iPad has stopped syncing

[iBozz]

From a few days ago, my 3rd Generation iPad under iOS8.4 (12H143) has stopped automatically syncing Calendars and Contacts. Other things may also have stopped but I haven't checked anything else.

I back-up to iCloud every night and via iTunes to my iMac once a week. I generally use wifi but occasionally 3G if there is no wifi signal when out and about.

In the case of Calendars I first noticed several days ago that syncing wasn't "immediate" and could take an hour or more. Today I notice that changes I made to Calendar on my Yosemite iMac still haven't appeared on the iPad after four days. An event I added to the iPad an hour ago is not reflected on the iMac.

"I haven't changed anything, honestly I haven't, mate!".

OK, OK, I used to do mainframe IT support so let me rephrase that oft repeated yet always false assertion to reflect the truth - I am not aware of doing anything which would explain this seeming divorce between the two devices.

One thing I have just noticed, and I can offer no explanation as to how or when it changed, is that on the iPad under iCloud the option of iCloud Drive was switched on whereas I always thought that it was off. I can only assume that the Grandchildren (who may well be taken outside and shot if found guilty) turned that on when playing but, as I haven't seen them for a couple of weeks I'm not convinced that that is the culprit.

I have, however, turned on that option on the iMac as well.

No change!

I have turned the iPad and iMac off and on again - no improvement. I haven't, I confess, done a reset of the iPad as since iOS8 that seems to re-download thousands of emails from the servers of my ISP but, if that is the only solution, I shall grit my teeth and do it.

Any advice would be very much appreciated - properly syncing Calendars are necessary to rule my otherwise chaotic life!

 

[twerppoet]

First; iCloud Drive wont' affect your calendar and contact syncing. It's more of a replacement/alternative to the Documents and Data part of iCloud. Turning it on should have no affect on contacts and calendars, or most other parts of iCloud.

Trying to fix the syncing issue:

You'll need to do all of this when you do have a wi-fi signal. As I'm sure you know,, updates only happen when you have internet. So the very first thing to do is simply force a sync on each device that's often off the internet. The easiest way to force a sync on an iOS device is to restart it then open the app. You can also force close the app, then open it again. The first time an app opens (and isn't frozen in RAM) it should automatically sync.

Also, in iOS when the app is open you can force a sync Contacts by going to the Group list and pulling down on the list. You can do the same thing in Calendars by tapping the "Calendars" button at the bottom center of the screen and pulling down on that list.

I don't know of any way to force a sync with the apps on the Mac, but they also sync the first time they open, and should periodically sync when open.

More extreme, you can turn off/clear data on each device and sync it back again.

Assuming you are using iCloud to sync your contacts and calendars, first check icloud.com on a computer and see if the data is getting there. Once you are sure the important data is safe there (or not) you can go on to turning it off then back on for each device.

If the data is all on icloud.com, then delete the local data when prompted, check the device or computer to make sure it's gone, then turn it back on.

If all the data is not on icloud.com then choose keep and merge as appropriate on the device or computer that is most up--to-date. Delete local on all other devices. While using keep and merge on all of them should work, it increases the chance that you'll end up with duplicate data.

I'm not sure what else to suggest other than signing completely out of iCloud and back in; but this can have other inconvenient consequences, so save it for a last resort.

 

[iBozz]

Many thanks for the suggestions. I have closed apps on the iPad and then re-opemed them but no syncing occurred, no did it when I did a reboot.

I can usually force a sync by "downward swiping" as you suggest. although that works better for Contacts than it does for calendars.

Since posting my original query, Calendars did re-sync, but they seem to take several hours (even when on wifi) or, in a couple of cases, four days. One appointment deleted and replaced with something else on the iMac remained stubbornly on the iPad together with the replacement appointments and I eventually deleted it manually! How long that behaviour has been exhibited I cannot say as I only noticed it when vaguely remembering that I was to meet someone and noticed that it was on one device and not the other, even two days after adding it to my Calendar on the iPad.

I have yet to find the time to visit my iCloud account to see just what is in there but shall do so over the next couple of days.

I shall report back in due course.

Thanks again.

 

[twerppoet]

No problem. I hope you get it working again.

 

[iBozz]

I haven't explored this fully yet, but I have been playing with both my iMac's and iPad's calendar whilst watching my iCloud Calendar (who says men can't multitask!).

I am currently on my home wifi network with both devices and it would appear that the conversation between the iMac and iCloud is pretty well instantaneous whereas the conversation between the iPad and iCloud can take several hours to become actioned - and as mentioned earlier, four days in one case. When iCloud does reflect changes made on the iPad, the iMac becomes updated almost immediately.

So, the iPad does not talk to iCloud in "real time". Maybe it never did, but I can't ever recall there being any noticeable delay.

I shall explore this further, probably tomorrow, but if anyone has any suggestions as to where to look first then they will be gratefully received.

 

[twerppoet]

How good is your iPad's connection to the internet in general? Are you noticing any delays or other issues when using Safari or other apps that get their information online?

You've been around long enough that you've probably heard all this before, but just in case. Restart or reset the iPad. Try forgetting the network, restarting your router, then rejoining the network.

You should be able to test your connection speed using the Speed Test app by Ookla. In this case I'd keep an eye on long Ping times, since those can cause timeout issues, and delay a lot of things.

