Bookmarks Sync App Mac

. SyncMate is one of the most robust iPhone to Mac sync apps available for transferring and backing up virtually any files (apps, photos, music, SMS, call history, calendar, contacts, bookmarks, reminders). It is incredibly easy to set up and use. You can work seamlessly across devices and can even send text messages from your Mac. Import Bookmarks From an HTML File. Firefox allows you to import bookmarks from an HTML file.

On iPhone, Safari provides a top-notch browsing experience due to its tight integration into iOS. If you use only Apple products, then you'll get your browsing activity synced seamlessly across devices. That includes bookmarks as well. But what if you use a Windows PC instead? Safari no longer supports that platform. That poses a problem.

Thankfully, you don’t have to switch browsers on your iPhone to match the one on your PC. You can still use Safari and still get your bookmarks synced across to either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox (sorry, Microsoft Edge fans), and vice versa. Apple officially supports that functionality, so you don't have to use any third-party apps or services.

In Comes iCloud for Windows

To start syncing bookmarks on your iPhone with your PC, you must have iCloud for Windows app installed. But don’t worry — you can skip syncing your iCloud Drive or Photos to PC if you want to access to only your bookmarks. Once you have iCloud set up, it’s merely a matter of downloading the iCloud Bookmarks extension for Chrome or Firefox, and you are ready to go.

To start syncing iPhone bookmarks with your PC, you need to have the iCloud for Windows app installed

If you have a large number of bookmarks stored on both your iPhone and PC, it’s best that you create backups of your bookmarks to prevent any issues that might occur after merging them. Rather than jumping the gun, let’s start by setting up iCloud on PC, and then look into backing up bookmarks before syncing them.

Note: iTunes also features bookmark syncing capabilities but supports only Internet Explorer now and requires connecting to iTunes manually all the time. Using iCloud is far more convenient and allows real-time bookmark syncing.

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Setting Up iCloud

Setting up iCloud on your PC takes only a moment. If you run into a ‘Missing Media Features’ error during installation, do refer to our troubleshooting guide to solve it.

Step 1: Download and install iCloud for Windows. After installation, restart your PC when prompted.

Download iCloud for Windows

Step 2: Sign in to iCloud using your Apple ID. If you’ve set up two-factor authentication, insert the code as shown on your iPhone to proceed.

Step 3: On the iCloud app that shows up, specify if you want to sync your iCloud Drive and Photos with Windows.

By default, you should see the Bookmarks box checked with Internet Explorer selected automatically. Since you are going to back up your bookmarks next, leave it untouched.

Alternatively, if you want to sync your bookmarks right away, skip ahead to the ‘Syncing Your Bookmarks’ section further below.

Backing Up Your Bookmarks

Backing up bookmarks on your iPhone on browsers such as Chrome or Firefox is a good idea in case any issues crop up after merging them. The following instructions show you how to do that on Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.

Safari

iCloud for Windows supports syncing bookmarks from Safari to Chrome and Firefox. It also supports the outdated Internet Explorer browser, which is weird considering the Microsoft Edge is out since a while.

Since the chances of you using Internet Explorer is quite slim (and you really shouldn't — from a security and performance standpoint), it provides the perfect opportunity to sync your Safari bookmarks without mixing them up with any existing bookmarks. You can back them up easily if needed.

Step 1: On your iPhone, open the Settings app, tap your profile, and then tap iCloud. Under the Apps Using iCloud section, make sure that the toggle next to Safari is turned on.

Step 2: Open the iCloud app on Windows and make sure that the box next to Bookmarks is checked. Now click the Options button listed next to it and then ensure that only Internet Explorer is enabled.

Note: You can skip this step, but it's always best to double-check.

Step 3: Type Internet Explorer into the Start menu, and then press Enter to open Internet Explorer. Click the star-shaped Favorites icon, and you should find your Safari bookmarks synced.

Step 4: Click the arrow next to Add to Favorites, and click Import and Export. Follow the onscreen pop-ups to take a backup of the bookmarks to an HTML file.

