iPhone 15 Plus stuck in “Preparing To Sync"

Solution works on Windows machines too (just in case someone got here but not a Mac User). Just go to task manager (right click on task bar) and look for ITunes App. Then expand it to find "MDCrashReportTool" Right click on it and end task.

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?

I mean 24.99$ per year isn't a lot, but one click to sync is still a lot better than that. Speaking of which, where are the community specialists? I see them in some threads that have very little activity in comparison to this one.

At this point, I'm hoping that AppleWatchOS 10.2.? fixes it.

That's the thing, I can't manually add anything :/

I could delete a song from my iPhone, but because of the sync issue, if I didn't purchase it on the iTunes Store, I currently have no way of getting it back on there.

I have my own music which I import to iTunes, I also import files from LogicPro, and I can't get those onto my iPhone either.

The thing that gives me some reasoning that Apple might finally fix the MDCrashReport thing after all of these years is, if it is truly something tied to the AppleWatch, an update should address that (IDK for sure though since I'm not a software engineer).

It is a little outdated, I'm starting to think that this issue might have to do with data transfer (music), and it just happens that it's most noticeable with sync. I didn't even know it was possible to manually transfer music like that. As a matter of fact, I think you have been one of the few people to point that out on this thread.

Your phone is a brand new 15 Pro, right.? Never had any data on it ?

Try manually managing music on your old phone (a 12 mini, if I remember). You only have to try adding one song to test it works.

G R, it may well be that iOS 17.2 was the cause of the problem, but the solution could be in Mac OS to properly handle whatever new stuff iOS 17.2 threw up in the sync (No pun intended) . Since High Sierra is no longer supported it might be wise to prepare for an upgrade - just in case.

As much as I like to progress to the latest tech, I also believe that that is one great use that people could get out of an older Mac. My 2015 MacBook Pro has been with me for so long. It was my first Mac. It got me through HighSchool and University, call me crazy, but I would still like to have it be used to manage my music for many many years to come.

That and this issue seems to be with Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma, so it's probably not a macOS issue as someone else stated. Even my nee M3 Pro won't sync.

Thank you karstene69!! I could not find that MDCrashReportTool that was suggested above, so I tried your workaround, and it worked like a charm! Been fighting with iTunes for several months, thank you so much.

fantaisie-impromptu wrote:

I agree that this probably isn't an macOS problem. My phone used to sync fine with Monterey, but after an update it won't sync on Monterey or Sonoma. ……

Monterey or Sonoma? Are you trying to sync your phone with 2 Macs. I discovered that caused problems when I tried it (Mac Mini at home and MB Air on the road)

It’s odd that you can’t manually copy music to your new 15 Pro. . In another post you said “nothing happens”. . Can you manually copy music to your old iPhone or iPad?

You also said you can’t just back up your phone with Back Up Now in the Finder ….

You said it’s “ paired with syncing. If I hit ‘Back Up Now’ it triggers the 5 steps … and get stuck on sync..”

That’s also very odd.

It appears you have other problems besides not being able to sync, and since your 15Pro is new….. who knows what’s going on!

Same. The sync "completes" but doesn't actually sync anything. I verified this by checking the Last Played Counter. No change from any of the songs I have been playing on my iphone.

This needs to be fixed ASAP.

fantaisie-impromptu wrote:

No, there is confusion, this is a pretty long thread and a lot of posts, so I'll do my best to make this as coherent as possible.

Part 1:

I have two MacBooks..... << clipped >>

Part 2:

As for manually copying music..... << clipped >>

Part 3:

As for the iPhone Sync..... << clipped >>

To be fair..... << clipped >>

This issue just became a rollercoaster of confusion. Hopefully, the above cleared it up. Regardless, the issue is still what the thread is about. Considering this thread is nearly up to 19k views, I have hope that this issue will be fixed soon.

fantaisie-impromptu,

Thank you for taking the time to write up your experiences testing sync functionality and manual file management. I commend you for trying to clear up any confusion since, as you said, this thread has become lengthy and the topic is messy.

Thanks!

-R.

Thank you for this information. I was pulling my hair out trying to update my library on my new phone from my PC. Ending the task is NOT a great solution (because it is also NOT a fix), but it GREAT to have a work around that works. Thank you thank you thank you!

I would reach out to Apple on that last part. That seems to be a completely separate issue. I have no idea why it would do that though, if it is a legitimate cd, there should be no problem in syncing those songs to your phone.

Thanks for the response. Definitely a legit CD (Robert Plant - Now and Zen). Again, can’t see it being a licensing issue when it was ripped locally from a CD and if that’s not strange enough, two of the songs did make it onto my phone but only two !

rhaupenthal wrote:

Does anyone know how to find the crash reports in my computer to delete them?

rhaupenthal, I do not. However, as I believe that would require a tool such as Xcode, I posed the question to Google's AI generator (Bard). Its response seems to indicate that Xcode can get you to app crash reports. Hopefully this will get you started on finding what you're seeking.

Good luck,

-R.