I'm running iTunes 11.1, iOS 7.1, and Podcasts 2.0.2 for iOS, the latest versions of each. I'm signed into the same iCloud account on both my Mac and iPhone. Podcast syncing is enabled in iTunes, and the "Sync Subscriptions" setting is turned on in the settings for the Podcasts app on my iPhone.
Why, then, does podcast syncing simply not work?
Some examples:
- If I've played through a podcast episode on my iPhone, the same episode in iTunes won't be marked as played (and vice versa)
- If I'm partway through an episode, the playback position doesn't sync between my iPhone and iTunes
- iTunes will download podcast episodes that I've already marked as played on my iPhone (and vice versa), even though I've set both to download only unplayed episodes
- If I subscribe to a new podcast on my iPhone, it won't appear in iTunes (and vice versa)
- Etc., etc.
I feel like I must be doing something wrong or am missing a setting somewhere, because if not, I can't believe that podcast syncing is this unreliable. It quite literally does not work in any way whatsoever.
I've tried turning syncing on and off, signing in and out of iCloud, etc. Podcast syncing simply has never worked for as long as I've been using the Podcasts app (going back to iOS 6).