 

[iBozz]

Ookla reports Ping 50ms, Download 5.38Mbps, Upload 0.74Mbps and on a second run Ping 58ms, Download 5.38Mbps, Upload 0.75Mbps - pretty well standard at home. I'm at the end of about a mile and a half of old 1960s copper wire so impressive speed isn't evident!

I've rebooted and also done a reset - no change. An appointment added to the iMac this morning has yet to show up on the iPad although it has been off-line most of the day yet on-line at home for the past hour.

I have forgotten my home network and rejoined but have yet to reboot the router as it is a bit of a pain to reach it as it entails scrabbling around under the stairs! However, as the problem persists when I am out and about and connecting to various public wifi and/or my 3G network I wonder if it is my router - surely syncing would work outside the home and not at home if it were my network?

Stop Press! I have just this moment noticed - and now tested twice - that tonight entering an appointment on the iMac does not get reflected on the iPad - until I enter or delete an appointment on the iPad (or maybe along time passes), at which point full syncing takes place. On the other hand, as soon as I enter or amend (including moving) an appointment on the iPad syncing takes place and the iMac is updated.

This, to me, makes little sense, but could there be a "push" setting (or somesuch) which either I have inadvertently changed or which as been corrupted? Or perhaps some setting or preference somewhere else that I need to correct?

If twerppoet or indeed anyone else can stop my head spinning (and me missing appointments by reading the "wrong" Calendar) then I would be very much obliged! I feel a little out of my depth here!

 

[iBozz]

My Calendars settings on the iPad are:

Time Zone Override > Time Zone > London
Alternate Calendars > off
Week numbers > off
Show Invitee Declines > On
Sync > All events
Default Alert Times > Birthdays 1 week before, Events None, All Day Events > None
Start Week On > Monday
Default Calendar > [my own]

Under Notifications:

Allow Notifications > Off



To the best of my knowledge, all those settings are as they have always been. I have Notifications set to Off as the Notification Centre annoys the hell out of me!

 

[twerppoet]

Check out Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data. Drill down to your iCloud account and see what the settings are.

 

[iBozz]

You may have hot on something there, twerppoet!

The Fetch New data switch is set to Push, but drilling down further reveals that all Mail accounts and Holiday Calendars are set to Fetch whereas iCloud is set to Push and within that Select Schedule is set to Push.

I'm not fully conversant with what Push and Fetch do but, taking the words as having their literal UK meaning (which isn't always the same as what the US thinks words mean!) I presume that Push means that Calendars only (or only occasionally) talk to iCloud when a change occurs on the iPad.

In the days when I used to support MS-DOS, the most common explanation was that the caller "hadn't done anything" so I can't use that in my defence, but I have absolutely no recollection of changing those settings over the past fortnight or so. However, I did babysit twin seven year old grandsons and a four year old granddaughter recently so I am quite comfortable in letting them take the blame!

If, that is, that is the likely source of the problem?

I've fully backed up so will change that to Fetch (I'm assuming that Fetch includes a Push element as well as there doesn't seem to be a setting that allows for both) and see what happens over the next 24 hours or so.

If it all goes wrong I'll restore and try other things.

 

[iBozz]

Incidentally, a slight OT aside - how do I "Thank" posters? I can't see a button or check-box to allow thanks.

 

[J. A.]

Incidentally, a slight OT aside - how do I "Thank" posters? I can't see a button or check-box to allow thanks.

To "thank" a poster, tap the "Thumbs up" icon below the posts. You'll find them here:

in posts other than your own. In Safari on your iPad, they'll be visible automatically. If you use a browser on a computer, put the cursor into the post, then they'll get visible.

If you use Tapatalk, tap the post, and select "Like":

 

[twerppoet]

Actually Push means that when the server gets new data it's supposed to push it to the iOS device immediately. It 'should' be the fastest way to get updates. However, I've never been clear on whether it applies to everything or just Mail. I suspect it's all three primary services (Mail, Contacts, Calendars) in iCloud, and only Mail on other compatible services.

Fetch depends on the iOS device to go looking for updates. As you saw in settings it can be every 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Shorter times means your data is more likely to be up-to-date. Longer times help conserver battery.

Manual means the iPad checks for new data when the app is launched, and when you force an update/sync.


While Push should be faster, if the iPad is having problems receiving Push notifications then switching to Fetch may be more reliable. But your description of what's going on does not really fit either method. It's like your iPad only gets updated information when it also sends updated information.

Still, switching to Fetch, or even switching off Push and turning it back on again may be the kick it needs to start working properly again. At least we can hope.

 

[iBozz]

Thanks, J.A.

twerppoet: Changing from Push to Fetch and back appears to have made no difference!

It seems that, for whatever reason, the iPad now needs an entry to be changed, created or deleted on it before it also picks up changes on the iMac.

I shall conduct one more trial before curling up in the foetal position and wishing this cruel cruel world would go away and leave me in peace - I'll make an entry on the iMac and leave the iPad's Calendar well alone (at least as far as making or changing items on it is concerned) and see if the change gets reflected on the iPad and if so how long afterwards.

I shall report back in due course, but I am beginning to feel how the character in Edvard Munch's The Scream feels!

http://www.edvardmunch.org/the-scream.jsp

 

[twerppoet]

Well, there is still signing completely out of iCloud on the iPad, waiting a while, and then signing back in.

This might cause a few hick-ups with document storage; so if you use the iWorks apps make sure you've got good copies of all your documents first.