in response to XRayLexx

I wonder if it’s a Windows only bug. Weird the iPad doesn’t do it though.

Feb 22, 2024 12:10 AM in response to Minok

Quick Update:

Having tried moving to the new Apple Music / Apple Devices set up it quickly became clear that a) this didn't solve the "preparing to sync" issue and b) it introduced several other sync issues. A (very protracted|) chat with Apple support had the following conclusion - 1) unless you have an active Apple Music Subscription the sync won't work properly, even if you don't use Apple Music (the subscription) and only use your own music in your library and 2) you can't now go back to iTunes as it will only contain audiobooks and podcasts after the transition.

So Apple effectively said that unless I paid them for an Apple Sub, syncing my music to my (expensive) iPhone was over!

This turned out not to be entirely true as removing EVERY reference to Apple on my Windows 11 PC DID allow me to reinstall iTunes (from the Windows Store) and it has gone back to the way it was. Music syncs OK, it didn't mess up my library but, of course, the "preparing to sync" issue still persists. Leave it running and it does eventually move on, or continue to use the kill switch if I need it to be quicker.

I'm not convinced Apple will ever sort this out. They seem determined to want everyone to have an Apple Music sub and I'm not prepared to pay for one, even to see if it DOES then sync my own library properly.

No idea if the Apple Devices app allows for syncing to iPhone if you don't want to include music - that may work fine.

Feb 22, 2024 1:27 AM in response to ainsley001

ainsley001 wrote:

A (very protracted|) chat with Apple support had the following conclusion - 1) unless you have an active Apple Music Subscription the sync won't work properly, even if you don't use Apple Music (the subscription) and only use your own music in your library

If I understand well, this doesn't seem to align with my experience. I do have an Apple Music subscription (for Apple Classical essentially) but the Mac session I am using to synchronize does *not* have Library Sync / iCloud Music Library enabled (I guess there is a similar setting on PC). And yet despite my Apple Music subscription, I have the "Preparing to sync" issue. I need to mention though that it tends to resolve itself if I'm patient enough to wait for 3-5 minutes for some timeout to expire probably, and then the sync process proceeds to subsequent steps through to its completion.

ainsley001 wrote:

I'm not convinced Apple will ever sort this out. They seem determined to want everyone to have an Apple Music sub

It does feel that way indeed, alas. I did have a massive iPhone back-up problem where local back-up (through Mac Finder like iTunes on PC) would take dozens of GB including unnecessary duplicates of iCloud Photo Library despite what the documentation says. Several "very protracted" (again) phone calls with Apple Support only led to the conclusion that they wouldn't fix it to behave how the official documentation said it should, and my only solution was to switch to iCloud backup. It did feel like I was pushed to forgo local computer sync because Apple employees don't use it any more (they might even have an OKR on that), so they don't care whether it works or not.

Feb 22, 2024 1:40 AM in response to Stephan-S

I never tried it with an Apple Music sub but finding out that actually it makes no difference does make me feel slightly better. Tbh, I never felt that the (otherwise very nice and helpful) person I was chatting to actually understood the real problem. She suggested that Apple Music/Apple Devices apps would stop allowing me to sync at all without a subscription (which didn't happen) and also that going back to iTunes was now impossible (which isn't the case).

Feb 18, 2024 5:47 PM in response to Minok

Thank you so much. Here we are in February, closing on 2 months later and still no fix.

I was unable to find that .exe running, so I just changed the file name and voila, it sync'd like crazy.

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iPhone - Stuck "Preparing to sync" when trying to sync with iTunes via USB cable