Apple password synchronization across devices

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Apple password synchronization across devices

I’m having a really frustrating issue with Apple’s password synchronization. My Mac (running the latest version of macOS) has stopped syncing passwords with my other Apple devices. Everything works fine on my iPhone and iPad, but changes or additions I make on those devices don’t show up on my Mac – and vice versa.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far (all based on Apple’s support page suggestions):

• Restarted all devices

• Signed out and back into iCloud

• Disabled and re-enabled Keychain

• Checked all settings multiple times

• Verified correct Apple ID and 2FA settings

Nothing has worked. I even contacted Apple Support, and they weren’t able to help much. They scheduled a phone call with a senior engineer for tomorrow, but honestly, this has been giving me a headache. I rely on Apple’s password manager daily, and I’m seriously considering switching to something like 1Password or Bitwarden.

That said, exporting all my saved passwords isn’t a simple process either, and I’d rather not jump ship unless I really have to.

Has anyone else faced this issue recently? Is this a known bug with macOS? Any workarounds or tips you’ve come across that might help?

Appreciate any input!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.4

Posted on Apr 2, 2025 7:04 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

MrHoffman

Level 10

152,393 points

Apr 2, 2025 7:19 PM in response to AL-RUMAIH

I’ve met this a few times. Sequence that’s cleared it here was to disable iCloud Keychain, wait a minute or so, shut down, and perform that same disable and wait for every device sharing the Apple Account, then with none booted, pick one device, boot it, enable iCloud Keychain, wait a minute, then boot and and enable and wait the next, etc. iCloud lacks a restart button, which makes this cade less than fun. Or you can wait for Apple to see what they can find.

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Answer 2

MrHoffman

Level 10

152,393 points

Apr 3, 2025 8:36 AM in response to AL-RUMAIH

AL-RUMAIH wrote:

Could it be something in my network blocking the synchronization?

Flaky networks can cause corruptions, or so I suspect.

As for active blocks that might exist:

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Answer 3

MrHoffman

Level 10

152,393 points

Apr 5, 2025 10:51 AM in response to tygb

tygb wrote:

Disabling iCloud Keychain from Mac and iPhone will corrupt keychain , you don't need to do it when 2FA or secondary authentication account is activated on all devices .

Disabling iCloud Keychain does not corrupt the keychain.

It’s the documented mechanism for those wishing to disable iCloud Keychain, and reverting to local, as described here:

Set up iCloud Keychain - Apple Support

Turning off iCloud Keychain can be part of resetting and reloading a corrupted iCloud Keychain, however.

Now if the problem is somehow larger and a local Keychain is also already corrupt, what happens is unclear.

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Answer 4

AL-RUMAIH Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 3, 2025 9:26 AM in response to MrHoffman

Thanks for the information; it has been really valuable. However, I went through my network settings, and I don't see anything blocking the communications. I even tried a different network just to be sure, and the same thing persists.

I've looked on other forums. This seems to be a frequent problem reported in many other places. I'll wait for the phone call from the Apple engineer.

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Answer 5

tygb

Level 9

65,026 points

Apr 5, 2025 1:25 AM in response to AL-RUMAIH

Disabling iCloud Keychain from Mac and iPhone will corrupt keychain , you don't need to do it when 2FA or secondary authentication account is activated on all devices .

Do you see iCloud Keychain pop ups appearing on Mac ?

Passwords will never syncing in one go , you can export passwords from Mac and import in another devices, auto fill passwords is to be enabled in iPhone , sign out Apple ID and again sign in will never help .

Same iCloud account but I can't see the p… - Apple Community

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