Sync Problem

Hezel2000

Hi – on my Mac the database is no longer syncing. I deleted and re-installed, still the same.

WorkingHours version: current
OS + version: macOS current

timo

Please provide more info. What exactly happens when clicking on the sync button?
Also "current" is not a helpful version info, please provide the number. You can check that in the macOS system settings as well as in the WorkingHours about tab in the settings. Thanks

Hezel2000

Thanks for the quick reply.
I can't click on the sync button, as it is graded out.
I am on the latest macOS – 13.1
Working Hours is 2.9.20

Hezel2000

sorry – 2.9.22

timo

Did you try restarting the app or MacOS?
What sync option are you using?

Hezel2000

Yes, I tried all the ususal: restart, reload, re-install, ...
I use iCloud sync

timo

That's pretty weird. The sync button is greyed out indefinitely (multiple minutes) and the sync arrows keep spinning?
Did you try logging out / disabling iCloud on your Mac and reenabling it?
Is iCloud still functioning normally, in other apps for example?

Hezel2000

It is weird (sync spinner spinned for some time, stopped, but the button remained grayed out) – but I got it back working. I am not yet sure, but it might have to do with our internet access at work. So, syncing worked for the past half year or so without problems – until yesterday. Today I unplugged everything, and connected through my phone – and it is now working again! Of course I need to be in our universities LAN, but at least this might be the issue. So, either they closed a port – or did something connection wise changed in the last update?

Hezel2000

... but everything else is working normally.

CarolineRoy

Hi, I’ve got the pro version on my phone. I just downloaded the App on my Mac. Login with my same email address and the two are not syncing. I am missing a step, when I click on sync, it not connecting to my hours recoded on my phone. Can you help? Ty

timo

I didn't change anything connection-wise with the last update. The app is using the normal iCloud APIs for macOS. I think your company must have blocked something or something in the DNS Server changed. Glad it works again

@CarolineRoy Can you please also be more precise? I cannot help with an error description like "it is not syncing". What exactly happens? I also need the app version.

PurpleSystem

Hi Timo,

Thanks for making WorkingHours. I've been using it for a few months and started seeing syncing issues on macOS this week as well.

WorkingHours macOS Version: 2.9.22
WorkingHours iOS Version: 2.9.20

A few notes about what I'm seeing:

iOS version of the app works as expected.
On macOS a few days ago I noticed WorkingHours freeze and prevent my computer from shutting down. I had to force quit the app in the dock as a result.
When I next attempted to use the app, I noticed it was missing entries from the last day.
I uninstalled the app and cleared its entries in ~/Library/Containers and ~/Library/Group Containers.
Redownloading the app and setting it up again, I continue to see blank entries after configuring the sync setting for iCloud again. The sync button remains grayed out.
I'm still unable to quit the app normally. It doesn't respond to right clicking in the dock and hitting "Quit". It's not completely hanging since I'm able to open settings and poke around, and move from "Time tracking" to the other tabs on the left.

A few more debugging notes:

I'm using iCloud Advanced Data Protection. I've had this enabled since it debuted, but only seeing issues with WorkingHours recently.
I'm using an 24-inch M1 from 2021.

I'm a Swift macOS software developer as well and would be happy to help troubleshoot live or on this thread.

PurpleSystem

Does this forum allow any video file formats to be uploaded? I attempted to upload a small < 2MB .mov and it was rejected. I can convert that to a different file format if it'll work.

timo

I think you are seeing something similar to what was reported here.
This forum does not support file formats, but if you could send me a video to workinghoursapp@outlook.com, that would be great.
I am aware of some hangs with the recent version, but was so far unsuccessful reproducing it and finding the root cause.
Does the hang only occur when using the iCloud Sync? Or does it also occur when using e.g. OneDrive sync or no sync at all?

PurpleSystem

Sent a video to the email. The problem does not appear when disabling cloud sync. I'm able to exit the WorkingHours application after disabling.

timo

I think I found the underlying problem.
When syncing, WorkingHours tries to get the current internet / NTP time. On some PCs or in some networks, this request might not be answered by the time server or there is another problem when trying to get this timestamp. In this case, the sync stalls and won't finish, because a timeout isn't correctly canceling the operation. I will fix this in the next app update.

PurpleSystem

Confirming that version 2.9.28 fixes the syncing issues I was seeing with Dropbox and iCloud. Thanks Timo!