Complaints of iTunes Sync Issues Cropping Up in Apple Discussion Forums
Complaints of iTunes Sync Issues Cropping Up in Apple Discussion Forums
It's not quite as well-publicized as Antennagate or all those "overheating" iPads, but there's an annoying little issue still prevalent in iOS 5 that you might have experienced. It's hard to pin down the cause--although Apple's discussion boards are filled with complaints from photo junkies--but if you've ever gotten stuck on the "Waiting for items to copy" step of an iTunes sync, you're not alone.
For most of us (this writer included) it's an occasional nuisance. It generally pops up at the end of a lengthy sync but there doesn't seem to be a consistent culprit. Apple's discussion boards are filled with complaints about the so-called iTunes sync bug, with situations ranging from genius results to large photo libraries. It seems to be a bit more prevalent on Windows, but there are certainly a healthy share of Mac users at their wits' end, too.
We haven't come across a cure-all for this bug--and as long as Apple officially ignores it as a problem worth fixing, we doubt there will be one--but we can offer a few ideas to help fix it. The first, and most obvious, is to download the most recent version of iTunes (it was updated to 10.6.3 just a few weeks ago), back up your iPhone and restore it to factory settings. But this doesn't work for everybody.
As pschlimgen writes:
"iTunes locks up at the 'Waiting for Changes to be applied' when synching my phone. As I mentioned I have totally uninstalled and reinstalled ALL apple software on my laptop. I have done a complete Factory Restore my phone. ... I reinstalled with a fresh download of iTunes. And I deleted my iTunes library."
If that doesn't work, there are a few more options. If photos seem to be your hang up, a pretty reliable fix is to delete the iPod Photo Cache folder. Head over to your Pictures folder and right-click on the iPhoto Library to "Show Package Contents." Once inside, find the iPod Photo Cache, delete it and empty the trash. Then try your sync again.
You can also try this multi-stepfix from dmwhk, via Apple tech support:
1. Disconnect iPad (or iPhone)
2. Launch iTunes. Under Edit/Preferences/Devices, check "Prevent ... from syncing automatically"
3. Close iTunes
4. Reopen iTunes
5. Reconnect iPad (iPhone)
6. Right-click on the (device's) name and choose "Reset warnings"
7. Unsync photos to clear any stored images
8. Reselect folders and sync again.
Alternately, you can try turning off Genius, disabling ringtone syncing or, possibly the strangest solution, deleting any voice memos you may have stored in your iTunes library. If all else fails, try syncing one tab at a time (first photos, then music, etc.) and see if that breaks the logjam.
Last but not least is this gem from tmel4198:
"MAKE SURE iTunes is up to date; in iTunes uncheck 'Open iTunes when this iPhone is connected.' ... Exit iTunes and reopen, check 'Open iTunes when this iPhone is connected.' Exit iTunes again and plug in your iPhone. Wait for iTunes to open and quit the (automatic) sync. Go to the Help menu and click "Run Diagnostics." Do a full diagnostics check to see if everything is OK, then right-click your iPhone ... let it back up and once done you shall be able to sync normal again!!!"
We know, that's an awful complex fix for a bug Apple doesn't deem important enough to correct. Here's hoping iOS 6 squashed it once and for all.
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