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.
Thanks fantaisie, indeed turning off wifi, bluetooth and personal hotspot during sync works. All other recommendations don´t. Upon force quitting MDCrashReportTool you cancel the stuck at item 3 and the system finishes the backup/sync job, but iPhone/Max do not sync anything.
I am having the same problem, I default the phone twice and installed back twice still no difference.. But by accident while it was was saying prepare to sync I waited about 3 mins bare in mind I waited up to an hour previously, I unplugged the lead it then said cancelling sync as I unplug I plug the lead back in within half a second ie just plug lead out and put lead back in after about 10 to 20 second my phone was synced.. it’s not right but it worked.. I show apple tech they could not understand why.. as long as it works until they sort out the updates that what matters at the moment
Using Ventura 13.6.3 on an iMac 2017 (!) and an iPhone 13 with iOS 17.2.1 an an Apple Watch I had the same sync problem as described here. My solution was as follows: Unpair the Apple Watch and synchronize it in the unpaired state. That worked immediately
That seems to be the prevailing problem/theory. Some people say that the AppleWatch is what is causing the sync to not work. They say that unpairing the AppleWatch solves the issue. My iPhone 12mini works flawlessly, but when I upgraded to iPhone 15 (which had my AppleWatch paired, it doesn’t work) :/
I’m waiting for Apple to fix this, because I’m not impairing my AppleWatch. People shouldn’t have to choose between syncing or AppleWatch. Hopefully this gets fixed soon.
fantaisie-impromptu wrote:
Hello, and thank you for your response. Unfortunately, manual media management seems to not be working for me. A lot of people focus on music syncing on this thread, but as someone else mentioned, it's also about movies, podcasts, books, backups, etc, if my memory serves me right.
I can, however, plug in my iPhone and eject it as long as I don't hit the sync button.
Manual media management not working? Wow, maybe you have other issues with your new IPhone.
But, when you plug in it shows up in the Finder sidebar. From the Finder you should be able to back up your phone by selecting “Back Up Now”. As you say - stay away from Sync.
Check “ Manually Manage Music…..”
Uncheck “show on Wi-Fi” and “ automatically sync when this iPhone…”
iPhone should show up in the sidebar in the Music app and the TV app
Copying media to your phone is restricted to the media in your music and tv libraries (so it doesn’t cover podcasts books etc)
In the Music app if you can’t select songs and drag and drop them onto your iPhone then Sync isn’t your only problem ……. Drag n drop initiates a copy , not a sync.
Hope that helps
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. It seems that it could be an iPhone synced with AppleWatch. Out of curiosity, do you have an AppleWatch paired to your device that won't sync? Many people on this thread have stated that unpairing their AppleWatch solves the issue.
I'm not doing that though. Imma not choose between syncing or AppleWatch when they should work and worked fine before. It's also not solving the issue tbh.
Not sure which cable you're using but you should use the Apple-provided USB-C cable. I had this problem when I was using a cable I bought on Amazon and it was frustrating. Try the Apple cable and let us know how you go!
DITTO: Find and Force Quit "MDCrashReportTool". Then I did the following steps to get it to sync. **Keep in mind iTunes lost links to 18 tracks of music which it reported back.
Now that Im trying to sync again... it's stalling again in step 2 of 4. **I believe this is where the issue is with syncing is that IF you have songs that music can't find... it looks like that its not able to report back, "Music can't find the following songs, would you like to find the music that is missing" error message. Possibly need to redirect MUSIC into finding iTunes storage folder of songs. IDK...
This is on a recently 2 week old iPhone 15 MAX and SONOMA 14.2.1 (as of 1.7.24)
If I put my iPhone 15 pro max in airplane mode it syncs without problems.
OMG, thank you! I never would have guessed it was this process. Mostly because that process doesn't seem to appear until I start syncing. 🙄
I created a Shortcut to quit this process to make it easier in the future. (Run Shell Script action > killall MDCrashReportTool)
The MDCrashReport trick does not work for me. Unplugging my phone while it is trying to sync and then plugging it right back in works every time. Either way do whatever works best for you and the big issue is Apple needs to fix this ASAP. Thanks to everyone here for all the tips
onaroll2 wrote:
Okay, I initially had my doubts about force quitting "MDCrashReportTool." It sounded like one of those difficult, convoluted processes that might work or might not. ...,,,
If you're not comfortable in Activity Monitor quitting OS processes etc. then try the cable interupt workaround.
Contact your phone to your Mac with a USB cable . Don't sync over Wi-FI. When the sync stalls disconnect the USB cable; after a couple of seconds reconnect the cable and sync again.
Sounds like different things work for different people. Mine works by quitting the "MDCrashReportTool" without having to Force Quit. The cable disconnect completely screws up the sync whether or not it connects via Wifi. I am curious to know why all of these options work differently for different users.
Maybe mine works that way because of older systems. I have the latest iOS 17 but its on an iPhone XS and I reverted back to Mojave from Catalina using the last version of iTunes on an older iMac (2015). Catalina always messed up the sync every time it was performed. It failed to sync certain items (different every sync) and often refused to play certain purchased songs on my phone saying it was not available in my country. I could find no consistent reason why it would do that nor consistency in the songs it chose not to sync.
In this case, a standard quit of "MDCrashReportTool" in the Activity Monitor works instantly every time. Every other option fails and makes it worse.
Grateful to report today's iOS 17.3 update seems to have fixed my experience of this bug (iPhone 15 Pro with 2023 16" MBP M2); HOWEVER, I haven't, yet, updated Sonoma 14.2.1 to 14.3. Will report back if it still works after updating OS.
Okay y'all's, I have some updates. After updating to the latest software, the original sync took 5 minutes, but it synced!
*Language may vary because my devices are in French*
I clicked the "music" tab (in Finder), and checked the "Sync music to iPhone". It gave me the prompt of "Are you sure you want to sync this iPhone to the Mac? Syncing your music library will replace the current music library on your iPhone with the one on your Mac." I clicked agree and hit sync. The process completed in less than two minutes.
I can't say if the sync feature works for other things, such as photos, contacts, etc, because I use iCloud for those. I also can't say if the backup works, since I don't backup my iPhone to my Mac. However, it does appear that the music syncing is working. It just took up to 5 minutes for me for it to sync my iPhone before I could tick the "sync music button". Hope this helps.
iPhone 15 Plus stuck in “Preparing To Sync"