Chrome

To back up your existing bookmarks on Chrome, use the Ctrl+Shift+O keyboard shortcut to bring up the browser's Bookmarks management panel. Next, click the ellipsis icon at the upper-right corner of the window, and then click Export Bookmarks.

Follow the onscreen prompts to save your bookmarks to an HTML file.

Firefox

On Firefox, use the Ctrl+Shift+B keyboard shortcut to open the Library. Now click Import and Backup, and then click the Export Bookmarks to an HTML option to create a backup of your bookmarks.

Note: Do remember to move the backup of the bookmarks to a safe location on your PC.

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Syncing Your Bookmarks

You have now taken a backup of your bookmarks on iPhone as well as those on your preferred browser on PC. Now it's time to get to the actual process of syncing them between the two devices.

Step 1: On the iCloud app on Windows 10, click the Options button next to Bookmarks. Uncheck Internet Explorer, and then select the browser (Chrome or Firefox) with which you want to sync your bookmarks with. Click OK, and then click Apply to save your changes.

Step 2: Use the Download button on the pop-up box that shows up to download and install the iCloud Bookmarks extension.

Alternatively, use the Download buttons below to install the extension from either the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons.

Download iCloud Bookmarks for ChromeDownload iCloud Bookmarks for Firefox

Installing the iCloud Bookmarks extension only takes a couple of seconds, and there aren't any further configurations that you have to go through.

Step 3: Open the Bookmarks manager on Chrome or Library on Firefox. You should find your iPhone bookmarks synced and merged with your existing bookmarks.

Bookmarks that were present in Chrome or Firefox should also be available in Safari on your iPhone.

Any bookmark that you now add while using Chrome or Firefox should sync right over to Safari on your iPhone and vice-versa in real time. Cool, right?

Restoring Bookmarks From a Backup

If you encounter any sync issues on either your iPhone or PC and want to restore them to how they were before, the backups that you created earlier should come in handy. However, you need to disable sync between the devices — either remove or turn off the iCloud Bookmarks extension from Chrome or Firefox to do that.

You can then proceed to restore your bookmarks. On PC, delete all existing bookmarks on your browser, and then use the Import Bookmarks (Chrome) or the Export Bookmarks to HTML (Firefox) functions to get your previous bookmarks using the backups that you created earlier.

On iPhone, delete all existing bookmarks on Safari. Then, use the iCloud app on the PC to enable syncing with Internet Explorer. Even if you've removed the bookmarks that you synced to Internet Explorer earlier, you can use the backup file to import them again. That should sync your bookmarks right over to Safari. Later, turn off syncing with Internet Explorer.

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#bookmark sync

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Kudos, Apple!

Apple has neatly implemented the functionality to sync your iPhone’s bookmarks with your favorite browser on your PC. Who knew Apple was this considerate? But before we wrap up, here's a tip.

There's no way to import bookmarks from Safari to Chrome or Firefox apps on iOS. Instead, you can resort to using this technique as a workaround to sync your bookmarks to Chrome or Safari on PC first, and then sync them back to their respective apps on your iPhone by signing into your Google or Firefox accounts. That's awesome!

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextTop 3 Ways to Add Notes to Bookmarks in Chrome BrowserAlso See#iphone #windows 10 #bookmark sync

Did You Know

Cortana is integrated with Microsoft Edge.

Before you get started

Check the System Status page to see if there are known issues affecting iCloud Bookmarks, since your device may not be the cause of your issue.
Make sure your date and time settings on your iOS device or Mac are correct. You can easily fix issues caused by incorrect date and time settings by entering the right information.
To help make sure you don't lose important information, make copies of your Bookmarks.
If your bookmarks aren't displaying in the same order across all of your devices, check how many bookmarks are in the folder. If the folder contains more than 500 bookmarks, the order the bookmarks appear in may not be the same on all devices.

If you need to access a bookmark that you have deleted within the last 30 days, you can recover it from iCloud.com. Click Settings, and under Advanced, click Restore Bookmarks.

Learn more if you need help using iCloud Tabs.

iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

After each step, check to see if the issue still persists.

Turn on Bookmarks and update your device

Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud and make sure Safari is turned on.
Install the latest version of iOS or iPadOS that's supported by your device.

