Oso Grande
Level 1 (124 points)
Mac OS X

Q: iBooks last page read does not sync between devices

Dear Apple friends,

 

I am having a problem with the iBooks store on my iPhone and iPad. I have tried googling for this, and have only found a few mentions of this problem.

 

When I am done reading a book on one of my devices,  I understand it is supposed to sync the last page you were on. However, it does not sync the last page all the time, and often sinks to an earlier page.

 

For example, if I read a new book on my iPhone to page 100, later pick up the same book on my iPad, the book page is not synced and listed as page 1. When I go back to open the book on the iPhon, the page gets synced back to page 1, and I lose my place in the book.

 

I Have tried using manual (red) bookmarks but the page syncing thing still happens. Fortunately, the bookmark will save my spot in the bookmarks section.

 

Both iOS devices are on iOS 8.4.1 and are signed in with the same Apple ID. Sync Bookmarks and Collections are turned on for both devices, as well.

 

What is the deal here?! I have the Kindle app and this it remembers the last page read flawlessly.

 

Pleawe advise, thank you in advance.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), iPhone 5S 32GB, iPad Mini 2 (32GB)

Posted on Aug 15, 2015 12:17 PM

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Oso Grande

Q: iBooks last page read does not sync between devices

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  • by Nammy,

    Nammy Nammy Aug 16, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Oso Grande
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 16, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Oso Grande

    I have this problem too. Kindle whispersync does this so well. Can someone please let us know why iBooks is not syncing?

  • by Oso Grande,

    Oso Grande Oso Grande Aug 18, 2015 5:14 PM in response to Oso Grande
    Level 1 (124 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 18, 2015 5:14 PM in response to Oso Grande

    @Nammy Indeed. I don't have this problem with Kindle, or Google Books--only with iBooks.

     

    This is the typical scenario I run into...

     

    1. Purchase/download a book from iBook Store, book is on both iPhone and iPad.
    2. Open book on iPad (or iPhone), read to page 100, close iBooks (press Library, then home button).
    3. Open iBooks on iPhone (or iPad), open said book, and the book is on page 1.
    4. Close iBooks on iPhone, re-open on the iPad--the page is now synced back to page 1 from page 100, thus losing my place in the book.

     

    I used to be able to open the book, read it, and pick up where I left off on another device--no idea why this is not working anymore. :-\

  • by Oso Grande,

    Oso Grande Oso Grande Aug 19, 2015 1:46 PM in response to Oso Grande
    Level 1 (124 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 19, 2015 1:46 PM in response to Oso Grande

    Update.

     

    I contacted Apple Care about this, and after an exhaustive 30min of testing, the senior advisor claimed he is experiencing the same issue testing on his end. An escalation was sent to Apple engineers to investigate and I should hear back in a day or two.

     

    Something of note: Books by Apple (i.e., manuals) do not appear to exhibit the issue; it appears only 3rd party books, so far as I can tell.

     

    Has anyone else had experience with this?

  • by Jim_E_P,

    Jim_E_P Jim_E_P May 18, 2016 7:20 AM in response to Oso Grande
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 18, 2016 7:20 AM in response to Oso Grande

    I finally solved this issue...  I purchased a Kindle Fire.  Years ago, I purchased a Kindle and it synced perfectly between devices, but then I moved on to iBooks, as I'm an overall Apple fan.  However, iBooks is a total miss when it comes to syncing between devices.  After many years of frustration, I gave up on Apple and moved on to a reliable product and solution; a Kindle. 

  • by Oso Grande,

    Oso Grande Oso Grande Jun 2, 2016 11:24 AM in response to Jim_E_P
    Level 1 (124 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 2, 2016 11:24 AM in response to Jim_E_P

    Update: The issue appears to have been resolved, at least for me. I'm guessing iOS 9.x had something to do with it. Anyway, I suddenly noticed one day a few weeks ago it was syncing just fine. My guess is the "fix" was rolled into an update but who knows.