iBooks not syncing with iTunes

Well after screwing around with this issue and realizing I have an iPad Pro (128GB/AT&T), I could easily load all these books w/o needing iCloud to hold them:

On the iMac:

Created a folder called EBooks - Put all my pubs and PDF's in it.

Opened iBooks and moved all of the content to EBooks - then deleted everything.

(*EBooks is now the backup folder)

Close iBooks

On the iPad:

Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive = OFF

Done on this device

On the iMac again:

Turn off iTunes completely

Apple > System Preferences > iCloud Drive > Options > Turn OFF iBooks > Done

Done with System Preferences

Open iBooks and your EBooks folder

Copy (Click+CMD if you're carry picking titles), then drag them to iBooks window

After all your titles are in - Re-launch iTunes

Open your device in iTunes - check the Settings > Book on the upper left of the file tree - VIOLA! BOOKS!

Go to the [On My Device] section of the tree, and you can now pick and choose what you want, or just select ALL.

Sync - you're done!

Hope this helps!

System info:

iMac Late 2013 (32GB RAM)

macOS, Sierra 10.12.1

iTunes 12.5.3.17

Books 1.7 (1253.16)

iPad Pro 128GB (AT&T LTE) MLQ32LL/A

iOS 10.1.1 (14B150)

Kaske gave me a hint to my problem (thank you). Here's the trick, iBooks sync must be enabled in two places from what I can tell.

1. In iBooks' Settings

2. And, in Settings -> iCloud -> iCloud Drive [options] -> iBooks

I didn't need to restart iBooks on my Mac, but I did need to force quit it on my iPhone.

Thanks for the info. I've tried this and it has worked for me as well. However a number of the iBooks on my iMac no longer show the artwork! they do all appear on the iPad though.......any ideas how i can get them back?

Thanks a lot for this how to guide Kaske, after 4+ hours on the phone with apple support with no luck at all this seemed to the trick. I still can't believe how what should be a simple task can be made so difficult and two apple platforms which are meant to be cross compatible can be closed off from each other in such a manner 😠

So after spending a large portion of my free weekend trying to rectify this issue I'm very thankful for your handy guide for this issue, I only hope Apple can see the light and fix this issue in the near future. Kindle is starting to look like a pretty attractive alternative after this experience 👿

All my pdf's are gone on my phone in ibooks. When I sync my phone with my mac.... I only see books I have purchased... none of my 50 PDF's show up in itunes to sync to my phone.... now what? Please help.

Can someone please answer a burning question for me... please.

When you enable ibooks in icloud (on Mac, system pref, icloud, more options)..... are you still suppose to see all your books in Itunes that are in ibooks when you phone is connected to itunes? I do not. I only see purchased books, but not my PDF's.

If I turn on ibooks on in mac settings, and sync my phone... I don't see the books from ibooks in Itunes when my phone is connected. Should I still see them? Or no?

If I add a PDF to ibooks with this ibook icloud setting on, then a new pdf dropped into ibooks shows on my phone. However, shouldn't I ALSO see them as options to sync to my phone when connected to itunes?

Thank you.

I had exactly the same issue, and tried all of the above to no avail.

Eventually I found out that iBooks had been switched off in my iCloud account on my phone.

To check: iPhone / Settings / Your account name the top / iCloud / scroll down and make sure iBooks is turned on.

so please explain to me - I followed your steps. now the pdfs synced between macbook pro 15 and my iphone 7+ but still - in my Itunes (most recent update version) when I look at the BOOKS on my Device part - App on the MBP - I don't see ANY books or PDFs. So what am I doing wrong ?

Thanks !

Hanani

OMG, I did as instructed... now I don't see books at all during phone sync!!

Hi noti4kam,

The iBooks app is now controlling books on your Mac and iOS devices. The resources below will explain how to download or sync books:

Sync iBooks between your Mac and your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Books you buy from the iBooks Store are available automatically on all of your Mac and iOS devices.

The iBooks app on your computer works just like iBooks on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

If you buy a book on your Mac or your iOS device, it’s automatically available through iTunes in the Cloud on all of your iOS devices and all of your Mac computers. You can also sync your bookmarks, notes, and collections across your devices.

Download books to your device

Items purchased on other devices or your Mac might appear in your library with a cloud icon in the upper-right corner. This shows that the item is available to download from iCloud, but isn't on your Mac or iOS device.

To download the item and start reading it, tap the book you want to read. The book will download and open after a few moments, depending on your connection speed.

If you don't see all of your purchased items in iBooks, check your settings.

See your purchased books

On your Mac

• Click Sort By in the upper-right corner of iBooks.
• Click "Show iCloud Books" from the bottom of the pop-up menu.

Sync ePub, iBooks Author books, and PDF files with iBooks and iCloud

The first time that you open iBooks after you update to iOS 9.3 or OS X 10.11.4, you'll be prompted to use iCloud. If you don't see the prompt, you might need to set up iCloud Drive.

You can use iBooks and iCloud Drive to sync ePub, iBooks Author books, and PDF files so that you can access them on all of your devices. After you turn on iCloud Drive, all files automatically upload to iCloud*. Any ePub, iBooks Author book, or PDF file that you add to your iBooks library later also automatically upload to iCloud*.

Books purchased from the iBooks Store are not stored on iCloud Drive, but you can redownload them. Because they're not stored on iCloud Drive, they don't count against iCloud storage. Sample books and audiobooks don't sync with iCloud Drive.

Take care,

So when you got the prompt about whether or not you wanted to sync with iCloud, did you click yes or no?

And if you clicked yes, are you saying that all your non-apple ebooks and pdfs started showing up in iTunes again just like they used to?

Hi noti4ka,

Thanks for sharing your resolution with the community.

Have a great day!