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

@5480:

I don't want to insult you, but if you don't know what a zip file is, or how to backup iTunes data, or how to find iBackupBot, this fix may be too technical for you and you should therefore not try it.

Which is worse, a phone which works now but is having a bookmarks problem that may well be fixed soon by an easy software udpte from Apple, or a useless brick resulting from messing with tools which are not designed for casual users? My advice would be for you to wait for the "official" fix from Apple.

-dan

That's because there is no bookmarks.db.info file in your backup. This is normal. The info file is used by iBackupBot to edit/replace your bookmarks file in your backup. Just import the info file you downloaded from dropbox and this will happen by itself (with no immediate verification or way to tell within iBackupBot, which makes this a bit confusing).

-dan

A very interesting and usefull thread indeed.  I was stuck with a similar issue on an iPod Touch 5th generation with iOS6.

I first notice the issue because I was unable to delete the offline reading list getting a message that the item was syncing... to no end.  The crash log was also showing a lot of report about bookmark syncing fails.  From Mac OSX Safari, I was also seeing the reading list items reappearing after each time I tryied to delete them.

Follow the procedure described here.  Odd enough, my bookmarks was still on the iPod after the bookmarks.db replacement and I was pretty sure the iCloud Safari sync were turned off.  Anyhow, the stucked reading list item were deleted.  It is just then that I realised the impact on the battery life.  This never ending sync loop were draining power obviously.  I was just thinking about the several post about battery life after iOS upgrade and I wonder...

Before, with MobileMe, you were able to select which file to keep when you were activating a sync (the cloud of the device).  iCloud only try to merge leaving no option when you got a corrupted files.  This plus the fact that you don't have any file access on iOS raise this ridiculously huge issue for a simple-not-so-important-small-file.

Thanks for this post, otherwise I guess I would have had to start from scratch rather that restoring from a backup.

Dear DanH,

I am not insulted. In fact, I am happy that you warned me so that I do not start to mess around with stuff which is beyond my capacity.

Please note that Apple just issued an official upgrade of iOS6, which however DOES NOT address my problem.

My iPad 2 with iOS 6 prevents me from making any action on bookmarks in Safari. My long reading list had all "downloads" pending ("saving offline"), draining my battery in 2-3 hours.

How to restore Safari?

5480

Hi 5480,

If you can't follow the instruction posted here to solve this issue, then you will need to reset your device and not restore from backup are setup your device anew.

The instruction aren't hard to follow.  Considering that this has to do with a corrupted file that doesn't seem to affect a large number of users, I wouldn't expect this to be resolve by an update in the short term (I may be wrong).

It would have been ease to simply reset the bookmark icloud file, but the option doesn't exist and this is why you must follow the manual steps.

You say that "you will need to reset your device and not restore from backup are setup your device anew". You mean that I need to reset, not restore?

I have reset the device several times (but not restored), the problem is still there. As I cannot follow the instructions (too hard to follow; sounds like foreign language to me), I guess the restore is the only option?

Yes, sorry for mixing the two terms.  Resetting is holding your two button togheter.  This operation will not deleted the corrupted files.  Restoring, means restoring the iOS from iTunes.  Doing so without using your previous backup will restore your iPod as anew (you'll lost all your configurations and locally store data).

It kind of too drastic for the gravity of what is happening but if you are meaningless to install the mentionned above freeware, it's your better option.

Is there a YouTube video somewhere to help us on a more visual note?

here is what I did... please tell me if its good enough...

exported my bookmarks to using safari's export bookmark option.

deleted them from my mac. let icloud sync the deletion to my ipad and iphone. reimported them. will that work?

No because iCloud always try to merge information from all devices and not simply pushing the information from your Mac.  The result is that iCloud will still try to merge your updated files from your Mac with the corrupted one on your iOS device.

The way I understand this is that you really need to clear the corrupted files which is on your iOS device.  Because you don't have any file access in your iOS this is why this simple issue is so hard to fix.

Previously, MobileMe was allowing you to decide, when you were initiating a sync, to decide between merge, use your Mac info or the cloud info.  Now, with iCloud you can only merge and that's why you can't simply resolve this kind of situation.  Apple's simplicity in that matter prevent us to resolve a simple issue.

What i did was after deleting the bookmarks from my mac i waited for the deletion to sync on my iphone and ipad. Only when that was done did i reimport them.

I dont see the change however. Let me test it for a few more hours.

So you don't have the same issue as described here which is the fact that the reading list could not be deleted from the iOS device and was continuously trying to sync to no end.

hi, i do have the exact same issue. battery drains really fast on my iohone 4 after updating ios6. similar to what people have described it over here. like 50% in say 4 -6 hours without using it!

what i dont know is if the reason behind my battery draining fast is the same as yours.

my iphone 4 was replaced with a new one by apple on 25th oct, so an old battery is ruled out.

Neerav

if i am not wrong.... im in the thread, the op of which posted a link in another thread about battery draining on devices running ios 6 and asked to follow his thread for a fix, right?

I also updated my iPad2 to iOS6, which is draining my battery in some hours. The main appears to be the fact that Safari is constantly trying to sync bookmarks/reading list with iCloud. The spinning wheel ball is spinning all the time. This prevents me to add/edit/delete any bookmarks and/or reading lists.