iPad/iPhone Media Not Loading

AnkiMobile (iPhone/iPad) Help
1

Hi,

I am able to access all media files on my computer, and synched the cards to my iPad and iPhone, but the images/media doesn’t transfer to my iPad and iPhone. I made sure media synching is on in my preferences and also tried to export the whole file to airdrop to my other devices, but I got this error. Is there another way to transfer the media files?

Anki 26.08.1 (39e4b0b4) (ao)
Python 3.13.14 Qt 6.11.0 PyQt 6.11.0
Platform: macOS-14.6.1-arm64-arm-64bit-Mach-O

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/main.py”, line 1413, in onExport
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/import_export/exporting.py”, line 55, in init
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/aqt/import_export/exporting.py”, line 79, in setup
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/anki/decks.py”, line 145, in all_names_and_ids
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/anki/_backend_generated.py”, line 476, in get_deck_names
File “/Users/runner/work/anki/anki/out/installer/build/anki/macos/app/Anki.app/Contents/Resources/app_packages/anki/_backend.py”, line 175, in _run_command
anki.errors.InvalidInput: CollectionNotOpen

===Add-ons (active)===
(add-on provided name [Add-on folder, installed at, version, is config changed])
Cloze Overlapper for Anki 21 [‘109531687’, 2021-01-11T22:12, ‘None’, ‘’]
Image Occlusion Enhanced [‘1374772155’, 2022-04-09T03:15, ‘None’, ‘’]
More Overview Stats 21 [‘738807903’, 2025-02-17T16:14, ‘None’, ‘’]
Multi-Line Type Answer Box [‘681236951’, 2020-08-21T02:34, ‘None’, ‘’]
Multiple Choice for Anki [‘1566095810’, 2023-11-17T15:59, ‘None’, ‘’]
Quizlet to Anki 21 Importer with audio support [‘1362209126’, 2026-06-08T15:26, ‘None’, ‘’]
Review Heatmap [‘1771074083’, 2022-06-29T21:43, ‘None’, ‘’]
Review Lookup - Search and Popup cards by selected text Customize by Shige [‘364219370’, 2026-01-27T06:06, ‘None’, mod]
Speed Focus Mode auto-alert auto-reveal auto-answer [‘1046608507’, 2022-12-16T06:24, ‘None’, ‘’]
True Retention [‘613684242’, 2017-11-19T15:43, ‘None’, ‘’]
Zoom 21 [‘1846592880’, 2020-01-12T12:26, ‘None’, mod]

===IDs of active AnkiWeb add-ons===
1046608507 109531687 1362209126 1374772155 1566095810 1771074083 1846592880 364219370 613684242 681236951 738807903

===Add-ons (inactive)===
(add-on provided name [Add-on folder, installed at, version, is config changed])
Quizlet to Anki Importer Improved [‘1632561348’, 2024-12-29T18:30, ‘None’, ‘’]

2

If you view your cards on the ankiweb.net website, are the media files there? (If the media files aren’t getting synced from your computer to AnkiWeb, that would explain why they haven’t been synced from AnkiWeb to your iPad and iPhone.)

In the AnkiMobile app, if you run (upper right corner gear icon) → Check Media:

  • Does it indicate that there are missing files?
  • Does it indicate that there are unused files?
  • If so, are the unused files the same as the missing files but with different capitalization in the names?

Also, syncing media files to iPhone and iPad takes some time. Have you been waiting long enough for the sync to complete, with your device awake and with the AnkiMobile app running in the foreground?

(For the moment, I’m not going to address the error message you provided.)

3

Hi,

Yes, on my phone there are both missing and unused files and I think most of them align.

4

If all the media files exist on your iPad/iPhone, but the filename capitalizations don’t match what is in your Anki notes, that would explain why they appear to be missing. The files are not actually missing. You can fix the issue by changing the filenames in your Anki notes so they have the correct capitalization to match the actual filenames.

If there are only a few affected files, making the changes manually in Anki might be the easiest way. If you have many filenames to change, then you might want to investigate more automated methods, using your Mac computer. For example:

The reason why you see this problem on iPad/iPhone but not your Mac computer is because the Mac computer has a case-insensitive filesystem. If the Mac desktop Anki app looks for “FILENAME.jpg” and the actual filename is “filename.jpg”, there is no problem. “FILENAME.jpg” and “filename.jpg” match, on Mac. However, iPads and iPhones have a case-sensitive filesystem. “FILENAME.jpg” and “filename.jpg” do not match, on iPad/iPhone.

Normally, this problem does not occur because when you add notes and media files through the Anki app, Anki makes sure that the filenames match, renaming files and filenames automatically. However, if you add notes and media files some other way (through an add-on, for example), then it is possible to end up with filename capitalization mismatches. (I see that you have a “Quizlet to Anki 21 Importer” add-on installed. Perhaps the problem cards were imported using this add-on?)

5

Okay this makes sense. I downloaded the add on, but am still having the issue. Seems like a lot of the file names have numbers like these…

4C98E0EA-113B-4882-9D50-D7A61E3E5924.jpeg1179×2556 81 KB

I also tried changing all of the cards to the normal “Image Occlusion” note type.

6

I also just tried to export and airdrop and import directly and I got this error

IMG_0558.jpeg1179×2379 230 KB

7

(I’m going to ignore the export/import issues for now. It could be a way to deal with the issue, but I’d rather focus on getting the filenames fixed, if that is a way to fix the issue.)

Regarding the example you posted…

An image is missing: screenshot 2026-10-07 211731.png

… When you run Check Media on your iPad/iPhone, do you see an unused file with the same “screenshot 2026-10-07 211731.png” name but with different capitalization? If so, what is the capitalization of the filename?

Are all the affected cards “Image Occlusion” or “Image Occlusion Enhanced” type cards? I had been assuming that the cards had image filenames easily seen in the note fields. But, if the cards are some sort of image occlusion type, then the filenames might not be easily seen in the note fields. If that is the case, instead of changing the filenames in the Anki notes to match the actual filenames, it might be easier to change the names of the actual files to match what is in Anki.