Apple fixes server problem that caused iCloud sync issues for developers

Apple has told multiple developers that it has fixed an underlying server issue that has been causing iCloud syncing issues since at least November.

The problem prevented third-party apps from syncing properly across Apple's platforms. It has been ongoing for at least a couple of months, leading some developers to criticize Apple's apparent lack of action

Becky Hansmeyer, developer of YarnBuddy, on Wednesday tweeted that she received a "very kind and detailed response from Apple" that indicated the company had fixed the syncing issue.

Regarding the recent iCloud sync issue, I received a very kind and detailed response from Apple indicating that the underlying issue causing the 503 errors/sync failures has been fixed! (Please share!)
— Becky Hansmeyer (@bhansmeyer) January 26, 2022

Hansmeyer wasn't the only developer who chimed in to say that the issue was fixed. Tweetbot developer Paul Haddad wrote on Jan. 26 that reports of iCloud syncing being broken had basically dropped to zero.

The number of iCloud Sync is broken reports we've gotten over the last 2 days has gone down to basically 0.
— Paul Haddad (@tapbot_paul) January 26, 2022

The issue apparently existed in CloudKit, which displayed an HTTP 503 status code indicating that the service was unavailable. An HTTP 503 error indicates that there's a problem with a server, suggesting that it was on Apple's side.

Some developers responded by stating that they were still seeing sporadic issues with iCloud. However, it's possible that those issues may be related to an ongoing iCloud outage that started on Tuesday and still has yet to be resolved as of writing Wednesday.

4 Comments

DAalseth 6 Years · 3067 comments

About 2 years ago

That Apple did dig in and resolve the issue, which I get the feeling was a pretty difficult one, is good.

That they won’t tell people what’s going on is not so good.

I mean I don’t expect them to publish the code. But “ hey we’re going to try a patch tonight”
“no that didn’t work. We’re going to see if it’s in the XXX stack”
“didn’t see anything there”
“hey guys we think we found the bug. Trying an update in an hour. “

just keep the developers impacted in the loop.

iqatedo 21 Years · 1812 comments

This is specifically a third-party (developer) issue, however, as an iCloud user, I can wait for up to days for Apple application files to sync. Logging out of my account and logging back in sometimes forces updating to finish but not always.

michelb76 8 Years · 700 comments

DAalseth said:

That Apple did dig in and resolve the issue, which I get the feeling was a pretty difficult one, is good.
That they won’t tell people what’s going on is not so good.

I mean I don’t expect them to publish the code. But “ hey we’re going to try a patch tonight”
“no that didn’t work. We’re going to see if it’s in the XXX stack”
“didn’t see anything there”
“hey guys we think we found the bug. Trying an update in an hour. “

just keep the developers impacted in the loop.

As always, the lack of communication has been the absolute worst.

williamlondon 14 Years · 1426 comments

michelb76 said:

DAalseth said:

That Apple did dig in and resolve the issue, which I get the feeling was a pretty difficult one, is good.
That they won’t tell people what’s going on is not so good.

I mean I don’t expect them to publish the code. But “ hey we’re going to try a patch tonight”
“no that didn’t work. We’re going to see if it’s in the XXX stack”
“didn’t see anything there”
“hey guys we think we found the bug. Trying an update in an hour. “

just keep the developers impacted in the loop.

As always, the lack of communication has been the absolute worst.

As always, you're gratuitously negative and ridiculously hyperbolic, ffs.