Photos app on iPhone not syncing in iOS 11

Hey guys! a new iOS update is out. but it doesnt seem that the SYNC issue was addressed in the fixes and improvements.

although apple says its an iTunes problem, I always had a feeling it was an iOS issue!
I will check the sync with the new iOS version and let you know.
If not, then the only thing left is to wait for the iTunes update.

This has been going on for a ridiculously long time, and the frustration is through the roof!

My iPhone 7 and 1Pad Pro 12.9 have never had the problem synching to my iMac.

My wife's iPhone 7 is fine, just her iPad Mini which is affected synching to her iMac . . . possibly a selective software.hardware issue?

Not me. Windows 10 with new iTunes version 12.7.3 still generating an iPad device error when syncing photos. The photos are actually there in Camera Roll and Photo Stream on iPad, but not appearing in original albums. Most photo albums were created in W10 or earlier W7 - some are there and complete, some have the album name but are empty. Same as before.

Add me to the list of those having Photos sync issues since moving to iOS 11. I use only iTunes to sync. All was well up until the time I updated to iOS 11 on my iPad Air and my iPhone 6. Now, the iPad air simply will not sync any new photos that I've added to Photos on my Mac (with OS 10.12.6). It DOES sync new albums but they are empty. On my iPhone, no new photos or albums are synced AND all the albums are now empty of photos. I keep hoping Apple will fix this in the latest iOS update but Photos sync with iTunes continues not to work. I have no intention of using iCloud so that is not an option. I am a LONG time Apple user but am getting more and more frustrated with updates that always seem to "break" something that was working fine before the update. I'm afraid to even update to High Sierra after reading the horror stories from users that have had all sorts of issues because of the new file system used in High Sierra. Come on, Apple - what happened to your philosophy of "IT JUST WORKS"? Not anymore!

Hi Sunshine4a,
the same experience for me. I sent to Apple Support (2nd level) two different diagnostic... first one referred to iPhone (made by Apple Store), second one referred to iTunes (made by me, following Apple Support guide).

It's scandalous!!!

Prediction: Apple will move to a subscription model. You no longer own, you lease. Figure $200 monthly for typical phone, tablet, desktop combination. Microsoft has done this with Office. Quicken is doing it. They no longer care about customers who purchase equipment.

Saw a recent post asking if Apple will fix this or not. I’d guess 50-50.

Most bugs that get this much attention are fixed.

However this looks like a bad one. There may be multiple bugs. Wired photo sync is an old function that Apple is almost certainly going to remove entirely from iTunes in 2018-2019. In addition iTunes is getting split into modules in 2018-2019 (Podcasts first to go with removal wired transfer). In 2019 Apple will stop selling digital music and I wonder if wired music transfer will end too.

So that is why I give fix probability only 50%. Better to hope for 3rd party support taking iTunes out of the picture.

All from Apple geek blogs and twitter. The emerging external geek consensus for what it’s worth.

Apple is also launching streaming video like Netflix/amazon but nobody is expecting them to stop selling movies in next 2 years.

Same here… I’ve been told that the Apple engineers are aware and working on a solution. I’ve sent in many logs and spent hours on the phone. I’m also still in contact worh my consultant with no anticipated date of a resolution.

I too have spent more hours than I care to remember. Two open cases and countless log submittions including bug reports going back to the first ios 11 beta. Also been told by the two senior advisors on my cases that they have all the info they need and to expect a fix in an upcoming update. Nothing yet as you all know.

Just playing devil's advocate here, but maybe they really don't know how to fix it! Even doctors can't cure everything! My son is in Level 2 support for IBM and I know these guys work their butts off to fix problems, regardless of upper management, (who probably are clueless anyway). These tech support people, in my opinion, are doing all they can to fix the issue. I am as frustrated as everyone else. I rely on my portfolio for my business, and not having it readily available is a pain in the .... Just my 2 cents 👿

Actually, you are probably correct. From some things the advisor said, it does seem like they might not know how to fix it. Honestly, I prefer to think that they don’t know how to fix it rather than that they are ignoring the users. Thanks for a different perspective!

Fixing this is perhaps a huge technical challenge. I worked for Oracle and we would back away from fixing things if we suspected new unforeseen related problems due to the quick fix. We would integrate the fix in a larger group of fixes. The key is testing. In any event, Apple is not communicating with users, as to what they plan to do. Will they fix soon, or will the fix be part of a major release ie 12.x IOS or the functionality will no longer be supported. For that, shameful.

I have been using iPhoto and later Photos to store all my photos. It sums up to some 25K photos over the years. Why did I choose using Apple Photo? 1. Apple is a company that I believe will be in the market for many, many years ahead. 2. Apple has easy to use applications with functionality for most users. 3. I thrust Apple to secure a path forward even if functionality is changed. 4. My photos are my most valuable data, and I cannot accept to loose them or not be able to use them the way I prefer. So please Apple, make an overhaul of the ability of making manual syncing from my master Photos database on my Mac, to my iPhone. I suggest you put in a parameter where I can tell iTunes to clear all photos on my iPhone, but leaving the Camera Roll. By doing this I would be able to make a fresh Synchronisation when the iPhone is not getting synced properly. Please put priority into fixing this, as many users are not happy about the problems that occurred when you released iOS 11.

Well said, poorfisherman! I have over 36k photos and videos on my Mac so when Photo syncing goes awry, having to re-sync all those photos takes a LONG time. What I fear is that Apple is going to decide NOT to support iTunes sync and will expect all users to move to iCloud sync. If that happens, I will just have to find a 3rd party app that will allow me to sync photos from Mac to iPhone and iPad. I have far too much time, money and effort invested in the Apple platform to move to Windows or some other alternative and I have no intention of using iCloud storage for my HUGE collection of photos and music.