Just upgraded iPhone 15 Plus to iOS 17.2 and am unable to sync music from Mac Mini also just updated to Sonoma 14.2. Operation seems to stall out at Step 2 of 4 “Preparing to Sync”. No further progress even after 3 hours. Shut down iPhone and restarted, then tried sync using cable, then re-tried sync using Wi Fi without success. Any ideas?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 15 Plus
Hello,
I have the problem since iOS17 (still with iPhone 13 Pro) and Watch OS 10 (Ultra2).
The change to the iPhone 15 Pro and a complete reinstallation of the iPhone did not bring any improvement. The strange thing was that the "fresh" iPhone (without any apps installed, no backup installed) could initially be synchronized just as easily as an iPhone SE, an iPhone SE3 and an iPad Pro 11 3rd. This actually made it clear that the problem could not be due to my computer configuration, especially since it also occurred on another notebook and with another Windows user. Nevertheless, I have gone through all these options together with Apple support.
When I had only installed my most essential apps on my iPhone and paired it again with my Ultra 2, the synchronization went wrong again. Out of sheer desperation, I tried to decouple my Ultra 2 again and, lo and behold, the synchronization ran completely smoothly and all data (including diagnostic data) was synchronized again. As soon as I had paired the Ultra 2 again, the same mishap. This morning, Apple support also confirmed to me that there is a problem that is being worked on in this context.
My workaround to the solution:
My explanation: After every restart of iTunes, iTunes apparently tries to load the diagnostic data onto the PC during the first sync operation of a device. This obviously does not work (for me) with paired Ultra 2. Therefore, the "killing" of the mdcrashreport tool in the task manager leads to the continuation of the sync. It seems as though access to the diagnostic data is blocked by pairing the Apple Watch. (Just a hypothesis)
Why do I prefer to disconnect the cable instead of using the task manager? When killing the tool in the task manager, the current sync continues to run, but the next sync runs back into the same problem because iTunes does not transfer the diagnostic data or the mdcrashreporttool does not register as performed. If, on the other hand, you pull the cable, iTunes seems to regard the mdcrashreporttool as performed and does not try to pull the diagnostic data from the iPhone again at the next sync. I.e. As long as I don't close iTunes, I can always sync my iPhone without any problems. If I close iTunes, the sh… starts all over again.
Which way you choose is, of course, a matter of taste. A fast solution would be very desirable.
That is a perfect description and exactly my solution. One thing I found is if you don't disconnect after the original sync and add or change something in your music or photos and then sync again it is much quicker. Music artwork is still a jumbled mess at best, very few albums loaded the correct artwork.
Starting to get Artwork not syncing over. Everything had gone back to normal and syncing artwork in mac music back to iphone has gone somewhat awry. it chooses what it wants to sync in terms of Artwork. For a while i was so happy not to be coming back to this forum. And now Artwork being rejected. Because of what I don’t know
Another round of updates and the issue isn't still fully fixed. When grouping songs into an album they can appear as all separate albums on iPhone (maybe iPad, I haven't checked). Adding/Changing the artwork on Mac also doesn't sync over. I have to delete the album from my music library on my iPhone and resync any time I want the album artwork updated. I miss when it was just plug it in, press sync, and done.
It is is a pain in the backside. I’ve got no issues with Music as my library is in the cloud, but photo syncing on the other hand…
it just doesn’t fully Sync albums-I’ve got about 10 albums that I want Synchronised to my phone, and I’d say maybe 3 sync in full: the others only have a very small portion of the images that are actually in the album (one album has 40 images on the Mac, but when it’s fj she’d syncing, only 7 appear on the phone). But, much the same way as people are seeing the music sync and album artwork issue, none of the phot albums sync the key photos either. I thought maybe they were missing on the phone after Sync, but they aren’t-it just uses the first photo in the album as the key photo. 1st world problem I know, but as everyone else, it’s frustrating that it’s still not working, more so that one problem has now been replaced by another.
Funny thing about the artwork issue, on my iPhone 15 Pro the artwork is all wonky but on my iPhone SE that I restored after getting the 15 and use only as a music player/iPod the artwork is pretty much perfect. Crazy computer crap
This is the only solution that's worked for me. Having the same issue, this is insane to keep doing everytime I need to sync my phone.
Hoping for a fix from Apple soon!
Thanks for this tip btw!
Good idea. Done.
Same here. Just upgraded to iOS 17.2 and Sonoma 14.2. I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max as well.
Thanks for this tip. The workaround works for me.
This fix worked for me immediately. Thank you.
What is Activity Monitor app and Force Quit "MDCrashReportTool". Please help. Is it on the phone.
Amazing! That seems to have fixed it. Thank you!!!
Thanks so much. It worked instantly.
This worked, thank you
Yup I noticed the same thing when the Activity monitor was open in the background. Doesn't start until Step 2 "preparing to sync"
iPhone 15 Plus stuck in “Preparing To Sync"
