Safari reading list disappeared and unable to restore from Time Machine backup

[Kenc2]

this was posted elsewhere with no response as yet so here goes...

I am running Ventura 13.6.1 on a 2017 iMac. A week or two ago, my Safari reading list just disappeared. It was not accidentally deleted. I cannot remember if this was before or after the recent Safari update. I tried restoring this from the Time Machine file .../Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist. This failed on 4 attempts then it was recovered on one try. The reading list then spontaneously disappeared in about one minute. Further attempts could not recover this from Time Machine. Bookmarks are OK. Just Reading List.

Apple Support suggested that Ventura OS was not compatible with current Safari version. My older Mac cannot support Sonoma. They recommended reinstalling the MacOS. This was done but did not allow me to recover the Reading List.

Before I buy a new computer, I wonder if anyone else has had this issue? Does anyone have an alternative explanation for what is happening? BTW, my iCloud backup only shows recently deleted items and the Reading List is not there.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

 

[Bigwaff]

Safari will save your Reading list to iCloud. Are you logged into iCloud and have Safari enabled?

 

[Kenc2]

Yes, Safari syncs with iCloud. Can you tell me where and what file to look for to find the reading list.
I cannot seem to find it.

 

[iStorm]

You said you restored them once and then they disappeared again. Sounds to me like they are getting replaced with a blank copy from iCloud when it syncs. What happens if you restore the file while disconnected from the internet? If that works, you’ll probably need to make a note of the items or open the tabs before reconnecting to the internet so that you can add them back to the reading list again. Also, make sure Safari isn’t running when doing the restore.

 

[Kenc2]

during one of my recovery attempts, it worked. but within a minute it disappeared.
it would be a huge coincidence for iCloud to be syncing during this short window...why would I have a blank copy
of the file in iCloud?