Level 1

123 points

Sonoma 14.4 syncing problem between devices

MacMini M2, MacBook Pro M3. both update to 14.4.

I started to have iCloud Drive problem. No sync, can't download file on both. Then the Beach Ball. I have to force quit the finder and often restart. The problem seems worse on one computer, sometime on the other.

Dragging a picture from photo to Desktop (iCloud) give me an error..., if I drop it in Download, it will work but just after restart, because after a while, the finder will froze.

So far, I have Re-install 14.4. then I have log off and the log on iCloud.

so far no major change.

Since yesterday, the MacBook can go longer without problem and I am not sure if it is related to iCloud.

anyone else has problem with Sonoma 14.4.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Mar 14, 2024 12:23 PM

Top-ranking reply

Aarberhon

Level 1

8 points

Posted on Mar 19, 2024 2:30 AM

I've managed to resolve my issues but it took quite a while and several attempts. What I did was:

Found this page online - https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/465092/why-does-icloud-brctl-say-that-i-have-136-client-truth-unclean-items-unsynced - and downloaded the icloud_ubiquity_fix.sh from the github repository.
Installed a newer version of bash via brew (brew install bash). If you don't have brew installed install it from here (https://brew.sh/)
Backed up my Desktop and Documents folder (or confirmed I could access a Time Machine backup of my Desktop and Documents).
Turned off Desktop and Documents syncing in the iCloud settings page.
Using the web based iCloud Drive (https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/) I cleared out all the iCloud Drive Desktop and Documents and emptied the trash/ bin.
Rebooted the Mac.

Once logged in I then:

Restored my Desktop and Documents from the backup.
Created a Desktop-new and Documents-new in my home directory and moved the contents of Desktop to Desktop-new and Documents to Documents-new. This ensures nothing will try to sync when I turned syncing back on.
Opened a terminal and ran 'brctl status'. If there are any 'Client Truth Unclean Items' it means there are files stuck in the queue.
Ran the icloud_ubiquity_fix.sh to resolve any issues. At this point I had a load of ghost files appear in the iCloud Drive folder which I deleted and emptied the Trash.
Ran 'brctl status' again. If there were still issues I then removed all the files from the CloudDocs folder using Terminal: 'rm -r ~/Library/Application\ Support/CloudDocs/*'
If the bird process wasn't running (ps aux | grep bird or view in Activity Monitor) I logged out and back in again.
Went through steps 4-7 again until it said there were no stuck items found.
Rebooted the Mac.

Once logged back in I then:

Turned on Desktop and Documents syncing in the iCloud settings page.
At this point there are no files in either iCloud or the Mac's local folders so nothing will sync.
Opened a command prompt and ran 'brctl monitor -i com.apple.CloudDocs'. This will run continuously and show progress of syncing.
Moved a single file from Desktop-New to Desktop and watched the terminal window. If it's working correctly you'll see a load of information start scrolling and eventually stop. If all is well you should have a copy in your iCloud Drive (which you can view online at https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/)
Now move the rest of the Desktop-New items back into Desktop and let it all sync.
If that works then start to move items from your Documents-New back into Documents. I recommend moving a folder at a time and letting the sync complete before moving onto the next. Also compare the web based iCloudDrive to confirm files have been updated.
Once everything is completed reboot the mac and log in.
Run a Time Machine backup to save the new state of the Mac (so you have a restore point.)

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25 replies

Franco Borgo Author

Level 1

123 points

Mar 16, 2024 9:27 PM in response to Owl-53

Etre Check Report

Thank you, You are right. I usually do more investigation before calling :-)

and I use those step but this time my brain just turn off.

1- Safe mode - Great no problem

2- no rebooting in normal mode, after safe mode, did not help.

3- Other user, on the mini my nephew has an account that have access to a share iCloud folder and no problem there. on my laptop, the other account does not have access to an icloud drive, and no problem there either.

4- EtreCheck, report is here.

...

I have started to remove some recently installed app but no success so far. now I will try to remove newly updated app.

Thank you so much for the help so far. the safe mode seem to show that the problem is not really a Sonoma Problem directly but a third party app ( to be name soon I hope :-)

I hope you will find something in etreCheck report.

Mar 17, 2024 1:25 AM in response to Owl-53

I consider Suspicious Package benign and useful.

An Application for Inspecting macOS Installer Packages:

Consider a few macOS Installer packages:

4 packages that don't look any different

•One contains a useful and well-designed product, which can't be easily installed using drag-and-drop.

•One contains well-intentioned software that will nevertheless splatter pieces all over your startup disk.

•One contains a vital component — like a scanner driver — but will also install a handful of annoying, unwanted applications that the driver vendor distributes in return for “promotional consideration.”

•One contains malware that will infest your system and your network, and probably ruin your week."

https://mothersruin.com/software/SuspiciousPackage/

Franco Borgo Author

Level 1

123 points

Mar 17, 2024 4:40 PM in response to Franco Borgo

I have disable all my startup items located in setting -> General.

still no luck

I wil go look into LaunchDaemons et LaunchAgents

strangely, writing the post, if I click on Image insertion, I get the BeachBall but never the dialog panel...

Franco Borgo Author

Level 1

123 points

Mar 17, 2024 6:29 PM in response to Owl-53

I don't use private internet access very often. all those test I did was without it turn on, but just to be safe I removed it from both main library and mine launch folder. So far the problem is still there.

Apr 5, 2024 6:49 AM in response to Franco Borgo

Syncing is terrible in 14.4.1. Apple Mail often won't sync between Macbook Pro, iPhone or iPad. Ditto Photos. Especially Messages. And Reminders. And especially Family Shared Calendar. I could go on, and on. What the F happened to Apple? Of course: it became too rich to care about its consumers, who have so much invested in equipment that used to work that it no longer needs to serve us well because it figures we're trapped. Calling tech support is a joke -- they want you to waste your workday reinstalling the OS and everything else, which never helps. This forum is a joke, except for letting off steam and commiserating with kindred sufferers. The entry-level "techs" who know nothing assure you that their supervisors monitor Community regularly, but nothing happens.

Franco Borgo Author

Level 1

123 points

Mar 14, 2024 2:24 PM in response to Franco Borgo

sometime, I can't go to setting -> AppleId to logout

Owl-53

Level 10

113,797 points

Mar 17, 2024 12:41 AM in response to Franco Borgo

Having a look right now.

Will dissect it in detail and get back to you shortly

Owl-53

Level 10

113,797 points

Mar 17, 2024 1:02 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Very much agree on the Private Internet Access Application

Good one there 😎

Owl-53

Level 10

113,797 points

Mar 17, 2024 1:34 AM in response to Matti Haveri

To each their own

Apr 6, 2024 12:29 PM in response to graemest

So unhelpful to just cut and paste boilerplate articles that shift the blame the customer instead of admitting how buggy this OS update is, and fixing it.

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Sonoma 14.4 syncing problem between devices