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Can't sync to iTunes

Hi,


I'm trying to sync my music on my 2018 Macbook Pro's iTunes Music app (1.2.5.7) with my iPhone 14 plus (iOS 16.0.3).


When I choose the songs I want and press "sync", it gets hung up on "Step 3 of 4 - determining tracks to sync". I also keep getting a message that says "The iPhone cannot be synced because there is not enough free space to hold all of the selected items (additional 14.86 GB required)" but there's 79.58 GB available on my phone.


I've tried restarting, authorizing my computer, plugging it in with a different cable, but nothing works. Any help you can give me is much appreciated.


Thanks,

Alec

iPhone 14 Plus, iOS 16

Posted on May 8, 2023 12:48 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 11, 2023 8:23 PM

Music has a feature where playlists modified on a device should be able to sync back to the library, updating the original list on the computer. Duplicate copies may arise when this syncing process goes wrong. Earlier I was suggesting that it was the device that you wiped and reloaded, which you will likely still need to do, but you can either clean up the duplicate playlists manually, or try reverting to an older version of the Music Library.musiclibrary database. With Music closed browse to your Music library folder, ~/Music/Music, then enter Time Machine and restore the database to a recent date before the duplicates were created. See Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support. Note that duplicate playlists don't imply there are multiple copies of the songs, multiple lists can reference the same tracks.


Once you are happy that the library is the way that you want it once more you can try reestablishing the sync relationship with your iPhone. The most efficient way to do this is to remove the Music app from the device, which will also remove all data associated with it, then reinstall the Music app from the App Store, then see Sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod using your computer - Apple Support to set up syncing from scratch.


tt2

Similar questions

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 11, 2023 8:23 PM in response to Alec S.

Music has a feature where playlists modified on a device should be able to sync back to the library, updating the original list on the computer. Duplicate copies may arise when this syncing process goes wrong. Earlier I was suggesting that it was the device that you wiped and reloaded, which you will likely still need to do, but you can either clean up the duplicate playlists manually, or try reverting to an older version of the Music Library.musiclibrary database. With Music closed browse to your Music library folder, ~/Music/Music, then enter Time Machine and restore the database to a recent date before the duplicates were created. See Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support. Note that duplicate playlists don't imply there are multiple copies of the songs, multiple lists can reference the same tracks.


Once you are happy that the library is the way that you want it once more you can try reestablishing the sync relationship with your iPhone. The most efficient way to do this is to remove the Music app from the device, which will also remove all data associated with it, then reinstall the Music app from the App Store, then see Sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod using your computer - Apple Support to set up syncing from scratch.


tt2

May 10, 2023 11:17 PM in response to turingtest2

Couple of questions:

  • Would you be able to give me directions how to delete my current music library and reinstall it from a Time Machine backup?
  • Since my playlists are messed up and have duplicates galore, if I do a Time Machine backup now, will it save all the duplicates as well? If so, should I wait to back it up until after I restore it?

May 8, 2023 2:17 AM in response to Alec S.

iTunes & Finder can on occasion get confused about what content is already on the device, and determine that too much content is selected for syncing. This may resolve if you reduce your sync selections such that a sync can complete, then reselect the content that was previously on the device. Check that you're not inadvertently syncing all video content. How big is your library? The numbers given suggest Finder thinks there is a total 94.44 GB to sync. Could that be realistic?


tt2

May 10, 2023 9:49 AM in response to turingtest2

I tried unchecking several playlists and movies but I couldn't apply the changes because the app was 'locked up' on the 'step 3 of 4 determining files to sync' cue. I restarted the computer and unchecked the playlists and movies but the same thing happens, it gets stuck on the 'step 3 of 4 determining files to sync' cue. No matter what I do, it stops on that step and doesn't go any further.


When this first happened, I updated my iPhone's iOS according to Apple's suggested fix for this problem, but it also didn't work.

May 10, 2023 9:01 PM in response to turingtest2

Something interesting has happened today and I wonder if it's causing the syncing to get hung up. When I opened the Music app, I noticed that there were multiple playlists. For example, I have a playlist called "Smooth Jazz", but now there's Smooth Jazz, Smooth Jazz 1, Smooth Jazz 2, 3, and 4. This happened with several of my playlists. When I clicked on each duplicate playlist, they each contained the same number of songs as all the others. I plugged in my phone and opened Sync Settings and all of the playlists and their duplicates had been automatically checked for syncing.


Do you know how the duplicate playlists were created? I'm considering your suggestion to 'nuke' my Music app but would like to find another option, if possible.

Can't sync to iTunes

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