Level 1

104 points

The ipad cannot be synced. An internal device error occurred.

Yesterday I updated my iPad Pro 9,7" to iOS 11. All went well. But when I thought I was entering my Apple ID for iTunes, I was tricked into iCloud. I never use iCloud. Not on my iMac and not on my iPad. I just don't want to use it.

When I opened my unwanted iCloud account every button was set to ON. It took me a lot of time to set every button to OFF. In the meantime a lot of my documents (photos) were copied to iCloud. I had to delete them from my iCloud Drive. After I logged out of iCloud I discovered that all my photos were deleted from my iPad.

Of course I had a backup on my iMac. I always sync my photos (and books and music) with iTunes on my iMac. I have updated iTunes to the latest version.

Never before I have had problems with this procedure. But this time all went wrong. It said there was no iBooks App and no Music App on my iPad and after that I discovered that all my books and music was deleted on my iPad.

Several times I got the message "The ipad cannot be synced. An internal device error occurred."

I tried all the usual things - restarted the iMac and the iPad / changed the cable (all Apple cables) / changed the USB port. I succeeded in restoring my books and my music but not my photos (more than 3000). It stops halfway with the above message and than only a few hundred photos are copied.

Before iOS 11 syncing with iTunes always worked great. Now I don't know what to do to solve this problem.

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Sep 22, 2017 2:53 AM

Top-ranking reply

beasterjr

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Oct 2, 2017 1:14 PM

I’ve spent several days dealing with this. The best solution was to erase all contents and data from my iPad and start over. I started by syncing just the photos, nothing else. I got the internal iPad error once. But all 103 photo albums had synced to placeholder icons along with about 400 photos which were synced to the correct albums. I hard rebooted the iPad and synced again and again and again over several hours. Hard rebooted every time. Eventually all photos 21,000+ synced to the iPad and into the appropriate albums. Only after that did I sync everything else which worked just fine. Good luck!

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449 replies

Dec 3, 2017 9:47 AM in response to heartotexas

Heartotexas,

Exactly! I prefer the quality of photos from my camera when I travel. I also buy digital copies of professional photos. So, I have photos from many sources that I’d like on my iPad and iPhone. Apple should be able to accommodate our needs.

Dec 3, 2017 10:48 AM in response to tomsooner

Tomsooner,

I updated to iOS 11.2, then I synced. It did not fix the issue. I recwives the same results as before the update. I have a follow up call with an Apple specialist next week. However, I’m starting to lose faith in Apple.

Paardeslager Author

Level 1

104 points

Dec 3, 2017 11:25 AM in response to msresinhead

msresinhead

Do you really mean that before the 11.2 update you had iCloud set to off, and after the update it was set to on by default. Did you give permission to that, or was you tricked into iCloud without really knowing that was gonna happen. That happened to me before - I thought I was entering my iTunes and App Store password (Apple ID), but it was for iCloud. Took me a very long time to get out of it.

During the update process is there a way to pass by entering your Apple ID and do it later after the update?

If there is no way to update without setting up an iCloud account than Apple has lost me.

Paardeslager

Dec 3, 2017 11:51 AM in response to Paardeslager

Paardeslager,

When I updated, my iCloud was still set to off. However, just curious, how did you get your info out of the cloud later?

I feel the same way though, if I have to set up iCloud, Apple has lost me too.

Dec 3, 2017 12:12 PM in response to Paardeslager

That is exactly what l mean. After the update and every manual sync after that - it defaults to iCloud photos ON. That’s not how l want to store my photos. Memories, years etc. is not what l want. I want my folder names with my naming conventions so l can find what l need. If l knew this was going to happen l wouldn’t have updated to the latest IOS.

I’ve been using Apple since the mid 1980’s and l’m seriously starting to consider other options. Luckily all my photos are manually copied/saved somewhere else other than iPhoto or l would have been in trouble.

Paardeslager Author

Level 1

104 points

Dec 3, 2017 12:46 PM in response to Sunshine4a

Sunshine4a,

After I discovered that iCloud was set to on I was shocked when I opened that unwanted iCloud account. Every option was set to on. Apple decides what is good for you - I always had thought that I was old enough to decide for myself.

