Can't get past "Syncing mail accounts" with iPhone
Well, I can... but only by not trying to sync any mail accounts. If I do tell iTunes to sync one or more mail accounts -- and I've tried a number of different permutations and combinations of accounts, just in case one particular account was the problem, or if doing multiple accounts was a problem -- I reach the stage of the sync operation where iTunes displays "Syncing mail accounts with [phone name]", and get stuck there. I've waited as long as 20 minutes, and can't go any further.
What's weird is that I'd had mail synced with my iPhone, and working properly yesterday and this morning, but then something went wrong this afternoon and I haven't gotten syncing mail to work since. Since the syncing worked once, and was pretty fast, I don't think I'm seeing a problem where it's suddenly decided to sync thousands and thousands of messages. I tried syncing just my .Mac account, for instance, which is a very low traffic account for me, without success.
I'd played around with the SIM card, seeing if I could use it in my old phone (I can, including data services, and using the old phone as a Bluetooth modem), but I have a hard time imagining how that could have affected e-mail syncing.
I've tried restoring my iPod from within iTunes (which reinstalled the iPhone's software as well as resetting the phone) and then reseting from the iPhone through its Settings screen. Neither helped. I'm beginning to wonder if something got corrupted within Mail. I tried rebuilding all of my mailboxes, but that didn't help either.
I can still manually set up e-mail on the phone itself, without setting up any sync relationship, and that seems to work okay.
What's weird is that I'd had mail synced with my iPhone, and working properly yesterday and this morning, but then something went wrong this afternoon and I haven't gotten syncing mail to work since. Since the syncing worked once, and was pretty fast, I don't think I'm seeing a problem where it's suddenly decided to sync thousands and thousands of messages. I tried syncing just my .Mac account, for instance, which is a very low traffic account for me, without success.
I'd played around with the SIM card, seeing if I could use it in my old phone (I can, including data services, and using the old phone as a Bluetooth modem), but I have a hard time imagining how that could have affected e-mail syncing.
I've tried restoring my iPod from within iTunes (which reinstalled the iPhone's software as well as resetting the phone) and then reseting from the iPhone through its Settings screen. Neither helped. I'm beginning to wonder if something got corrupted within Mail. I tried rebuilding all of my mailboxes, but that didn't help either.
I can still manually set up e-mail on the phone itself, without setting up any sync relationship, and that seems to work okay.
Comments
Well, I can... but only by not trying to sync any mail accounts. If I do tell iTunes to sync one or more mail accounts -- and I've tried a number of different permutations and combinations of accounts, just in case one particular account was the problem, or if doing multiple accounts was a problem -- I reach the stage of the sync operation where iTunes displays "Syncing mail accounts with [phone name]", and get stuck there. I've waited as long as 20 minutes, and can't go any further.
What's weird is that I'd had mail synced with my iPhone, and working properly yesterday and this morning, but then something went wrong this afternoon and I haven't gotten syncing mail to work since. Since the syncing worked once, and was pretty fast, I don't think I'm seeing a problem where it's suddenly decided to sync thousands and thousands of messages. I tried syncing just my .Mac account, for instance, which is a very low traffic account for me, without success.
I'd played around with the SIM card, seeing if I could use it in my old phone (I can, including data services, and using the old phone as a Bluetooth modem), but I have a hard time imagining how that could have affected e-mail syncing.
I've tried restoring my iPod from within iTunes (which reinstalled the iPhone's software as well as resetting the phone) and then reseting from the iPhone through its Settings screen. Neither helped. I'm beginning to wonder if something got corrupted within Mail. I tried rebuilding all of my mailboxes, but that didn't help either.
I can still manually set up e-mail on the phone itself, without setting up any sync relationship, and that seems to work okay.
I had this same problem after flawless activation and usage. It began for me when I loaded my phone with music. I only had 60mb of free space. As soon as I got rid of some of the music it began syncing perfectly again. Is your phone full?
I had this same problem after flawless activation and usage. It began for me when I loaded my phone with music. I only had 60mb of free space. As soon as I got rid of some of the music it began syncing perfectly again. Is your phone full?
I still have 2.7 GB free, so at least for me, that's not the issue.
I reach the stage of the sync operation where iTunes displays "Syncing mail accounts with [phone name]", and get stuck there. I've waited as long as 20 minutes, and can't go any further.
Me too, but I may have an answer.
The problem appears to be that if you change more than 5% of your contacts, then a dialog is presented asking if you're sure you want to proceed. That's all well and good....except that sometimes this dialog apparently is not placed in front. At that point, the sync is halted, awaiting user input but the user doesn't know that--the dialog is hidden behind other windows. I figured this out on my most recent reboot just by sheer luck because I was watching the screen for the split second that all the other windows were removed and that Contacts dialog was shown oh so briefly before it too was dismissed as the GUI shut down.
So if you hang like this, perhaps try Expose to find a small dialog asking you about Contacts. Affirm it and your sync may complete. Because I cannot make this problem happen reliably I can't test it right away but I wanted to post right away in case anyone else Googles this issue in the meantime.
Me too, but I may have an answer.
The problem appears to be that if you change more than 5% of your contacts, then a dialog is presented asking if you're sure you want to proceed. That's all well and good....except that sometimes this dialog apparently is not placed in front. At that point, the sync is halted, awaiting user input but the user doesn't know that--the dialog is hidden behind other windows. I figured this out on my most recent reboot just by sheer luck because I was watching the screen for the split second that all the other windows were removed and that Contacts dialog was shown oh so briefly before it too was dismissed as the GUI shut down.
So if you hang like this, perhaps try Expose to find a small dialog asking you about Contacts. Affirm it and your sync may complete. Because I cannot make this problem happen reliably I can't test it right away but I wanted to post right away in case anyone else Googles this issue in the meantime.
Expanding upon your answer, I had the same problem and found I had Address Book open. I also had a mobileme sync dialog open (for keychains). Cleared both of these and synced OK.
thanks
My turn. I've read all the possible problems here and searched for hidden windows and there aren't any. I didn't have my address book open. I don't use Mobile Me. A separate window never showed up while "syncing mail" so does anyone have any other ideas? I'd rather not "restore" my iPhone although if I had to I would. The phone is only a few months old and is up to date with software. 3GS.
thanks
I had the same issue and didnt have any windows open in the background. Shot in the dark I tried to open the Address Book (Mac) and immediately the sync moved forward and finished with no problem.
After that one time, I closed Address Book and was able to sync without further problems. Not sure what caused this (I didnt change a bunch of contacts) but give it a try.