Q: iPhone 4S: Can't sync photo albums since latest update

I too have done my first iPhone 4 sync after updated to the new operating system and latest version of iTunes. At first, I had about 5 photos randomly sync from a couple of albums, but not all of them. Now, none of the photos are syncing at all. Unlike some people, I had nothing greyed out in iTunes, so I could choose to sync either my entire photo library or certain albums. The problem is that neither worked. My photos portion of my phone now only contains only Camera Roll pics (photos I have taken with the phone), but no pics that I have always been able to sync from albums on my computer.

When I am in iTunes and go to the "photos" tab, I can see the albums I have selected to sync, and it says how many pics are in each album (which is correct based on my photo collection in my computer). So iTunes is clearly recognizing the number of photos that are in each album I want to sync to my phone, and when I do a sync, it tells me that it's importing photos to my phone for quite a long time. Then, no photos end up in my phone. Very frustrating! And for someone like me who isn't very tech-capable, I have no idea what to do?????

Everyone here has traced their problems back to the latest update of iPhoto.  I believe it's version 9.4.  Most people updated their iphoto at the same time they installed Mountain Lion.  Your problem may be different, but I also had issues that sound similar to yours.

If you did upgrade to the latest iPhoto recently, the only solution I found was to delete it and the new iPhoto Library that was updated and restore the last version of iPhoto and the iphoto library from your backup (time machine).  If you don't backup I'm not sure what your options are except to wait for Apple to come up with a fix, or go to the Apple store, and maybe they have a solution.

As far as I know, I only updated the new operating system and iTunes. I am not even sure what iPhoto is - ? I am just looking to sync my photos back into my phone the way they always did before. I have never used iPhoto, and I don't know if (or how) I would even have it. I also have no idea how to disable elements of an operating system or reload elements of a previous operating system. This is all very frustrating. Also, since the new update, whenever I open the App Store on my iPhone4, it will open the App Store and then do nothing. I can't search apps, can't update apps that need it. Nothing. It just freezes.  Grrrr!

I think I had some progress on this issue a few days ago after Apple released Aperture 3.4.1.  The problems were definitely caused by iPhoto 9.4, and I use iPhoto on my library a lot more than I open it with Aperture, but they do interrelate because of the unified photo library now.  Actually after fixing the grayed out issue because of the stupid ampersand in the slideshow music (see link earlier in this thread), I had a major issue with iTunes showing a faulty list of photo events on the Photos tab of my iOS devices, which affecting my photo syncing.  But after installing the update to Aperture 3.4.1 this past week, closing iTunes, running Aperture, closing Aperture, then relaunching iTunes, the photo Events list in iTunes went back to normal and I think everything synced correctly to my iPhone and iPad.  Need to verify a bit more, but am not near my MacBook Pro for a few days.

Sorry I can't be more definite, but if you have Aperture installed (whether you use it or not) I would run the update to 3.4.1 from the App Store immediately with the steps above and see if it helps some or all of your issues.

Interesting that there hasn't been any update to iPhoto 9.4 yet.  I remember Apple introducing a very similar set of syncing problems back in iPhoto 9.0 or 9.2 or something, and the .1 update after that fixed it, but was very frustrating.  Now the déjà vu of that issue is even more maddening.

Everyone report a bug in iPhoto.... Remember that Apple doesn't use this forum to gain information about bugs.

Thanks, Tallguy, but I am not sure what most of that means ...    I sync my iPhone with a PC, not a Mac. I've never had a problem until I did the operating system upgrade. I will report a bug to Apple for sure.

Apple just released iPhoto 9.4.1.  Some brave sole please try it out and let us know if it fixed the problems.  I'm too scared to be the first. 

Thanks!

Is iPhoto only available on the Mac?

Yes.  You must have a different issue than what most are discussing here.  I'd try going to an apple store if i were you.

Seems like the update, iPhoto 9.4.1 solved the problem for me. Seems like it, but i'll give it a few days more before saying that it absolutely or definetely solves the problem!

Well, I think I have found what worked for me ... since the new operating system upgrade, when all my previous albums wouldn't sync anymore, I deleted my iPod photo cache from previous syncs. Then, I re-synced my phone, having to re-select each album I wanted synced while also waiting well over an hour for a new iPod photo cache to create itself as the phone synced. Now, I have my photos back. Not sure why I would have to delete a photo cache that had always worked for me and create a new one just to accommodate the new operating system, but it worked ...

Looks like I have the same/similar problem to everyone else except the issue has only arisen really recently... not sure when. I have the latest OS system, IOS etc. I have always had a number of albums synced from my Mac to my iPhone 4S... probably 300 pics. Then suddenly in the last week or so they have all gone. Surely, it must be a software update that has changed things. Now all I can get on my iPhone are Camera Roll and Photo Stream. When I go into iTunes to check my Settings, the iPhoto albums are ticked but show "0" photos... and yet they are there in iPhoto. I sense there is a problem between iPhoto and iTunes. I've also tried switching Photo Stream off .. in case they are clashing ...and I've tried adding the Albums via Photo Stream... all without success. I've even been in to see a Guru in an Apple concession store here in Auckland. He couldn't figure it out either. Very frustrating. I look forward to hearing that someone ... maybe Apple... has cracked this irritating fault... and to learning how I can get my photos back onto my iPhone

For me, iTunes says that there are about 1400 photos in the Aperture folder, but only about 400 sync to my iPhone.

Some sync some don't.  Any ideas.

How did you delete the photo cache?  I'm having the same issue with my iPhone.  59 of the 73 photos in the album sync, but after all kinds of attempts, the other 14 just won't sync.  I'm on the latest version of iPhoto and iTunes, and have an iPhone 4s with iOS 6.0.1.

I had a folder in the My Pictures folder entitled iPhone Photo Cache (or something like that). I just deleted that folder, re-synced the phone, and the pics all came back. Once you clear the photo cache, syncing the photos to the phone takes a bit longer the first time you sync the phone, but then it's been back to normal after the first sync.

The folder is called "iPod Photo Cache" and you will need to open the iPhoto Library [or in my case the Aperture Library] • right click on it to reveal "Show Package Contents." Drag iPod Photo Cache from package to desktop and make iTunes do a sync to your iOS device.

AND it takes a while if you have 1976 photos. Still not done, but it looks promising. The folder is being recreated as my iPhone is syncing.