At first I didn't know where to start. For all my programs I had to set the switch to off. Then I discovered that iCloud Photo syncing was set to on. That's the last thing I want. If I remember it correctly I had to switch off several syncing processes. That took a lot of time. Only after that I was able to delete everything from my iCloud drive. After that I received an e-mail from Apple with the message that my iCloud Photo Library was empty. And then I discovered that all my Photos were deleted from my iPad. Thank you Apple. I almost threw my iPad out of the window.

Paardeslager

Paardeslager Author

Level 1

104 points

Dec 3, 2017 12:57 PM in response to msresinhead

I have all my photos on my iMac and backups on several hard disks. And I also do not use iCloud on my iMac, so my photos are safe from Apples wisdom. I always copy my photos from my camera to my iMac to edit them.

I think the problem is that Apple does not seem to understand that there are other ways to take photos then using an iPhone (I don't have one) or an iPad. Most of the people in this thread seems to use real camera's.

Paardeslager

Dec 3, 2017 12:58 PM in response to Paardeslager

Paardeslager,

I was fortunate because when I checked, all of my iCloud settings were still off. In addition, all of my photos are saved on my Dell laptop and backed up to an external hard drive. However, I would love to be able to sync my favorite photo folders to my iPad/iPhone like I used to be able to do. I’m so frustrated with Apple!

Dec 3, 2017 1:09 PM in response to Paardeslager

Paardeslager,

I love my real Canon Camera. I always bring it with me on vacactions and to family events. In addition, I purchase the digital copy of professional photos. I don’t use my iPhone camera. I agree, Apple needs to realize this.

MichelPM

Level 10

81,535 points

Dec 3, 2017 6:14 PM in response to Sunshine4a

We need to stay on top of this!

I have sent multiple feedback on this issue each and every time Apple release another update that hasn't fixed this issue!

I have been using other Cloud service to deal with this issue, but cloud services SHOULD be alternatives/options and NOT the only solution to this problem.

Gotta stay on their backs about this issue.

This is a real PITA issue!

Paardeslager Author

Level 1

104 points

Dec 4, 2017 1:28 AM in response to Sunshine4a

Sunshine4a,

I started this thread on 22 September. It's now 2 December. It has taken that long already.

Most of the time I wait some weeks before installing an update, but this time because of all the promised advantages I updated rather early. That was a big mistake and I regret it very much. Apple takes more than it gives. And no way to go back to iOS 10.3.3.

Dec 8, 2017 7:59 AM in response to Paardeslager

I decided to attempt to sync again this morning before my call with Apple, and saw an itunes update available. I updated and I’m attempting to sync right now. It’s copying my photos. It’s on about 688 of 20,000. Waiting to see if it aborts or works this time. Waiting.....

NVM, it stopped syncing before it completed.

Dec 8, 2017 10:33 AM in response to Paardeslager

Paardeslager,

Thanks, all of my settings were unchanged. Honestly, I didn’t read the release notes first. However, since I believe the problem is with iOS 11, not iTunes, I was not very hopeful. I’m still scheduled for a call from Apple this afternoon, so I’m hoping I get some information. If not, I’m really going to start looking elsewhere for new products.

Dec 8, 2017 2:16 PM in response to Paardeslager

Paardeslager,

Update: I spoke with the Apple Specialist again today, and sent additional diagnostic files to him. He is staying on my case until the problem is resolved. So, even though it is taking a while, hopefully, it will be corrected.

AhPek

Level 1

8 points

Dec 8, 2017 6:14 PM in response to Sunshine4a

I do not think the problem will be solved. The latest update stated clearly iTunes now focus on music, film, TV programmes, podcast and audiobook. If one wish to sync Mac book with phone/ipad, the only way is iCloud or third party sync apps. Sad and frustrating!! Now I understand why base on Kantar Worldpanel ComTech research show iphone market share dropped from 40.6% to 32.9% .... Apple just don't bother, they expect user follow their strategy in using iCloud

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The ipad cannot be synced. An internal device error occurred.