Can't disable "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected"

Question

Created Nov ’22

Replies 3

Boosts 0

Participants 3

iPhone 7 running iOS 15.7.1 is attempting to automatically sync with Mac Studio Ultra running macOS Monterey 12.6.1. It hangs on "Determining tracks to sync." In fact music sync is not enabled and I've deleted all tracks from the phone. (Perhaps a bug there Apple?). Music library its persistently attempting to sync to comprises close to 50,000 songs, but again, music sync is disabled on the phone.

I can't apply any changes and there is no cancel when sync is in progress. Not sure how they overlooked those important features. So basically I can't change any sync settings, and given that it's my phone, I can't let it run for a week like I had to when importing my library to Music.

So my question is this...

Where is the plist (or other) responsible for the "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected?" Is the preference stored on the phone or in macOS? Ideally I'd like a recipe for setting the preference from the command line.

It's a brand new $6000 computer, so obviously hunting for workarounds is not what I'd prefer to be doing. And no, I can't afford to solve the problem by buying a new phone right now.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has dealt with this issue and can help restore my faith in these products. I first operated apple products as a kid in the late 1970s, and while new to this forum, my original developer id predates the current AppleID based ids.

Thanks, Daniel

Boost

Answer 1

OP

Apple

Nov ’22

Hi there,

You might have better luck asking this question over in Apple Support Communities run by Apple Support.

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Answer 2

rockstarjazzcat OP

Nov ’22

The Apple Support Community isn't really equipped to deal with the lower level preferences question, beyond the "uncheck the box and apply," hence my posting here.

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Answer 3

flyinacres OP

Nov ’22

I have the same or a similar problem... Unchecking the sync settings under 'General' or 'Music' does nothing--the sync continues, regardless. Ejecting and reconnecting does not help. Restarting the Mac does not help. Perhaps if I wait five or six hours for the remaining 8,000 files in is insisting on syncing, it will then let me change the settings. There appears to be no way, through the UI, to stop this syncing before it decides it is done. Not good.

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