iPhone 15 Plus stuck in “Preparing To Sync"

fantaisie-impromptu wrote:

I didn't even know iTunes Match was a thing. That makes it worse though, why should I have to pay for an extra subscription to do what I should have been doing for free?

The purpose of ITunes Match is to upgrade low quality songs to high quality if they “match “ . You’re not paying for something you should be doing for free. But if you’re happy to manually add and delete songs on your phone until Apple fixes syncing that’s fine, just don’t hold your breath.

Tested it with my iPad. It doesn't work if you have the synchronize music in finder box ticked. If it is unticked, it does delete the entire music library on the device, but then you can add it back (manually manage I guess).

I guess that this is the "cleanest workaround yet", but I do have hundreds of songs and I would also like the play counts to be synced.

I would test it with my current iPhone, but I would have to uncheck that box. Unchecking that box deletes all the music on the iPhone, and I don't want to deal with having the difficulty of transferring everything over again since I managed to transfer it before the whole sync thing broke down (I think).

I would prefer to just have the sync button work, so I can manage my music on my MacBook and just have it all neatly transferred over, instead of manually managing.

Aïe, Aïe, Aïe, what a conundrum.

I may have found a better / alternative work around.

1. run iTunes on your pc.

2 connect you iphone via cable.

3. Turn on personal Hotspot.

4. Got to setting on your iphone.

5. Under personal hotspot enable allow others to join.

6. run Sync.

7. after Sync okay to turn of allow others to join.

Hope this works for you.

I agree with Ron, your perseverance is commendable.

Here’s my observations :

Part 1.

Understood and agree.

I did notice comments on other websites that mention syncing difficulties with IPhone 15 Pro prior to iOS 17.2. So there may be a issue with that model, but I don’t have one so I can’t help with that.

Part 2.

in Finder if you select “Manually manage music, movies & TV shows”. It does not enable manual copying in the Music (& TV) app; it disables syncing of that media.

If your iOS device shows up in the Music app sidebar you should be able to add and delete songs on your device (same in the TV app - you should be able to add & delete movies & TV shows) - and that’s regardless of any settings in the Finder.

Manually managing media in this way is not related to syncing, there is no syncing operation, it’s a file copy or file delete.

Of course, if you later hit sync in the Finder, and it works, it could undo what you’ve done manually … (unless you have “Manually manage…. “✅ )

Part 3.

For me, if I choose Back Up Now in the Finder, it only executes a backup; there’s no sync.

Hope that helps. N-S

This issue has been reported, plus a few more, like calling people from the contact list without a prompt. The developers are still working to resolve them and that's why we still do not see any new iOS updates a month after iOS 17.2 was released when the issues started. Hopefully, it will be soon. Because turning off MDCrashTool all the time when I sync it's not a solution. The syncing process should be smooth like it was in the last 10 years.

Well, you also have to take into consideration that many people also don't sync their iPhones to their computers, so they're probably not aware, nor do they probably care about the issue.

Here is a good indication that Apple is aware of the issue: Feedback - iPhone - Apple

On the product feedback page at the bottom of the form, you can see a section specifically for this issue (at the time of writing).

ebertsj wrote:

NOT familiar with automator...could not see how to get to this place...can you share a few more screen shots? Or a simple list of steps?

Hi ebertsj, I recommend that instead of automator, create a shortcut and store it on your macOS menu bar at the top of the screen. Replicate exactly the sample from marcintosh (January 15th, 3:04 PM). Thereafter, to force quit the MDCrashReportTool, it will always be one click away.

Good luck!

-R.

neerajfrombeaverton wrote:

Apple just released 17.3. Having all these problems I am afraid to upgrade. Any suggestions

HI neerajfrombeaverton,

In my opinion, it is unlikely the syncing issue will be fixed in this release. Bear in mind this issue probably requires updating on the computer side (macOS) and release 17.3 is an iPhone update (iOS).

Further, there is no benefit to being one of the first to upgrade. Let others take the pain, if there is any, and delay updating for a week or so. I recommend waiting a while to do the update.

