Mac OS 12 Finder sync iOS 18 - contacts and calendars don't sync - NO iCloud

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Mac OS 12 Finder sync iOS 18 - contacts and calendars don't sync - NO iCloud

I'm using Finder (Mac OS 12 Monterey) and iOS 18 - not using iCloud - to sync a new to me (used iphone) for a ported secondary number.

I first "restored" the phone from a back up of my primary iphone which is synced to an older different computer. When I first tried syncing the iOS 18 phone to the Mac (OS 12), which had never synced to any iOS device, it reported "conflicts" in the addressbook and calendar. I clicked to resolve conflicts using the computer's copy.

Now syncing with Finder will not update or replace any contacts or calendar events. If I click replace contacts with next sync it erases the contacts on the phone but doesn't replace them. Same for calendar.

In the old days, one could "re-set sync services" but the old terminal command doesn't work.

/System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync.pl
zsh: no such file or directory: /System/Library/Frameworks/SyncServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/resetsync.pl

How can I get the Finder sync to work as expected (i.e. replacing the contacts and calendar events with copies from the Mac)?

I confirm everything with iCloud is turned off on both the Mac and the iphone.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Oct 25, 2025 9:53 AM

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Answer 1

Marlinespike Author

Level 4

1,899 points

Nov 4, 2025 10:15 AM in response to Marlinespike

It looks like the sync may cancelling because it expects an .icns in a system folder that isn't there. Looking through the logs I found the following.

2025-09-15 16:25:28:269|Conflict Resolver|3572|0x143e0a0d0|SharedCode|Error| Failed to find image at path = /System/Library/Frameworks/AddressBook.framework/Helpers/AddressBookSync.app/Contents/Resources/Contacts.icns for client "Contacts", using default icon. Please add an image to your client description or file a bug against the author of "Contacts" to have the appropriate image added.

2025-09-15 16:27:31:754|SyncServer|3566|0x14f613e40|Server|Info| Cancelling all sync plans.

2025-09-15 16:27:31:769|SyncServer|3566|0x14f613e40|Server|Info| Goodnight, Gracie.

There's multiple warnings like this most recent entry.

2025-11-02 15:06:55:165|SyncServer|48242|0x138807eb0|Logging|Info| Logging initialized, engine version 729 : log level 3

2025-11-02 15:06:55:226|SyncServer|48242|0x138807eb0|DataManager|Warning| Client com.apple.AddressBook image file path /System/Library/Frameworks/AddressBook.framework/Helpers/AddressBookSync.app/Contents/Resources/Contacts.icns does not exist.

2025-11-02 15:08:57:905|SyncServer|48242|0x138807eb0|Server|Info| Cancelling all sync plans.

2025-11-02 15:08:57:911|SyncServer|48242|0x138807eb0|Server|Info| Goodnight, Gracie.

And it looks like the sync will choke on the label "son" that was in 2 of the cards. I have since changed those to "child".

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Answer 2

LD150

Level 10

98,863 points

Nov 5, 2025 4:14 AM in response to Marlinespike

Marlinespike wrote:

It looks like the sync may cancelling because it expects an .icns in a system folder that isn't there. Looking through the logs I found the following.

...

And it looks like the sync will choke on the label "son" that was in 2 of the cards. I have since changed those to "child".

Not sure where that is going, are you agreeing that it is no longer supported unless you are an expert able to change code?

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Answer 3

Oct 26, 2025 5:21 AM in response to LD150

LD150 wrote:

Content that you can sync includes music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, audiobooks, books, photos, contacts, and calendars.

That article does not mention calendar or contacts because as I said that sync is no longer supported. Going back maybe 10 years.

Actually, the article does mention calendars and contacts, but only in the sentence that the OP quoted.

Looking at the screenshot, I didn't see any place where calendar and contact controls could be, except maybe in the "Info" section. I plugged my iPhone, which is running iOS 18, into my Mac, which is running Sequoia. Then I selected the Info tab. This message appeared:

I don't feel like turning off iCloud synchronization of Contacts and Calendar to see if there actually would still be manual synchronization controls, and how they would interact with e-mail-based calendar events.

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Answer 4

LD150

Level 10

98,863 points

Oct 26, 2025 9:59 AM in response to Marlinespike

Marlinespike wrote:

That doesn't seem to be the official Apple position because the support article says Finder can

be used to sync calendar and contacts and it was updated last month.

