“There are lots of problems syncing iOS devices with iTunes 12. I’ve written about this many times, and this article has more than 160 comments, at the time of this writing, explaining the many problems that people are experiencing,” Kirk McElhearn writes for Kirkville.
“You’ll find a number of possible solutions to these issues on the web, some of which work for a handful of people,” McElhearn writes. “I’ve been researching this for a while, and I think I have found what is wrong, and how to fix syncing.”
“If you have intractable sync problems with an iOS device, you may want to try this procedure and see if it helps,” McElhearn writes. “Let me be very clear: I don’t think this fixes all problems syncing iOS devices with iTunes, but I believe that a large number of them are caused by iOS devices contacting the iTunes Store during the sync.”
Read more in the full article here.
I normally keep the iTunes store turned off on my MBP, but I have noticed changes on the iPhone after syncing. I never thought of using Airplane mode. I will try it next time I sync. It seems the iTunes store attempts to butt in on your business. Unless I am buying songs or apps, or updating apps, I have no need for them.
There is one more step that is even more radical and has even more warnings about risk…, but it’s what I’ve had to do.
Wipe out your backup. You don’t have to delete it, you can move it from its directory, and keep it backed up somewhere just in case.
Then, allow iTunes to create a new back up before you sync.
Kirk, you are greatness! ⛅
I’ve run into the iOS sync issue myself, with iTunes 12 and the new iPhone 6 Plus; and of course went online to read the various forum postings to figure it out.
One thing that stood out from my readings is that there does not appear to be a consensus on the cause(s) of the sync issue. It took much trial and error to resolve it in my particular case.
What finally worked for me, without getting into too many details: I realized I was using an aftermarket cable for the new iPhone, and not the cable that came in the box. After the iPhone 5 came out, with the new lightning connector, Apple wanted to discourage customers from using generic brand cables, so they tweaked the lightning port on the iPhone 5 to work only with their branded cables. Eventually, of course, aftermarket cables did appear which did work with them; but as a general rule, whenever a new Apple product comes out, use all the accessories that shipped with it for best results.
I have never had problems with iTunes 12 or any other past version.
Thanks to Match and the new Photos, I’m no longer bothered by these sync issues. I just don’t do it any more. No more missing iOS devices, no more having to physically connect by cable – think about it – when everything is in the cloud and available to all device… why bother?
Install iTunes 11, problem solved.