Troubleshooting Collection syncing issues between Paperwhite & Amazon.com

[Cootey]

I posted about this issue in April, but I just bought a brand new Paperwhite 7 and ran into the issue again.

Basically, if I organize my eBooks on amazon.com (Manage Your Content and Devices), the changes I make aren't mirrored on my Kindle Paperwhite. This didn't used to be an issue, but became one at least for the past year.

Specifically, I created several new collections on amazon.com. None of them showed up under ALL on the Kindle (Kindle cloud). I've synced, restarted, and reset with no changes. I even have a brand new Kindle Paperwhite with the same problems as my previous Paperwhite. I have 25 Collections, but only 13 of them show up on the Kindle.

If I create a similarly named collection on the Paperwhite (say, Gaming), then sync, there will be two collections named "Gaming" on amazon.com. Any books I add from amazon.com to the collection created on the Paperwhite won't show up on the Kindle, even after syncing or restarting.

Any idea what's going on and how to fix it? The solution seems to be to originate all changes from the Paperwhite, but it's so clunky and sluggish for this sort of work.

Paperwhite 7 (5.9.7)

Cheers!

~Dˢ

[badgoodDeb]

Are you sure you are viewing ALL and not merely "Downloaded"? On my Oasis, the active term is darker. When I touch the other term, I definitely see all the collections that I've created in the cloud.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Are you sure you are viewing ALL and not merely "Downloaded"? On my Oasis, the active term is darker. When I touch the other term, I definitely see all the collections that I've created in the cloud.

Yes, thank you. I am very sure that I am not confused between All and Downloaded. The sync issue is as I've described, unfortunately, and judging by what I've read here and on other forums, other people have this problem and have found no solution. I hold out hope the shining domes of knowledge on this site will have a solution I haven't thought of!

[DuckieTigger]

Under normal circumstances since cloud collections you should not be able to create duplicate collections on the Kindle with same name. If you can, then some setting is not enabled. Does it need whispersync enabled? Likely. Otherwise it is out of sync for other reasons. You can force out of sync as detailed below.

If you happen to have 2 collections with same name, they were created out of sync. E.g. if you created them offline on Kindle and before syncing also created on amazon.com. You need to delete the collection created on paperwhite and sync. On amazon.com you should then only see one collection anymore, but that one won't be visible on Kindle even after sync (because you deleted the same named other one, I suppose). The only way I have found to make that amazon.com collection visible again on Kindle is to rename the collection and sync. After it is renamed you can rename it again back to the original. Don't forget to make the collection visible in downloaded so it not only shows up in all.

Logic? There is no rhyme and reason. Just try it and see if it works. The renaming was the only way I could make a out of sync collection visible again. I did the test on my Oasis2, but see no reason the PW should not work like it.

[DuckieTigger]

Now what caused your collection to be out of sync, I have no idea.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Under normal circumstances since cloud collections you should not be able to create duplicate collections on the Kindle with same name. If you can, then some setting is not enabled. Does it need whispersync enabled? Likely. Otherwise it is out of sync for other reasons. You can force out of sync as detailed below.

If you happen to have 2 collections with same name, they were created out of sync. E.g. if you created them offline on Kindle and before syncing also created on amazon.com. You need to delete the collection created on paperwhite and sync. On amazon.com you should then only see one collection anymore, but that one won't be visible on Kindle even after sync (because you deleted the same named other one, I suppose). The only way I have found to make that amazon.com collection visible again on Kindle is to rename the collection and sync. After it is renamed you can rename it again back to the original. Don't forget to make the collection visible in downloaded so it not only shows up in all.

Logic? There is no rhyme and reason. Just try it and see if it works. The renaming was the only way I could make a out of sync collection visible again. I did the test on my Oasis2, but see no reason the PW should not work like it.

Everything you wrote is as I've observed. I have Whispersync engaged. Reading locations sync just fine between Kindle, amazon.com, and even my iPad Kindle app. I haven't tried renaming non-syncing collections. At least, I can't recall. I've tried so many things. I'll report back with my results. I'd love to get this to work again.
~Dˢ

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Now what caused your collection to be out of sync, I have no idea.

I'm afraid none of those suggestions worked.

I renamed a collection on amazon.com. Synced. No change on the Paperwhite.

I then disabled then re-enabled Whispersync, then synced. No change on the Paperwhite.

None of the new collections I have created on amazon.com appear on the Paperwhite. None of the organizing of books into collections mirrors on the Paperwhite. They are separate databases, but they shouldn't be. I don't have this problem syncing collections and book organization between amazon.com & iPad Kindle app. Just with the Paperwhite. So frustrating.

There were discrepancies all over the place. For example, this Middle Grade collection claims to have 17 books in it, but only 11 are listed. Coincidentally, the same 11 listed on the Paperwhite as well.

See here ☞

But I've fixed it. I decided to delete all the collections. This did the trick. First, I screen capped each collection so I could rebuild it later, then I began to delete them off of the PW. The first few collections deleted globally, then suddenly all the missing collections appeared on my PW, but they still had syncing discrepancy problems. I deleted a few more, and suddenly ALL collections disappeared on the PW. I had to restart it to see them again. Sometimes switching between grid and list view would refresh the collection list as well, but usually I had to restart the PW. Eventually, all collections on the PW & amazon.com were removed completely.

Then I began rebuilding my collections. Most of the time, the changes I made on amazon.com appeared through whispersync automagically, but often I'd have to sync to force the changes. Three hours later, all 25 collections were recreated and all 333 books were reorganized. What a pain in the neck, but syncing happens across all devices now. First time in years. Thanks for your feedback! Your suggestion to rename the collections gave me the idea to delete them entirely. The trick was to delete them all and start all over again. Some corrupted file or database must have been causing the trouble.

[DuckieTigger]

I am glad you managed to fix it. Enjoy your Kindle now, and hopefully this won't happen again.