iCloud has become so ingrained into the Apple ecosystem that most people don’t even realize they have it – and that’s exactly how Apple wants it to be. It “just works.” But, what about when it doesn’t? Untangling the maze of iCloud issues can be time consuming and unfortunately there are no easy answers. There are, however, a number of troubleshooting steps that should get to the root of the problem very simply.
How Does iCloud Work?
Before getting to any troubleshooting steps, it’s important to understand what iCloud actually is. iCloud is just a 21st Century approach to something we’ve been doing for years with computers.
Many people are familiar with using USB sticks to move data from one computer to the next. You simply load up the USB stick and move the files to it. When you plug it into your other computer and copy the files off, they share the same file. They’re in sync.
What iCloud does is move those files – pictures, contacts, Safari bookmarks, passwords, etc – between all your Apple devices using an internet connection. Instead of using a USB drive, they send all your data from one device to a server that is then immediately pushed to your other devices that are on your iCloud account. This process is called “syncing”.
It’s when things are missing or “not syncing” that most of us notice an issue.
My iCloud Isn’t Syncing
That can be frustrating! Thankfully, though, since iCloud works so seamlessly, it’s easy to find the culprit.
The first thing to do is go to the source at iCloud.com. Most everything your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC is syncing with iCloud goes there. The only caveat is that this website only works on computers.
So, open your web browser on a computer and go to iCloud.com, and login with your Apple ID.
The most common cause of iCloud syncing issues is that users are logged into an Apple ID on one device, and a different one on a separate device. Apple sees them as two different devices, two different accounts, two different people – so those two devices are not going to “sync”.
To quickly check this on an iOS device:
- Go to Settings
- Tap “iCloud”
- Your Apple ID that iCloud is using is on top of the screen
To check on a Mac:
- Go to System Preferences
- Click the iCloud icon
- Your Apple ID is located on the left side
After verifying the account you’re using at iCloud.com and the devices are the same, use the website to gauge what’s missing. Are there contacts on your phone, but not in iCloud.com? Or calendar events on your iPad, but not on iCloud.com?
More: iCloud not working. How to troubleshoot iCloud problems
If it’s not at iCloud.com, it’s not going to sync, because as far as Apple is concerned it doesn’t exist.
iCloud Calendar Not Syncing
It could also be that other cloud services are causing confusion with iCloud.
For example, you may have been adding countless new calendar events on your iCloud without issue. But, then, a few accidentally went to your Google calendar when you added them from your iPhone. Then, it goes to “the cloud”, just not the right one, and iCloud can’t sync it.
Just to verify this on each device go to the Calendar App.
For iOS:
- Open the Calendar App
- Tap the “Calendars” option in the top left
- On this screen you’ll see all the cloud services set up on your mobile device with checkmarks
- Tap “iCloud” so that the checkmark is NOT showing next to it, but leave all the others on
- Go back to the Calendar App
- Any calendar events you see here are saved on other cloud services.
- Tap each event individually to view the event details and change the event to an iCloud calendar
- Repeat on all events until you’ve set them all up to iCloud
- Repeat on other devices as needed
- Be sure to put the checkmark next to iCloud again
For Macs:
- Open the Calendar App
- Click “calendars” in the top left
- Uncheck the iCloud Calendars to hide iCloud events
- Any calendar events remaining are saved on other cloud services.
- Click each event individually to view the event details and change the event to an iCloud calendar
- Repeat on events until you’ve set them all up to iCloud
- Repeat on other devices as needed
- Be sure to check iCloud calendars on again after you’ve finished to show them
Everything should be syncing back to iCloud.com without issue.
More: How to sync calendars with your iPad, iPod, iPhone, Mac and Windows PC
iCloud Contacts Not Syncing
This issue is similar to the above Calendar issue and the steps are similar. Often, other cloud services are syncing your data and iCloud doesn’t have access to it.
For iOS:
- Open the Contacts App
- Tap the “Groups” option in the top left
- On this screen you’ll see all the cloud services set up on your mobile device with checkboxes
- Tap off anything with “iCloud” in it to temporarily hide them
- Go back to the Contacts app
- Any contacts you see here are saved on other cloud services.
- Unfortunately, the only way to change these to iCloud is to manually create the card again on iCloud or make the change on a computer using iCloud
For Macs:
- Open the Contacts App
- On the left side you’ll see the syncing services and groups Contacts is using
- Any contacts in other groups you see here are saved on other cloud services.
- From here, you can simply drag wayward contacts from the wrong group to the correct group and they’ll start syncing to iCloud.
Everything should be syncing back to iCloud.com without issue.
Other Syncing Issues
After you’ve exhausted all of these options, there is just one more major step you can try before contacting Apple Support.
On each device, go to Settings and completely log out of iCloud. You’ll get a very scary message telling you that doing so will delete everything from iCloud off the device. It’s terrifying to think about, but trust us. It’s ok. Everything at iCloud.com will come back on the device. After a few minutes, turn iCloud back on the device.
If the issue persists beyond that, contacting Apple Support is your best option. Calling 1-800- APL-CARE is a free call for all iCloud issues. Additionally, AppleCare technicians have access to tools that can test and diagnose issues on the iCloud server specifically with your account.
But, in most case, with a little detective work you should be able to get it all resolved on your own!
Related: iPad / iPhone: Unable to sync Notes to iCloud problem, fix