iTunes sync still getting stuck on "waiting for changes to be applied" with the latest iTunes 11.1.2 and iOS 7.0.3!

Don't worry, it will be fixed with iTunes 12....

No, that's a joke

The sync will never work. I'm tired of it, when my iPhone will be dead, I will buy something else.

When I left Microsoft, it was for the same reasons Apple is giving me now. I won't stay long under Mac OS X Bugs, iOS 8 public alpha, iTunes 12 pré-alpha.

Hmm- I replied with a polite/factual suggestion about what recourse we might have- and my post was promptly deleted.

That tells you a lot…

Found a solution noted in another thread. Was suggested that you reset network settings. Settings>reset> network settings. That may not be exact path but you can figure it out. Only downside is that you will have to re- enter wifi Password from what I experienced. Then I reconnected iPhone 4s updated for iOS 8. Computer asked whether to share info with iphone. Iphone asked if computer could be trusted. I answered yes obviously. And then it backed up immediately. Synched within minutes. All good. Full disclosure I do not synch music. I manually manage. But previous waiting issue no longer a problem. Give it a shot and post result. Good Luck.

I spent several hours with Apple tech support today, and this is what *seems* to have worked for me:

1) Repair permissions on boot drive

2) In: /Users/MyUserName/Library/Preferences

delete all prefs files starting with "com.apple.iTunes"

I doubt that this is a solution for everyone, or even most of us. But it might be worth a try. There are still some non-trivial "Waiting for…" pauses, but it doesn't get completely stuck (for now).

Well, the solution I outlined above doesn't work anymore. I can't even count the hours I've wasted trying to get iTunes to sync music.

To me, it looks like that for a certain group of iTunes users, sync is just broken — and can't be fixed. I have 10 more days to return my iPhone 6, and I am seriously considering it, because music is not an optional feature for my phone. On Android, all you have to do is identify the folder of music you want synced, and the music files will be copied over. There's no complication of an in-between program like iTunes. So I'm considering trading my iPhone for a Galaxy S5. I never thought I'd say that, but I've spent a year wrestling with iTunes (note that this thread is almost a year old now), just get music on my phone, I'm tired. I want my phone to "just work."

Did you try my solution ? Resetting network settings. Worked for me and others. I guess you could always move music to iMatch from iTunes and then download to device. I know, I know you should be able to synch.

I did, thanks. In fact, I nuked it from orbit (it's the only way to be sure) — I erased it/restored it as a new iPhone. Problem still there…

Problem seemed complex to solve - this sorted it for me. Cheers @fokrab

Thanks Fokrab, I tried the reset solution and it seems to have worked....after hours of going round in circles ! Hopefully thats it sorted now

I had this problem and saw lots of fairly drastic solutions. I completely powered off my iPhone, powered it back on, did a sync and the problem is gone. I know each situation is different but folks should definitely just try a complete power off before doing anything more drastic.

Same thing here. iPad sync reaches "Waiting for changes to be applied," then sits. Just one more problem in a growing list of Yosemite issues for me. Sorry I ever upgraded.

If the music is on your phone but the artwork isn't, even though it's in your library, and you can't finish syncing cause it's stuck on (waiting for changes...), try going to under File, Library, Get Album Artwork. I did this and it automatically started syncing artwork to my phone.

For me I'm pretty sure the fix was patience syncing an iPhone 4S to iTunes v12.3.3.17 on El Cap over USB. I've restored, and set up iPhones as new, many times, transferring my entire 30GB music library. I'm familiar with the process and know it can take a long time (24hrs+ for 7000 songs w/ 128kbps AAC conversion). Usually though I would see a visual representation of the files transferring in the top of the iTunes window.

Since updating to El Cap and using the latest version of iTunes, this lengthy "Waiting for changes to be applied" message was a new twist. After trying all kinds of fixes, I'm confident the solution was just waiting it out. As others have mentioned here, it appears something is being processed, but not communicated visually on the iTunes side. At least that's how it played out with my 4S running iOS 7, which has essentially been downgraded to iPod Touch status. I only found this out because I realized I'd only gotten a partial sync of my music on the 4S over WiFi. So when I tried to sync via USB to speed up the process I discovered the issue. For the record, my iPhone 6 on iOS 8.3 was syncing correctly without the delay.

I don't discount other experiences, there may be legitimate issues that can be resolved changing settings, deleting files and old voicemails, etc., but for me, I just needed to wait it out. Let it sit overnight and if you don't actually start to see your files transferring in the morning, then maybe there's more to it.

Hi there. I had this issue yesterday. I have just finished a support screen chat with Apple. While chatting Mark suggested that it might be a weak wifi signal. I thought I'd check my airport utility, and found that I had a firmware update waiting to be installed. I connected to my Virgin hub router wifi network and tried to back up again, and it worked, no lag, no hanging. I asked Mark if he thought it was the update that might be the issue, but he is an iOS genius so 'wouldn't bet his pay check on it'. I figured I'd try anyway, so did the update, re-connected to my airport time capsule wifi and re-tried the backup. It worked, really quickly with no lag.

Problem solved for me. Didn't have to change any phone settings, or restore, or deleted, or disable the screen lock. All down to a block in my wifi signal. I'd recommend to anyone that if your iPhone backup is stuck, this is a good place to look, and make sure that you have a strong signal.

Hope this has been helpful

iPhone 6 - iOS 9.3.2, iTunes 12.4.1, Mac OSX El Capitan