I got off the phone with Apple Support and they are as puzzled as I am why this issue should happen. One of the things they are convinced about is that the iCloud Photo Library should not be at fault here since it works fine on all the other devices. So the issue lies with my phone. They have suggested that I try setting the phone up as new to see if it resolves the problem and if it does, to get back to them to see how they can restore a backup of my phone and still have iCloud Photo Library work. Could you share with me the fifteen steps on your list?
Thanks in advance!
Sure, I'd be happy to! I'm afraid most of it is probably not relevant to you - the hassle I go through whenever I restore a phone or set up as new is mostly due to the fact that I have three Apple IDs: one for iCloud stuff, one for US iTunes purchases and Apple Music, and one for Japanese iTunes, because there are a number of apps (for example, carrier apps, etc) that I can only get from the Japanese iTunes Store.
Here are the steps I put together - following this checklist made the entire process fairly "simple" ...
- Transfer Suica (Japanese train pass) from Apple Watch back to iPhone
- Unpair Apple Watch
- Backup Line (texting app, like WhatsApp)
- Backup iPhone
- Reboot
- Backup again (just in case)
- Confirm iCloud backup time stamp
- Erase all content and settings.
- Set up as new iPhone; Region: Japan, separate AppleIDs for iCloud and iTunes, and start with Japanese iTunes!!
- Download Japanese apps
- Add Suica cards to Wallet
- Switch to US Region
- Change clock back to 24h (personal preference).
- Add Japanese keyboard
- Sign into US iTunes, begin installing apps.
- Check to make sure Health and Activity data have synced, and then pair Apple Watch.
- After pairing process is complete, change name of Apple Watch to something unique (can be changed after the following steps)
- Rename iPhone in Settings/General/About to something unique (can be changed after following step)
- Go into Health app, select activities one by one (steps, distance walking/running, etc) and move newly named iPhone and AW to top of list.
- Go back into Settings/General/About and name devices as desired.
- Transfer Suica card back to AW
Done. Well, there's a ton of small settings that need to be re-done - home screen organization, turning reachability back on, setting wallpaper, changing text size, Do Not Disturb schedule, Night Shift, etc ... Took me about an hour or two to get it 90% done. Also need to re-customize the AW, so it does take a while.
Looks like I’m heading down the same route too. Did your health and activity data just synced once you logged into iCloud? That’s the main thing that’s holding me back. And you are right about the iMessages too but like you, I’ve got copies of the messages on my other devices.
Yes, that stuff syncs even on a clean install - as of iOS11, it all gets saved to iCloud! Very cool.