iTunes stuck at 'sync' stage after iPhone 12 Pro updated to IOS 7.2

I had the same problem with iOS 17.2 on iPhone 14 and syncing to iTunes on Mojave.

The solution was to Open the Activity Monitor app and Force Quit "MDCrashReportTool", syncing should proceed just fine after that.

Unfortunately it seems that process starts back up with every sync, so prepare to do this a lot...

Hi,

I'm having this same problem. Itunes gets stuck in Sync Mode on Step 2. I'm using Windows 11. I've tried to search online how to use those steps about the Activity Monitor and the MDCrashReportTool. Can you please tell me how to find those in IOS or a way to do it in Window 11?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Syncing iPhone with iTunes stuck - the culprit for me was also the "MDCrashReportTool.exe" file.

I'm using Win 10 Pro so I went into Task Manager and ended the process (you can also open file location from here). Now here is where it gets good.

To permanently stop the problem I went to where the actual file is located. I cut the file and pasted it into a folder I created in my documents (just in case I need it in the future). Problem permanently solved!

I'm sure you could just delete the file and things would work out fine but I like to play it safe (plenty of restore points). Anyway, sync works better and faster than before.

Thank you so much!!!

That worked for me too on Windows. MDCrashReportTool is a process that starts in Task Manager once you start syncing.

It is now December 18th, and this is still an issue. I just got an M3 MacBook Pro. I would like to just sync my music. From what I've read out and about on the internet, it might have something to do with the AppleWatch being paired. My iPad, running 17.2 syncs fine. My old iPhone, running 17.2 also syncs fine (last time I checked). However, my new iPhone 15 Pro, running 17.2 won't sync. I do have my AppleWatch paired, but I'm not going to unpair my AppleWatch just to try it out.

This shouldn't be an issue with such expensive machines, especially since this is such a basic feature. I really hope that this gets fixed soon, because this is a nightmare.

Thanks so much! I was able to find the MDCrashReportTool in Task Manger and that Fixed the whole Sync Problem!

Yeah!

Unfortunately not fixed in macOS 14.2.1 / iOS 17.2.1.

Why would apple want to fix it. They don't want users to be able to sync their own music. They want to force us into an apple music subscription every month!!!

As noted in this thread, using the Activity Monitor to force quit the MDCrashReportTool will get the Sync process to complete. This step will need to be done every time Sync starts up.

In another thread, users are discussing the renaming of the tool so the tool never runs and therefore, an intervention (force quit) is not required to complete the Sync process.

Meanwhile, for those waiting for Apple to correct the issue, you should know that the MDCrashReportTool has been in existence since 2009 and the issue being discussed has been around for years, release after release.

While all of us would love to have this resolved by Apple developers, after all this time, the reality is there is little incentive for them to do so. Sadly, I do not feel this will ever happen (IMHO).

-R.

This is the solution right here. While stuck on Step 3 or whatever step you're stuck on just ctrl+alt+delete to open Task Manager. In the iTunes task click the drop down then right click on the MDCrashReport item and end this task. The sync will finish right away.

After updating to the latest ios 17.21, my iphone 15 Pro no longer would sync with iTunes. It would stall in Step 2. Suggestions in the comments to use Task Manager and end a certain file did end the stall, but the sync did not complete. I could verify this by a) how quickly it ended and b) by looking at my Play Count on songs, which did not change.

Other comments hinted that this might be a problem with Apple Watch and its OS.

I think I can confirm that.

I was loathe to try it, but I did unpair my Apple Watch 9 from my phone and voila, the sync worked. I could remove and add music and my play count and last played were accurate.

However, as soon as I paired my Apple Watch to my phone again, the problem returned.

Apple needs to fix this asap, and I plan on submitting a support ticket as unpairing your Apple Watch should not be the way you workaround a problem, especially considering the time it takes to do this, and make sure everything comes back

There is obviously something wrong with their latest iOS release or WatchOS release.

I encountered the problem trying to sync from the Music app on my MacBook Pro (M2) (macOS Sonoma 14.2.1) to my iPhone 14 (IOS 17.2.1). Prevailing wisdom seems to point to Force Quitting the MDCrashReportTool process. I was unable to find the process on my Mac UNTIL the Sync attempt was actually running on the machine---then it appeared. Sooo...my steps to sync: 1) Connect iPhone to Mac; 2) Open Finder, and select iPhone; 3) Start SYNC; 4) Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities Folder; 5) Select MDCrashReportTool under the Network Button; 6) Select the "Circle with X" icon at top of Activity Monitor Window; 7) Select Force Quit in PopUp Window; 8) Sync completed in about 3 seconds; 9) Close appropriate windows/apps.

You'll have to go thru this every time you want to sync until Apple fixes the problem.

When you're in Windows Task Manager and don't know what a process is, right click on it and you will be given the option to "search on line". Select this and online information will be provided.

Information like what does the "Mobile Device Crash Report Tool" do?

Maybe "Extracts log reports from the device and submits them to Apple (if selected)"?

About iTunes for Windows background processes – Apple Support (UK)

https://www.file.net/process/mdcrashreporttool.exe.html

I think you need the luck more than I do.

Hope you get it.