iOS 6 iCloud bookmarks sync stuck in limbo... any idea?

inder19

Thanks for the files.

I used ibackupbot to replace my damaged safari bookmarks database and was able to avoid a full restore.

its the OS whats causing the issue... nuttin else

Same issue here: the .db file downloaded from inder19's dropbox (thanks very much for doing that, by the way) is greyed out in iBackupBot's import dialogue box. The db.info file imports fine (as far as I can tell). If buying a license for iBackupBot will permit the import action then I'll buy one right now, but I'd like to be certain that having a trial version is the problem before I splash money down.

Can anyone confirm that the failure to import the db. file is due to using an unlicensed/trial version of iBackupBot?

the .info file is what you import. it's a reference pointing to the .db file. you need both files, but ibackupbot only needs to import the one .info file. you don't need to pay for it.

Got it. Thanks Shawn. All done now. That bit in the middle when it doesn't reboot and you have to restore is scary though.

Reporting in on my successful restore, hooray! on both an iPhone4 and my iPad 3.

The corrupted bookmarks file started on the iPad. By the time I figured out what was going on (not able to bookmark anymore, though I had in the past; reading file stuck in update mode, and an incredible battery drain overnight) with my iPad, I had gotten my new iPhone and it was corrupted, too.

I followed Shawn's instructions, (very easy, really, just take it step by step), and now both devices are working well. I have turned on iCloud for Safari again on my iPad and all my bookmarks are back again, it is not cycling and I can bookmark and edit my reading list. Soooo happy! For weeks I've been sending myself through gmail all the site links I wanted to keep from Safari ... sheesh.

>> Something that might help people that I got sidetracked with...

When opening up the backup folder with iBackupBot, iBB said it could not find "status.plist" file. I looked and it was there -- what did that mean? I did some research and some people said the status.plist file gets corrupted too... ouch. Since I had NOT backed up my device before (from now on, every new device will get backed up right away!!) I had no clean copy.

Finally, I watched the error messages carefully and found that iBB was looking for status.plist in EVERY folder in my Apple Computer/MobileSync/Backup folder. I had made subfolders for the iphone and ipad backups, and iBB looked inside every folder there for the proper files.

So, no worries actually re: the status.plist file. It was there in the backup file like it was supposed to be.

Both my bookmarks.db restore went without a problem. I did not have to do any messing around with the power/home buttons either. Both rebooted after the iTunes backup restore without issue.

It's too soon to tell about the battery drain but I am sure that is fixed too.

Thank you, Shawn Lebbon, for your solution. So grateful to have Safari working again.

Thanks to Strider G7 and Shawn Lebbon...I was able to eliminate the Safari bookmarkdb file from my iPhone 4. 1-2 months ago I had determined that having the Safari switch "on" in the iCloud Settings screen was causing the overheating and excessive battery drain, and I had seen the long list of webxxx log files. Just turning it off stopped the battery/heating issue.

Now, I wanted to clean out my iPhone's bookmark list. I discovered very soon that I could not delete them. So, I followed your advice, downloaded the clean bookmarksdb file from Dropbox, and edited with iBackupBot the last backup. I exported it into the same folder (yes, I made a copy of that cryptic backup folder before starting). Then, I used iTunes, not iBackupBot, to restore. Hours later (32 GB model, fairly full), I was starring at a clean bookmarks list (Reading List, History) in Safari on my iPhone 4.

Now..I'm going to wait a few days before throwing the Safari switch. I'm nervous. I've shut off all my other iDevices from using iCloud Safari so theoretically the list in the cloud is static. Wish me luck!

I think you'll be fine. What I did find was that the failed syncs prior to the fix had messed up my bookmarks (which had propogated through iCloud to all my devices), so I had lots of duplications -- eg. my Bookmarks Bar had the same set of folders and bookmarks repeated 3 or 4 times.

So I had to do some pruning. As I was pruning some of my deletions seemed to reappear, but I think that was simply an artifact of the iCloud 'merge' process (I had my Mac set to sync bookmarks whilst I was pruning, which may have made the process glitchier than it needed to be). I'm not sure precisely how iCloud combines the bookmarks of 3 or more devices, but presumably once or twice it decided that a particular bookmark, deleted on device A, should be reinstated from device B as part of the 'merging' algorithm. Mildly annoying, having to delete some things more than once, but it wasn't a big hassle and probably didn't add more than a couple of minutes to the overall task. Obviously, I did all my pruning on one device only (my Mac) and let that be the ‘Master’ set.

What I'm saying is, don't be overly worried about re-activating iCloud for your bookmarks, just be aware that you might see some glitches left over from the the original problem, and then some more from the re-syncing, but they are very easily fixed.

Do not waste your time with iBackupBot/Export and stuff. Just reset as a new device and back up your stuff from iMac. The whole process took about 10 minutes and I did not lose a thing.

If a standard restore worked for you, then you don't have the same issue discussed in this post.

The process discussed here is not a waste of time but a time saver as the backup we all have here was containing a corrupted files which is the whole point of this thread.

A restore should be tried first you are right in case you haven't backuped the device since you got the corrupted file. If its not the case, then this process is not a waste of time at all since the only other solution would be to trash your whole backup and start anew.

Yes, I also had a corrupted back-up files which is the whole point of this thread. As a reset the iPad as a new device I did not use the corrupted backup files but the "regular" files.

Once my iPad was reset as a new device, i.e. empty and clean, I just transferred addresses, calendars, music, movies, bookmarks etc. from my iMac to iPad2 (but not the corrupted files). Lost nothing.

Then good for you.

But don't say that all people here are loosing our time with this procedure as we tried restore only to find the corrupted files also being included in the backup (which I guess wasn't your case).

It's the whole point of this thread to explain how to remove the culprit files from our backup thus preventing your method to work. If you don't experience this issue, don't tell that the described solution isn't necessary. It was the only way to allow us to restore as normal.

Sorry, did not mean to upset anyone but thought that someone may be interested in my experience. In fact, I tried to follow the discussion here as I was also having problems with my corrupted files. I spent massive amount of time trying to understand what to do but finally gave up, too complicated. So someone recommended me to reset my iPad2 as a new device, which was the best advice ever. Why to fix the corrupted files when you can back up the regular files?

I'm not upset but we are mixing issue. I just want to clarify that this solution is indeed the only one that can solve this circular issue if restoring doesn't work.

This procedure is a solution to apply when restoring like you made doesn't work. The point isn't to fix the corrupted file but to remove it from your backup unless each time you'll be restoring, you'll be restoring the corrupted file. So you need a way to remove the file from your backup.

This process is simply to delete a file and shouldn't be rocket science. You don't even need an blank bookmark file as mention we here, simply need to delete it and and it will be regenerated automatically.

I actually thought the using the iBackupBot/iTunes solution was pretty easy.

5480, some of us don't have backups available on an iMac ;-). As was discussed earlier in the thread, the corrupted file is shared among devices when you are syncing through iCloud or other source.

Therefore there is no backup available that is not corrupted, as SeaBeast has been attempting to make clear.