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Why does it take so long to sync my iPhone5 with itunes now?

I've noticed that its taking much longer to sync my iPhone5 with itunes then it did on my iPhone4. What use to take maybe 3 -5 minutes is now taking over 20 minutes to sync via USB. Any idea's as to whats causing the increased sync time or maybe any suggestions on how to correct the issue? I thought the new OS along with the new phone would take much less time to sync but that hasn't been my experience so far. Thanks!!

iPhone 5, iOS 6

Posted on Oct 4, 2012 2:51 PM

Reply
12 replies

Oct 4, 2012 3:14 PM in response to wolverine456

Extended time to sync via USB in iTunes is generally linked to larger amounts of data in the phone, or a problem with some data being able to be read. When the phone is connected to the computer and iTunes, look at the bottom of the iTunes page and see if there seems to be a large amount of "Other" showing now. This is indicative of corrupt data and could be affecting the sync time. You may need to just try another sync on the phone to see if that corrects it, if not it may require the restore as described above.

Oct 8, 2012 11:51 AM in response to sberman

Great suggestion but I don't sync any of my photo's from my pc to my iPhone. I watched the status at the top of the itunes sync session and it appears to get hung up while syncing my calendar from Outlook. That step takes over 15 minutes to complete. Not sure why it takes so long as it never took that long on my old iPhone4 using the old OS (v5). Any other suggestions? You guys have all been great offering your suggestions so far.

Thank you!!

Oct 22, 2014 6:04 PM in response to wolverine456

Hi Guys,


Here's my update: My phone was delivered today at 10:22 this morning. I was at work, and left a note on my door for UPS to have someone at my Apartment Management Office sign for my package, which I usually do with UPS with no problem. That is, until today😠! I get a text from UPS saying that since no one was home, another delivery attempt would be made tomorrow. So, I call them and arrange to pick it up from the UPS Hub tonight. It's 5:51 PM here in California, and I have to wait until 7:30-8:30 PM to get my iPhone.


I'm not sure what the deal is. Perhaps the Driver DID attempt to deliver my package to the office this morning and maybe it was at a time when someone wasn't in the office. I highly doubt it though. I think it was a different driver today because of the signature, and she didn't even walk the short walk over to the Apartment Management Office which is just around the corner.


I blame myself though mostly. When I was ordering, I should've thought to have it sent to my Job. Next time, I will. Anyway, I'm just waiting around until about 7 PM, where I'll get in my car and drive over there and hopefully get that 6 Plus in my hands! I'll post back when I return!

Apr 11, 2015 8:14 AM in response to wolverine456

I have this aggravating issue as well, only I just have an iPhone 4s 16GB (yes, STILL!). One of the (many) reasons I haven't upgraded is the deteriorating performance factors induced by Apple. If it takes forever to sync just a 16GB iPhone, syncing a 64GB or 128GB iPhone must be an all day test of aggravation! Since I'm finding no credible or relevant answers here I thought I'd post my observations. When I watch the sync process, I can see that the procedure backs up my iPhone data, removes it from the phone, then reinstalls it again with any updates to the data since the last sync. This is a programming "feature". I don't know what the reasons are for not designing the sync process to handle only changed data as in any other data backup process. Maybe it's laziness at Apple, maybe it's a technical issue that their programmers are incapable of solving, or maybe there's a monitoring aspect involved that this method allows Apple to collect information on users more effectively. I just don't know their reasons for this, or many baffling things they do. I do know that if their corporate data backups were performed in the same manner in which the iPhone sync is performed, there would never be a break in the backup processes at Apple, nor would the process ever complete. It's ludicrous to program the SW (iTunes) run this inefficiently. I can't fathom having a larger capacity iPhone and dealing with the constant aggravation of what must be hours to sync simple data changes caused only by the poor routine programmed into iTunes. From what I can see, it's basically like loading a blank phone every time I want to sync data. Completely ridiculous as far as I can tell. Even if the reasoning is to remove dead sectors, blank sectors etc, I'd think with all the money Apple has and makes on a quarterly basis, they could afford to spend the time and money in R&D to make the sync process a **** of lot more tolerable for users.

Apr 11, 2015 8:22 AM in response to Colorado

Or maybe it is a problem with your device. I have an iPhone 5s with iOS 8.3 and the latest version of iTunes on a Windows 7 computer. When I connect my 32GB phone, with only about 7GB of space left, a full sync of my device takes at the most 1-2 minutes. The device backs up, then checks calendar and contacts from Outlook, syncs any changes, and then checks apps, music, photos and purchases. When there are no changes, less time. I sync my phone daily at the end of the day before I go to bed at night. I've never seen mine remove data from the phone and then reinstall it again. Are you seeing written cues that it is deleting data and then reinstalling it? It sounds almost as if the device is trying to do a restore each time you attempt a sync. This is not normal behavior and I suggest you try restoring the phone as new and then sync your data individually back to the phone and start over.

Apr 20, 2015 4:55 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thanks for your reply ChrisJ4203. I had to run the sync process again to be able to reply to you. What tells me that it removes and restores everything each time I sync, is that I can watch it reloading all the apps and songs in the iTunes status bar. It does not just load say the one CD I've added or the few individual songs I've changed. It literally is reloading every single item including the ones that were already on my iPhone. Is there a setting somewhere that I'm clueless about? Two close friends has the iPhone 5s and their phones sync exactly the same way as mine. I haven't tried your suggestion to restore my phone to factory settings (new) and reloading it yet, just because of the time that will take but will do so if I can't find another solution.

Apr 20, 2015 5:07 PM in response to Colorado

Colorado wrote:


It literally is reloading every single item including the ones that were already on my iPhone.

This is not the way its supposed to work, only updates should be transferring to/from the iPhone during the sync process.


I haven't tried your suggestion to restore my phone to factory settings (new) and reloading it yet, just because of the time that will take but will do so if I can't find another solution.

You can try restoring the iPhone, but rather than "restore as new" you ought to try loading your most recent backup after the restore process completes, then let iTunes re-install everything.

Restoring as new may be required though if your backup is hosed up (sounds like a good possibility). But if you have to go this route, investing some time to do this may very well offset the long sync times/ headaches you're seeing.

One thing that may also help is to leave at least 1-2 GB of free space on the iPhone at all times. Kind of hard to do with a 16 GB iPhone, but having a little breathing room usually helps speed up syncs.

Why does it take so long to sync my iPhone5 with itunes now?

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