MobileMe: Troubleshooting "inconsistencies," "inconsistent data," and "you need to replace your data on MobileMe" alerts when syncing data

Products Affected

MobileMe, MobileMe Calendar

Symptoms

Note: This article does not apply to calendar syncing. Refer to the Syncing with Microsoft Outlook and Exchange and Troubleshooting Windows syncing articles for more information about MobileMe Calendar syncing in Windows. See About subscribed calendars and the new MobileMe Calendar for information about syncing subscribed calendars via MobileMe from iCal.

With MobileMe sync, you may encounter various alerts indicating there is an issue with your MobileMe sync data. The exact text of the alerts will vary depending on what data type is affected and what you are syncing, but in general, the messages state:

For OS X Lion

  • "Your Contact/Bookmark/etc information on MobileMe has problems which need to be corrected. If this computer has the most current information, click Replace. if the most current information is on another computer, click Fix Later and replace your information from that computer."

For Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

  • "You need to replace your Contacts/Calendars/etc information on MobileMe. If this computer has the most current information, click Replace. If the most current information is on another computer, click Fix Later and replace your information from that computer."

Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, Windows Control Panel

  • "Inconsistencies in your sync information for Contacts/Calendars/etc were detected and have been repaired. The next sync for MobileMe may take longer than usual."
  • "Contacts/Calendars could not be synced due to inconsistent data. Confirm that your computer's data is valid, then reset Contacts/Calendars/etc on MobileMe in System Preferences."

This article discusses how to troubleshoot these types of alerts when syncing with MobileMe. 

Resolution

Before you begin to troubleshoot

It is highly-recommended that you back up any data that you are syncing, especially any data that you may be receiving alert messages about. See this article for more information about backing up data.

OS X Lion: "Your information on MobileMe has problems which need to be corrected"

  1. If you receive this message on the computer that has up-to-date information for the affected data type, such as Contacts, click Replace. This will automatically reset the affected data on MobileMe with data from your computer. If you are syncing more than one computer with MobileMe, the other computers will present you with an alert the next time you sync that your data on MobileMe has been reset.
  2. If you receive this message on a computer that does not have the most up-to-date information, click Fix Later. On the computer that has the most up-to-date information, reset your sync data on MobileMe. You only need to do this for the data type mentioned in the alert message. If you are syncing more than one computer with MobileMe, the other computers will present you with an alert the next time you sync that your data on MobileMe has been reset. 

    Note: If you do not have a current copy of your data on your Mac or PC, see the Additional Information section below.  
     
  3. If resetting the sync data on MobileMe does not resolve the issue, you may need to reset the SyncServices folder on each computer that is syncing with MobileMe, and then repeat step 2 again. 

Mac OS X Snow Leopard: "You need to replace your information on MobileMe"

  1. If you receive this message on the computer that has up-to-date information for the affected data type, such as Contacts, click Replace. This will automatically reset the affected data on MobileMe with data from your computer. If you are syncing more than one computer with MobileMe, the other computers will present you with an alert the next time you sync that your data on MobileMe has been reset.
  2. If you receive this message on a computer that does not have the most up-to-date information, click Fix Later. On the computer that has the most up-to-date information, reset your sync data on MobileMe. You only need to do this for the data type mentioned in the alert message. If you are syncing more than one computer with MobileMe, the other computers will present you with an alert the next time you sync that your data on MobileMe has been reset.

    Note: If you do not have a current copy of your data on your Mac or PC, see the Additional Information section below. 
     
  3. If resetting the sync data on MobileMe does not resolve the issue, you may need to reset the SyncServices folder on each computer that is syncing with MobileMe, and then repeat step 2 again. 

Mac OS X Leopard, Windows Control Panel: "Inconsistencies... were detected and have been repaired"

If you receive this alert, first try syncing again.  The sync may take longer than usual, but if it completes successfully, the issue should be resolved.  If you continue to receive this alert, use the steps below.

Mac OS X Leopard, Windows Control Panel: Data "could not be synced due to inconsistent data"

  1. Confirm that the data inconsistencies are not due to an "Invalid Change Log jump table size" alert.  For more information see this article.  
  2. On the computer that has the most up-to-date information for the data class mentioned in the alert, manually enter any recent changes you may have made on your iPhone, iPod touch, or MobileMe website; otherwise, these chan will be lost when completing the rest of these steps.

    Note    : If you do not have a current copy of your data on your Mac or PC, see the Additional Information section below.
     
  3. On the computer that has the most up-to-date information, reset your sync data on MobileMe.  You only need to do this for the data class mentioned in the alert message.  If you are syncing more than one computer with MobileMe, the other computers will present you with an alert the next time you sync that your data on MobileMe has been reset.
  4. If resetting the sync data on MobileMe does not resolve the issue, you may need to reset the SyncServices folder on each computer that is syncing with MobileMe, and then repeat step 3 again. 
    To reset SyncServices:

Additional Information

If you receive an inconsistent data alert on your Mac or PC, but the only copy of your data is on your iPhone or iPod touch syncing with MobileMe, you can recover your data from your iPhone/iPod touch. 

  1. Update your iPhone/iPod touch to iOS 3.0 or later.
  2. On your iPhone/iPod touch, tap Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and select your MobileMe account.
  3. Turn off syncing for the affected data type, such as Contacts.
  4. When prompted to do so, choose “Keep on My iPhone/iPod touch.”
  5. Connect the iPhone/iPod touch to your computer.
  6. In iTunes, select the iPhone/iPod touch, and click the Info tab.
  7. Choose to sync the data to your computer with your iPhone/iPod touch via iTunes.

If you do not have your MobileMe data syncing with an iPhone/iPod touch, and the inconsistent data alert is for Contacts, you can recover your data on MobileMe by exporting your contacts from www.me.com/contacts and them importing the contacts onto your Mac or PC. 

Once you have the data on your computer, follow the directions above to resolve the inconsistent data alert. 

This document will be updated as more information becomes available.
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