Photos app on iPhone not syncing in iOS 11

Thanks for your reply wmalden! I was looking into using iCloud for my photos, but with ADSL communication and the size of my photos database, the initial upload would take more than a week. Then follows the syncronization to the iOS devices where I would like the photos synced. But if overcoming these initial challenges, I am sure it would work. I believe in keeping things simple, and so far I go for Photos on Mac manually synced to iOS devices. So, Apple please fix.

Yes - iCloud will no doubt (?) work BUT with the size of my Photos and iTunes databases, I would be paying for additional cloud storage which would be needed. I want control of my data and I don't want it in a "cloud". Please, Apple - not ALL your users want to utilize iCloud - especially those with HUGE Photos and iTunes databases.

I should add that every time I sync my iPad using iTunes, step 5 and 6 say so many THOUSAND photos are syncing and then copying. I have NO idea WHAT photos those are since I have not taken that many photos since updating to iOS 11 (which is when Photos sync stopped working). Also, when I open an album on my iPad that is empty, there is a message that says "syncing...." at the top of the screen. When I do an album view and scroll to the bottom, it says the number of photos and then "syncing....".

Has anyone with this issue tried the "standard" Apple iOS fix of resetting the device and then restoring from backup?

If so, what, if anything, happened with Photos?

I have. Didn’t matter. And it’s only an iPad issue for me - iPhone 8 Plus is fine. The photos are there on iPad, but just not in all the albums. Even the albums are there, but perhaps 1/2 have no photos in them.

NewUpdate...excitement!!!! dashed the minute it was installed...

ITunes now cannot even choose which albums/photos to sync and when I tried a sync it did a backup, diagnostic and then BOMBED out completely...no photos library even looked at etc..

What have you done Apple... this is worse than it has ever been...

Mac OS 10.13.3 is a total waste of space for the photos sync issue

Angie

Hello world of Photo users in Apple. 😕 I have spent so many hours, along with a seasoned, professional technical consultant, attempting syncing of my photos. I am a professional artist and photographer with a huge reliance on imagery in my day to day work with galleries, clients and various other formats like social media which are a necessary part of my livelihood. The extent of frustration is overwhelming. I am using a brand new iMac Pro 2017 macOS High Sierra with 3 Ghz Intel Xeon W, 64 GB 2666 Mhz DDR4 with Radeon Pro Vega 64 16 GB and iPhone 8 version 11.2.5 Spending day and night trying to get what should work be done simply has me outraged at Apple's inability to keep their services up to expectations. Spoke to two tech consultants at Apple Anita and Peter today and waiting for help.

I also experienced this. I try to sync almost every day just on case some magical dust fell on Apple...to no avail

- Sometimes the selection list of photo albums in iTunes completely disappears - they sometimes come back after closing the app and re-opening

- Other times, the list of albums is there but all got unchecked, so I have to check the ones I want all over again

Where is the Apple-covering media when we need them?

I reported this in early November this time (I had seen similar sync issues previously, although restarting iTunes and the Mac usually resolved them) but I got escalated through the exec team since I had emailed Tim Cook after all the frustrations with it previously.

I haven't heard any updates except the "Engineering is working on it" since mid-December 2017, so I just now emailed them to see if there were news updates on it and I included the offer to let them VPN into my Mac that has iTunes and Photos on it so that they can run tests, debug etc if they wish. I doubt they'll take me up on it, but you never know.

Hi mksounds,

I had an almost identical experience. I spent hours trying different ideas and providing logs to them. Also told it’s a bug in iOS 11 and engineers are working on the problem. I have a direct line to the senior Apple advisor helping me as well. Now just waiting…

I was also so frustrated, that two weeks ago I politely emailed Tim Cook email address (never done this kind of a thing) asking if he was aware that this is bad press for Apple. I gave all details and web links I knew. I hope the exec team escalated this instead giving me the public relations talk.

Did it and received the auto reply as follows directly below.

Thank you for your feedback on Photos for iOS.

We cannot respond to you personally, but please know that your message has been received and will be reviewed by the Photos for iOS Team. If we need to follow up with you on your ideas for improving Photos for iOS, we will contact you directly.

We appreciate your assistance in making Photos for iOS great.

Photos for iOS Team
Apple

Also sent an email back to Apple Tech Support this AM to follow up with their email last week:

This is just a FYI that I still haver not heard anything of yet from the engineering department. As soon as I do I will be following up again either via email or via phone.

Any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I just posted a lengthy message and it’s gone!! A bit like my photos on my ipads!!

Having similar issues on an iPhone X. Photos go across but takes ages reading photo library & copies a large number even when it shouldn’t have any more to sync. I will report that too.

iPad issue is driving me mad - disgraceful that there’s still no fix after 4 months ************** Sole purpose of one of my ipads is to hold photos so I’m getting more & more frustrated that it’s still not working. If they’re struggling to resolve the issue they could at least do us the courtesy of letting us know.... not just leave us hanging because they think we’re so tied into Apple that we’ll just put up with it! Come on Apple.... get it together!!!!!

Thinking about that last point again, where iTunes takes forever ‘Reading pics from Photo Library’, or something like that, before it then carries on copying new pics over, I think it was a new version of iTunes, not a new iOS, that introduced that particular annoyance. Several years ago now, so can’t remember which new version, but before then, syncing new photos was just as quick as syncing new music files. Sometimes wonder if it would be nice to be able to go back to my original iPhone 3GS running iOS 3!

I emailed the tech person (nice person) and the guy (ditto) in exec relations and this was what they said:

"The engineering team responded saying that they are still actively investigating your issue. At this time, they do not need any further logs or documentation. Once I hear back from them again I will be sure to reach out to you as soon as possible with their next steps."

So, I didn't find out any resolution yet.

That might be @ solution. Then we need to pay for storage space when we don't necessarily need it. I have a Drobo / 5 bay storage for my collections of photos. I only need to sync to my phone for what I am doing. Don't want reliance on a cloud in a country that has horrible signal from cell towers and just as bad wifi with concrete everywhere. But that's my situation...