TV episodes not syncing or syncing at random.

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Level 1

5 points

TV episodes not syncing or syncing at random.

Ever since the latest update (18.2, updated 1/5/25) TV episodes have not been syncing correctly. For example, I have a TV show with 10 complete seasons - when I synced late last night after the update, only Season 7 transferred to my iPhone; when I tried again this morning, Season 7 disappeared and Season 1 transferred. All other seasons did not transfer either time.

I've contacted Apple Support and they were no help (literally asking me to restart and update).

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Posted on Jan 5, 2025 12:22 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 8, 2025 10:19 AM in response to Stu-Rat

Is this about a TV show purchased from the iTunes Store, or from a subscription service through Apple?

Apple’s policy is that users should download any content for offline viewing directly on the other playback device, and not sync through a local computer.

For media files from other sources without DRM, those can be synced through the Apple TV app or iTunes application from computer to mobile device, provided that they are in a compatible format (mp4/m4v/mov with H.264/H.265 progressive video and AAC/AC3 audio).

As video files tend to be quite large, verify that you have enough free disk space on the mobile device. How to check the storage on your iPhone and iPad - Apple Support

And do you really need all seasons available on mobile at the same time? Try syncing by season as needed instead.

Sync movies between your Mac and iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Sync movies between your Windows device and iPhone, iPad, or iPod - Apple Support

From what computer and OS version did you try syncing?

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Answer 2

Jan 10, 2025 10:05 AM in response to Stu-Rat

I don’t know why unexpected files would start syncing. I haven’t noticed that for my devices.

On Mac, users can select just one selected particular file to sync, instead of a full sync of everything that is checked. Not sure how much the same that is for Windows users.

Please try that if you can. Just to see if it works.

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Answer 3

Stu-Rat Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 8, 2025 4:09 PM in response to Urquhart1244

It's TV shows and movies purchased from the iTunes store, plus other digital copies provided from purchased Blu-Rays which offered a free download (all of which have DRM). All are in a compatible format (mostly mp4). My iPhone total storage is currently recorded at 476.71 GB. Even with my music, TV and movies synced I have 40 GB free space.

Whether I need all seasons is up for debate I suppose, but I want them. And I had them synced to my iPhone before this latest iPhone update. Now I don't. What's changed?

And even if I wanted to just download one season, I cannot. As stated, if I want to download Season 10, iTunes will only sync Season 5, say. Then when I try to sync again, it syncs Season 2. It's completely at random. If I want to sync a particular comedy movie, it won't sync but a completely unrelated drama movie will.

I'm using a PC, Windows 10, all the latest updates installed.

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Answer 4

Stu-Rat Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 10, 2025 2:20 PM in response to Urquhart1244

Yes, I've done that. As I said, if I try to sync anything it syncs random things. If I try to sync a single episode of a TV series, it will not sync that episode but will sync one other episode of that particular TV series at random.

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Answer 5

Stu-Rat Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 13, 2025 2:31 PM in response to Stu-Rat

Just bumping again, in the hopes someone can help.

Right now, being unable to send emails (Apple Support have no clue on what's causing that), all music dying in volume after 20 seconds (Apple Support have no idea why that's happening) and now being unable to accurately sync TV and movies (again, Apple Support's best suggestion is to turn the phone off and on again), it feels like instead of a phone I just have a very expensive paperweight.

Can someone please suggest a way to fix this issue? I'd really appreciate it.

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Answer 6

Stu-Rat Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 7, 2025 3:45 PM in response to Stu-Rat

Just trying to bump this as no one has responded and I need help. Apple Support have no clue what's going on (they never do).

Does anyone have any answers for me, please?

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