Special report: Troubleshooting iPhone sync problems

Check the USB port Make sure that your iPhone is connected to a normally powered USB 2.0 port. If you’re using a hub, try connecting the iPhone directly to the computer or vice versa. Also try switching ports.

More USB-related fixes See this MacFixIt tutorial for a number of fixes related to lack of USB device recognition under Mac OS X. If you have luck with one of the fixes listed there, please drop us a line.

iPhone calendar does not show all iCal events The iPhone’s calendar may not properly show all events synchronized from iCal. Here’s a potential fix that unfortunately will wipe out any current entries stored only on the iPhone.

• In iTunes select, your iPhone, then click the “Info” tab.
• Under Calendars, choose “Sync with selected calendars,” then deselect any read-only or birthday calendars.



• Press the Apply button in the lower-right corner to sync your iPhone
• Launch the iCal application, and on the left-hand side, drag any read-only or birthday calendars to the top of the list.
• Go back to the Info tab in iTunes. In the pull-down menu labeled “Put new events created on this iPhone into the calendar:,” select one of the calendars that is not read-only or a birthday list.
• Under Sync iCal calendars, choose “All Calendars” and re-attempt synchronization.

Contacts do not synchronize from Address Book iTunes may fail to properly synchronize contacts with the iPhone, hanging repeatedly at the “Syncing contacts” phase. One fix, effective but risky, is to delete the iSync and SyncServices folders from ~/Library/Application Support (this is the Library folder inside your user directory folder). A safer, and equally effective fix is as follows:

1. Back up Contacts using File > Back up Address Book
2. Delete all contacts in Address Book
3. Move ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook, ~/Library/Caches, and ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist to the Trash, but do not empty (just in case)
4. Log out of your user, then log back in
5. Launch iSync, Choose iSync > Preferences. Click on the Reset Sync History… button. Click Reset Sync History.
6. Log out of your user, then log back in
7. Launch Address Book, create a few test cards, then try to sync. It should be successful.
8. Now try restoring from your backup with File > Revert to Address Book Backup.

Controlling whether or not iPhoto launches If you are irritated by the fact the iPhoto launches by default each and every time you connect your iPhone — even if all images have been synchronized — there’s an easy way to turn the launch mechanism off.

1. Launch Image Capture, located in /Applications by default.
2. Choose Preferences from the Image Capture menu.
3. Click the General tab if it is not already selected
4. From the menu “When a camera is connected, open:” choose “No Application.”



Make sure you are using Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later and iTunes 7.3 or later The iPhone will not be properly recognized by iTunes unless you are running Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later and iTunes 7.3 or later, and hence will be unable to sync. Download at least these releases from Apple’s download page.

Windows (various editions)

iTunes does not recognize iPhone The most common fix for this issue under Windows XP and Vista is to remove and re-install iTunes. The process is as follows:

1. Quit iTunes if it is open
2. From the Start menu select the Control panel
3. In Windows XP, choose Add or Remove Programs. In Windows Vista, choose Uninstall a program.
4. Select iTunes from the list of applications then click Remove (XP) or Uninstall (Vista). Also remove any other items with the word “iTunes” in their names. Also remove any iPod-related entries.
5. Restart your PC.
6. Delete the iTunes program itself, if it still exists after the steps you’ve already taken (by default it’s located in the “Program Files” folder)
7. Again restart your PC.
8. Download the latest version of iTunes for Windows and install it.

Bad USB 2.0 cables can also be to blame in some cases of failed transfer. Try switching out the cable for another, or switching USB ports. You may also want to try disconnecting other USB devices from the same bus as the iPhone, isolating it.

Problems syncing Outlook Several users have reported problems synchronizing data in Outlook 2003 and 2007 with the iPhone — particularly calendar information. The problem can generally be resolved by one of the following:

1. Make sure that the iTunes sync add-in is enabled in Outlook, as described in Knowledge Base document #305845.

2. If data still will not synchronize, export your Outlook calendar (or other data that is failing to sync) as a .pst file by going to the File menu, selecting Import and Export…, choosing Export to a file then following the steps to save as .pst. This will provide a backup of your current calendar.
Next, delete all of your Outlook Calendar data via these steps (from Microsoft’s online support):

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Calendar.
2. On the View menu, point to Arrange By, point to Current View, and then click By Category.
3. Click Categories: (none), and then press CTRL+A.
4. All items in the list should now be selected.
5. Press Delete.
6. Now, try creating a single event in Outlook and syncing — the process should complete successfully. If it does, there was a problematic or corrupt entry in your Outlook calendar. Try manually re-adding items one at a time or in groups until you isolate the problematic data.

3. Downgrade iTunes. Follow the steps to remove iTunes listed above under “Tunes does not recognize iPhone,” but do not perform the last step (downloading the latest version of iTunes and installing it). Instead, download and install an older release from FileHippo.com. Several readers have had success with iTunes 7.3.1.

Blue screen error when syncing Apple knowledge base article #306048 detailing troubleshooting procedures for an issue where the blue screen of death appears under Windows XP or Vista when attempting to synchronize the iPhone.

Apparently, this problem can happen when photos that were taken on the iPhone camera are being synced backed to the host computer and is caused by outdated software. Apple says:

“If you delete the photos from the iPhone and re-sync, everything will work fine with no blue screen error message appearing.”

Apple recommends updating the software drivers for Logitech QuickCam/Webcam products, Lexmark scanners, and some built-in media card reader drivers on the afflicted system.

Mac OS X and Windows

Not all tracks transfer to iPhone Several users have reported, and we have experienced in-house, an issue where iTunes fails to transfer all selected tracks to the iPhone, though the application indicates that it has done so. In these cases, the user will be left with a subset of music synced to their iPhones.

In some cases, the fix is as simple as re-creating the iTunes Library, as discussed in Apple Knowledge Base article #93313.
In other cases, you may need to actually delete then re-import the Library, via these steps:

1. Quit iTunes
2. Backup your iTunes library (~/Music/iTunes under Mac OS X, \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\ under Windows XP and 2000 and \Users\username\Music\ under Windows Vista) to a separate location (can be on the same volume)
3. Launch iTunes while holding down the option key under Mac OS X, or the Shift key under Windows and follow the steps to create a new library
4. In iTunes, choose Import from the File menu
5. Select the backed up iTunes music folder as a source folder
6. Restore any deleted preferences

Also, note that every song in iTunes has a small checkbox next to it, and items without their checkboxes selected will not synchronize to the iPhone.

iTunes crashes while syncing In some cases, this issue can be due to a problematic USB connection. As previously mentioned, try switching USB ports, cables, or isolating the iPhone on its own bus.

The problem may also be caused by problematic media in the iTunes library. First try re-creating your iTunes Library as aforementioned (under “Not all tracks transfer to iPhone”).

Failing that, try deleting streaming music files.

Failing that quit iTunes and navigate to your iTunes music folder (~/Music/iTunes under Mac OS X, \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\ under Windows XP and 2000 and \Users\username\Music\ under Windows Vista). Move all the folders therein to another location. Now launch iTunes and re-attempt synchronization with the iPhone. Make sure that the crash does not occur. Next, move the individual music folders folders back into the music library folder in separate groups (i.e. a few folders at a time), launching iTunes and re-attempting to sync after each attempt. (Quit iTunes, move more folders back, re-launch iTunes, re-attempt sync). You should eventually experience the crash again, and you can then pinpoint the problematic music/podcast files and remove them permanently.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.