Good luck!

-R.

Having resolved my syncing issue by discovering an inappropriate file in a playlist I wonder if Apple have tightened the requirements for what is, and isn’t, allowed., when it comes to file formats (i e it’s a security issue).

[Edited by Moderator]

Environment: 2021 MacBook Pro/Sonoma 14.2.1, iPhone 11 Pro/iOS 17.2.1

When you force quit MDCrashReportingTool, note that the parent process is AMDDevicesAgent. That Agent is one of four "puppies" that manage iTunes sync. This parent/child relationship explains why the MDCrash restarts every time you start syncing iTunes.

The large array of phone and computer combinations having difficulty with iTunes sync reflects poorly on Apple's software development processes and Software Quality Assurance. This in turn reflects Apple's shift in priority from high-quality hardware and software to capturing eyeballs with Apple media services (which include iTunes, Apple News, the App Store and more).

I just did the OS 17.3 update on my iPhone SE, still running Ventura 13.6.1. I changed one of my play lists on my iMac, plugged the phone in and it synced with no issues.It took the normal couple of minutes which is to be expected since I have 27,000+ songs in my library that I sync to my phone.

I guess Apple does listen, thank you

fispeterKloten wrote:

I am using iTunes Sync not for music, but for the Photos and the upgrades of MacOS and iOS today does not resolve the issue at all.

You could try to identify the error thats causing the sync to hang. If you can eliminate the error the sync should work. Try:

/ syncing while your Mac is in Safe Mode, there's more chance that any error message will be displayed

/ if you since your entire photo library try selecting a fewer photos.

/ try adding albums, folders etc one at a time and repeating the sync

Basically you are trying to find the problem file/photo that's causing an error, and hence the hang.

If the sync doesn't work with only one photo, then the error is likely not caused by a corrupt file in your photo library.

Alternatively, you could use iCloud Photo Library, which eliminates syncing completely, and keeps your mac and iOS device updated with local copies of all your photos .

Hope that helps.

I tried this. Problem is I dont have "MDCrashReportTool" in my activity monitor. I tried toggling off the bluetooth, and this is was great, for one time - not since then. Apple has to be kidding that one can no longer sync via cable.

Step 2 of my sync with Sonoma 14.3 and iOS 17.3 takes around 5 mins.

But I noticed something tonight during the sync that I hadn't previously.

After Step 2 my 'Last iCloud Backup' details changed to exactly the same time as when step 2 stopped and step 3 started.

I'm wondering if the extended step 2 timings are because an iCloud backup is being completed as part of the sync preparations before the sync actually does something at step 3.

Are you also backing up to iCloud??? Be interesting to know. I guess this is why subsequent syncs during the same boot cycle complete really quickly at step 2,because a recent iCloud backup exists, and the first sync of a subsequent boot takes longer as the iCloud backup is then done??? Just my 2 pennies worth.

I have the same problem with my iPhone 13 Pro and Windows 10 and iTunes 12.13.1.3 (I upgraded itunes from 12.x to this latest thinking it was an iTunes problem but alas it is an iOS problem). My iPhone 13 Pro was on whatever iOS it had been on since the day I bought it years ago (release day) and I updated a few weeks ago to iOS 17.2.x and iTunes just hangs trying to sync. If I kill that MDCrashReportTool process via Task Manager it does let iTunes go to Step 3 and 4 of syncing, however, it doesn't always sync 100%! Some music never comes over. Even after repeated attempts and closing/starting iTunes again.

I updated to iOS 17.3.1 tonight and the problem persists and it's EXTREMELY annoying that my music often will not sync.

Considering Apple hasn't made and MP3 player in years, the iPhone is really Apple's MP3 player. If Apple cannot get this fixed by mid March, there's no way I'm getting a new iPhone this fall....I will switch to Samsung. This is really ridiculous that Apple hasn't fixed this in months, after 31+ pages of complaints on this forum alone.