Syncing iPhone 15 Pro Max with Mac takes forever

Since up grading from the iPhone 14 Pro Max to the 15 Pro Max syncing the phone on my Mac Studio takes forever. The backup is quick but it stops at step 3 preparing to sync. It take about 15 - 20 minutes to complete. Both devices are up to date on the OSs. My wife's iPhone 14 Pro and my iPhone 14 Pro Max are/were completed in no more than 3 minutes. Anyone else seeing long sync times?

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 17

Posted on Dec 17, 2023 6:04 PM

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Posted on Dec 19, 2023 1:03 PM

I found a work around. When you first plug in the iPhone to the MAC and bring up Finder hit the "Stop Backup". If the iPhone still hangs unplug the iPhone then plug it in again. You will have to enter your pass code so do this quickly and then hit the "Stop Backup" button.


Next uncheck the "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected." Hit the "Apply" button on the bottom right. Then again eject the iPhone and close Finder.


Next time you connect the iPhone you will have to manually backup the iPhone and manually sync the iPhone. I've tried this several times and it seems to work.


The firmware update released today, 12/19/2023, IOS 17.2.1, did not fix the problem.


Again this is just a workaround and hopefully Apple finds a real fix soon.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 19, 2023 1:03 PM in response to NR2D

I found a work around. When you first plug in the iPhone to the MAC and bring up Finder hit the "Stop Backup". If the iPhone still hangs unplug the iPhone then plug it in again. You will have to enter your pass code so do this quickly and then hit the "Stop Backup" button.


Next uncheck the "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected." Hit the "Apply" button on the bottom right. Then again eject the iPhone and close Finder.


Next time you connect the iPhone you will have to manually backup the iPhone and manually sync the iPhone. I've tried this several times and it seems to work.


The firmware update released today, 12/19/2023, IOS 17.2.1, did not fix the problem.


Again this is just a workaround and hopefully Apple finds a real fix soon.

Jan 19, 2024 10:24 AM in response to NR2D

I attempt to sync a 2020 iMac 5K to a iPhone 15 Pro Max (via USB-C). I do have an Apple Watch Ultra connected to the iPhone.


I've found that the first attempt to sync always hangs - whether the iPhone is configured to sync to iCloud or the Mac.


After the sync hangs, disconnect the USB-C cable, wait for animations on the iPhone to finish, and reconnect the USB-C cable. The next sync will succeed as will subsequent syncs until (I believe) you reach an idle time when the iPhone would require a passcode again. That sync will fail, but you can do the disconnect/reconnect shuffle and get it working again.


I keep a lot of media on-phone which is why I sync from the Mac to iPhone.


This is really annoying since it can put up to twice the wear on an already more vulnerable (and hard to connect) USB-C connector.


For some reason, the USB connectors have always been a female connector on the male side (housed in a high tolerance sleeve for USB-C) making the connector harder to align than lightning - which is why there are no docks or alarm clocks featuring USB-C. Blind docking just isn't a practical solution with USB-C.

Dec 18, 2023 2:53 PM in response to NR2D

I just got off the phone with Apple support. After about 3 hours we came to the conclusion that the problem very well might be IOS 17. BTW I was on the phone with a top level advisor. She will be reporting the problem through her normal channels and told me to report the problem through Apple's Feedback site.


Dec 17, 2023 11:16 PM in response to NR2D

Same problem! Also step 3 of the syncing process.

I hoped the USB-C connection of the 15 Pro Max would speed things up.

It almost appears to lake longer than via Lightning port.

Syncing with a 16" MacBook Pro M3 Max.


Also: In typical Apple fashion there is no real progress bar or any indicator to show what is going on. You just wait for the USB-C connection that came way too late compared to the competition to not do its job. 🤪

Mar 11, 2024 3:56 PM in response to HumpYourWayUp

Yeah it’s hard to put into words that aren’t just for ( censored )€1500 for this service. Just back from phone providers, how just gave me a new sim got home and god ( edited )now PUK so back in and brought the new braded cable that’s not working after only just 3 months and got a reaction “ we don’t sell the cables” so I asked, so how am I supposed to change the phone? And got this 🤷‍♂️ last iPhone I’ll get. New iPhone not impressed, new ish MacBook Air and iPad Air. The iPhone is just holding on the other two are paper weights. What a colossal waste of time and money. Tomorrow it’s back to a Nokia and hopefully won’t miss every appointment, call, text and friends that are sick of calling seven times and not getting through. What has happened to this once great brand?! If you read till the end of this message, I appreciate you time. It’s the only current thing that’s important to us all. Peace ✌️

Mar 11, 2024 7:07 PM in response to ChesterB1t

ChesterB1t wrote:

Yeah it’s hard to put into words that aren’t just for ( censored )€1500 for this service.

Not quite sure what you're talking about … the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a hardware phone, not a service.

Just back from phone providers, how just gave me a new sim got home and god ( edited )now PUK so back in and brought the new braded cable that’s not working after only just 3 months and got a reaction “ we don’t sell the cables” so I asked, so how am I supposed to change the phone?

The iPhone 15 Pro Max doesn't take SIMs - it uses an eSIM.


Not quite sure how you managed to kill the cable, but cables are an expendable and will need to be replaced from time to time no matter what phone you use.

And got this 🤷‍♂️ last iPhone I’ll get. New iPhone not impressed, new ish MacBook Air and iPad Air. The iPhone is just holding on the other two are paper weights. What a colossal waste of time and money. Tomorrow it’s back to a Nokia and hopefully won’t miss every appointment, call, text and friends that are sick of calling seven times and not getting through. What has happened to this once great brand?! If you read till the end of this message, I appreciate you time. It’s the only current thing that’s important to us all. Peace ✌️

Now you're just trolling, right?🧐

Jun 29, 2024 9:40 PM in response to ChesterB1t

ChesterB1t wrote:

Yeah it’s hard to put into words that aren’t just for ( censored )€1500 for this service. Just back from phone providers, how just gave me a new sim got home and god ( edited )now PUK so back in and brought the new braded cable that’s not working after only just 3 months and got a reaction “ we don’t sell the cables” so I asked, so how am I supposed to change the phone? And got this 🤷‍♂️ last iPhone I’ll get. New iPhone not impressed, new ish MacBook Air and iPad Air. The iPhone is just holding on the other two are paper weights. What a colossal waste of time and money. Tomorrow it’s back to a Nokia and hopefully won’t miss every appointment, call, text and friends that are sick of calling seven times and not getting through. What has happened to this once great brand?! If you read till the end of this message, I appreciate you time. It’s the only current thing that’s important to us all. Peace ✌️

Not sure what your comments have to do with the original poster who was inquiring about syncing.


There are millions using iPhones without all your drama. Sorry you are having a hard time. The PUK code has to do with your carrier and its service, it isn't really related to the iPhone hardware. Any USB-C charging cable can be used to charge your iPhone. MacBook Air and iPad are just paperweights? Well, ok, they seem to be selling pretty well for expensive paperweights. If you have SPECIFIC questions to post here, people will try to answer and help out.

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Syncing iPhone 15 Pro Max with Mac takes forever

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