Published Date: September 16, 2025

Not only that, the option is in the INFO menu to sync. See the screenshot I posted in reply to Servant of Cats.

Do you have a source for "syncing calendar and contacts is no longer supported, you must use a cloud"?

Yes. I have seen lots of posts here that said it no was longer supported. But you keep trying, things change.

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Answer 5

Marlinespike Author

Level 4

1,899 points

Oct 25, 2025 1:31 PM in response to LD150

This Apple support article says Finder should work to sync. It also offered to sync/resolve conflicts the first time.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102471

The Finder is one of the ways that you can sync your device with your Mac.

If your Mac is using macOS Catalina or later, you can use the Finder on your Mac to sync content between your Mac and your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The experience is similar to using iTunes to sync in earlier versions of macOS.

Content that you can sync includes music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, audiobooks, books, photos, contacts, and calendars.

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Answer 6

Oct 26, 2025 3:04 AM in response to Marlinespike

Aren't calendar events associated with iCloud and/or e-mail accounts in the first place?

If your phone is connected to the same e-mail accounts as your Mac, and you are also asking it do to manual synchronization of calendars (if that is still an option),could that be a source of synchronization conflicts?

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Answer 7

LD150

Level 10

98,863 points

Oct 26, 2025 4:38 AM in response to Marlinespike

Marlinespike wrote:

This Apple support article says Finder should work to sync. It also offered to sync/resolve conflicts the first time.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102471

The Finder is one of the ways that you can sync your device with your Mac.

If your Mac is using macOS Catalina or later, you can use the Finder on your Mac to sync content between your Mac and your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The experience is similar to using iTunes to sync in earlier versions of macOS.

Content that you can sync includes music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, audiobooks, books, photos, contacts, and calendars.

That article does not mention calendar or contacts because as I said that sync is no longer supported. Going back maybe 10 years.

Use a cloud provider.

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Answer 8

Marlinespike Author

Level 4

1,899 points

Oct 26, 2025 7:52 AM in response to Servant of Cats

There are manual controls for syncing under the info tab. It looks just like the controls did using iTunes sync. You have a choice of which contacts, which calendars, or to replace both with copies from the Mac. Here's a screenshot of the last option.

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Answer 9

Marlinespike Author

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1,899 points

Oct 26, 2025 8:01 AM in response to Servant of Cats

I do not use iCloud for anything so calendar events and contacts can not be associated with that. There is no email account set up on either the Mac or the phone using Apple apps. Both the addressbook and calendar show they are "On My Mac".

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Answer 10

Marlinespike Author

Level 4

1,899 points

Oct 26, 2025 8:16 AM in response to LD150

That doesn't seem to be the official Apple position because the support article says Finder can be used to sync calendar and contacts and it was updated last month.

Published Date: September 16, 2025

Not only that, the option is in the INFO menu to sync. See the screenshot I posted in reply to Servant of Cats.

Do you have a source for "syncing calendar and contacts is no longer supported, you must use a cloud"?

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Answer 11

Nov 5, 2025 10:02 AM in response to LD150

LD150 wrote:

Marlinespike wrote:

It looks like the sync may cancelling because it expects an .icns in a system folder that isn't there. Looking through the logs I found the following.

...

And it looks like the sync will choke on the label "son" that was in 2 of the cards. I have since changed those to "child".

Not sure where that is going, are you agreeing that it is no longer supported unless you are an expert able to change code?

I don't think that patching the internal AddressBookSync application is an end-user option. Figuring out how to create a valid ".icns" file – although possibly a challenge for non-developers – isn't the hardest part.

If I am not mistaken, this application lives on the signed, cryptographically-sealed, system volume. Should you manage to modify it (despite macOS's attempts to keep you from doing so), then I believe that the next time that you started up, the system would detect the "tampering" and simply refuse to start up. That would be a much bigger problem than a bug that prevented manual synchronization of calendars from working.

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire"

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Answer 12

LD150

Level 10

98,863 points

Oct 25, 2025 9:59 AM in response to Marlinespike

As far as i recall, syncing calendar and contacts is no longer supported, you must use a cloud, not necessarily iCloud, Google or Outlook will do

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