The iPhone sync debacle: Still not recognized by iTunes, "Other" taking up too much space

We continue to be inundated with reports of problems with iPhone syncing apparent under all versions of iTunes 7.4.x (7.4, 7.4.1 and 7.4.2). To recap, here are some common symptoms:

• The iPhone is not recognized by iTunes, never appearing in the left-hand pane
• iTunes fails to transfer all music, contacts, calendar data, or other items to the device.
• iTunes times out when attempting to transfer data to the iPhone
• iTunes crashes while transferring data to the iPhone

In addition, we are exploring a new issue where storage capacity on the iPhone mysteriously disappears after sync sessions.

iPhone Atlas reader Mike Contreras writes:

"After I downloaded 7.4, about 3 gigs of my 8 iPhone gigs show up as being occupied, although it is only categorized as 'Other.' This is something that I did not upload to my iPhone."

Reader Pam adds:

"My iPhone has been working great.  Today I updated to the newest iTunes (version 7.4.2) and suddenly the memory is full.  On the capacity bar at the bottom of the page, there is an orange bar representing Other that uses 5.95 GB. Audio uses 487mb and photos use 103 mb. It finally synced after I unchecked almost all playlists and photos."

Fix for "Other" taking up too much space Unfortunately, the only effective fix for suddenly missing storage on the iPhone that occurs after a sync is to restore the device. Connect your iPhone to your computer, then in iTunes, select your iPhone and click the Restore button under the Summary tab. Restoring the phone will erase contacts, calendars, photos and other data stored only on the phone, but will restore automatically backed-up information including text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, etc.

Fix for iPhone not being recognized Though we've already covered a number of potential solutions for this problem in our special report on troubleshooting iPhone sync issues, we've now happened upon another simple, if somewhat annoying fix: simply restart your Desktop system.

iPhone Atlas reader Chuck writes:

"I too have had difficulty syncing the iPhone after installing the most recent iTunes release. Most often, the device is not recognized at all. The only reliable work-around it to restart the computer. This results in the device being recognized, but the sync is incomplete."

Meanwhile, iPhone Atlas reader Justin offers a step-by-step fix for instances of lack of recognition on Windows XP sytems:

1. Right click on "My Computer"
2. Select "Manage"
3. On the right click "Device Manager"
4. Expand (click the plus box) "Imagaing Devices" You should see Apple iPhone.
5. Right click it and select "Update Driver..."
6. Check the circle "Install from a list or specific location" at the bottom and click next.
7. Next check, "Don't search, I will choose the driver to install."
8. On the next page in the box under Digital still camera there should be something called Apple Mobile USB Device Driver (or something along the lines of that.
9. Select that and click next to install (A message may appear about it not being an authorized windows driver, click install anyway.)
10. Once the install is finished, open iTunes, connect your iPhone and your iPhone should be recognized by iTunes.

Fix for problems syncing calendars/contacts Users also continue to report, in great numbers, issues with syncing contacts and/or calendars to the iPhone.

iPhone Atlas reader Jim writes:

"Everything else syncs normally, but the calendar on my phone doesn't update properly. In the "advanced" section of the iPhone sync window I choose 'replace calendar' and everything worked fine, but it would be nice for it to be a two-way affair."

A variety of fixes for these issues can be found in our sync troubleshooting special report.

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.