Check your Internet connection

Open Safari and go to www.apple.com. If you can't connect to the Internet, your iCloud Bookmarks and Reading List* won't update in the Safari app. Get help with your Internet connection.
Open a secure website from your iOS device to see if you can access ports 80 and 443. Safari requires access to port 443 to push updates between iCloud and your devices.

* Reading List is only supported on iOS and macOS devices.

Check your account details

Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID that you're using on your other supported devices. Tap Settings > [your name].

Restart Safari

Close and restart the Safari app on your iOS device. If you don't know how to close Safari, follow these steps.

Turn off iCloud Bookmarks and turn it back on

Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
Turn off Safari.
You can choose Delete from My [device] if your data exists on one or more of your computers. Otherwise, choose Keep on My [device].
Wait a few minutes and then turn on Safari again.

Restart your device

Restart your device. If you're not sure how to do this, follow these steps.

Mac

After each step, check to see if the issue still persists.

Turn on iCloud Bookmarks and upgrade your software

Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. If you're using macOS Catalina, click Apple ID. Click iCloud, then select Safari.
Upgrade to the latest version of macOS that's supported by your Mac.

Check your Internet connection

Quit Safari, then re-open Safari.
Try to go to www.apple.com in Safari. If you can't connect to the Internet, your iCloud Bookmarks and Reading List won't update in the Safari app. Get help with your Internet connection.
Open a secure website from your Mac to see if you can access ports 80 and 443. Safari requires access to port 443 to push updates between iCloud and your devices.

Check your account details

Choose Apple menu  and click iCloud. Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID that you're using on your other supported devices.

Turn off iCloud Bookmarks and turn it back on

Quit Safari.
Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. If you're using macOS Catalina, click Apple ID. Click iCloud.
Deselect Safari.
Close System Preferences and wait about a minute.
Open System Preferences and click iCloud.
Select Safari.
Open Safari.

Restart your computer

Restart your computer and see if the issue still persists.

Microsoft Windows

After each step, check to see if the issue still persists.

Check the system requirements

Make sure your PC and your browser meet the iCloud system requirements.

Check your Internet connection

Try to go to www.apple.com. If you can't connect to the Internet, your iCloud Bookmarks won't update. Get help with your Internet connection.
Open a secure website to see if you can access ports 80 and 443. Safari and Internet Explorer require access to port 443 to push updates between iCloud and your devices.

Close and reopen iCloud for Windows

If you install a browser when iCloud for Windows is open, you will need to quit and reopen iCloud for Windows. Then the new browser will appear in the Bookmarks Options list in iCloud for Windows preferences.

Check your settings

Open iCloud for Windows and make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID that you're using on your other supported devices.

Refresh your browser

Sometimes recent changes you have made in your web browser may not be updated on your other devices (or the reverse might happen). Quit and reopen your web browser to refresh your changes.

Bookmarks in Google Chrome may not be updated as quickly as in Internet Explorer* or Firefox.

*If you use iCloud for Windows 10 or later in Internet Explorer, your bookmarks may appear out of order.

Check your bookmarks in another browser

If you can't use iCloud Bookmarks with one browser, try using them in a different browser.

Microsoft Edge browser in Windows 10 doesn’t support iCloud Bookmarks. If you want to use iCloud Bookmarks in Windows 10, use a supported browser, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer. Find out more about the system requirements for iCloud.

For example, if you typically use Internet Explorer, try using Firefox. If you only experience the issue in a particular browser, follow the browser-specific steps in this section. If the issue affects more than one browser, check for issues with your computer and network settings and connections.

Check the location of your Internet Explorer Favourites folder

If you have changed the location where you save your Internet Explorer Favourites (bookmarks), your Favourites won't be automatically updated on your other devices. To fix this issue:

Open iCloud for Windows.
Deselect Bookmarks and click Apply.
Change the location of your favourites folder back to the default location (usually C:UsersusernameFavourites).
Return to iCloud for Windows, select Bookmarks and click Apply.

Put Internet Explorer 10 or Google Chrome in Desktop mode

To make Desktop mode the default in Internet Explorer 10: